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14 @chapter Tweaking output
16 This chapter discusses how to modify output. LilyPond is extremely
17 configurable; virtually every fragment of output may be changed.
22 * The Internals Reference manual::
23 * Appearance of objects::
24 * Placement of objects::
25 * Collisions of objects::
30 @section Tweaking basics
33 * Introduction to tweaks::
34 * Objects and interfaces::
35 * Naming conventions of objects and properties::
39 @node Introduction to tweaks
40 @subsection Introduction to tweaks
42 @q{Tweaking} is a LilyPond term for the various methods available
43 to the user for modifying the actions taken during interpretation
44 of the input file and modifying the appearance of the printed
45 output. Some tweaks are very easy to use; others are more
46 complex. But taken together the methods available for tweaking
47 permit almost any desired appearance of the printed music to be
50 In this section we cover the basic concepts required to understand
51 tweaking. Later we give a variety of ready-made commands which can
52 simply be copied to obtain the same effect in your own scores, and
53 at the same time we show how these commands may be constructed so
54 that you may learn how to develop your own tweaks.
56 Before starting on this Chapter you may wish to review the section
57 @ref{Contexts and engravers}, as Contexts, Engravers, and the
58 Properties contained within them are fundamental to understanding
59 and constructing Tweaks.
61 @node Objects and interfaces
62 @subsection Objects and interfaces
68 @cindex properties, object
69 @cindex object properties
71 @cindex object, layout
74 Tweaking involves modifying the internal operation and structures
75 of the LilyPond program, so we must first introduce some terms
76 which are used to describe those internal operations and
79 The term @q{Object} is a generic term used to refer to the
80 multitude of internal structures built by LilyPond during the
81 processing of an input file. So when a command like @code{\new
82 Staff} is encountered a new object of type @code{Staff} is
83 constructed. That @code{Staff} object then holds all the
84 properties associated with that particular staff, for example, its
85 name and its key signature, together with details of the engravers
86 which have been assigned to operate within that staff's context.
87 Similarly, there are objects to hold the properties of all other
88 contexts, such as @code{Voice} objects, @code{Score} objects,
89 @code{Lyrics} objects, as well as objects to represent all
90 notational elements such as bar lines,
91 note heads, ties, dynamics, etc. Every object has its own set of
94 Some types of object are given special names. Objects which represent
95 items of notation on the printed output such as note heads, stems,
96 slurs, ties, fingering, clefs, etc are called @q{Layout objects},
97 often known as @q{Graphical Objects}, or @q{Grobs} for short. These
98 are still objects in the generic sense above, and so they too all have
99 properties associated with them, such as their position, size, color,
102 Some layout objects are still more specialized. Phrasing slurs,
103 crescendo hairpins, ottava marks, and many other grobs are not
104 localized in a single place -- they have a starting point, an
105 ending point, and maybe other properties concerned with their
106 shape. Objects with an extended shape like these are called
109 It remains to explain what @q{Interfaces} are. Many objects, even
110 though they are quite different, share common features which need to
111 be processed in the same way. For example, all grobs have a color, a
112 size, a position, etc, and all these properties are processed in the
113 same way during LilyPond's interpretation of the input file. To
114 simplify these internal operations these common actions and properties
115 are grouped together in an object called a @code{grob-interface}.
116 There are many other groupings of common properties like this, each
117 one given a name ending in @code{interface}. In total there are over
118 100 such interfaces. We shall see later why this is of interest and
121 These, then, are the main terms relating to objects which we
122 shall use in this chapter.
124 @node Naming conventions of objects and properties
125 @subsection Naming conventions of objects and properties
127 @cindex naming conventions for objects
128 @cindex naming conventions for properties
129 @cindex objects, naming conventions
130 @cindex properties, naming conventions
132 We met some object naming conventions previously, in
133 @ref{Contexts and engravers}. Here for reference is a list
134 of the most common object and property types together with
135 the conventions for naming them and a couple of examples of
136 some real names. We have used @q{A} to stand for any capitalized
137 alphabetic character and @q{aaa} to stand for any number of
138 lower-case alphabetic characters. Other characters are used
141 @multitable @columnfractions .33 .33 .33
142 @headitem Object/property type
143 @tab Naming convention
146 @tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
147 @tab Staff, GrandStaff
149 @tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
152 @tab Aaaa_aaa_engraver
153 @tab Clef_engraver, Note_heads_engraver
155 @tab aaa-aaa-interface
156 @tab grob-interface, break-aligned-interface
157 @item Context Properties
158 @tab aaa or aaaAaaaAaaa
159 @tab alignAboveContext, skipBars
160 @item Layout Object Properties
161 @tab aaa or aaa-aaa-aaa
162 @tab direction, beam-thickness
165 As we shall see shortly, the properties of different types of
166 object are modified by different commands, so it is useful to
167 be able to recognize the type of object from the names of its
171 @node Tweaking methods
172 @subsection Tweaking methods
174 @cindex tweaking methods
176 @strong{\override command}
178 @cindex override command
179 @cindex override syntax
184 We have already met the commands @code{\set} and @code{\with}, used to
185 change the properties of @strong{contexts} and to remove and add
186 @strong{engravers}, in @ref{Modifying context properties}, and
187 @ref{Adding and removing engravers}. We must now introduce some more
190 The command to change the properties of @strong{layout objects} is
191 @code{\override}. Because this command has to modify
192 internal properties deep within LilyPond its syntax is not
193 as simple as the commands you have used so far. It needs to
194 know precisely which property of which object in which context
195 has to be modified, and what its new value is to be. Let's see
198 The general syntax of this command is:
201 \override @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject} #'@var{layout-property} =
206 This will set the property with the name @var{layout-property} of the
207 layout object with the name @var{LayoutObject}, which is a member of
208 the @var{Context} context, to the value @var{value}.
