Know when to turn notes upside-down(eighth notes, sixteen notes, etc.)How does “triplet feel” for eighth...
Possible Leak In Concrete
How to deal with a cynical class?
Employee lack of ownership
Pinhole Camera with Instant Film
Know when to turn notes upside-down(eighth notes, sixteen notes, etc.)
Using "wallow" verb with object
Rules about breaking the rules. How do I do it well?
Theorems like the Lovász Local Lemma?
At what level can a dragon innately cast its spells?
Why would a flight no longer considered airworthy be redirected like this?
Can anyone tell me why this program fails?
Can hydraulic brake levers get hot when brakes overheat?
What options are left, if Britain cannot decide?
Where is the 1/8 CR apprentice in Volo's Guide to Monsters?
It's a yearly task, alright
Do I need life insurance if I can cover my own funeral costs?
Font with correct density?
Why do Australian milk farmers need to protest supermarkets' milk price?
Have researchers managed to "reverse time"? If so, what does that mean for physics?
Replacing Windows 7 security updates with anti-virus?
Good allowance savings plan?
Is Mortgage interest accrued after a December payment tax deductible?
Why did it take so long to abandon sail after steamships were demonstrated?
Why do passenger jet manufacturers design their planes with stall prevention systems?
Know when to turn notes upside-down(eighth notes, sixteen notes, etc.)
How does “triplet feel” for eighth notes affect non-eighth notes?General procedure for determining the name of an interval given a major key / diatonic collectionIs there a Relative Pitch Clef?Can a note be heard in wrong pitch?How do time signatures relay information on the grouping of beats?Ornaments in J. S. Bach's 4th preludeIs F Lydian mode in the “key” of C Major?About Harmonic Intervals. Can the notes have different sizes?How are alternate fingerings developed?When you look at (piano) sheet music, how do you “think about” which notes are being referred to?
Suppose I have four of eighth notes(4/4 as time signature), all of them at different pitches, one being very high. An example is show below:

How would I know if I need to turn that upside down(downward stem) or not? Is there a method that applies to sixteenth notes, thirty-second notes, etc.?
theory sheet-music
|
show 2 more comments
Suppose I have four of eighth notes(4/4 as time signature), all of them at different pitches, one being very high. An example is show below:

How would I know if I need to turn that upside down(downward stem) or not? Is there a method that applies to sixteenth notes, thirty-second notes, etc.?
theory sheet-music
By “turn upside down” do you mean write it with downward stems? If so, if you use software it should do it automatically.
– Todd Wilcox
1 hour ago
@ToddWilcox: Yeah, I know but is there some technique when not using software? I also mean downward stems.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
I'm not sure what difference the duration of the note makes. Do you know when to draw stem-up or stem-down for quarter-notes?
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
@DavidBowling I know it for quarter notes but not the faster ones.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
The duration doesn't matter, only that there is a stem.
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
|
show 2 more comments
Suppose I have four of eighth notes(4/4 as time signature), all of them at different pitches, one being very high. An example is show below:

How would I know if I need to turn that upside down(downward stem) or not? Is there a method that applies to sixteenth notes, thirty-second notes, etc.?
theory sheet-music
Suppose I have four of eighth notes(4/4 as time signature), all of them at different pitches, one being very high. An example is show below:

How would I know if I need to turn that upside down(downward stem) or not? Is there a method that applies to sixteenth notes, thirty-second notes, etc.?
theory sheet-music
theory sheet-music
edited 1 hour ago
Xilpex
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
408214
408214
By “turn upside down” do you mean write it with downward stems? If so, if you use software it should do it automatically.
– Todd Wilcox
1 hour ago
@ToddWilcox: Yeah, I know but is there some technique when not using software? I also mean downward stems.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
I'm not sure what difference the duration of the note makes. Do you know when to draw stem-up or stem-down for quarter-notes?
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
@DavidBowling I know it for quarter notes but not the faster ones.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
The duration doesn't matter, only that there is a stem.
