IWBNI, in the case when more than one articulation appears on the same side of a given note, it were possible to automatically stack the articulations in such a way that articulations of various types always occur in the same vertical order. For example, if this suggestion were implemented, one could specify that a circle used to indicate a harmonic should be placed above an accent mark, and an accent mark should be placed above a staccato dot.

This could be implemented by inserting a menu item called Articulation into the main menu bar when the articulation tool is selected. A menu item called Stacking Order could be added to the Articulation menu. This menu item would display a new dialog box called Articulation Stacking Order that could be used to arrange the existing articulations in a particular order. This dialog box could be modeled after the Articulation Selection dialog box and could contain the following controls from the Articulation Selection dialog box: the articulation list and the Move Up, Move Down, Cancel, and Help buttons. Unlike the Articulation Selection dialog box, articulations would not be renumbered when the position of a given articulation is changed on the Articulation Stacking Order dialog box by using the Move Up or Move Down buttons or by pressing the keys U or D.

When articulations are rearranged on the Articulation Selection dialog box, the order of articulations in the Articulation Stacking Order dialog box would remain unchanged. When new articulations are added to the Articulation Selection list by using the Articulation Designer dialog box or by importing an articulation library, the new articulations would be placed automatically at the end of the list in the Articulation Stacking Order dialog box.

Also, the following controls could be included on the Articulation Stacking Order dialog box:

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Articulation Stacking Order Dialog Box

Stacking Order for Articulations:
( ) Above Notes
( ) Below Notes

Below-Notes Options:
( ) Independent of Above-Notes Ordering
( ) Mirrors Above-Notes Ordering
( ) Matches Above-Notes Ordering
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The Above Notes and Below Notes radio buttons would be used to switch the articulation list between two orderings. One ordering would be used for articulations that are placed above notes while the other would be used for articulations placed below notes. For example, suppose a (harmonic) circle and an accent are attached above a given note. In this case, the above-notes ordering would be used to determine which articulation is to be placed above the other. If the circle appears before the accent in the above-notes ordering, the circle would be placed above the accent.

The set of Below-Notes Options radio buttons would be used to specify the relationship between the two orderings of articulations. If the radio button Independent of Above-Notes Ordering is selected then the Below Notes radio button could be used to switch the articulation list to the ordering that is used for articulations that are placed below notes, and this ordering could be specified independently of the ordering for articulations that are placed above notes. If the radio button Mirrors Above-Notes Ordering or Matches Above-Notes Ordering is selected, the Below Notes radio button would be disabled and the below-notes ordering would be the reverse of the above-notes ordering or would be identical to the above-notes ordering, respectively.

The information specified on the Articulation Stacking Order dialog box could be used by a mechanism that automatically stacks articulations at the time at which a new articulation is attached to a note, or by a utility that automatically stacks all articulations in a selected region. For a related suggestion concerning such automatic stacking of articulations, see Suggestion 514.

Created: June 7, 2000
Last Updated: June 7, 2000
Version: Finale 2000b