Slur position relative to staff lines

Slur endpoints must not touch staff lines, and the high point of the arcs of slurs should not stop on staff lines.

This is the convention because a slur whose arc peaks on a staff line can create the appearance of a triangular wedge between the staff line and the curve of the slur. If a slur peaks on a staff line, you can adjust its height so that it peaks either above/below the staff.

Note

Although Dorico Pro automatically ensures slur endpoints do not touch staff lines, manual adjustments might be necessary to position the arcs of slurs correctly.

You can set a value for the minimum distance between slur endpoints and staff lines in the Avoiding Collisions section of the Slurs page in Engrave > Engraving Options. The default position of slur endpoints relative to staff lines is 1/4 space above/below, to ensure the start/end points do not touch the staff line.