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It's been eons since I took piano lessons and I can't remember much of anything regarding markings.

Can someone please tell me what that little x is in the third bar of Rach's piece? (Actually, there are two of them.) What's it called and what does it mean?

Thanks!

Judi
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  • So if it's a double sharp, why the heck don't composers just put in the note they want it to be?! (I know... it's a dumb question, but I had to ask anyway. LOL) – Judi Sep 08 '16 at 21:30
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    They do. When they use F**x**, it's because the note is acting as F**x** (probably as a leading tone to G♯) in the context of a key that has many sharps in it. I wrote a piece recently in D♯ minor, and there were C**x**s in it, because D isn't a note native to that key. –  Sep 08 '16 at 22:17

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It's a double-sharp. It means to play a note two half-steps higher than the note associated with the line or space where the note is written. In this case, it's an f-double-sharp, which is enharmonically equivalent to a g.

phoog
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