Tags

Absolute Placement (STRUCTURE)

• horizontal (SHORT)
• vertical (SHORT)
  • Non-default horizontal and vertical placement, in absolute units, of the dependent symbol's reference point relative to the anchor's reference point.
  • Logical Placement and Absolute Placement are mutually exclusive.

Alternate Ending (BYTE)

• The sequence number of the ending. Used on the first measure-start Time-Slice chunk of each alternate ending to validate the duplicate start time values. See also Alternate Ending Graphic chunk and Repeat Sign chunk, and the General Discussion section of Repeats and Alternate Endings, which includes an example.

Anchor Override (FOURCC)

• Contains the chunk typeof the non-default anchor symbol.

Articulation Direction (BYTE)

• Used on the Articulation chunk to specifically indicate a particular version of the articulation symbol, such as fermata or strong accent.
  • 1 = pointed up
  • 2 = pointed down

Bezier Incoming (STRUCT)

• Used on a slur node to specify an incoming Bezier control point. Gives the horizontal and vertical placement of the incoming Bezier control point relative to the slur endpoint. Can also be used on a tie node. See also Bezier Outoing tag.
• horizontal (SHORT)
• vertical (SHORT)
  • Example 1 - slur anchored to two notes:

    Stem
    Notehead
    Slur, ID=1, Number of Nodes=2, Absolute Placement= (H1, V1), Bezier Outgoing = (H2, V2)
    Stem
    Notehead
    Slur, ID=1, Absolute Placement= (H3, V3), Bezier Incoming = (H4, V4)

  • Example 2 - slur anchored to three notes (such as when it starts below an upstem note, swings up over the top of a down stem note, and then back down below another upstem note):

    Stem
    Notehead
    Slur, ID=2, Number of Nodes=3, Absolute Placement = (H1, V1), Bezier Outgoing = (H2, V2)
    Stem
    Notehead
    Slur, ID=2, Absolute Placement = (H3, V3), Bezier Incoming = (H4, V4), Bezier Outgoing = (H5, V5)
    Stem
    Notehead
    Slur, ID=2, Absolute Placement = (H6, V6), Bezier Incoming = (H7, V7)

Bezier Outgoing (STRUCT)

• Used on a slur node to specify an outgoing Bezier control point. Gives the horizontal and vertical placement of the outgoing Bezier control point relative to the slur endpoint. Can also be used on a tie node See Bezier Incoming tag for examples.
• horizontal (SHORT)
• vertical (SHORT)
  • Horizontal and vertical placement of the outgoing Bezier control point relative to the slur endpoint.

Chord Symbols Offset (SHORT)

• Used on the Part Description chunk, to specify the default vertical placement of chord symbols with respect to the top staff of the part, in absolute units. In the Data Section, Chord Symbol chunks are interspersed with the music symbols of the first (top) staff of the part.

Custom Font Character (STRUCT)

• Used on a music symbol chunk to indicate that a nonstandard character and font is to be used. The function of the music symbol chunk is otherwise unchanged.
• font ID (FONTPTR)
• character code (char[2])

Custom Graphic (SHORT)

• Used when a custom graphic is to be used in place of the standard appearance of the music symbol.
• value (SHORT)
  • The index into the Custom Graphic list of an EPS Graphic chunk containing a description of the graphic symbol.

End Of System (EMPTY)

• Used to indicate that the chunk is located at the rightmost end of a system. This could be used at the end of a system on a Barline symbol in place of a horizontal offset, to avoid the undesirable results of rounding errors or font-width errors. It could be used at the end of a system where no barline is present, on an event Time-Slice chunk used as an anchor for a dependent symbol. To indicate the continuation of a multi-node chunk onto another system, use the Multi-node End Of System and Multi-node Start Of System tags instead.

