Natural
A natural cancels a sharp, flat or other chromatic alteration and restores the staff position's unaltered diatonic pitch. It does not mean a specific piano key independently of the note name.
- Accidentals
- Just before the note
- A straight line
Do not confuse it with
A natural removes an alteration; a sharp or flat introduces one semitone of alteration in 12-tone notation.
What the sources say
- Half Steps, Whole Steps, and Accidentals
A natural (♮) cancels a previous accidental such as a sharp or flat.
- Music Fundamentals
Natural ... cancels previous accidental
- SMuFL — Standard accidentals (12-EDO)
accidentalNatural — Natural