Visual tuplet numbers can be turned on or off for a spine.

Music notation containing a lot of tuplets will often drop tuplet numbers after the first few occurrences of tuplets when the rhythmic interpretation without the number remains clear. Below is an example of omitted triplet numbers in the first movement of Beethoven’s moonlight sonata. Only the first measure contains visible tuplet numbers, and subsequent triplets are not marked:

moonlight sonata mvmt 1, mm 1-8
Beethoven, Moonlight sonata, mvmt.1, mm. 1–8.

To turn off tuplet numbers in a Humdrum **kern spine, add the tandem interpretation *Xtuplet somewhere in front of the first note of a tuplet that should have a suppressed number. To start displaying visual tuplet numbers again in the same spine, add the tandem interpretation *tuplet.

Try moving or adding *tuplet/*Xtuplet interpretations in the above Humdrum data to see how this affects the music notation on the right.

Tuplet-styling with MusicXML import

The *tuplet/*Xtuplet interpretations can be extracted from MusicXML data when converting into Humdrum data. Attach any text expression starting with a * to a note or rest, and it will be inserted a tandem interpretation before the note. Below is an example of editing music in MuseScore, where tuplet numbers are turned off and the on again:

Adding tuplet interpretations in MuseScore
Adding text expressions to control tuplet number display style in MuseScore.

This MusicXML file dragged-and-dropped into VHV will produce the following Humdrum data that preserves embedded tandem interpretations controlling the tuplet number styling.

Positioning tuplet numbers

The tuplet number can be adjusted above or below the staff by using a layout command immediately preceding the note that is at the beginning of a tuplet group.