Fanned Beam (SHORT)

• Used on the first node of a Beam to indicate an accelerando or ritard.
• On first beam node only.
  • 1 = fanned beam expanding toward right
  • 2 = fanned beam shrinking toward right

Figured Bass Offset (SHORT)

• Used on the Part Description chunk, to specify the default vertical placement of the top numeral of figured bass symbols with respect to the bottom staff of the part, in absolute units. In the Data Section, Figured Bass chunks are interspersed with the music symbols of the last (bottom) staff of the part.

Font ID (FONTPTR)

• Used to indicate that a nondefault font is to be used for the chunk on which this tag occurs. Can be used on any music symbol or text-type chunk. Gives the index into the Font list, of the font to be used.

Grace Note (RATIONAL)

• Used on a Stem, Notehead, or Rest. Indicates the logical start time as an offset from the time-slice start time. Negative values indicate that the grace note starts before the time slice, so during playback it should sound before the note. Zero and positive values indicate that the grace note's time value is stolen from the following note in the same voice.

Guitar Grid Offset (SHORT)

• Used on the Part Description chunk, to specify the default vertical placement of guitar grid symbols with respect to the top staff of the part, in absolute units. In the Data Section, Guitar Grid chunks are interspersed with the music symbols of the first (top) staff of the part.

Guitar Tablature (EMPTY)

• Used on a Staff Header chunk to indicate that the staff is guitar tablature, and its symbols should be interpreted accordingly (not used for playback).

Height (SHORT)

• Vertical height, in absolute units.

ID (SHORT)

• Identification number. Used to uniquely identify multi-node symbols. Should be assigned sequentially within a chunk type, starting with zero.

Invisible (EMPTY)

• When this tag is used on a symbol, the symbol's function and/or sound is unchanged, but the symbol does not appear visibly in the score.

Large Size (EMPTY)

• Indicates that the symbol is larger than default size. For more precise control of size, use the Font ID tag instead.

Line Quality (BYTE)

• Used on symbol chunks such as Barline, Line, or Slur to indicate that the line is not solid.
  • 0 = no line
  • 1 = dotted line
  • 2 = dashed line
  • 3 = wavy line

Logical Placement (STRUCTURE)

• Non-default horizontal and vertical logical placement of the dependent symbol's reference point relative to the anchor's reference point.
• Logical Placement and Absolute Placement are mutually exclusive.
• horizontal (BYTE)
  • 0=default
  • 1=left
  • 2=right
  • 3=stem side
  • 4=note side
  • 5=centered
  • Values 3 and 4 are only to be used on a symbol dependent on a note or stem. "Stem side" and "note side" have the same meaning as "left" and "right" respectively for down stems, and the opposite for up stems.
• vertical (BYTE)
  • 0=default
  • 1=above
  • 2=below
  • 3=stem side
  • 4=note side
  • 5=centered
  • Values 3 and 4 are only to be used on a symbol dependent on a note or stem. "Stem side" and "note side" have the same meaning as "above" and"below" respectively for up stems, and the opposite for down stems.
• proximity (BYTE)
  • 0=not applicable, or default
  • 1=touching, or exactly aligned
  • 2=offset slightly
  • Used to refine the meaning of Non-default logical placement of the symbol's bounding box relative to the anchor's bounding box. For instance, a note slightly offset from a stem would be given the value 2.

Lyric Verse Offset (STRUCT)

• This tag is appended to the Part Description chunk in the Setup Section, to define the vertical offset and Lyric Verse ID of one line of lyrics. Any number of them can be present.
• lyric line offset (SHORT)
  • Default vertical placement of a line of lyrics with respect to the bottom staff of the part, in absolute units. A null value (-1) is allowed, even when Lyric chunks are present in the Data Section. In the Data Section, Lyric chunks are interspersed with the music symbols of the part in the Staff lists.
• Lyric Verse ID (BYTE)
  • Used to associate the Lyric Verse ID field on Lyric chunks in the Data Section with the default vertical offset supplied here.