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
|
show 2 more comments
By “turn upside down” do you mean write it with downward stems? If so, if you use software it should do it automatically.
– Todd Wilcox
1 hour ago
@ToddWilcox: Yeah, I know but is there some technique when not using software? I also mean downward stems.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
I'm not sure what difference the duration of the note makes. Do you know when to draw stem-up or stem-down for quarter-notes?
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
@DavidBowling I know it for quarter notes but not the faster ones.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
The duration doesn't matter, only that there is a stem.
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
By “turn upside down” do you mean write it with downward stems? If so, if you use software it should do it automatically.
– Todd Wilcox
1 hour ago
By “turn upside down” do you mean write it with downward stems? If so, if you use software it should do it automatically.
– Todd Wilcox
1 hour ago
@ToddWilcox: Yeah, I know but is there some technique when not using software? I also mean downward stems.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
@ToddWilcox: Yeah, I know but is there some technique when not using software? I also mean downward stems.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
I'm not sure what difference the duration of the note makes. Do you know when to draw stem-up or stem-down for quarter-notes?
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
I'm not sure what difference the duration of the note makes. Do you know when to draw stem-up or stem-down for quarter-notes?
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
@DavidBowling I know it for quarter notes but not the faster ones.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
@DavidBowling I know it for quarter notes but not the faster ones.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
The duration doesn't matter, only that there is a stem.
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
The duration doesn't matter, only that there is a stem.
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
|
show 2 more comments
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
Notes below the center stave have stems pointing up, and notes above the center stave have stems pointing down. It does not matter whether the notes are half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc.; it only matters that the notes have stems.
For beamed groupings, if the number of notes above the center stave is equal to the number below for that grouping, choose the stem direction based on the note head furthest from the center stave. If the number of note heads above the stave is greater than the number below, use the rule for notes above the center stave. Similarly, if the number of note heads below the center stave is greater than the number above, use the rule for notes below the center stave.
When in doubt, use downward-pointing stems. As always, use your best judgement when something doesn't look quite right to you or if the context suggests one choice over another.
add a comment |
The general stemming rule (for individual notes) is: from third space upward, use downward pointing stems; from the second space downward, use upward pointing stems. On the third line, one can go either way. However, one may wish to violate the rules a bit to make stemming match a melodic contour.
Multiple notes on the same stem follow the majority of the chord notes; in this case, the third line goes down.
With things like contrapuntal pieces or hymns (in 4-part harmony) generally stem according to voices; high voices have upward pointing stems and lower voices have downward pointing stems.
In all cases, readability is paramount.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "240"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmusic.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f81458%2fknow-when-to-turn-notes-upside-downeighth-notes-sixteen-notes-etc%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Notes below the center stave have stems pointing up, and notes above the center stave have stems pointing down. It does not matter whether the notes are half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc.; it only matters that the notes have stems.
For beamed groupings, if the number of notes above the center stave is equal to the number below for that grouping, choose the stem direction based on the note head furthest from the center stave. If the number of note heads above the stave is greater than the number below, use the rule for notes above the center stave. Similarly, if the number of note heads below the center stave is greater than the number above, use the rule for notes below the center stave.
When in doubt, use downward-pointing stems. As always, use your best judgement when something doesn't look quite right to you or if the context suggests one choice over another.
add a comment |
Notes below the center stave have stems pointing up, and notes above the center stave have stems pointing down. It does not matter whether the notes are half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc.; it only matters that the notes have stems.
For beamed groupings, if the number of notes above the center stave is equal to the number below for that grouping, choose the stem direction based on the note head furthest from the center stave. If the number of note heads above the stave is greater than the number below, use the rule for notes above the center stave. Similarly, if the number of note heads below the center stave is greater than the number above, use the rule for notes below the center stave.
When in doubt, use downward-pointing stems. As always, use your best judgement when something doesn't look quite right to you or if the context suggests one choice over another.
add a comment |
Notes below the center stave have stems pointing up, and notes above the center stave have stems pointing down. It does not matter whether the notes are half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc.; it only matters that the notes have stems.
