User manual

Slur placement relative to grace notes
There are specic placement rules that affect slurs when they start from a grace note and end on
a normal note immediately following the grace note.
These rules are:
● Slurs connect noteheads rather than stems.
● Slurs are scaled to match the proportions of grace notes.
● Slurs must not obscure ledger lines.
● Slurs are placed above notes if they would collide with the accidental of a standard note
when placed below the notes.
Due to the general placement conventions of grace notes, slurs in Dorico Elements appear below
grace notes and curve downwards by default. Slurs starting from grace notes only appear above
notes and curve upwards in up-stem voices in multiple-voice contexts.
Slur curvature direction on grace notes in a single-
voice context
Slur curvature direction on grace notes in a multiple-
voice context
RELATED LINKS
Changing the curvature direction of slurs on page 894
Changing the stem direction of notes on page 923
General placement conventions for grace notes on page 683
Slur position relative to staff lines
Slur endpoints must not touch staff lines, and the high point of the arcs of slurs should not stop
on staff lines.
This is the convention because a slur whose arc peaks on a staff line can create the appearance
of a triangular wedge between the staff line and the curve of the slur. If a slur peaks on a staff
line, you can adjust its height so that it peaks either above/below the staff.
NOTE
Although Dorico Elements automatically ensures slur endpoints do not touch staff lines, manual
adjustments might be necessary to position the arcs of slurs correctly.
Slur endpoint positions
In order to avoid collisions, the default positions of slur endpoints vary depending on whether
slurs are placed on the notehead side or stem side of notes, their position relative to staff lines,
and whether articulations, ties, and other slurs exist at the same rhythmic position.
Slur endpoints relative to noteheads and stems
The default position of slur endpoints relative to noteheads is 1/2 space above a notehead in a
space on the staff, and 1/4 space above a notehead on a line on the staff.
Slurs
General placement conventions for slurs
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Dorico Elements 3.5.12