IWBNI it were possible to specify, for various situations, the default stem length for the extreme note of beam groups that do not contain a rest for which the beam is flat.

As it is now, the stem length for such extreme notes is specified by the Normal Stem Length setting on the Music Options dialog box. For example, when Normal Stem Length is set to 84 EVPUs (i.e. 3-1/2 spaces), beams are positioned as shown in the following figure:

For each beam group in this example, the sum of the extreme-note stem length and the beam width is 3-1/2 spaces.

Some would prefer to have each of these beams positioned closer to the extreme note. For example, in the following figure, the first beam has been lowered by 1/2 space and the second beam has been raised by 1/4 space:

For very high or low notes, stems are extended to reach the middle line. As it is now, beams for 32nd notes are positioned as shown in the following figure:

In this case, some would prefer to have such beams centered about the middle staff line as shown in the following figure:

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:

------------------------------------------------------------------
Stem Lengths for Flat Beams with No Rests:
 

Normal Stems:
 

Extreme Note Position  (Numbers Indicate Positions Relative to Stem Reversal Staff Position)	Normal Stem Length for Extreme Note (EVPUs)
	1 Beam	2 Beams	3 Beams	4 Beams
On a Space	84	84	96	114
On a Line	78	78	96	114
0	84	84	96	114

[x] Match Lengths for Symmetric Positions
 
 

Shortened Stems:
 

Number of Beams	Range of Staff Positions  (Relative to Stem Reversal Staff Position)		Shortened Stem Length for Extreme Note (EVPUs)
	First Position of Range	Last Position of Range	Initial Length	Final Length
1,2	0	1	84	84
1,2	2		72	72
3	0		96	96

[x] Match Lengths for Symmetric Positions

Default Shortened Stem Length: _____
 
 

Extended Stems:
 

Number of Beams	Position of Stem Tip Relative to Stem Reversal Staff Position (EVPUs)
	Up Stems	Down Stems
1	0	0
2	0	0
3	24	-24
4	48	-48

------------------------------------------------------------------

The gray table cells would be pre-filled and could not be changed.

These settings would be used in the following way:

Normal Stems: The settings in this table would be used in the case when the extreme note is an up-stemmed (down-stemmed) note that is below (at or above) the stem reversal staff position except for very low (high) extreme notes for which the normal stem does not reach the stem-tip position specified in the Extended Stems table. For each beam count, a normal stem length may be specified for the following extreme-note positions: the extreme note is on a space, the extreme note is on a line, and other user-specified positions for special cases. User-specified positions are given as a staff position number relative to the stem reversal staff position. In the example table given here, stem lengths have been specified for the special case when the extreme note is on the stem reversal staff position (i.e. position 0). Up to 16 user-defined positions could be specified. 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.

Shortened Stems: The settings in this table would be used in the case when the extreme note is a down-stemmed (up-stemmed) note that is below (at or above) the stem reversal staff position. 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 Shortened Stem Length would be used for all down-stemmed (up-stemmed) extreme notes that are below (at or above) the stem reversal staff position and have a position 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 second range consists of all positions at or above the 2nd position above 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. Ranges are defined for each beam count. In the example, the ranges for which the number of beams is 1,2 apply to both the single and double beam cases.

Extended Stems: The settings in this table would be used in the case when the extreme note is an up-stemmed (down-stemmed) note that is below (at or above) the stem reversal position and the extreme note is so low (high) that the normal stem as specified in the Normal Stems table does not reach the stem-tip position specified in the Extended Stems table. For each beam count, the stem-tip position of extended up-stems and down-stems may be specified relative to the stem reversal staff position.

Note: The Stem Reversal staff position mentioned here is specified on the Staff Setup dialog box.

Created: February 14, 2000
Last Updated: February 14, 2000
Version: Finale 2000b