Question about sharps and flats

[beathaven]

Hi, this is an almost embarrassingly beginner question:

I'm learning Mozart's minuet in G and the top F on the staff is sharpened. Later on in the piece I have to hit the F nearest to middle C. Is this sharpened too? It sounds as though it should be.

Cheers.

[maitea]

Hello,

Any flat or sharp written at the beginning of the stave "rules" for the whole piece, unless this is cancelled out by the natural sign. I've put the wikipedia link so you can see what I mean. So, if there isn't a natural sign in that bar, nor a previous key change (the composer changing the sharp in the beginning for flats, or nothing at all) the fsare sharp. Also, any accidentals that my come new in the piece, they are valid whilst in the same bar, unless natural sign. E.g. If suddenly there is a c sharp in the beginning of a passage, and then in thesame bar you see another c (without a natural sign) this is c sharp too!

Hope this helps!

M

[beathaven]

Great, thanks, it does help. I think I should learn to trust me ear!