210 The @var{Context} can be omitted (and usually is) when the
211 required context is unambiguously implied and is one of lowest
212 level contexts, i.e., @code{Voice}, @code{ChordNames} or
213 @code{Lyrics}, and we shall omit it in many of the following
214 examples. We shall see later when it must be specified.
216 Later sections deal comprehensively with properties and their
217 values, see @ref{Types of properties}. But in this section we shall
218 use just a few simple properties and values which are easily
219 understood in order to illustrate the format and use of these
222 For now, don't worry about the @code{#'}, which must precede the
223 layout property, and the@tie{}@code{#}, which must precede the value.
224 These must always be present in exactly this form. This is the
225 most common command used in tweaking, and most of the rest of
226 this chapter will be directed to presenting examples of how it is
227 used. Here is a simple example to change the color of the
230 @cindex color property, example
231 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
233 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
235 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
237 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
241 @strong{\revert command}
243 @cindex revert command
248 Once overridden, the property retains its new value until it is
249 overridden again or a @code{\revert} command is encountered.
250 The @code{\revert} command has the following syntax and causes
251 the value of the property to revert to its original default
252 value; note, not its previous value if several @code{\override}
253 commands have been issued.
256 \revert @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject} #'@var{layout-property}
259 Again, just like @var{Context} in the @code{\override} command,
260 @var{Context} is often not needed. It will be omitted
261 in many of the following examples. Here we revert the color
262 of the note head to the default value for the final two notes:
264 @cindex color property, example
265 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
267 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
269 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
271 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
273 \revert NoteHead #'color
277 @strong{\once prefix}
282 Both the @code{\override} and the @code{\set} commands may be prefixed
283 by @code{\once}. This causes the following @code{\override} or
284 @code{\set} command to be effective only during the current musical
285 moment before the property reverts back to its previous value (this can
286 be different from the default if another @code{\override} is still in
287 effect). Using the same example, we can change the color of a single
290 @cindex color property, example
291 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
293 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
295 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
297 \once \override NoteHead #'color = #green
299 \revert NoteHead #'color
303 @strong{\overrideProperty command}
305 @cindex overrideProperty command
307 @funindex \overrideProperty
308 @funindex overrideProperty
310 There is another form of the override command,
311 @code{\overrideProperty}, which is occasionally required.
312 We mention it here for completeness, but for details see
313 @rextend{Difficult tweaks}.
314 @c Maybe explain in a later iteration -td
316 @strong{\tweak command}
318 @cindex tweak command
323 The final tweaking command which is available is @code{\tweak}. This
324 should be used when several objects occur at the same musical moment,
325 but you only want to change the properties of selected ones, such as a
326 single note within a chord. Using @code{\override} would affect all the
327 notes within a chord, whereas @code{\tweak} affects just the following
328 item in the input stream.
330 Here's an example. Suppose we wish to change the size of the
331 middle note head (the E) in a C major chord. Let's first see what
332 @code{\once \override} would do:
334 @cindex font-size property, example
335 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
337 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
339 \once \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-3
344 We see the override affects @emph{all} the note heads in the chord.
345 This is because all the notes of a chord occur at the same
346 @emph{musical moment}, and the action of @code{\once} is to
347 apply the override to all layout objects of the type specified
348 which occur at the same musical moment as the @code{\override}
351 The @code{\tweak} command operates in a different way. It acts
352 on the immediately following item in the input stream. However,
353 it is effective only on objects which are created directly from
354 the input stream, essentially note heads and articulations;
355 objects such as stems and accidentals are created later and
356 cannot be tweaked in this way.
358 So to return to our example, the size of the middle note of
359 a chord would be changed in this way:
361 @cindex font-size property, example
362 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
364 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
366 <c \tweak #'font-size #-3 e g>4
369 Note that the syntax of @code{\tweak} is different from that
370 of the @code{\override} command. Neither the context nor the
371 layout object should be specified; in fact, it would generate
372 an error to do so. These are both implied by the following
373 item in the input stream. Note also that an equals sign should
374 not be present. So the general syntax of the
375 @code{\tweak} command is simply
378 \tweak #'@var{layout-property} #@var{value}
381 A @code{\tweak} command can also be used to modify just one in
382 a series of articulations, as shown here:
384 @cindex color property, example
385 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
387 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
389 -\tweak #'color #red ^"Red"
390 -\tweak #'color #green _"Green"
394 Note that the @code{\tweak} command must be preceded by an articulation
395 mark since the tweaked expression needs to be applied as an articulation
396 itself. In case of multiple direction overrides (@code{^} or @code{_}),
397 the leftmost override wins since it is applied last.
