music-score/docs/musicxml-spec/elements/direction.md

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source: https://www.w3.org/2021/06/musicxml40/musicxml-reference/elements/direction/

downloaded: 2026-01-30T08:40:32.029Z

The element | MusicXML 4.0

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direction

The element

Parent elements:

    <measure> (partwise), 

    <part> (timewise)

A direction is a musical indication that is not necessarily attached to a specific note. Two or more may be combined to indicate words followed by the start of a dashed line, the end of a wedge followed by dynamics, etc. For applications where a specific direction is indeed attached to a specific note, the element can be associated with the first element that follows it in score order that is not in a different voice.

By default, a series of elements and a series of child elements of a within a single element follow one another in sequence visually. For a series of children, non-positional formatting attributes are carried over from the previous element by default.

Content

In this order

• (One or more times)
• (Optional)

• In this order

          <footnote> (Optional)
  
  
  
  
  
          <level> (Optional)
  
  
  
  
  
          <voice> (Optional)
  

• (Optional)

• (Optional)

• (Optional)

• (Optional)

• (Optional)

• (Optional)

Attributes

Name	Type	Required?	Description
directive	yes-no	No	Changes the default-x position of a direction. It indicates that the left-hand side of the direction is aligned with the left-hand side of the time signature. If no time signature is present, the direction is aligned with the left-hand side of the first music notational element in the measure. If a default-x, justify, or halign attribute is present, it overrides this attribute.
id	ID	No	Specifies an ID that is unique to the entire document.
placement	above-below	No	Indicates whether something is above or below another element, such as a note or a notation.
system	system-relation	No	Distinguishes elements that are associated with a system rather than the particular part where the element appears.

Examples

This element is used in the following examples:

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

, and , (Lines), (Symbols), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (Off), (On), , , , , , , , system attribute (also-top), system attribute (only-top), Tutorial: Après un rêve, Tutorial: Chopin Prelude