reference.book Page 185 Monday, August 31, 2009 2:47 PM
2.30 Stems and leger lines
2.30 Stems and leger lines Stem directions
With pitches on a chord, or notes beamed together, the stem direction is determined by the average pitch. In multiple voices, all notes have stems up in voices 1 & 3 and stems down in voices 2 & 4, regardless of pitch.
The rule for stem-directions (see box) is almost completely rigid. About the only stem direction you should ever reverse is for notes on the middle staff line. To reverse a note’s stem, select it and choose Edit Flip (shortcut X). This also flips any ties as necessary (although you can also flip ties independently if you wish). Don’t confuse flipping stems with writing ordinary music in two voices. If you write in two voices the stems are automatically reversed for you ( 2.36 Voices). To flip the stems of all notes joined by a beam, you need only flip the stem of one of the notes. (Beware that you should select a note whose stem direction has not been altered by the presence of the beam.)
If you need to flip the stems of a beamed group in a situation where multiple voices are present, select the first stem of the beamed group.
Stems on the middle line Stems on the middle line of the staff usually point downwards (see Stem directions box on the left), but the exception to this is percussion music written on 1-line staves, on which stems always point up. Sibelius automatically does this for appropriate instruments. To change this, edit the instrument – 8.14 Edit Instruments.
Forcing stem direction In rare cases (e.g. bagpipe music), you may wish to specify that stems always point up or down, regardless of the pitch of the notes. You can do this by editing an instrument – 8.14 Edit Instruments.
Adjusting stem-lengths Normally you should never change the lengths of stems, as the rules for stem-lengths are almost totally rigid and so are followed religiously by Sibelius. But there are occasions when a stem has to be lengthened in order, for instance, to avoid a collision between a beam and a grace note, or to allow room in avant-garde music for a special symbol to go on the stem; or shortened to avoid collisions in tight situations, particularly when using multiple voices. To adjust a stem’s length, simply drag the end of the stem, or click the end and adjust it with the arrow keys. Ctrl+/ or / adjusts in steps of 0.25 spaces. It often helps to zoom in close on the stem so you can see more clearly what you’re doing. You can move individual stems right back to the notehead, resulting in a stemless note. However, it’s preferable to use proper stemless notes instead – 2.25 Noteheads. 185
Notations
It is a common fallacy among musicians that single notes on the middle staff line can have a stem in either direction. In fact the stem should point down unless the context makes it look particularly out of place. On 1-line staves, stems always point up.
Flipping stem direction