Angle of tremolo strokes on beamed 8th/16th notes
An old thread was recently revived with discussion about the slant of tremolo strokes on beamed notes: https://musescore.org/en/node/284749#comment-1118132
According to some, the standard practice is to keep the strokes at the same angle regardless of the angle of the beam. However, I have yet to come across an example of this in the wild, while at least 10+ publishers keep the strokes parallel to the beam (see attached). I am not familiar with notation style guides, but based on these real-world examples I would propose that this behavior be implemented as an option at least, if not the default.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Dvořák Henle edition (2017).jpeg | 652.15 KB |
| Dvořák Bärenreiter reprint (2004) of Supraphon edition (1955).jpeg | 301.69 KB |
| Poulenc Deiss edition (1939).jpg | 175.59 KB |
| Brahms Breitkopf & Härtel edition (1926).png | 72.82 KB |
| Ravel Durand edition (1913).jpeg | 237.13 KB |
| Sibelius Lienau edition (1909).jpeg | 39.12 KB |
| Strauss Peters edition.jpg | 193.73 KB |
| Dvořák Simrock edition (1894).jpeg | 872.23 KB |
| Faure Hamelle edition (1884).png | 36.87 KB |
| Brahms Simrock edition (1881).png | 101.55 KB |
| Wagner Kalmus edition.jpeg | 425.91 KB |
Comments
As discussed there this should rather go into the issue tracker as a Suggestion
Thanks for posting this, but if the intent was to register this as an official Suggestion for a future optional feature, please submit to the Issue tracker so the request is officially logged and can be tracked.
FWIW, the most commonly cited style guide is Elaine's Gould "Behind Bars", and it specifically calls for fixed angle. Also since the fixed-angle tremolo is a standardized glyph in the SMuFL font, I imagine all software-based notation systems these days use it. So probably it's music published in the last half-century or so that uses the fixed style, older hand-engraved editions more likely to draw variable strokes. And that's why I'd propose the default be left as is, as it definitely seems to be the modern standard,d but that the older style be supported as an option.
In reply to Thanks for posting this, but… by Marc Sabatella
Ah I see, I didn't realize there was a different place for suggestions, sorry for the confusion.
I wish I could find more modern examples, but I'm surprised that a well-regarded publisher like Henle would differ from the standard. But either way, it's definitely an uncommon and minor issue.
In reply to Ah I see, I didn't realize… by Beanzo
@Beanzo... Off topic, but you mention Henle.
If you have never seen this, it's worth viewing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvyoKdW-Big