User manual

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chords. If they both have the same stem direction, the chord matches them. If the adjacent
notes, beam groups, or chords have different stem directions, equally balanced chords
follow the default stem direction.
The default stem direction depends on the instrument type. By default, the stems of notes
on the middle lines of staves point downwards on instrumental staves and upwards on vocal
staves, to avoid lyrics.
Beam groups in single voices
The stem direction within beam groups is determined by the balance of notes within the beam
group that are above/below the middle line of the staff.
If the majority of notes in the beam group are above the middle line, stems in the beam
group point downwards.
If the majority of notes in the beam group are below the middle line, stems in the beam
group point upwards.
If the beam group contains an equal number of notes either side of the middle line of the
staff, the 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 beam group matches
them. If the adjacent notes, beam groups, or chords have different stem directions, equally
balanced beam groups follow the default stem direction.
The default stem direction depends on the instrument type. By default, the stems of notes
on the middle lines of staves point downwards on instrumental staves and upwards on vocal
staves, to avoid lyrics.
RELATED LINKS
Voice column index on page 999
Implicit rests in multiple-voice contexts on page 881
Note positions in multiple-voice contexts on page 998
Changing the default stem direction of voices on page 924
Removing stem direction changes on page 925
Altered unisons on page 544
Changing the stem direction of notes
You can manually change the stem direction of any note. You can do this for the current layout
and frame chain only or for all layouts and frame chains.
PREREQUISITE
You have chosen the appropriate property scope for local properties.
PROCEDURE
1.
Select the notes whose stem direction you want to change.
NOTE
You can only select whole tie chains, and changing the stem direction only affects the rst
note in the tie chain.
2.
Change the stem direction in one of the following ways:
Choose Edit > Stem > Force Stem Up.
Choose Edit > Stem > Force Stem Down.
Stems
Stem direction
923
Dorico Elements 3.5.12