IWBNI it were possible to specify, for various situations, the default stem length for the extreme note of beam groups that contain a rest for which the beam is flat.

As it is now, the stem length for such extreme notes is affected by the Normal Stem Length setting on the Music Options dialog box and the vertical position of the rests that are in the group. For example, when Normal Stem Length is set to 84 EVPUs (i.e. 3-1/2 spaces) and 1/16th-note rests are positioned one space higher than normal for the down-stemmed case, beams are positioned as shown in the following figure:

In the first, second and fourth beam groups in this example, the sum of the extreme-note stem length and the beam width is 3-1/2 spaces. In the third beam group, the stems have been automatically lengthened to avoid the rest.

Some would prefer to have the first beam positioned closer to the extreme note and the third and fourth beams positioned outside of the staff. For example, in the following figure, the first beam has been raised by 1/2 space and the third and fourth beams have been lowered so the gap between the secondary beam and the bottom line of the staff is 3/4 spaces:

To allow one to specify default stem lengths to be used in a variety of situations, a Stem Lengths button could be added to the Beaming Options dialog box. This button would display a new dialog box called Stem Lengths for Beam Groups that could contain the following controls:

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Stem Lengths for Flat Beams with Rests:
 
 

Number of Beams	Stem Direction U=Up Stem D=Down Stem	Range of Staff Positions  (Relative to Stem Reversal Staff Position)		Stem Length for Extreme Note or Gap between Beam and Staff (EVPUs)
		First Position of Range	Last Position of Range	S=Stem Length G=Gap	Initial Size	Final Size
1	U		0	G	24	24
1	U	1	1	G	36	36
1	U	2		S	72	72
2	U		1	G	18	18
2	U	2	2	G	30	30
2	U	3		S	72	72
3	U		1	G	12	12
3	U	2		S	96	96
4	U		1	G	12	12
4	U	2		S	114	114

[x] Match Lengths for Symmetric Positions

Default Stem Length: _____

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The table could consist of up to 64 user-defined ranges. The checkbox option Match Lengths for Symmetric Positions could be selected to automatically have the stems for down-stemmed and up-stemmed extreme notes that are of equal distance from the stem reversal staff position be of the same length. The value specified in the edit control Default Stem Length would be used for all extreme notes that have a position and stem direction that falls outside of the user-defined ranges. For a given range, the First Position of Range or the Last Position of Range could be left blank to indicate an unbounded range. In the example table show above, the first range consists of all positions at or below the stem reversal position. In the example table shown above the Initial Length and Final Length are equal for each range of staff positions. If, for a given range these lengths were different, the stem lengths would be automatically varied linearly from the initial length to the final length over the range of positions.

A description of the first four rows of the table follows:

Row 1: The first row of the table would affect all beam groups with one beam for which the extreme note is an up-stemmed note that is at or below the stem reversal position. For this class of beams, the beam would be positioned 1 space (i.e. 24 EVPUs) away from the top line of the staff.

Row 2: The second row of the table would affect all beam groups with one beam for which the extreme note is an up-stemmed note that is at the 1st position above the stem reversal position. For this class of beams, the beam would be positioned 1-1/2 spaces (i.e. 36 EVPUs) away from the top line of the staff.

Row 3: The third row of the table would affect all beam groups with one beam for which the extreme note is an up-stemmed note that is at or above the 2nd position above the stem reversal position. For this class of beams, the beam would be positioned so that the length of the stem on the extreme note is 3 spaces (i.e. 72 EVPUs).

Row 4: The fourth row of the table would affect all beam groups with two beams for which the extreme note is an up-stemmed note that is at or below the 1st position above the stem reversal position. For this class of beams, the secondary beam would be positioned 3/4 spaces (i.e. 18 EVPUs) away from the top line of the staff.

Created: November 18, 1999
Last Updated: February 16, 2000 (extended to include table for stem lengths and gap sizes)
Version: Finale 2000b