IWBNI the standard term "stemlet" were used in place of "half-stem" in Finale on the Music Options dialog box (stemlet length) and Document Options dialog box (display stemlets for beamed rests).

At times terms that are used in Finale must be invented as it is often the case that there is no existing term for something. However, in this case, stemlet (analogous to streamlet: a small stream) is the term that is used in the literature to describe the small stem that is attached to a beam above or below a rest. For more information, see:

George Heussenstamm, The Norton Manual of Music Notation, 1987, pages 38 and 74.

Kurt Stone, Music Notation in the Twentieth Century, 1980, pages 15 and 16.

Also, the term "half stem" is used in Braille Music Notation to refer to the stem on a half note.

Created: November 18, 1999
Last Updated: December 1, 1999
Version: Finale 2000b