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Topic: Slur Position Relative to Note Head (Read 3920 times) previous topic - next topic

Slur Position Relative to Note Head

I am attempting to change the position of a slur to start and stop with the note head, but still have the slur going in the direction of the stem.  It happens (many times) in four part choral writing, that a single lyric will span more than one note.  This is indicated in the notation by a slur connecting the range of notes to be combined for the purposes of the lyric.  The issue is, that if the slur on the alto part (stems down, on top staff with soprano part) is on the tip of the note stem, it forces lots (LOTS!) of space to be needed in between the staves in order to not intersect lyrics or even the tenor part.  I am looking for something that acts like a tie (connects note heads) but can go between two different notes.

I have seen references in the forum to using grace notes, but I can't get the grace note slur to be able to overlap regular notes.  The grace note slur seems to be forced to end at the next regular note.

I have thought about using layering.  I could have a dummy staff with two notes slured.  I could then re-position those notes to make the slur go in the appropriate place.  However, the visibility of the slur is tied to the visibility of the notes...thus you can't have the bad notes not show, and retain the visibility of the slur.

I could use digital white-out and blank the offending notes, but I would speculate (be concerned) that the notes won't be placed in the exact same position...and if it takes three staves to get this done, I'm probably more inclined to just not worry about the slurs and move on with life.  I have not tried this approach yet...

I have no doubt that this is probably a constant source of frustration in some "worlds."  I am basically interested if I am overlooking a simpler workaround...something that just isn't popping into my mind as an alternative.

Thanks for your insights and wisdom.

P.S.  Just for clarification...  I am not having problems with lyric placement...I can work around all of those issues.  I am just interested in more optimum slur placement for clarity of the notation.

Re: Slur Position Relative to Note Head

Reply #1 –
Quote from: dripley –
However, the visibility of the slur is tied to the visibility of the notes...thus you can't have the bad notes not show, and retain the visibility of the slur.
Try these:
Quote
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Note|Dur:4th,Slur|Pos:-3z|Opts:StemLength=0,Muted
|Note|Dur:4th,Slur|Pos:-3z|Opts:StemLength=0,Muted
|Note|Dur:4th,Slur|Pos:-3z|Opts:StemLength=0,Muted
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-5z|Opts:StemLength=0,Muted
|Bar
|RestChord|Dur:4th,Slur|Opts:Stem=Up,Slur=Downward,Muted,VertOffset=2000|Dur2:Whole|Pos2:-4z
|RestChord|Dur:4th,Slur|Opts:Stem=Up,Muted,VertOffset=2000|Dur2:Whole|Pos2:-4z
|RestChord|Dur:4th,Slur|Opts:Stem=Up,Muted,VertOffset=2000|Dur2:Whole|Pos2:-4z
|RestChord|Dur:4th|Opts:Stem=Up,Muted,VertOffset=2000|Dur2:Whole|Pos2:-5z
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
the second measure is cleaner, but harder to change durations.
Easier ways to do this have been the subject of much discussion here.

The attachment shows quite a few slur manipulations. It requires letter sized paper.
Registered user since 1996

Re: Slur Position Relative to Note Head

Reply #2 –
Absolutely brilliant!  While I haven't studied your examples in detail, that comment about stem length is just what I needed to get past the block I was having.  The slur position when set to be on top of the stems is dependent on stem height, so set the stem height to zero and then you don't have to hide the layered notes.  It's obviously one one of those workarounds that we would all rather not have, nevertheless...it can be done.  Thank you SO much for your quick and insightful words.

Re: Slur Position Relative to Note Head

Reply #3 –
Quote
It's obviously one one of those workarounds that we would all rather not have, nevertheless...it can be done

And that's the magic of NWC and NWC2.  Rather than build bloatware to anticipate everyone's needs, Eric fixes what he can and provides a convenient means for users to develop workarounds. 

Re: Slur Position Relative to Note Head

Reply #4 –
"Magic" is not the term I would use to describe NWC2's handling of slurs. You were more eloquent <here>.
Registered user since 1996

Re: Slur Position Relative to Note Head

Reply #5 –
Aw, shucks, Rick!  I've never been accused of eloquancy before.  You've made my day.   Indeed it was very pleasant since I just spent the last couple of hours working on my tax return.