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General Discussion / Re: Duration parts in NwcTxt
A single (that is, non-split-stem) note can have three stem directions: up, down or automatic. However, once you beam notes, it forces their stem directions to be either up or down. Actually, in the user interface, the "stem up" and "stem down" buttons are only enabled when the first note of the beamed set is selected. Attempting to change the stem direction of the first note in a beamed set will unbeam the notes.
A pair of split-stem notes can also have stem direction, but it is always either up or down; there is no "automatic" choice available. Depending on the duration, the note spacing can be different for up vs. down stem direction, as seen in this example:
Code: (nwc) [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.751,Single)
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up|Dur2:8th|Pos2:-3
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up|Dur2:8th|Pos2:-3
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up|Dur2:8th|Pos2:-3
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up|Dur2:8th|Pos2:-3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Down|Dur2:8th|Pos2:1
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Down|Dur2:8th|Pos2:1
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Down|Dur2:8th|Pos2:1
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Down|Dur2:8th|Pos2:1
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
Of course, when you beam split-stem notes, only the upper or lower notes will be beamed, depending on the stem direction, and any specified stem length will apply to both notes in the set. (Which is why Rick G. and others have generally avoided split-stem notes in favor of layering.)
Regarding the editor "quirk" that Lawrie mentioned, NWC appears to influence the automatic stem direction when you are entering split-stem chords, so that the following note will inherit the stem direction of the prior note. There also seems to be some different behavior when the durations of the upper and lower split-stem notes are different, but it is hard to describe.
I hope this has added some extra confusion to the discussion.