NOTATIO

John Ruggero wrote:I bring it up again only because it could be interesting to see how LilyPond might modify flat areas to give them a very slight arch, which would make them more pleasing for those who prefer that style.

It's simply a matter of coding it to be slightly bowed instead of flat. Setting the amount of bow-height would be subject to taste, but I think it wouldn't be hard to find a satisfactory default value.

OCTO, I agree that my ties probably look a little too straight, even though I believe they are useful at times. The curved ends can be extended so the straight section is much shorter. Here's an example of a colleague of mine that uses my code to mimic SCORE's ties. The code doesn't do it perfectly, but it's not bad:

SCORE:
My Code:
I will also look into what it takes to give the flat section a _slight_ bow to it. It's a great idea.

Here is an interesting example, taken somewhat at random from Chopin's Ballade no 4 (Breitkopf Complete Works). The long slur might appear to be a "straight line with two ends bending uniformly" (T. Ross) but comparison of the center area of the slur with the straight upper border of the example will show that this is not so. I see this tendency to avoid flat areas when possible in much fine engraving.

Very fine, indeed! Thank you for sharing that. I agree that a slight bow looks quite pleasant here.

Thank you tisimst, for your examples. I think that the shape of these ties is pleasing, especially since ties by nature tend to be flatter than slurs.

What is important is that LilyPond now has unlimited capability regarding slur shape and that one can set default values for such things as slight bowing that might be applied uniformly. This could be an advance over the slurs of plate engraving, which tend to be inconsistent, even in the case of single slurs, as in the Chopin example.