NOTATIO

Greetings!

I have already posted this question on the Finale Forum, but OCTO kindly suggested posting it here as well.

Which is best of these three beaming possibilities in terms of readability?

Many thanks!

Andreo Basisto
Finale 2011, Windows !0

The best would be to share a picture - many of the users don't have Finale.

A is best IMO, B is acceptable too, C is terrible.

I would go with B, a bit old fashioned.
However, if we know more about the instrument, tempo and style we would perhaps come with other solutions as well.

I believe this is from Mozart's K.361 Serenade, in which case option C makes a certain amount of sense.

It's the 2nd corno di bassetto part from Mozart's Gran Partita - Adagio. Most probably will be beat in 8. I'm tasked with transposing the parts for alto clarinet as we're lacking corni di bassetto players in deepest rural Lincolnshire!

Hopefully I've managed to attach a pdf of the 3 choices in question...
Andreo Basisto

Andreo Basisto wrote: ↑25 Jan 2017, 22:37 Hopefully I've managed to attach a pdf of the 3 choices in question...the 3 beamings.pdf

For a quick review, it is best to attach picture, many people browse this forum on tablets or phones as well!

Because it is so slow tempo, all are possible. But I still like B, feels very "fluid".

Andreo Basisto wrote: ↑25 Jan 2017, 22:37 It's the 2nd corno di bassetto part from Mozart's Gran Partita - Adagio. Most probably will be beat in 8. I'm tasked with transposing the parts for alto clarinet as we're lacking corni di bassetto players in deepest rural Lincolnshire!

Are you sure you need to do this? The transposition is very easy - the same as playing C clarinet parts on the B-flat instrument.

OCTO. is so right. Context is everything. If this were written by Joe Blow in 4/4, I would say B, as I answered at FinaleForum. But since it is by the world's greatest composer and in 8/8. I would leave it exactly as it appears in the autograph. Mozart is doing something special and beaming against the beat throughout in all the secondary lines.

So my answer is none of the above. Do it exactly as Mozart has it. Hopefully the other parts haven't been "corrected". But if they have, you might have to do what they have, so the rehearsal is not affected. Here is the first page of the autograph:

John Ruggero wrote: ↑26 Jan 2017, 18:51 … … But since it is by the world's greatest composer… …

I'm not sure anybody should be described in quite such absolute terms - it's not a competition (I hope). That apart I wholeheartedly agree with your analysis.