Re: Bar numbers seem to be one off

[Simon Albrecht]

On 26.09.2015 16:22, Brian Barker wrote:
> At 16:15 26/09/2015 +0200, Simon Albrecht wrote:
> > On 26.09.2015 16:14, Brian Barker wrote:
> > > Just to add another statistic: ...
> >
> > Which is only one opinion.
>
> Isn't that what "another statistic" means?
>
> (Mind you, the unqualified suggestion of the Senior New Music Editor 
> at Faber Music since 1987 probably counts for something!)

I totally agree that bar numbers should be displayed at the beginning of 
every staff. However the suggestion to place it above the clef of the 
top staff is highly disputable: it might (in some cases) be mistaken as 
a clef modifier, for one thing. And it’s equally valid to place the bar 
number before the system start delimiter, on the vertical center (as in 
the venerable Breitkopf&Härtel 1926 Brahms Edition, e.g.) or where 
LilyPond places it.
I just said that because often Elaine Gould is used as kind of a bible 
and as normative reference, whereas a notable part of her statements are 
personal suggestions and a matter of style or preference. She’s just the 
only one who has made a comprehensive publication on the topic (with 
Stone and Gardner/Read already being more specific, IIUC), but the 
opinions of the master engravers of (chiefly, amongst others) Peters and 
Breitkopf of the ‘golden age’ of hand-engraving music are at least 
equally valuable.

Yours, Simon