399 @cindex tuplets, nested
400 @cindex triplets, nested
401 @cindex bracket, tuplet
402 @cindex bracket, triplet
403 @cindex tuplet bracket
404 @cindex triplet bracket
406 @funindex TupletBracket
408 The @code{\tweak} command must also be used to change the
409 appearance of one of a set of nested tuplets which begin at the
410 same musical moment. In the following example, the long tuplet
411 bracket and the first of the three short brackets begin at the
412 same musical moment, so any @code{\override} command would apply
413 to both of them. In the example, @code{\tweak} is used to
414 distinguish between them. The first @code{\tweak} command
415 specifies that the long tuplet bracket is to be placed above the
416 notes and the second one specifies that the tuplet number is to be
417 printed in red on the first short tuplet bracket.
419 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
420 @cindex direction property, example
421 @cindex color property, example
423 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=2]
424 \tweak #'direction #up
427 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
428 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
429 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
433 If nested tuplets do not begin at the same moment, their
434 appearance may be modified in the usual way with
435 @code{\override} commands:
437 @cindex text property, example
438 @cindex tuplet-number function, example
439 @cindex transparent property, example
440 @cindex TupletNumber, example of overriding
442 @c NOTE Tuplet brackets collide if notes are high on staff
444 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=1]
445 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
446 \once \override TupletNumber
447 #'text = #tuplet-number::calc-fraction-text
451 \once \override TupletNumber #'transparent = ##t
452 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
453 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
460 @ruser{The tweak command}.
463 @node The Internals Reference manual
464 @section The Internals Reference manual
466 @cindex Internals Reference
469 * Properties of layout objects::
470 * Properties found in interfaces::
471 * Types of properties::
474 @node Properties of layout objects
475 @subsection Properties of layout objects
477 @cindex properties of layout objects
478 @cindex properties of grobs
479 @cindex grobs, properties of
480 @cindex layout objects, properties of
481 @cindex Internals Reference manual
483 Suppose you have a slur in a score which, to your mind,
484 appears too thin and you'd like to draw it a little heavier.
485 How do you go about doing this? You know from the statements
486 earlier about the flexibility of LilyPond that such a thing
487 should be possible, and you would probably guess that an
488 @code{\override} command would be needed. But is there a
489 heaviness property for a slur, and if there is, how might it
490 be modified? This is where the Internals Reference manual
491 comes in. It contains all the information you might need to
492 construct this and all other @code{\override} commands.
494 Before we look at the Internals Reference a word of warning.
495 This is a @strong{reference} document, which means there is
496 little or no explanation contained within it: its purpose is
497 to present information precisely and concisely. This
498 means it might look daunting at first sight. Don't worry!
499 The guidance and explanation presented here will enable you
500 to extract the information from the Internals Reference for
501 yourself with just a little practice.
503 @cindex override example
504 @cindex Internals Reference, example of using
505 @cindex @code{\addlyrics} example
507 Let's use a concrete example with a simple fragment of real
510 @c Mozart, Die Zauberflöte Nr.7 Duett
512 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
517 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
518 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
522 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
527 Suppose now that we decide we would like the slurs to be a
528 little heavier. Is this possible? The slur is certainly a
529 layout object, so the question is, @q{Is there a property
530 belonging to a slur which controls the heaviness?} To answer
531 this we must look in the Internals Reference, or IR for short.
533 The IR for the version of LilyPond you are using may be found
534 on the LilyPond website at @uref{http://lilypond.org}. Go to the
535 documentation page and click on the Internals Reference link.
536 For learning purposes you should use the standard HTML version,
537 not the @q{one big page} or the PDF. For the next few
538 paragraphs to make sense you will need to actually do this
541 Under the heading @strong{Top} you will see five links. Select
542 the link to the @emph{Backend}, which is where information about
543 layout objects is to be found. There, under the heading
544 @strong{Backend}, select the link to @emph{All layout objects}.
545 The page that appears lists all the layout objects used in your
546 version of LilyPond, in alphabetic order. Select the link to
547 Slur, and the properties of Slurs are listed.
549 An alternative way of finding this page is from the Notation
550 Reference. On one of the pages that deals with slurs you may find a
551 link to the Internals Reference. This link will take you directly to
552 this page, but if you have an idea about the name of the layout object
553 to be tweaked, it is easier to go straight to the IR and search there.
555 This Slur page in the IR tells us first that Slur objects are created
556 by the Slur_engraver. Then it lists the standard settings. Note
557 these are @strong{not} in alphabetic order. Browse down them looking
558 for a property that might control the heaviness of slurs, and you
562 @code{thickness} (number)
564 Line thickness, generally measured in @code{line-thickness}
567 This looks a good bet to change the heaviness. It tells us that
568 the value of @code{thickness} is a simple @emph{number},
569 that the default value is 1.2, and that the units are
570 in another property called @code{line-thickness}.
572 As we said earlier, there are few to no explanations in the IR,
573 but we already have enough information to try changing the
574 slur thickness. We see that the name of the layout object
575 is @code{Slur}, that the name of the property to change is
576 @code{thickness} and that the new value should be a number
577 somewhat larger than 1.2 if we are to make slurs thicker.
579 We can now construct the @code{\override} command by simply
580 substituting the values we have found for the names, omitting
581 the context. Let's use a very large value for the thickness
582 at first, so we can be sure the command is working. We get:
585 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
588 Don't forget the @code{#'} preceding the
589 property name and a@tie{}@code{#} preceding the new value!
591 The final question is, @q{Where should this command be
592 placed?} While you are unsure and learning, the best
593 answer is, @q{Within the music, before the first slur and
594 close to it.} Let's do that:
596 @cindex Slur example of overriding
597 @cindex thickness property, example
599 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
604 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
605 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
606 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
607 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
611 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
617 and we see that the slur is indeed heavier.
