Henle Notehead size

[benwiggy]

One thing I noticed while making comparisons to Henle's engraving, is that their noteheads are quite wide.

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If we compare the width to 1 space, the notehead is about 1.45 spaces (fuzzy bitmapping notwithstanding).

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Maestro's default noteheads are about 1.27 spaces. Bravura's "large noteheads" are just under 1.4 spaces; the 'normal' size are 1.18.

Old Novello scores used to use very wide noteheads.

I've created a deliberately large notehead size here, which is over 1.5 spaces.

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[John Ruggero]

Here is Maestro Wide. It looks something like the Henle to me:

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[benwiggy]

Some more data points:

Maestro Wide: 1.41 spaces.
Finale Engraver: 1.43 spaces.
VintageGHMA: both 1.31 and 1.41.
Sonata: 1.2.

Though some do have different sizes for the black and white noteheads: the black heads being usually smaller, but larger in some fonts!

Perhaps a square root of 2 * the space may yield the most attractive result.

[John Ruggero]

I decided against the wider note heads a while ago because it causes more ledger line problems in tight situations.

[OCTO]

Indeed, Henle font has these preferences.

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But I agree with John. Also, Maestro Wide has sacrificed the boldness, so it is bigger and less legible.