hairpins

2017-11-27 05:41 pm

If I could have just one change in NWC right now, it would be to modify the hairpin algorithm so that hairpins do not conflict with dynamics.

Dynamics should always be centered under the first note they apply to (per Elaine Gould, Behind Bars, pp. 102-103). When you do that in NWC, a hairpin that begins on the same note will overlay the dynamic. There is a relatively simple way to fix that, but it requires three staves, two of them muted and one hidden, to do the work of one. The algorithm needs to be modified to cause hairpins to begin after the dynamic, when a dynamic is present on the initial note.

This would save me a whole lot of work on the string quartet score I'm currently preparing for submission.

While the hairpin algorithm is under reconstruction, it would also be nice if it could change the way hairpins behave across system breaks. The louder portion of a hairpin that extends across a break should be open at both ends; i.e., a decrescendo across a break should be open at both its large and small ends on the first system, and a crescendo should be similarly open on the second system. (The same thing applies for any break in a hairpin, such as breaks to allow intermediate dynamics to be placed.) You can fix these with digital whiteout, but it's messy and time-consuming. It would be really helpful if NWC would do it automatically. Eric?