The <bend> element
Parent element: <technical>
The <bend> element is used in guitar notation and tablature. A single note with a bend and release will contain two <bend> elements: the first to represent the bend and the second to represent the release.
Content
In this order
- <bend-alter> (Required)
- Zero or one of the following
- <with-bar> (Optional)
Attributes
| Name | Type | Required? | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| accelerate | yes-no | No | Does the bend accelerate during playback? Default is "no". |
| beats | trill-beats | No | The number of discrete elements (like MIDI pitch bends) used to represent a continuous bend or slide. Default is 4. |
| color | color | No | Indicates the color of an element. |
| default-x | tenths | No | Changes the computation of the default horizontal position. The origin is changed relative to the left-hand side of the note or the musical position within the bar. Positive x is right and negative x is left. This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the <offset> element. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both features should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy. |
| default-y | tenths | No | Changes the computation of the default vertical position. The origin is changed relative to the top line of the staff. Positive y is up and negative y is down. This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the placement attribute. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both attributes should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy. |
| first-beat | percent | No | The percentage of the duration for starting a bend. Default is 25. |
| font-family | font-family | No | A comma-separated list of font names. |
| font-size | font-size | No | One of the CSS sizes or a numeric point size. |
| font-style | font-style | No | Normal or italic style. |
| font-weight | font-weight | No | Normal or bold weight. |
| last-beat | percent | No | The percentage of the duration for ending a bend. Default is 75. |
| relative-x | tenths | No | Changes the horizontal position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-x attribute. Positive x is right and negative x is left. It should be interpreted in the context of the <offset> element or directive attribute if those are present. |
| relative-y | tenths | No | Changes the vertical position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-y attribute. Positive y is up and negative y is down. It should be interpreted in the context of the placement attribute if that is present. |
| shape | bend-shape | No | Distinguishes between the angled bend symbols commonly used in standard notation and the curved bend symbols commonly used in both tablature and standard notation. |
Examples
This element is used in the following examples: