cue sized courtesy accidentals

[motet]

John, do you think the accidentals in measure 2, which are resized 125%, are ugly as compared to measure 1, the Finale default?

[lynndavidnewton]

Just to put a wrap-up on this discussion. My question was the first I've made to this forum since maybe 2002 (didn't it use to have a different address), and I got 25 responses, all of them thoughtful. I thank you all. I'm still not sure what I'll do, but thanks to the comments of a couple near the end it appears that just using regular-sized accidentals would work. I don't know that I agree with that, but maybe that's because I was at one time so used to using cue-sized accidentals.

Someone earlier referred to me as a "she". Last I checked, I was a he. (And have been for a lot of years.)

All is well. I thank you all for your trouble and for an interesting discussion.

[zuill]

If you use Jari's JW Change plugin, and you have added a courtesy accidental (in the example mentioned in the original post), choosing Frozen in the filter leaves the real accidental alone, but the forced accidental (frozen) resizes. That is the best bang for my buck in this instance.

Zuill

[motet]

Ah--that's what I was asking above.

It was I that referred to you as she, lynndavidnewton--my apologies.

[zuill]

I just poked around his web site. Intriguing. When I have time I'll investigate a bit more. There's a link in his profile.

Zuill

P.S.: This picture shows what the plugin with filter did.

[John Ruggero]

John, do you think the accidentals in measure 2, which are resized 125%, are ugly as compared to measure 1, the Finale default?

Perhaps this is one of those, generally rare occasions when the most practical might sometimes differ from the aesthetically most pleasing.

Not real ugly, Motet, and just slightly out of proportion. So if it solves a real problem, as for David and others, why not? And it wouldn't have to be 125% if someone preferred less.

[MikeHalloran]

I don’t see 125% as necessary but don’t think they’re ugly. 100% should provide all the readability necessary. I’m going to experiment with this next time I have the need.

As to the OP and reduced courtesy accidentals, I can see those only in complex piano passages where full sized will make it too cluttered (Rachmaninov comes to mind). Otherwise, no reason to make them anything other than full sized.

[Vaughan]

I agree, also with John Ruggero in that smaller accidentals can be found in scholarly editions to denote editorial additions but are otherwise inadvisable. To the OP, please don't jeopardise readability by reducing the size of cautionaries!

[lynndavidnewton]

I'm the OP. I've left my courtesy accidentals full size as suggested, and without parentheses,
but doing that goes against many years of previous experience (with music typewriters),
and is acceptable as much because it's just easier than because of all the good arguments
I've seen presented.