Stem Direction question

[MichelRE]

Notes on the middle line of the staff have a particular issue to them
Some "rule books" say that the stem should always be in X direction, others seem to say it depends on the context.

I have a question here.
might I flip a stem to make the half-bar more distinct?

I have two images, the same measures, the question pertains to the viola measure (3rd staff down).
it's a simple syncopation, very standard.

But by default the middle line note gets a stem down, which to my eye draws it into the group of notes making up the 2nd half of the measure.

default_stem.png (3.24 KiB) Viewed 168458 times

While if I flip the stem to up stem on that note, it more clearly shows the division of the measure.

How do you feel about this?

[JJP]

There are differing schools of thought on this. Some prefer the middle-line stem to follow the prevailing pattern of the half-bar in which it occurs. If the stems in that half-bar are all up, then the middle-line stem should also be up. Your second example matches this thinking.

Others prefer the middle-line stem to always be down for consistency, unless there is some compelling reason to flip it. This way the middle-line pitch always has the same stem direction unless it is part of a beamed group. This is makes the middle-line stem consistent with any other line or space on the staff.

I lean toward the option of following the prevailing half-bar, however, I am not dogmatic about it. I like to look at what makes the most sense musically and visually in context. For example, if the note in your example was attached to the previous note by a slur, I would definitely use an up-stem. If it were connected to one of the following notes, I would consider using a down-stem. That would cause the slur to angle itself properly by default from one notehead to the next. (I strongly prefer slur angles to follow the melodic direction whenever possible.)

I also look at the overall shape and rhythm of the line and and decide whether an up- or down-stem allows the eye to most easily follow the line. Sometimes flipping the middle stem immediately creates a clear melodic shape or allows the rhythm to be clearer.

In your case, I would choose the second example by default because I prefer following the half-bar. I also find it helps to immediately perceive the rhythm amongst a rather busy visual presentation with the tremolos and the obscured half-bar in the staff above. However, I can respect someone arguing against that choice. It would not concern me enough to lose any sleep if a different decision was made.

[John Ruggero]

I concur with JJP and feel that it is best to avoid breaking up melodic groups by the mechanical assignment of stem direction. In your example, there appears to be a three-note motive in effect in the violas. If that is true, the second stemming is much better that the first, because it shows the two motivic groups more clearly.

And I would extend this principle to notes on either side of the middle and beyond when necessary. This was what was done in earlier times when composers ruled musical notation, not engravers.

[MichelRE]

thank-you for your responses.
they confirm what I suspected.

I'm looking for clarity for the performers, mostly.
it felt to me that clearly identifying the mid-measure break was the best way to avoid any rhythmic insecurities on the part of the musicians reading their parts (too often for the first time at the 1st rehearsal!)

[NeeraWM]

While I graphically prefer the stem-down option, I can't deny how musically clearer it is when it is up in this case.
In short: always follow the music!

[MichelRE]

I very rarely change a stem's direction, preferring to simply leave the default directions, which are usually correct.

This was a rare case for me, and it was annoying the heck out of me every time I'd see that measure (with a down-stem note.) It just looked... "wrong", somehow. This is a piece I've been working on daily, for 12-14 hrs a day, for the last couple of months, and I think I'm at a brain-saturation point where my brain compensates when it sees errors, tricking me into seeing what I THOUGHT I wanted.
Even after this score and parts went to the printers I kept finding glaring errors (like bits of tempo text drifting off into non-printing page territory.)
The brain just refuses to see what it sees and replaces it with what it expects to see.

[NeeraWM]

I feel you ... after a certain point we just do not see errors anymore.
That's why an external proofreader (even someone in your household if they are musicians) can prove priceless!
For my editions, I've now grown to perform FOUR ROUNDS of proofreading (yes, that's sick and possibly overkill, but I'm a perfectionist...).
One of those is done at the cello, trying to play through things to find details that only a live musicians would have found missing!

[David Ward]

… … …One of those is done at the cello, trying to play through things to find details that only a live musicians would have found missing!

Unfortunately at 82 I can no longer play through all my vocal lines on the trombone, an instrument which in its prime register usually requires taking the same breaths as would a (reasonably) heavy voiced singer.

On the main topic of the thread, in my manuscript fair copy days (most of my career) I would without further thought write the stem direction of the middle line according to the musical context, even (as John has suggested) on occasion doing this on either side of that line.

[MichelRE]

Unfortunately, I was facing a deadline for the production of score and parts, for the premiere of this particular work.
Normally I also sit and play through instrumental individual parts, FROM their separate parts.
I didn't get to do this, in this particular case, until the whole set had already been sent to the printer's.

Oh well, the premiere will have to deal with slightly screwy parts with graphical glitches here and there.
The final set deposited with the distributor will have been QUITE thoroughly reviewed! (including examining the bowings used during the premiere)

[NeeraWM]

Unfortunately, I was facing a deadline for the production of score and parts, for the premiere of this particular work.

We always need to accept compromises when facing deadlines.
Some of them are harder to swallow than others.
It seems you will get a second chance after the premiere, which is very good!

@David Ward
When I teach music theory basics to kids aged 8+, I always tell them that, on the 3rd staff-line, the stem can go either direction. If in doubt, put it down, otherwise, follow the context.