Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Grace Note Slurs (Read 2933 times) previous topic - next topic

Grace Note Slurs

Code: (nwc) [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.75,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|Key|Signature:C|Tonic:C
|TimeSig|Signature:2/4
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:4
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:5
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:5
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-3
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

On downward stemmed notes the slurs go to the middle of the stem instead of the notehead (the upward stemmed ones are treated correctly). Curiously, slurs on  beamed downward stems (except the first) also go to the notehead.

BTW (and this can be adjusted with spacers) I do think there's too much space between a grace note and its main note.

Re: Grace Note Slurs

Reply #1 –
Good catch. I'd go as far as calling this a bug:
Code: (nwc) [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.75,Single)
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:5
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:5
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
Easy enough to work around, but IMO, it should be fixed.
Registered user since 1996

Re: Grace Note Slurs

Reply #2 –
Quote from: Rick G. –
Good catch. I'd go as far as calling this a bug:
Code: (nwc) [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.75,Single)
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:5
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:5
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
Easy enough to work around, but IMO, it should be fixed.
So, related to this, I have seen a number of different approaches for grace note slurs, related to the ending position of the slut. NWC puts it right on the stem, while some sources show it either just to the left of the stem, or in some cases, slightly through the stem. I'm sure someone here knows more about this than I do.

My main question is whether NWC's approach should be looked at as part of this "bug fix".

Re: Grace Note Slurs

Reply #3 –
FWIW I think the slur looks cleanest if it stops just short.

Still to do with slurs, I revisited an old choral file (two parts per staff) with lots of slurs on the stems. When this was created NW put the slur at the ends of the stems, but a subsequent enhancement of the program now puts them half way down the stem which is in general a great improvement, especially when just two notes are slurred.

But if there are intervening notes then they can push the slur absurdly high (on up stems). Would it be possible to adjust the slur ends towards the stem ends in this case? Easily fixed with markers but a slight pain.

Re: Grace Note Slurs

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Peter Edwards –
Still to do with slurs, I revisited an old choral file (two parts per staff) with lots of slurs on the stems. When this was created NW put the slur at the ends of the stems, but a subsequent enhancement of the program now puts them half way down the stem which is in general a great improvement, especially when just two notes are slurred.

But if there are intervening notes then they can push the slur absurdly high (on up stems). Would it be possible to adjust the slur ends towards the stem ends in this case? Easily fixed with markers but a slight pain.
I know what you mean, because I've also seen these in scores I've created. But here is my opinion: this is why the marker was created. There has been a ridiculously high amount of discussion here about slurs, probably because no two people have the same preferences on them. (For stem side slurs, I tend to like them closer to the notehead, when they span two notes.)

There could probably be some sort of logic that move the endpoints further up the stem as the number of spanned notes increase, but I think there are other factors that would make this hard to predict. The marker gives us the flexibility to put them where we want them in the outlying cases.

But now you've given me an idea to change Slur.ms and SlurCubic.ms to see if I can make them do this automatically.

Re: Grace Note Slurs

Reply #5 –
The next beta will simplify the grace slurs, which should improve this significantly.