Courtesy accidentals

A courtesy accidental, also called a cautionary or reminder accidental, is one that, according to the rules of accidental occurrence, isn’t strictly necessary before a note. But there are times when the composer wants to remind the player that an accidental is (or is not) in effect for a particular note. For example, in a measure containing several E flat accidentals, the first E in the next measure often has a courtesy natural attached, even though the E flat is technically canceled in the new measure.

To create a courtesy accidental

1. Click the Simple Entry tool  , and select the note. (You can Ctrl-click to select an individual note).
2. Press the P key. Finale displays a parenthesized accidental next to the note.
3. Press the P key again. Finale removes the parentheses. Press P again to remove the courtesy accidental.

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