Inconsistent stem direction for two-note beamed group on middle line

• Dec 21, 2020 - 22:15
Reported version
3.5
Priority
P2 - Medium
Type
Functional
Frequency
Once
Severity
S4 - Minor
Reproducibility
Always
Status
closed
Regression
No
Workaround
Yes
Project

This is apparently by design currently, but I think it's one we should revisit. When we have a two-note beamed group that is on the middle line (or "averages" to the middle line), we don't always put the stems down like we normally do for middle line notes. Instead, we look to the previous chord and set the beam to be consistent with it.

This is a valid choice - there are style guides that call for stem direction on middle line notes to take context into consideration. But I believe it makes little sense to do it for two-note groups when we don't do it for larger groups or for single notes. And in any case, it may end up looking worse since we can't also look ahead to the next note, plus the previous beam group might be in a different measure (which might be on a different system or even page).

It's been this way as far back as I can go, here is an image from 2.3.2:

beam-direction.png


Comments

Status PR created fixed

Fixed in branch 3.x, commit 4a78fdbc76

_fix #314633: inconsistent stem directions on middle-line beamed notes

Resolves: https://musescore.org/en/node/314633

This code has been around a long time and does what it sets out to do,
but there seems to be agreement it isn't desired.
When setting the stem direction for two note beam groups
where both notes are on or equidistant from the middle line,
we look to a previous beam group to set the stem direction,
rather than just always pointing down like we do for
single notes on the middle line or larger beamed groups.

Fix consists of removing that code._

Fix version
3.6.0