MusicXML 4.1 Draft
MusicXML 4.1 Draft > MusicXML Reference > Elements > The <principal-voice> element

The <principal-voice> element

Parent element: <direction-type>

The <principal-voice> element represents principal and secondary voices in a score, either for analysis or for square bracket symbols that appear in a score. The content of the <principal-voice> element is used for analysis and may be any text value.

Content

xs:string

Attributes

Name Type Required?(Default) Description
symbol principal-voice-symbol Yes Indicates the type of symbol used. When used for analysis separate from any printed score markings, it should be set to none. Otherwise if the type is stop it should be set to plain.
Indicates the type of symbol used. When used for analysis separate from any printed score markings, it should be set to none. Otherwise if the type is stop it should be set to plain.
type start-stop Yes Indicates if this is the start or stop of the principal voice.
Indicates if this is the start or stop of the principal voice.
color color No Indicates the color of an element.
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.
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.
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.
font-family font-family No A comma-separated list of font names.
A comma-separated list of font names.
font-size font-size No One of the CSS sizes or a numeric point size.
One of the CSS sizes or a numeric point size.
font-style font-style No Normal or italic style.
Normal or italic style.
font-weight font-weight No Normal or bold weight.
Normal or bold weight.
halign left-center-right No In cases where text extends over more than one line, horizontal alignment and justify values can be different. The most typical case is for credits, such as:

Words and music by Pat Songwriter

Typically this type of credit is aligned to the right, so that the position information refers to the right-most part of the text. But in this example, the text is center-justified, not right-justified.

The halign attribute is used in these situations. If it is not present, its value is the same as for the justify attribute. For elements where a justify attribute is not allowed, the default is implementation-dependent.
In cases where text extends over more than one line, horizontal alignment and justify values can be different. The most typical case is for credits, such as:

Words and music by Pat Songwriter

Typically this type of credit is aligned to the right, so that the position information refers to the right-most part of the text. But in this example, the text is center-justified, not right-justified.

The halign attribute is used in these situations. If it is not present, its value is the same as for the justify attribute. For elements where a justify attribute is not allowed, the default is implementation-dependent.
id xs:ID No Specifies an ID that is unique to the entire document.
Specifies an ID that is unique to the entire document.
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.
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.
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.
valign valign No Indicates vertical alignment to the top, middle, bottom, or baseline of the text. The default is implementation-dependent.
Indicates vertical alignment to the top, middle, bottom, or baseline of the text. The default is implementation-dependent.

Examples

This element is used in the following example:

<principal-voice>