619 So this is the basic way of constructing @code{\override}
620 commands. There are a few more complications that we
621 shall meet in later sections, but you now know all the
622 essentials required to make up your own -- but you will
623 still need some practice. This is provided in the examples
626 @subheading Finding the context
628 @cindex context, finding
629 @cindex context, identifying correct
631 But first, what if we had needed to specify the Context?
632 What should it be? We could guess that slurs are in
633 the Voice context, as they are clearly closely associated
634 with individual lines of music, but can we be sure? To
635 find out, go back to the top of the IR page describing the
636 Slur, where it says @q{Slur objects are created by: Slur
637 engraver}. So slurs will be created in whichever context
638 the @code{Slur_engraver} is in. Follow the link to the
639 @code{Slur_engraver} page. At the very bottom it tells
640 us that @code{Slur_engraver} is part of five Voice contexts,
641 including the standard voice context, @code{Voice}, so our
642 guess was correct. And because @code{Voice} is one of the
643 lowest level contexts which is implied unambiguously by
644 the fact that we are entering notes, we can omit it in this
647 @subheading Overriding once only
649 @cindex overriding once only
650 @cindex once override
655 As you can see, @emph{all} the slurs are thicker in the final example
656 above. But what if we wanted just the first slur to be thicker? This
657 is achieved with the @code{\once} command. Placed immediately before
658 the @code{\override} command it causes it to change only the slur
659 which begins on the @strong{immediately following} note. If the
660 immediately following note does not begin a slur the command has no
661 effect at all -- it is not remembered until a slur is encountered, it
662 is simply discarded. So the command with @code{\once} must be
663 repositioned as follows:
665 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
666 @cindex thickness property, example
668 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
674 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
675 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
677 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
681 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
687 Now only the first slur is made heavier.
689 The @code{\once} command can also be used before the @code{\set}
692 @subheading Reverting
695 @cindex default properties, reverting to
700 Finally, what if we wanted just the first two slurs to be
701 heavier? Well, we could use two commands, each preceded by
702 @code{\once} placed immediately before each of the notes where
705 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
706 @cindex thickness property, example
708 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
714 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
715 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
717 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
718 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
719 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
723 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
729 or we could omit the @code{\once} command and use the @code{\revert}
730 command to return the @code{thickness} property to its default value
731 after the second slur:
733 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
734 @cindex thickness property, example
736 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
742 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
743 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
746 % Revert thickness of all following slurs to default of 1.2
747 \revert Slur #'thickness
752 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
758 The @code{\revert} command can be used to return any property
759 changed with @code{\override} back to its default value.
760 You may use whichever method best suits what you want to do.
762 That concludes our introduction to the IR, and the basic
763 method of tweaking. Several examples follow in the later
764 sections of this Chapter, partly to introduce you to some of the
765 additional features of the IR, and partly to give you more
766 practice in extracting information from it. These examples will
767 contain progressively fewer words of guidance and explanation.
770 @node Properties found in interfaces
771 @subsection Properties found in interfaces
774 @cindex interface properties
775 @cindex properties in interfaces
777 Suppose now that we wish to print the lyrics in italics. What form of
778 @code{\override} command do we need to do this? We first look in the
779 IR page listing @q{All layout objects}, as before, and look for an
780 object that might control lyrics. We find @code{LyricText}, which
781 looks right. Clicking on this shows the settable properties for lyric
782 text. These include the @code{font-series} and @code{font-size}, but
783 nothing that might give an italic shape. This is because the shape
784 property is one that is common to all font objects, so, rather than
785 including it in every layout object, it is grouped together with other
786 similar common properties and placed in an @strong{Interface}, the
787 @code{font-interface}.
789 So now we need to learn how to find the properties of interfaces,
790 and to discover what objects use these interface properties.
792 Look again at the IR page which describes LyricText. At the bottom of
793 the page is a list of clickable interfaces which LyricText supports.
794 The list has several items, including @code{font-interface}. Clicking
795 on this brings up the properties associated with this interface, which
796 are also properties of all the objects which support it, including
799 Now we see all the user-settable properties which control fonts,
800 including @code{font-shape(symbol)}, where @code{symbol} can be
801 set to @code{upright}, @code{italics} or @code{caps}.
803 You will notice that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are also
804 listed there. This immediately raises the question: Why are the
805 common font properties @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} listed
806 under @code{LyricText} as well as under the interface
807 @code{font-interface} but @code{font-shape} is not? The answer is
808 that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are changed from their
809 global default values when a @code{LyricText} object is created, but
810 @code{font-shape} is not. The entries in @code{LyricText} then tell
811 you the values for those two properties which apply to
812 @code{LyricText}. Other objects which support @code{font-interface}
813 will set these properties differently when they are created.
815 Let's see if we can now construct the @code{\override} command
816 to change the lyrics to italics. The object is @code{LyricText},
817 the property is @code{font-shape} and the value is
818 @code{italic}. As before, we'll omit the context.
820 As an aside, although it is an important one, note that because the
821 values of @code{font-shape} are symbols they must be introduced with a
822 single apostrophe, @code{'}. That is why apostrophes are needed
823 before @code{thickness} in the earlier example and @code{font-shape}.
