Collective word for sharps and flats in the key signature

Question

On a mailing list I'm subscribed to, someone recently asked what the collective name was in English for the sharps and flats you find in the key signature. Apparently, the closest translation from several languages (German, Dutch, Russian) is "signs".

My first thought was "accidentals", but this doesn't match the more 'musical' definition of an accidental as a "note who's pitch has been altered from that given by the current key signature" (or something pretty close to that).

Any thoughts?

Answer 1

An accidental is not the note as you describe it. That word does refer to the sign itself, not the note. The question remains whether it is correct to use it in the context of a key signature as well.

Personally, I don't have any problem with the phrase "accidentals in the key signature," but would typically just say "sharps or flats," since you're never going to see double sharps or double flats in a key signature, at least not in traditional music, and naturals will only be used as a courtesy or to "reset" to C major.

Did you research if the German, Dutch, or Russian sources have a different word for "accidental"?

Answer 2

I think the first definition of accidental I found on Google is correct:

A sign indicating a momentary departure from the key signature by raising or lowering a note.

Hence the sharp and flat symbols in the key signature are not accidentals.

I don't believe there is a single, commonly understood, word which means "sharps and flats". Look, for example, at the Wikipedia entry for "Key signature", which would surely use the word if it existed.