MusicXML 4.1 Draft
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MusicXML 4.1 Draft > MusicXML Reference > Elements > The <accidental> element

The <accidental> element

Parent element: <note>

accidental

The accidental type represents actual notated accidentals. Editorial and cautionary indications are indicated by attributes. Values for these attributes are “no” if not present. Specific graphic display such as parentheses, brackets, and size are controlled by the level-display attribute group.

In the case of multiple accidentals per note, accidentals are displayed in the same order they appear in the MusicXML document, i.e. left to right.

Content

accidental-value

Attributes

Name Type Required?(Default) Description
bracket yes-no No Specifies whether or not brackets are put around a symbol for an editorial indication. If not specified, it is left to application defaults.
Specifies whether or not brackets are put around a symbol for an editorial indication. If not specified, it is left to application defaults.
cautionary yes-no No If yes, indicates that this is a cautionary accidental. The value is no if not present.
If yes, indicates that this is a cautionary accidental. The value is no if not present.
color color No Indicates the color of an element.
Indicates the color of an element.
default-x tenths No Changes the computation of the default horizontal position. The origin is changed relative to the left-hand side of the note or the musical position within the bar. Positive x is right and negative x is left.

This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the <offset> element. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both features should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy.
Changes the computation of the default horizontal position. The origin is changed relative to the left-hand side of the note or the musical position within the bar. Positive x is right and negative x is left.

This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the <offset> element. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both features should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy.
default-y tenths No Changes the computation of the default vertical position. The origin is changed relative to the top line of the staff. Positive y is up and negative y is down.

This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the placement attribute. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both attributes should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy.
Changes the computation of the default vertical position. The origin is changed relative to the top line of the staff. Positive y is up and negative y is down.

This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the placement attribute. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both attributes should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy.
editorial yes-no No If yes, indicates that this is an editorial accidental. The value is no if not present.
If yes, indicates that this is an editorial accidental. The value is no if not present.
font-family font-family No A comma-separated list of font names.
A comma-separated list of font names.
font-size font-size No One of the CSS sizes or a numeric point size.
One of the CSS sizes or a numeric point size.
font-style font-style No Normal or italic style.
Normal or italic style.
font-weight font-weight No Normal or bold weight.
Normal or bold weight.
parentheses yes-no No Specifies whether or not parentheses are put around a symbol for an editorial indication. If not specified, it is left to application defaults.
Specifies whether or not parentheses are put around a symbol for an editorial indication. If not specified, it is left to application defaults.
relative-x tenths No Changes the horizontal position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-x attribute. Positive x is right and negative x is left. It should be interpreted in the context of the <offset> element or directive attribute if those are present.
Changes the horizontal position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-x attribute. Positive x is right and negative x is left. It should be interpreted in the context of the <offset> element or directive attribute if those are present.
relative-y tenths No Changes the vertical position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-y attribute. Positive y is up and negative y is down. It should be interpreted in the context of the placement attribute if that is present.
Changes the vertical position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-y attribute. Positive y is up and negative y is down. It should be interpreted in the context of the placement attribute if that is present.
size symbol-size No Specifies the symbol size to use for an editorial indication. If not specified, it is left to application defaults.
Specifies the symbol size to use for an editorial indication. If not specified, it is left to application defaults.
smufl smufl-accidental-glyph-name No References a specific Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL) accidental glyph. This is used both with the other accidental value and for disambiguating cases where a single MusicXML accidental value could be represented by multiple SMuFL glyphs.
References a specific Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL) accidental glyph. This is used both with the other accidental value and for disambiguating cases where a single MusicXML accidental value could be represented by multiple SMuFL glyphs.

Examples

This element is used in the following examples:

<accidental><accidental> (Multiple instances)<backup><forward><harmonic><principal-voice>Tutorial: Après un rêveTutorial: Chopin PreludeTutorial: Tablature