stems

[David Raleigh Arnold]

The first measure is incorrect as it stands because a notehead is
missing in each chord. This won't do for default behavior. Both the
1st and 3rd measures are playable, and they don't mean the same thing
to the player. In the second measure there is too much horizontal shift.
Some horizontal shift might prevent ambiguity but it does nothing to
prettify at the unison. Perhaps measures 3 and 4 are too subtle, but
they look better than 1 and 2.

If shifting at the third is good, it is also good at the fourth, fifth,
or at any greater interval. The idea of doing it at the 3rd and not
larger intervals again is because it took more time, and time was money.
The publishers would not authorize taking such pains. The whole idea is
to give a degree of vertical symmetry. The effect should be *subtle*, as
in measures 5 and 6.

Measures 7 and 8 now have shifting that is not completely wrong. It
would be ok to have no shifting, but having the lower stem to the
right is not ok. It makes no sense. If you have seen it in printed
music, I can only guess that some person saw a rule in a book or
posted on a wall that required moving noteheads at the 2nd and 3rd, and
that this person misunderstood it, did it the wrong way, and then was
imitated.

Guitarists need to be able to get two stems *both* as the 1st count in
m1 and as the 1st in m3, but m3 is more important. However, we also need
the half or quarter or even whole note with an additional beamed or
flagged stem (and only one head). The double stemmed note is *very*
common in guitar music, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
*Please* make it easy to do with one letter. I assume you already have
rests with pitch to allow exact placement. If you put a rest on a note,
as ra8 on a2, (opposite stems) that could indicate it without requiring
more letters. :-)

I looked at them again, and the stems are not excessively long. I should
eat two helpings. I was confused by the error message that there was
a collision. :-).

Thank you, bless you, work hard!

.daveA
\header {
     subtitle = "WIP (c)2000 David Raleigh Arnold. Property of the author.";

}
\include "english.ly"
\version "1.2.17"
global = \notes {
     \clef "G_8";
     \time 4/4;
     }
soprano = \notes \relative c' \context Voice = soprano {
     \stemup

      b2 <b e>
%2-----------------------------
      b8 b b b <b4 e> r4
%3----------------------------
      b2 <b e>
%4-----------------------------
      b8 b b b <b4 e> r4
%5----------------------------
      b2 <b e>
%6-----------------------------
      b8 b b b <b4 e> r4
%7----------------------------
      b2 <b e>
%8-----------------------------
      b8 b b b <b4 e> r4



}
bass = \notes \relative c' \context Voice = bass {
     \stemdown
      %1.------------------------------------------------
       b2 <b g g>

      %2.------------------------------------------------

       b2 <b g g>

      %3.------------------------------------------------
       \property Voice.forceHorizontalShift = "0.875"
       b2 <b g g>

      %4.------------------------------------------------
       \property Voice.forceHorizontalShift = "0.35"
       b2 <b g g>

      %5.------------------------------------------------
       \property Voice.forceHorizontalShift = "0.15"
       g2 <g e d>

      %6.------------------------------------------------

       g2 <g e d>

       %7.------------------------------------------------
       \property Voice.forceHorizontalShift = "0.125"
       a2 <a f g>

       %8.------------------------------------------------

       a2 <a f g>

}

\score {
      \context Staff <
      \global
     \soprano
     \bass
      >
}