Hi Carl, Thanks for the in depth and very useful response -- sounds like Lilypond is currently doing essentially the right thing.
Best, Kieren. On 2010-Apr-8, at 00:33, Carl Sorensen wrote: > Sent again, with a smaller attachment .... > > > On 4/7/10 8:06 AM, "Kieren MacMillan" <kieren_macmil...@sympatico.ca> wrote: > >> Hello all, >> >> I don't have Ross or any comparable book... >> >> Could someone please confirm that the stem on a midstaff note (e.g., a d in >> the bass clef) is traditionally shortened? >> I always thought shortening started with notes in the space above/below the >> midstaff line -- looking through several of my library scores confirms this >> intuition. >> >> Lilypond currently shortens such stems, which looks odd to my eye. >> > > Read, p. 64: "Generally the stem length is one octave... This principle is > not literally observed when the end of the stem is extended avobe the secont > added space over the staff (for upward stems) or below the second added > space under the staff (for downwards stems)... Such stems are usually > somewhat shortened..." > > The example in read does not show a note on the middle staff line; only > notes on the spaces above or below the middle staff line are shown. > However, in example 5-1 on page 64 (which talks about stem direction for > notes on the middle line, the stem is shortened). > > Stone, p. 47: "Stems on single notes should be one octave long unless the > note is farther than one octave from the middle line of the staff, in which > case the stem is lengthened to reach the middle line." This appears to > apply only to notes whose direction is chosen strictly by note location, > i.e. not for polyphonic situations. > > Stone, p. 48: "Notes below the middle line of the staff are stemmed up; > notes above an on the middle line of the staff are stemmed down." > > Stone, p. 48: "In double stemming, the stems are usually shortened by 1/2 to > 1 space, i.e., from an octave to a seventh or sixth.. [Except for some > exceptions]" > > Ross, p. 83: "The normal length of a stem is one octave (three and one-half > spaces)." > > Ross, p. 86: Paraphrase: Notes with stems up on the space above the middle > staff line and up have 2 and a half space long stems. Notes on the second > staff line and below with stems down also have 2 1/2 space long stems. > Notes on the center staff line with stems up have 3 space stems. Notes on > the space below the center line with stems down have 3 space stems. > > My assessment after reading them all: > > A stem going down on the midstaff note should be 3 1/2 spaces. A stem going > up on the midstaff note should be 3 spaces. (Although Read shows the stem > going down on the midstaff note as slightly less than 3 1/2 spaces). > > HTH, > > Carl > > <Read example.png> _______________________________________________ lilypond-devel mailing list lilypond-devel@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-devel