824 These are both symbols too. Symbols are then read internally by
825 LilyPond. Some of them are the names of properties, like
826 @code{thickness} or @code{font-shape}, others are used as values that
827 can be given to properties, like @code{italic}. Note the distinction
828 from arbitrary text strings, which would appear as @code{"a text
829 string"}; for more details about symbols and strings, see
830 @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
832 So we see that the @code{\override} command needed to print the lyrics
836 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
840 This should be placed just in front of the lyrics we wish to affect,
843 @cindex font-shape property, example
844 @cindex italic, example
845 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
846 @cindex @code{\addlyrics}, example
848 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
853 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
854 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
858 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
859 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
865 and the lyrics are all printed in italics.
867 @subheading Specifying the context in lyric mode
869 @cindex context, specifying in lyric mode
870 @cindex lyric mode, specifying context
872 In the case of lyrics, if you try specifying the context in the
873 format given earlier the command will fail. A syllable
874 entered in lyricmode is terminated by either a space,
875 a newline or a digit. All other characters are included
876 as part of the syllable. For this reason a space or newline
877 must appear before the terminating @code{@}} to prevent it being
878 included as part of the final syllable. Similarly,
879 spaces must be inserted before and after the
880 period or dot, @q{.}, separating the context name from the
881 object name, as otherwise the two names are run together and
882 the interpreter cannot recognize them. So the command should be:
885 \override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
888 @warning{In lyrics always leave whitespace between the final
889 syllable and the terminating brace.}
891 @warning{In overrides in lyrics always place spaces around
892 the dot between the context name and the object name.}
896 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
899 @node Types of properties
900 @subsection Types of properties
902 @cindex property types
904 So far we have seen two types of property: @code{number} and
905 @code{symbol}. To be valid, the value given to a property
906 must be of the correct type and obey the rules for that type.
907 The type of property is always shown in brackets after the
908 property name in the IR. Here is a list of the types you may
909 need, together with the rules for that type, and some examples.
910 You must always add a hash symbol, @code{#}, of course,
911 to the front of these values when they are entered in the
912 @code{\override} command.
914 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .45 .35
915 @headitem Property type
919 @tab Either True or False, represented by #t or #f
920 @tab @code{#t}, @code{#f}
921 @item Dimension (in staff space)
922 @tab A positive decimal number (in units of staff space)
923 @tab @code{2.5}, @code{0.34}
925 @tab A valid direction constant or its numerical equivalent (decimal
926 values between -1 and 1 are allowed)
927 @tab @code{LEFT}, @code{CENTER}, @code{UP},
928 @code{1}, @w{@code{-1}}
930 @tab A positive whole number
931 @tab @code{3}, @code{1}
933 @tab A set of values separated by spaces, enclosed in parentheses
934 and preceded by an apostrophe
935 @tab @code{'(left-edge staff-bar)}, @code{'(1)},
936 @code{'(1.0 0.25 0.5)}
938 @tab Any valid markup
939 @tab @code{\markup @{ \italic "cresc." @}}
941 @tab A fraction of a whole note constructed with the
943 @tab @code{(ly:make-moment 1 4)},
944 @code{(ly:make-moment 3 8)}
946 @tab Any positive or negative decimal value
947 @tab @code{3.5}, @w{@code{-2.45}}
948 @item Pair (of numbers)
949 @tab Two numbers separated by a @q{space . space} and enclosed
950 in brackets preceded by an apostrophe
951 @tab @code{'(2 . 3.5)}, @code{'(0.1 . -3.2)}
953 @tab Any of the set of permitted symbols for that property,
954 preceded by an apostrophe
955 @tab @code{'italic}, @code{'inside}
957 @tab A procedure, or @code{#f} to cause no action
958 @tab @code{bend::print}, @code{ly:text-interface::print},
961 @tab A list of three items enclosed in parentheses and preceded
962 by apostrophe-hash, @code{'#}.
963 @tab @code{'#(#t #t #f)}
968 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
971 @node Appearance of objects
972 @section Appearance of objects
974 Let us now put what we have learned into practice with a few
975 examples which show how tweaks may be used to change the
976 appearance of the printed music.
979 * Visibility and color of objects::
981 * Length and thickness of objects::
984 @node Visibility and color of objects
985 @subsection Visibility and color of objects
987 In the educational use of music we might wish to print a score
988 with certain elements omitted as an exercise for the student,
989 who is required to supply them. As a simple example,
990 let us suppose the exercise is to supply the missing bar lines
991 in a piece of music. But the bar lines are normally inserted
992 automatically. How do we prevent them printing?
994 Before we tackle this, let us remember that object properties are
995 grouped in what are called @emph{interfaces} -- see @ref{Properties
996 found in interfaces}. This is simply to group together those
997 properties that may be used together to tweak a graphical object -- if
998 one of them is allowed for an object, so are the others. Some objects
999 then use the properties in some interfaces, others use them from other
1000 interfaces. The interfaces which contain the properties used by a
1001 particular grob are listed in the IR at the bottom of the page
1002 describing that grob, and those properties may be viewed by looking at
1005 We explained how to find information about grobs in @ref{Properties of
1006 layout objects}. Using the same approach, we go to the IR to find the
1007 layout object which prints bar lines. Going via @emph{Backend} and
1008 @emph{All layout objects} we find there is a layout object called
1009 @code{BarLine}. Its properties include two that control its
1010 visibility: @code{break-visibility} and @code{stencil}. Barline also
1011 supports a number of interfaces, including the @code{grob-interface},
1012 where we find the @code{transparent} and the @code{color} properties.