For beamed groupings, if the number of notes above the center stave is equal to the number below for that grouping, choose the stem direction based on the note head furthest from the center stave. If the number of note heads above the stave is greater than the number below, use the rule for notes above the center stave. Similarly, if the number of note heads below the center stave is greater than the number above, use the rule for notes below the center stave.
When in doubt, use downward-pointing stems. As always, use your best judgement when something doesn't look quite right to you or if the context suggests one choice over another.
Notes below the center stave have stems pointing up, and notes above the center stave have stems pointing down. It does not matter whether the notes are half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc.; it only matters that the notes have stems.
For beamed groupings, if the number of notes above the center stave is equal to the number below for that grouping, choose the stem direction based on the note head furthest from the center stave. If the number of note heads above the stave is greater than the number below, use the rule for notes above the center stave. Similarly, if the number of note heads below the center stave is greater than the number above, use the rule for notes below the center stave.
When in doubt, use downward-pointing stems. As always, use your best judgement when something doesn't look quite right to you or if the context suggests one choice over another.
answered 55 mins ago
David BowlingDavid Bowling
4,75221337
4,75221337
add a comment |
add a comment |
The general stemming rule (for individual notes) is: from third space upward, use downward pointing stems; from the second space downward, use upward pointing stems. On the third line, one can go either way. However, one may wish to violate the rules a bit to make stemming match a melodic contour.
Multiple notes on the same stem follow the majority of the chord notes; in this case, the third line goes down.
With things like contrapuntal pieces or hymns (in 4-part harmony) generally stem according to voices; high voices have upward pointing stems and lower voices have downward pointing stems.
In all cases, readability is paramount.
add a comment |
The general stemming rule (for individual notes) is: from third space upward, use downward pointing stems; from the second space downward, use upward pointing stems. On the third line, one can go either way. However, one may wish to violate the rules a bit to make stemming match a melodic contour.
Multiple notes on the same stem follow the majority of the chord notes; in this case, the third line goes down.
With things like contrapuntal pieces or hymns (in 4-part harmony) generally stem according to voices; high voices have upward pointing stems and lower voices have downward pointing stems.
In all cases, readability is paramount.
add a comment |
The general stemming rule (for individual notes) is: from third space upward, use downward pointing stems; from the second space downward, use upward pointing stems. On the third line, one can go either way. However, one may wish to violate the rules a bit to make stemming match a melodic contour.
Multiple notes on the same stem follow the majority of the chord notes; in this case, the third line goes down.
With things like contrapuntal pieces or hymns (in 4-part harmony) generally stem according to voices; high voices have upward pointing stems and lower voices have downward pointing stems.
In all cases, readability is paramount.
The general stemming rule (for individual notes) is: from third space upward, use downward pointing stems; from the second space downward, use upward pointing stems. On the third line, one can go either way. However, one may wish to violate the rules a bit to make stemming match a melodic contour.
Multiple notes on the same stem follow the majority of the chord notes; in this case, the third line goes down.
With things like contrapuntal pieces or hymns (in 4-part harmony) generally stem according to voices; high voices have upward pointing stems and lower voices have downward pointing stems.
In all cases, readability is paramount.
answered 58 mins ago
ttwttw
8,498930
8,498930
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmusic.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f81458%2fknow-when-to-turn-notes-upside-downeighth-notes-sixteen-notes-etc%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
By “turn upside down” do you mean write it with downward stems? If so, if you use software it should do it automatically.
– Todd Wilcox
1 hour ago
@ToddWilcox: Yeah, I know but is there some technique when not using software? I also mean downward stems.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
I'm not sure what difference the duration of the note makes. Do you know when to draw stem-up or stem-down for quarter-notes?
– David Bowling
1 hour ago
@DavidBowling I know it for quarter notes but not the faster ones.
– Xilpex
1 hour ago
The duration doesn't matter, only that there is a stem.
– David Bowling
1 hour ago