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I've got a trumpet part which is divisi (upper and lower part on one staff). The upper part starts with a F, which has an accidental sharp in front of it. The 3rd note of the lower part is a F as well... Does the accidental also apply to this note?

Peter
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G J F van Kapel
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    Possible duplicate of [Does an accidental apply to all octaves?](https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/49717/does-an-accidental-apply-to-all-octaves) – Tim H Apr 03 '19 at 18:58
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    Can you post a photo of the measure in question? It is hard to give an answer based on the information here. – Peter Apr 03 '19 at 19:00
  • normally yes, but it would be clear if you told at least what style this piece is in ... – Albrecht Hügli Apr 04 '19 at 09:49
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    @AlbrechtHügli I disagree. The parts are written into the same staff just to save page space. They are completely separate - you wouldn't have a violinist play an accidental just because the clarinet had one in the score! – Carl Witthoft Apr 04 '19 at 13:07
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    @ Carl: we even don't know whether this F# is an accidental or a key sign (what my assumption is) as long we can't see a copy. I'm asking about the style because this would be the only explanation that there could be such strange voicing. – Albrecht Hügli Apr 04 '19 at 13:36
  • @AlbrechtHügli It does say "accidental", meaning not in the key signature. – user45266 Apr 04 '19 at 17:22
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    Yes, I agree with Carl and user45266. My point is that I've met here too many beginners that didn't know such elementary things as the meaning accidentals and key signature and the difference of them. So we can only assume what it could be: an typo, an error of the composer/arranger or a misunderstanding of the OP's knowlede, as long we don't have more information. So far I assume the latter - unless this isn't music of 20th century like e.g. Bartok, Stravinsky, Lloyd Webber or Schönberg and Co. :) – Albrecht Hügli Apr 05 '19 at 14:16
  • I’ve seen instances in choral music/Barbershop music where the bass and baritone parts are written on the same staff and an accidental (Yes, accidental, not key signature) appears in the bass part at the beginning of a measure and the baritone part is given the same note at the end of the measure without an accidental. Given that two different people are singing the two different parts, I would expect the baritone to get a courtesy accidental whether or not he is to sing the same note as the bass, That doesn’t always happen and produces ambiguity. I am not answering the original question, but – Warren G Dec 23 '21 at 07:47

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Best practice is to put the accidental in both parts. We could argue the point in polyphonic keyboard music. But this is actually two seperate PLAYERS. Tell them both!

I'm assuming the two F notes are in the same octave. If not, the rule is clear. An accidental only affects the octave it's in. But, nonetheless, a cautionary natural where it ISN'T required would be sensible.

Laurence
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    This is definitely best practice, but it's very possible that the publisher/composer wasn't following best practices in this case. – Peter Apr 03 '19 at 19:27
  • An accidental only affects the octave it's in. This is correct. But I would like to know the composer's name. Either there should be notated a Gb in the upper voice or - that would be nice of him - a (natural ) F in the 3rd. ... – Albrecht Hügli Apr 05 '19 at 14:22
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A "divisi" score is just a way to reduce the amount of paper used. If the same two parts were written as "Horn 1" and "Horn 2" there would be no question that the accidental only applies to the part it's written into.

Therefore, divisi parts follow only their own accidentals, just as they follow only their own slur/staccato, dynamics, etc.

Carl Witthoft
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  • Theoretically yes, but far too many composers/copyists/publishers get it wrong. Usually it's clear what's intended. Unfortunately sometimes it's not. – PiedPiper Feb 25 '22 at 20:07
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The upper part starts with a F, which has an accidental sharp in front of it.

My assumption is: this is not an accidental but a key sign that says: we are in major G or minor e (trumpet setting!). If you have other parts for C-instruments with one flat in front (after the clef) or Eb-Horns with 2# (F# and C#) this answer is the right one:

The key sign applies to all parts.

Albrecht Hügli
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