1013 All of these can affect the visibility of bar lines (and, of course,
1014 by extension, many other layout objects too.) Let's consider each of
1019 @cindex stencil property
1021 This property controls the appearance of the bar lines by specifying
1022 the symbol (glyph) which should be printed. In common
1023 with many other properties, it can be set to print nothing by
1024 setting its value to @code{#f}. Let's try it, as before, omitting
1025 the implied Context, @code{Voice}:
1027 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1028 @cindex stencil property, example
1030 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1033 \override BarLine #'stencil = ##f
1035 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1040 The bar lines are still printed. What is wrong? Go back to the IR
1041 and look again at the page giving the properties of BarLine. At the
1042 top of the page it says @qq{Barline objects are created by:
1043 Bar_engraver}. Go to the @code{Bar_engraver} page. At the bottom it
1044 gives a list of Contexts in which the bar engraver operates. All of
1045 them are of the type @code{Staff}, so the reason the @code{\override}
1046 command failed to work as expected is because @code{Barline} is not in
1047 the default @code{Voice} context. If the context is specified
1048 incorrectly, the command simply does not work. No error message is
1049 produced, and nothing is logged in the log file. Let's try correcting
1050 it by adding the correct context:
1052 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1053 @cindex stencil property, example
1055 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1058 \override Staff.BarLine #'stencil = ##f
1060 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1065 Now the bar lines have vanished.
1067 Note, though, that setting the @code{stencil} property to @code{#f}
1068 will cause errors when the dimensions of the object are required for
1069 correct processing. For example, errors will be generated if the
1070 @code{stencil} property of the @code{NoteHead} object is set to
1071 @code{#f}. If this is the case, you can instead use the
1072 @code{point-stencil} function, which sets the stencil to a object
1075 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1078 \once \override NoteHead #'stencil = #point-stencil
1083 @subheading break-visibility
1085 @cindex break-visibility property
1087 We see from the @code{BarLine} properties in the IR that the
1088 @code{break-visibility} property requires a vector of three booleans.
1089 These control respectively whether bar lines are printed at the end of
1090 a line, in the middle of lines, and at the beginning of lines. For
1091 our example we want all bar lines to be suppressed, so the value we
1092 need is @code{'#(#f #f #f)}. Let's try that, remembering to include
1093 the @code{Staff} context. Note also that in writing this value we
1094 have @code{#'#} before the opening bracket. The @code{'#} is required
1095 as part of the value to introduce a vector, and the first@tie{}@code{#} is
1096 required, as always, to precede the value itself in the
1097 @code{\override} command.
1099 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1100 @cindex break-visibility property, example
1102 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1105 \override Staff.BarLine #'break-visibility = #'#(#f #f #f)
1107 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1112 And we see this too removes all the bar lines.
1114 @subheading transparent
1116 @cindex transparent property
1117 @cindex transparency
1119 We see from the properties specified in the @code{grob-interface} page
1120 in the IR that the @code{transparent} property is a boolean. This
1121 should be set to @code{#t} to make the grob transparent. In this next
1122 example let us make the time signature invisible rather than the bar
1123 lines. To do this we need to find the grob name for the time
1124 signature. Back to the @q{All layout objects} page in the IR to find
1125 the properties of the @code{TimeSignature} layout object. This is
1126 produced by the @code{Time_signature_engraver} which you can check
1127 also lives in the @code{Staff} context and also supports the
1128 @code{grob-interface}. So the command to make the time signature
1131 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1132 @cindex transparent property, example
1134 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1137 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'transparent = ##t
1139 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1145 The time signature is gone, but this command leaves a gap where
1146 the time signature should be. Maybe this is what is wanted for
1147 an exercise for the student to fill it in, but in other
1148 circumstances a gap might be undesirable. To remove it, the
1149 stencil for the time signature should be set to @code{#f}
1152 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1153 @cindex stencil property, example
1155 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1158 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1160 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1166 and the difference is obvious: setting the stencil to @code{#f}
1167 removes the object entirely; making the object @code{transparent}
1168 leaves it where it is, but makes it invisible.
1172 @cindex color property
1174 Finally let us try making the bar lines invisible by coloring
1175 them white. (There is a difficulty with this in that the
1176 white bar line may or may not blank out the staff lines where
1177 they cross. You may see in some of the examples below that this
1178 happens unpredictably. The details of why this is so and how to
1179 control it are covered in @ruser{Painting objects white}. But at
1180 the moment we are learning about color, so please just accept this
1181 limitation for now.)
1183 The @code{grob-interface} specifies that the
1184 color property value is a list, but there is no
1185 explanation of what that list should be. The list it
1186 requires is actually a list of values in internal units,
1187 but, to avoid having to know what these are, several ways
1188 are provided to specify colors. The first way is to use one
1189 of the @q{normal} colors listed in the first table in
1190 @ruser{List of colors}. To set the bar lines to white
1193 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1194 @cindex color property, example
1196 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1199 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #white
1201 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1207 and again, we see the bar lines are not visible. Note that
1208 @emph{white} is not preceded by an apostrophe -- it is not
1209 a symbol, but a @emph{function}. When called, it provides
1210 the list of internal values required to set the color to
1211 white. The other colors in the normal list are functions
1212 too. To convince yourself this is working you might like
1213 to change the color to one of the other functions in the
1221 The second way of changing the color is to use the list of
1222 X11 color names in the second list in @ruser{List of colors}.
1223 However, these must be preceded by another function, which
1224 converts X11 color names into the list of internal values,
1225 @code{x11-color}, like this:
1227 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1228 @cindex color property, example
1230 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1233 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'white)
1235 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1241 Note that in this case the function @code{x11-color} takes
1242 a symbol as an argument, so the symbol must be preceded by
1243 an apostrophe and the two enclosed in brackets.
