> On Jan 17, 2026, at 6:28 AM, Kieren MacMillan <[email protected]> > wrote: > Hi all,
[Sorry, I trimmed an attribution here] >> I wonder what others on this list think! > >> [...] > > (a) I like the idea of a shortened ledger line in situations like this. > > (b) I think it might better to shorten it so that if the whole note is in a > space, the edge(s) of the ledger lines do not extend further than the edge(s) > of the whole note. > > Current default (both whole notes):
> Edge-of-whole-note-aligned (both whole notes):
> > > It’s a subtle difference, but I definitely prefer the extended ledger line in > the second measure, and I’m on the fence about the one in the first. To my eyes the examples above look a bit haphazard, with the whole note head being wider and their ledger lines being longer than those associated with half and quarter notes- with the ledger line immediately above the whole note being shorter and asymmetrical when a shorter duration note is above it. The principle seems to be that the ledger line belongs to the note above it and since the note heads are of different widths, so are the ledger lines. It would be interesting to see an example where the top note is a whole note sustained over shorter duration notes below it. Is this difference in note head width the result of using voices or is it, as raised by Paul Hodges, different music fonts acting differently? I use LilyJazz in which whole notes are the same width as other notes, therefore ledger lines are all the same width and the note is centered except when there is an accidental. In that case the left end of the ledger line is shortened to accommodate. I find that to be pleasing to the eye. I have not tested it using voices.
