User manual

Stems are vertical lines that extend from noteheads that are a half note or shorter in duration. In
combination with notehead design, they allow the duration of each note to be clearly identied.
For example, quarter notes (crotchets) and eighth notes (quavers) both have solid black
noteheads and stems, but eighth notes also have ags on their stems. 16th notes have two ags,
32nd notes have three ags, and so on. The length of stems is determined by default in Dorico
Elements, so stems automatically adjust their length to accommodate more/fewer ags.
Notes with stems, ranging from a half note (minim) on the left to a 128th note on the right
The stems of notes and chords can point upwards/downwards, depending on the conventions of
music engraving and the context of the music. For example, in choral music on two staves, stems
in the soprano and tenor lines point up, and stems in the alto and bass lines point down.
RELATED LINKS
Stem direction on page 688
Stem length on page 693
Changing the default stem direction behavior of notes on the middle line of staves on page 691
Stem direction
In Dorico Elements, the stem direction of notes and chords follows rules that are based on the
conventions of music engraving.
Stem direction is determined automatically, but you can manually change the stem direction of
individual notes, chords, or of an entire voice. The rules that are applied depend on the following:
● How many voices are active on the staff.
● Whether notes, chords, or beamed groups of notes are affected.
● Whether notes in the same chord or notes in the same beamed group are split between
staves.
Single notes in single voices
On a ve-line staff with only a single voice active, the default stem direction of a single note is
determined by its staff position.
● If the note is above the middle line, its stem points downwards.
● If the note is below the middle line, its stem points upwards.
● If the note is on the middle line of the staff, its stem direction is determined by the stem
directions of any adjacent notes, beam groups, or chords. If they both have the same stem
direction, the note matches them. If the adjacent notes, beam groups, or chords have
Stems
688