1250 There is yet a third function, one which converts RGB values into
1251 internal colors -- the @code{rgb-color} function. This takes
1252 three arguments giving the intensities of the red, green and
1253 blue colors. These take values in the range 0 to 1. So to
1254 set the color to red the value should be @code{(rgb-color 1 0 0)}
1255 and to white it should be @code{(rgb-color 1 1 1)}:
1257 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1258 @cindex color property, example
1260 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1263 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(rgb-color 1 1 1)
1265 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1270 Finally, there is also a grey scale available as part of the
1271 X11 set of colors. These range from black, @code{'grey0'},
1272 to white, @code{'grey100}, in steps of 1. Let's illustrate
1273 this by setting all the layout objects in our example to
1274 various shades of grey:
1276 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1277 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1278 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1279 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
1280 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1281 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1282 @cindex color property, example
1283 @cindex x11-color, example of using
1285 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1288 \override Staff.StaffSymbol #'color = #(x11-color 'grey30)
1289 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1290 \override Staff.Clef #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1291 \override Voice.NoteHead #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1292 \override Voice.Stem #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1293 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'grey10)
1295 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1301 Note the contexts associated with each of the layout objects.
1302 It is important to get these right, or the commands will not
1303 work! Remember, the context is the one in which the appropriate
1304 engraver is placed. The default context for engravers can be
1305 found by starting from the layout object, going from there to
1306 the engraver which produces it, and on the engraver page in the
1307 IR it tells you in which context the engraver will normally be
1311 @node Size of objects
1312 @subsection Size of objects
1314 @cindex changing size of objects
1315 @cindex size of objects
1316 @cindex objects, size of
1317 @cindex objects, changing size of
1319 Let us begin by looking again at the earlier example
1320 see @ref{Nesting music expressions}) which showed
1321 how to introduce a new temporary staff, as in an @rglos{ossia}.
1323 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1324 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1326 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1327 \new Staff ="main" {
1334 alignAboveContext = #"main" }
1342 Ossia are normally written without clef and time signature, and
1343 are usually printed slightly smaller than the main staff. We
1344 already know now how to remove the clef and time signature --
1345 we simply set the stencil of each to @code{#f}, as follows:
1347 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1348 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1349 @cindex stencil property, example
1350 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1351 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1353 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1354 \new Staff ="main" {
1361 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1364 \override Staff.Clef #'stencil = ##f
1365 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1375 where the extra pair of braces after the @code{\with} clause are
1376 required to ensure the enclosed overrides and music are applied
1379 But what is the difference between modifying the staff context by
1380 using @code{\with} and modifying the stencils of the clef and the
1381 time signature with \override? The main difference is that
1382 changes made in a @code{\with} clause are made at the time the
1383 context is created, and remain in force as the @strong{default}
1384 values for the duration of that context, whereas
1385 @code{\set} or @code{\override} commands embedded in the
1386 music are dynamic -- they make changes synchronized with
1387 a particular point in the music. If changes are unset or
1388 reverted using @code{\unset} or @code{\revert} they return to
1389 their default values, which will be the ones set in the
1390 @code{\with} clause, or if none have been set there, the normal
1393 Some context properties can be modified only in @code{\with} clauses.
1394 These are those properties which cannot sensibly be changed after the
1395 context has been created. @code{alignAboveContext} and its partner,
1396 @code{alignBelowContext}, are two such properties -- once the staff
1397 has been created its alignment is decided and it would make no sense
1398 to try to change it later.
1400 The default values of layout object properties can also be set
1401 in @code{\with} clauses. Simply use the normal @code{\override}
1402 command leaving out the context name, since this is unambiguously
1403 defined as the context which the @code{\with} clause is modifying.
1404 If fact, an error will be generated if a context is specified
1407 So we could replace the example above with
1409 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1410 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1411 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1412 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1414 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1415 \new Staff ="main" {
1422 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1423 % Don't print clefs in this staff
1424 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1425 % Don't print time signatures in this staff
1426 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1435 Finally we come to changing the size of layout objects.
1437 Some layout objects are created as glyphs selected from a typeface
1438 font. These include note heads, accidentals, markup, clefs, time
1439 signatures, dynamics and lyrics. Their size is changed by modifying
1440 the @code{font-size} property, as we shall shortly see. Other layout
1441 objects such as slurs and ties -- in general, spanner objects -- are
1442 drawn individually, so there is no @code{font-size} associated with
1443 them. These objects generally derive their size from the objects to
1444 which they are attached, so usually there is no need to change their
1445 size manually. Still other properties such as the length of stems and
1446 bar lines, thickness of beams and other lines, and the separation of
1447 staff lines all need to be modified in special ways.
