Beam Issues

• Apr 18, 2012 - 00:49

1. Open attached score (produced in 1.2).

Result: Beam is too low.

Using MuseScore 2.0 Nightly Build (5554) - Mac 10.7.3.

Attachment Size
Beam Too Low.mscz 1.44 KB
Beam Too Low.png 25.51 KB

Comments

The issue in the original post appears to have been corrected - could Werner confirm this?

I suspect though, the beam may not be correct in the attached example (produced in 1.2. Therefore, I'm unable to properly test quasihemidemisemiquaver). I have also uploaded PDFs of how both the MuseScore Nightly Build and LilyPond handle it.

There's actually probably a mixture height-wise, rather than all being too low.

Using MuseScore 2.0 Nightly Build (5559) and LilyPond 2.15.36 - Mac 10.7.3.

In reply to by chen lung

The original issue is fixed. I added also a regression test for this.
Beams > triplebeams are not handled well yet. With a normal distance of the beam lines its not possible to touch a staff line for all beam line ends. Lilypond does a very good job by varying the line distance a little bit to achieve this.
Its also interesting to see that lilypond breaks this rule (maybe by intension) for triple beams, which normally cannot have a slant of 0.25 (first group in measure two, the beam line starts between two staff lines).

In reply to by [DELETED] 3

Thanks for explaining.

BTW, I have seen a few posts (links 1 and 2 ), in which there's doubt about some of Elaine Gould's 'Behind Bars', should you want to seek a second opinion on issues.

Thank you for the fixes in 'Beam Too Low 2'.

Now, I have another score for you to try :).

Beam height varies, but there is another issue: The first beam in bar 2 is downstem in 1.2, but it is upstem in 2.0 Nightly Build. In LilyPond, it is downstem.

I have also attached PDFs of how MuseScore 2.0 Nightly Build (5572) and LilyPond 2.15.37-1 (via plugin in MuseScore 1.2) work - using Mac 10.7.3.

Attachment Size
Beam Test 3 (LilyPond).pdf 82.88 KB
Beam Test 3 (MuseScore).pdf 114.33 KB
Beam Test 3.mscz 2.84 KB

In reply to by chen lung

Different sources give different rules for stem direction on the middle line. Some sources say it should always go down. otherwise say it goes "inward" in a grand staff for piano - down on top staff, up on bottom staff. Others still say it goes the same direction as the previous stem. I personally prefer always down, so I see this particular change as an improvement.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I'm not questioning the rules on stem direction generally - the example shows the trunk is changing something that was originally correct (if you view the score in 1.2), to something incorrect (ironically). In other situations, it would possibly be fine.

Hi Werner

I think the majority of issues in Beam Test 3 have been fixed - I don't know beam rules, but I'm not sure if it looks identical to LilyPond.

Can you confirm if it's fixed?

Using MuseScore 2.0 Nightly Build (5603) - Mac 10.7.3.

I privately sent Werner an example called 'Beam Test 4' - I think that has been fixed?

Now I move onto another issue (which was actually part in Beam Test 4, but I'm happy to post here): Sub-beams. I'm not familiar with the rules, but I'm guessing sub-beams must not impose within the space of neighbouring notes The less space the bar is given, the more apparent it becomes. The position of the notes likely contribute to the issue too.

Using MuseScore 2.0 Nightly Build (5607) - Mac 10.7.3.

Attachment Size
Beam Test 5.mscz 1.92 KB
Beam Test 5 (MuseScore).pdf 33.45 KB
Beam Test 5 (LilyPond).pdf 56.01 KB

In reply to by [DELETED] 3

Okay.

I'm still a bit concerned that the broken sub-beam looks close to the other stem.

I don't know if that is attributed to stretch, or other things. I also notice the notes are more inward from the bar line, compared to LilyPond. Perhaps that is a setting in 'General...' (under 'Style')?

In reply to by chen lung

If i understand right there is no static rule for the subbeam direction. It depends on the rhythmic structure. In lilypond you can switch the direction (if i understand their examples right). This feature is currently missing in MuseScore.

In reply to by [DELETED] 3

After observing, I think I found something that matches one of my thoughts (link ).

It might become more complicated with my example (and other instances), but should the sub-beam face the direction of the longest note found in the beam?

It is possible to change beam direction in Finale .

Regarding Beam Test 6: Perhaps it's better for the secondary beam to be leftward? Judging by the values (namely the evenness), it seems tidier: 3+2+1(= 1 and 1/2 beats)+2(= 1/2 beat).

Regarding Beam Test 7: Page 57 of the LilyPond documentation lists a similar example. For this, I think you're probably right - it depends on the user.

According to David Bolton, the sub-beam should point toward the beat division it is dividing.

He said about Beam Test 6: The 16th note is dividing the first half of beat 2. It isn't dividing the second half of beat 2, so the beam of the 16th note should point to the first half of beat 2.

Perhaps an issue could be filed (with a test suite), if desired.

'Beam Test 6' appears to have been corrected.

'Beam Test 3' is still a problem, however. Also, comparing MuseScore and LilyPond, there is a slight height difference in the first beam in the anacrusis.

Using MuseScore 2.0 Nightly Build (a8835be) - Mac 10.7.4.

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.