NOTATIO

Hi all

What is the consensus on vertical rest placement in polyphonic music?

The following shows Lilypond's default rest placement.

Default: Should these rest positions be tweaked to center on the middle line of the staff? Or should they be more like an average of the rest of the notes in that voice, in that measure? I can't find any discussion in any style manuals i have seen.

Thanks for any input!

dirck

In my opinion, the second example is correct for two reasons:

1. Rests should never be displaced from their normal positions unless there is a good reason for it. There isn't one in this case, because the lower voice does not impinge on the rests.

2. When rests are displaced they should be positioned in a space that is as close as possible to the first note that appears next but on the opposite side from the other voice. By "as close as possible", I mean so that it doesn't impinge on the other voice.
The notes that follow that first note (in the voice affected by the rest) have no impact on the position of the rest.

Thank for asking the question, dircknagy, because I do this instinctively, and your question forced me to formalize it.

Lilypond may be positioning the rests like that to simplify the programming, but it is not what I am accustomed to seeing.

John Ruggero wrote: ↑31 May 2025, 19:48...

Thank you so much, John!

The second looks best to me too.

I'd bet youre right about simplifying the programming. Many (most?) recently published scores i have seen do the same default as Lilypond, and I'm assuming the majority of them used Finale.

peace!

dirck