@node Accidentals and key signatures
@subsection Accidentals and key signatures
+@warning{New users are often confused by these -- please read the
+warning at the bottom of this page, especially if you are not
+familiar with music theory!}
+
@subheading Accidentals
@cindex accidentals
b
@end lilypond
+If the above seems confusing, consider this: if you were playing a
+piano, which key would you hit? If you would press a black key,
+then you @emph{must} add @code{-is} or @code{-es} to the note
+name!
+
Adding all alterations explicitly might require a little more
effort when typing, but the advantage is that
@notation{transposing} is easier, and accidentals can be printed
-according to different conventions. For some examples how
+according to different conventions. For some examples of how
accidentals can be printed according to different rules, see
@ruser{Automatic accidentals}.
minus sign in mathematics. The formula @math{(4+5)} is an
expression, so @math{-(4+5)} is a bigger expression.
-Time signatures entered in one staff affects all other staves by
+Time signatures entered in one staff affect all other staves by
default. On the other hand, the key signature of one staff does
@emph{not} affect other staves. This different default behavior
is because scores with transposing instruments are more common
It is essential that the final syllable is separated from the
terminating curly bracket by a space or a newline, or it will be
assumed to be part of the syllable, giving rise to an obscure
-error, see @ref{Apparent error in ../ly/init.ly}.
+error, see @rprogram{Apparent error in ../ly/init.ly}.
Note also the double angle brackets @w{@code{<< ... >>}} around the
whole piece to show that the music and lyrics are to occur at the