Staccato on stem side alignment

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NeeraWM
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Joined: 30 Nov 2021, 12:11

Staccato on stem side alignment

Post by NeeraWM »

What is your opinion on staccato dots on stem side alignment? Center on notehead, on stem, half-centre?
If there is no unanimous opinion, could you motivate your choice?
If possible, could you also mention publishers that use one instead of the other with good reasons?

Now, in a case like this, when fingerings are involved:
Screenshot 2024-09-06 at 22.35.53.png
Screenshot 2024-09-06 at 22.35.53.png (124.31 KiB) Viewed 14229 times
It is needless to say, I believe, that something looks wrong.
Should I align the fingering above the dot in this case?
Should I change settings so that dot is aligned on notehead and just move on with my life?! :-)

Thank you!
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OCTO
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Re: Staccato on stem side alignment

Post by OCTO »

I would use staccato on the note sides.  This is however overwritten by the rule with two voices, but you don't have two voices.
The staccato and the note-head is one, single information.
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John Ruggero
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Re: Staccato on stem side alignment

Post by John Ruggero »

It is an interesting question since there are two implied voices in the right hand. Contemporary practice would adhere to OCTO's suggestion. In earlier times, some composers might have had a different take on it. Similar questions come up with regard to slurs. Earlier composers often put slurs on the beam side in such cases, because they considered two voices present even if not actually shown.

As far as positioning the staccato dot, it's done both ways. I just picked up two pieces of music at random: Schenker edition of Beethoven's piano sonatas: staccatos, wedges and fingering over stems on stem side, over note heads on note head side. Wiener Urtext edition of the same music: staccatos, wedges and fingering centered over note heads on both sides.

I position ALL articulations (including fingering) centered on the note head, not the stems. It looks more consistent to me that way.
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NeeraWM
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Re: Staccato on stem side alignment

Post by NeeraWM »

Thank you both!
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Re: Staccato on stem side alignment

Post by JJP »

I agree with those above that the staccatos should default to the notehead side, centered on the notehead.

When they must fall on the stem side, I prefer narrow articulations, like staccato and staccatissimo, centered on the stem. Wider articulations are centered on the notehead, but I find that narrow articulations are more easily perceived aligned with the stem. Especially in busy passages, centering on the stem makes the relationship between the note and the articulation and their rhythmic position immediately clear.

If wide and narrow articulations are combined on the stem side of a note, then default to the wide, centered on notehead positioning for both articulations. This way all elements are in line, and clearly associate with the same note.

The addition of fingerings could be seen as similar to a combination with a wide articulation, so I may center the dot on the notehead unless I can find a better solution.
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NeeraWM
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Re: Staccato on stem side alignment

Post by NeeraWM »

Now … in Dorico (or in Sibelius for what matters), how do I centre the staccato dot on notehead when the global option is to have them centred on stem when I need the fingering as well? —without using a playing technique or symbol, I mean.
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