[smufl-discuss] Re: Glyph registration proposal

[dspreadbury]

Joe wrote:

> > I am not sure if this should apply for clefs. My intuition is,
> that the clefs should be placed so, that the note that the clef
> refers to, is on the baseline (e.g. F-clef placed so, that one dot
> is above and the second below the baseline). Then, there would be no
> need for additional vertical adjustment for clef changes/cue clefs.
> (Even if clef changes would be encoded, there are still cue clefs to
> be positioned correctly)
>
> This idea also works (and is in fact the approach taken internally
> by Noteflight). But for clefs that don't refer to a "target note"
> such as TAB or percussion clefs, such a rule could become a bit
> arbitrary. So I don't have a strong feeling about it, either way.

For what it's worth, Opus and Petrucci follow Emil's recommendation, while
Sonata follows Joe's proposal. Perhaps it does make sense for us to follow
the majority rule here? I think this change would get my vote.

> >> TIME SIGNATURES
> >>
> >> The spec needs to stipulate that time signature digits are sized to
fit

> > I would add, that they should vertically centred on the baseline.
> Then, the scoring application draws them on the 4th (numerator) and
> 2nd (denominator) staff line (this behaviour should be possible to
> override by the user, e.g. for "handwritten" styles).
> > It is because for very small staves, the staff lines are
> relatively thick, so the height (i.e. the size) of the digits should
> be adjusted so that the staff lines do not overshot the digits too much.
>
> I agree with your point -- I think this was an oversight in my
> proposal. You are correct, time signature digits conceptually fit
> within a vertical extent, or are centered around some baseline.

How should fonts that require or prefer larger digits work? For example,
several handwritten fonts feature time signature digits that protrude
above and below the staff, but still abut at the middle staff line. If
these digits were drawn centered on the 2nd and 4th staff lines per Emil's
proposal, this wouldn't be possible. Unless I'm missing something (which
is by no means unlikely).

> I don't favor any registration rules that "bake in" a standard stem
> length because there are so very many exceptions and adjustments to
> stem sizing and placement relative to note heads, many more than the
> multivoice case you mention. Stem length doesn't feel to me as
> though it should be part of the standard.

I agree with Joe here. The approach Joe proposes is basically what most
music fonts (including the venerable Sonata) seem to do anyway.

> > I think that they should be placed rather in reference to the font
> baseline, as if they were designed for one-line staff. This would
> simplify the placing of the rests when multiple voices occur on the
> same staff or in the different (orchestral) percussion staves.
>
> I think this would also be a good change to my proposal.

I'm not sure about this. The positioning of e.g. a bar rest is different
when on a one-line staff than on a five-line staff, since a bar rest hangs
from a one-line staff, but a half rest sits on top of a one-line staff,
which is the exact opposite of their normal positions relative to each
other in the more common five-line staff case. For what it's worth, Joe's
proposal also appears to be the convention followed by Opus, Sonata and
Petrucci.

My vote would be to stick to Joe's original proposal in this area.

Daniel

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