Originally Posted by: Cryptic ExcretionsIf a note is played outside of the key it is chromatic. It doesn't matter how many steps above or below something is. If it's out of key, it's chromatic. Furthermore, how can Fur Elise be in A Minor if the starting note is E? Anyway, that would still be chromatic.

An accidental is the symbol used to show when a note is sharp, flat, or natural. I've posted links to sources confirming everything that I've said on this so far.

Chromatic is when a note is separated from its upper and lower neighbors by a half-step.

Fur Elise is in A Minor, where the E note constitutes the perfect fith.
And if for example we take the key of E major [E-F#-G#-A-B-C#-D#], all the sharps there belong to key and are not accidentals, they are part of the key.