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It's my understanding that any accidental showing on the treble clef also applies to the bass clef unless indicated otherwise, correct?

For measure 13 of Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2, my Henle Verlag urtext (the image here is from a video but has the same notes as my Henle book) shows the natural sign for the note A in the treble clef, and no accidental shown in the bass clef. Shouldn't the left hand play the natural A, too? But I watched three videos and they all played Ab on left hand. (One video by Paul Barton used a score that has a flat sign next to the 2nd occurence of the A note in bass clef, but he played both A as Ab.)

Having said the above, I would tend to play Ab on left hand, too, since up to that part all the previous cases of the same chord combination had Ab. However, the Henle truly didn't have the flat symbol in the bass clef.

(Maybe it's no big deal? am I being too pedantic? ;-))

enter image description here

GrandAdagio
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1 Answers1

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Accidentals apply only to the specific line or space on which they appear. For example, an A above the treble staff would also be an Ab unless specifically marked otherwise.

See Does an accidental apply to all octaves?.

Aaron
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  • Oh, thank you! I don't know how I got that mistaken impression! By the way, that Paul Barton played B-natural for the 2nd B on left hand (the bottom note of the blue arrow chord), which I think is wrong? – GrandAdagio Feb 11 '24 at 03:09
  • @GrandAdagio Based on the edition you posted, yes, Bb would be wrong. It's possible, however, that Barton simply chose to alter that pitch, because it gives a nice color to the harmony. Whether he's using a different edition, just decided on his own to make the change, or simply hit the wrong note I can't say, but I like the sound. – Aaron Feb 11 '24 at 03:14
  • Seems not, see at 1:49 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlqCEu_4oJA – GrandAdagio Feb 11 '24 at 03:16
  • @GrandAdagio Yeah, playing B-natural on the other Bs would definitely be wrong. – Aaron Feb 11 '24 at 03:17
  • Aaron, at the link your provided in the answer, I don't understand why the last F is F natural. Shouldn't it follow the previous sharp accidental on the same line/level? – GrandAdagio Feb 11 '24 at 03:23
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    @GrandAdagio Bar lines cancel any accidentals that appear in the preceding measure. – Aaron Feb 11 '24 at 03:28
  • Oh, right! So many rules to remember :). Thanks! – GrandAdagio Feb 11 '24 at 03:29
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    Aaron, in this late version he corrected that: at 1:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-0Gjl7oF5A – GrandAdagio Feb 11 '24 at 04:48
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    The rules are quite simple - accidentals (not key sigs) refer only to the notes that follow them, and they only last for the bar they're written in! – Tim Feb 11 '24 at 08:59
  • Thanks. I think I confused it with the rules for key signatures. – GrandAdagio Feb 11 '24 at 18:09