MIDI Performance (STRUCT)

• Used on note chunks. See Timing Representation in the Discussion Section, for a description of its use.
• start time (RATIONAL)
  • Start time, given in MIDI ticks, as an offset from the time-slice
• duration (RATIONAL)
  • Duration, given in MIDI ticks
• pitch (BYTE)
  • MIDI pitch (0-127)
• velocity (BYTE)
  • MIDI velocity (0-127)

Multi-node End Of System (EMPTY)

• Used on a node of a multi-node symbol to indicate that the symbol continues on the following system. The node containing this tag will always be paired with a node with the Multi-node Start Of System tag, located at the beginning of the following system. A reading program that does not have a system break at the same measure can ignore both nodes and use just the logical start and end nodes of the multi-node symbol.

Multi-node Start Of System (EMPTY)

• Used on a node of a multi-node symbol to indicate that this is the continuation of a symbol which started on the previous system. See Multi-node End Of System tag for more details.

Number of Flags (BYTE)

• Number of flags on stemmed note.

Number Of Nodes (SHORT)

• Total number of nodes in file for this multi-node symbol. Always present on the first node chunk of any multi-node symbol.

Number of Staff Lines (BYTE)

• Non-default number of lines in a staff, used on the Staff Header. (The default number is 5.) For example, a value of 6 would be used for guitar tablature, or a value of 1 for some percussion parts.

Ossia (BYTE)

• Used on one or more Staff Header chunks in a system to indicate an alternate performance of another staff or staves. The Part ID and/or Voice ID of the symbols in the ossia staff or staves duplicate those in the staff or staves to which the ossia is an alternative. See General Discussion on ossias for more details.
  • 0 = do not playback the ossia - for display only
  • 1 = playback the ossia instead of the staff to which it is an alternative

Part Description Override (STRUCT)

• Used with Part ID on any chunk where Part ID can be specified, such as a Tag Activate/Inactivate, Staff Header or a music symbol chunk. It overrides the default characteristics of the part given in the Setup Section Part Description chunk. Its scope depends on the chunk type on which it appears.
• MIDI channel (SIGNEDBYTE)
  • Use -1 to specify none.
• MIDI cable (SIGNEDBYTE)
  • Use -1 to specify none.
• transpose (SIGNEDBYTE)
  • Number of halfsteps to transpose this part during playback.

Part ID (SHORT)

• 0-32767. Used to associate chunks in the Data Section with a particular Part Description chunk in the Setup Section When used on a Staff Header chunk, it indicates that all symbols within the Staff list belong to the part. It can also be used on a Tag Activate or Tag Inactivate chunk to restrict the scope of those chunks (see general discussion of Tag Activate/Inactivate).
• When this tag is applied to an anchor, its scope includes all symbols dependent on the anchor.

Reference Point Override (STRUCTURE)

• Description of non-default reference points on the anchor and dependent symbols. Always used in combination with either Absolute Placement or Logical Placement tags.
• anchor h (BYTE)
• dependent h (BYTE)
  • 0 = the symbol's default horizontal reference
  • 1 = left of symbol's bounding box
  • 2 = right of the symbol's bounding box
  • 3 = horizontal center of the symbol's bounding box
• anchor v (BYTE)
• dependent v (BYTE)
  • 0 = the symbol's default vertical reference
  • 1 = top of symbol's bounding box
  • 2 = bottom of the symbol's bounding box
  • 3 = vertical center of the symbol's bounding box

Rehearsal Mark Offset (SHORT)

• Used on the Part Description chunk, to specify the default vertical placement of the rehearsal mark with respect to the top staff of the part, in absolute units. In the Data Section, Rehearsal Mark chunks are interspersed with the music symbols of the first (top) staff of the part.

Rest Numeral (SHORT)

• Number that is to appear centered over multiple-measure rest symbol

Silent (EMPTY)

• When this tag is used, the sound is suppressed for the symbol. The function of the symbol is other wise unchanged: it appears visibly in the score, and its duration is set as normal for use by a spacing algorithm. A cue note is one example of its use.

