Stems wont flip

• Oct 26, 2021 - 23:23

I imported a song from MusicXML format, and have been working on cleaning up the note stems and beams.
Hitting the "flip direction" button (or pressing X) doesn't toggle the stems and beams from above the staff to below. I know the button is having SOME effect because other elements (e.g. the tempo notation and chords) do get toggled up and down when pressed. Is changing stem direction not supported for tablature? Right now I'm experimenting with controlling stem direction by switching note voice values, but I'm not sure if that's the idiomatic way to get it done or not.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

-Travis

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Comments

• Oct 27, 2021 - 00:11

Immediately after importing a MusicXML file, it's usually best to reset all stem directions to "auto", because otherwise they are hardcoded as per the MusicXML file. Realistically, best to just reset as much as possible. So, Ctrl+A to select all, then Ctrl+R, and also consider the other reset commands under the Format menu.

However, tab works differently than other notation styles, the stem directions are determined by voice and by the staff settings, not by pitch. So I'm guessing you simple want all stems below. To get that, go to Staff/Part Proerties, advanced Style Properties, and see the various settings for controlling the tab notation there.

Using voices is appropriate if that's the actual musical effect desired - having independent rhythms. Doesn't seem to be for this piece but hard to say what your goal is exactly. If it's to have the first note of every chord ring out as a long bass bass note, then yes, multiple voices is the correct way to do that. Basically, if it's correct to do that in standard notation, it's good for tab too.

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