Re: problem with 12/16 beaming

[Hans Aberg]

On 3 Dec 2007, at 16:58, Trevor Daniels wrote:

> Maybe not much help if you have many of these,

You are right: this is a problem. The meter 12/16 is just one  
possible description of it. If one accepts that, there will be always  
quadruplet patterns on the 3s in the decomposition 12 = 3+2+2+3+2,  
with a subaccent (of sort) in the middle of these quadruplets. And  
from sources as different as Hindemith, "Elementary training", and  
some Bulgarian sheet music, one can bring out the subaccenting  
through such subbeaming.

> but you
> can effect the sub-beaming manually, like this:
>
> \relative c
> {
> \clef bass
> \time 12/16
>    \set beatGrouping = #'(3 2 2 3 2)
>    \set subdivideBeams = ##t
>    #(override-auto-beam-setting '(end * * 12 16) 3 16)
>    #(override-auto-beam-setting '(end * * 12 16) 7 16)
>    #(override-auto-beam-setting '(end * * 12 16) 10 16)
>    \times 3/4 {
>      c16
>      \set stemRightBeamCount = #1 b
>      \set stemLeftBeamCount = #1 c
>      c
>    }
>    d c d g, \times 3/4 {a b c c} d e |
> }

So though this looks right, if it can't be automated it would not  
practically possible.

> Alternatively, by changing the time to 24/32 you can
> specify beam breaks on 32nd notes, which maybe gives
> you what you want for the quadruplets.  You'd then
> have to manually change the printed time signature
> back to 12/16 - ways of doing this are explained in
> the sections on complex meters.  I've not done that
> in this example, though:
>
> \relative c {
>   \clef bass
>   \time 24/32
>   \set beatGrouping = #'(3 3 4 4 3 3 4)
>   \set subdivideBeams = ##t
>   #(override-auto-beam-setting '(end * * 24 32) 3 16)
>   #(override-auto-beam-setting '(end * * 24 32) 7 16)
>   #(override-auto-beam-setting '(end * * 24 32) 10 16)
>   \times 3/4 { c16 b c c } d c d g, \times 3/4 {a b c c} d e
> |
> }

So this might be better from the practical point of view, though  
intuitively wrong.

  Hans Aberg