Slashed Stem (EMPTY)

• Indicates the presence of a slash on a stem, as in a grace note. For Tremolo slashes, use Tremolo chunk.

Small Size (EMPTY)

• Indicates that the symbol is smaller than default size. Examples of its use are on a Clef chunk for clef changes, on a Stem, Notehead or Rest chunk with the Grace Note tag for small grace notes, and on a Stem, Notehead or Rest with the Silent tag, to indicate a cue note or rest. For more precise control of size, use the Font ID tag instead.

Spacing By Part (EMPTY)

• This tag is added to the NIFF Information chunk to indicate that a special horizontal spacing scheme is used. In this scheme, the symbols of each part are assigned horizontal placement values independently of the other parts, as though the file contained a set of part scores instead of or in addition to one ensemble score.
• Each part's symbols are stored with the minimum size requirement for displaying those symbols when only that part is present. To produce correct spacing of an ensemble score recorded with this scheme, a reading program would calculate for each time-slice the greatest required width among any of the parts, and use that width for the whole ensemble at that time-slice.
• A reading program that does not handle this type of spacing scheme should ignore horizontal placement completely, using its own spacing defaults instead.

Split Stem (EMPTY)

• Used on each Notehead chunk of an altered unison, when a single stem connects two or more notes, usually at the same staff step but different horizontal placements that are more than one notewidth apart. The exact visual appearance depends on the reading program's defaults.

Staff Name (EMPTY)

• Used on a Text chunk to indicate its function as a name for a staff or staff grouping. This allows the reading program to use intelligent defaults for placement of the text, when no placement tag is supplied. For a staff name, this tag should appear on a Text chunk following a Staff Header chunk. For a grouping name, it should appear on a Text chunk following a Staff Grouping chunk in a Staff Groupings list (in either the Setup Section or the Data Section).

Staff Step (SIGNEDBYTE)

• LUsed to indicate vertical placement using the "staff step" units of measurement. Places the symbol's vertical hot spot on the specified staff line or space. If used with Logical Placement or Absolute Placement, it overrides the vertical component of those tags. When used on a chunk that has staff step as a required field, such as Notehead or Clef, it overrides the graphical placement of the symbol but not the musical function of the staff step field.

Thickness (SHORT)

• Used on symbol chunks such as Barline, Line, Hairpin, or Slur, to indicate the thickness of the line, in absolute units. When used on a Rehearsal Mark symbol, it refers to the thickness of the enclosure (box or circle).

Tie Direction (BYTE)

• Used on Tie chunks and simple Slur chunks, to indicating the bow direction of the curve.
  • 1 = endpoints below, rounded above
  • 2 = endpoints above, rounded below

Tuplet Description (STRUCT)

• transformation ratio a b (RATIONAL)
• transformation ratio c d (RATIONAL)
  • The four integers in the transformation are applied to the events at each node of the tuplet, as described in Chapter 1, Timing Representation.
• grouping symbol (BYTE)
  • 0 = default
  • 1 = number only
  • 2 = number with broken slur
  • 3 = number outside slur
  • 4 = number inside slur
  • 5 = number with broken bracket
  • 6 = number outside bracket
  • 7 = number inside bracket
  • 8 = bracket only
  • 9 = slur only
  • 10 = no symbol

Voice ID (SHORT)

• 0-32767. Used on music symbols in the Data Section to uniquely identify a voice within the part. As a convention, should be assigned sequentially starting with zero, although voices can appear and disappear at random within a part. Always used in conjunction with Part ID. It can also be used on a Tag Activate or Tag Inactivate chunk to restrict the scope of those chunks (see general discussion of Tag Activate/Inactivate).
• When this tag is applied to an anchor, its scope includes all symbols dependent on the anchor.

Width (SHORT)

• Horizontal width, in absolute units.