1449 Returning to the ossia example, let us first change the font-size.
1450 We can do this in two ways. We can either change the size of the
1451 fonts of each object type, like @code{NoteHead}s with commands
1455 \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-2
1458 or we can change the size of all fonts by setting a special
1459 property, @code{fontSize}, using @code{\set}, or by including
1460 it in a @code{\with} clause (but without the @code{\set}).
1466 Both of these statements would cause the font size to be reduced
1467 by 2 steps from its previous value, where each
1468 step reduces or increases the size by approximately 12%.
1470 Let's try it in our ossia example:
1472 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1473 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1474 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1475 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1476 @cindex fontSize property, example
1478 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1479 \new Staff ="main" {
1486 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1487 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1488 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1489 % Reduce all font sizes by ~24%
1499 This is still not quite right. The note heads and flags are
1500 smaller, but the stems are too long in proportion and the
1501 staff lines are spaced too widely apart. These need to be
1502 scaled down in proportion to the font reduction. The next
1503 sub-section discusses how this is done.
1505 @node Length and thickness of objects
1506 @subsection Length and thickness of objects
1512 @cindex size, changing
1513 @cindex stem length, changing
1514 @cindex staff line spacing, changing
1516 Distances and lengths in LilyPond are generally measured in
1517 staff-spaces, the distance between adjacent lines in the staff,
1518 (or occasionally half staff spaces) while most @code{thickness}
1519 properties are measured in units of an internal property called
1520 @code{line-thickness.} For example, by default, the lines of
1521 hairpins are given a thickness of 1 unit of @code{line-thickness},
1522 while the @code{thickness} of a note stem is 1.3. Note, though,
1523 that some thickness properties are different; for example, the
1524 thickness of beams is controlled by the value of the
1525 @code{beam-thickness} property, which is measured in staff-spaces.
1527 So how are lengths to be scaled in proportion to the font size?
1528 This can be done with the help of a special function called
1529 @code{magstep} provided for exactly this purpose. It takes
1530 one argument, the change in font size (#-2 in the example above)
1531 and returns a scaling factor suitable for reducing other
1532 objects in proportion. It is used like this:
1534 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1535 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1536 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1537 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1538 @cindex fontSize property, example
1539 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1540 @cindex magstep function, example of using
1541 @cindex staff-space property, example
1542 @cindex stencil property, example
1544 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1545 \new Staff ="main" {
1552 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1553 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1554 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1556 % Reduce stem length and line spacing to match
1557 \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #(magstep -2)
1567 Since the length of stems and many other length-related properties are
1568 always calculated relative to the value of the @code{staff-space}
1569 property these are automatically scaled down in length too. Note that
1570 this affects only the vertical scale of the ossia -- the horizontal
1571 scale is determined by the layout of the main music in order to remain
1572 synchronized with it, so it is not affected by any of these changes in
1573 size. Of course, if the scale of all the main music were changed in
1574 this way then the horizontal spacing would be affected. This is
1575 discussed later in the layout section.
1577 This, then, completes the creation of an ossia. The sizes and
1578 lengths of all other objects may be modified in analogous ways.
1580 For small changes in scale, as in the example above, the
1581 thickness of the various drawn lines such as bar lines,
1582 beams, hairpins, slurs, etc does not usually require global
1583 adjustment. If the thickness of any particular layout object
1584 needs to be adjusted this can be best achieved by overriding its
1585 @code{thickness} property. An example of changing the thickness
1586 of slurs was shown above in @ref{Properties of layout objects}.
1587 The thickness of all drawn objects (i.e., those not produced
1588 from a font) may be changed in the same way.
1591 @node Placement of objects
1592 @section Placement of objects
1595 * Automatic behavior::
1596 * Within-staff objects::
1597 * Outside-staff objects::
1601 @node Automatic behavior
1602 @subsection Automatic behavior
1604 @cindex within-staff objects
1605 @cindex outside-staff objects
1606 @cindex objects, within-staff
1607 @cindex objects, outside-staff
1609 There are some objects in musical notation that belong to
1610 the staff and there are other objects that should be
1611 placed outside the staff. These are called within-staff
1612 objects and outside-staff objects respectively.
1614 Within-staff objects are those that are located on the staff
1615 -- note heads, stems, accidentals, etc. The positions of
1616 these are usually fixed by the music itself -- they are
1617 vertically positioned on specific lines of the staff or are
1618 tied to other objects that are so positioned. Collisions of
1619 note heads, stems and accidentals in closely set chords are
1620 normally avoided automatically. There are commands and
1621 overrides which can modify this automatic behavior, as we
1624 Objects belonging outside the staff include things such as
1625 rehearsal marks, text and dynamic markings. LilyPond's rule for
1626 the vertical placement of outside-staff objects is to place them
1627 as close to the staff as possible but not so close that they
1628 collide with any other object. LilyPond uses the
1629 @code{outside-staff-priority} property to determine the order in
1630 which the objects should be placed, as follows.
1632 First, LilyPond places all the within-staff objects.
1633 Then it sorts the outside-staff objects according to their
1634 @code{outside-staff-priority}. The outside-staff objects are
1635 taken one by one, beginning with the object with the lowest
1636 @code{outside-staff-priority}, and placed so that they do not
1637 collide with any objects that have already been placed. That is,
1638 if two outside-staff grobs are competing for the same space, the
1639 one with the lower @code{outside-staff-priority} will be placed
1640 closer to the staff. If two objects have the same
1641 @code{outside-staff-priority} the one encountered first will be
1642 placed closer to the staff.
1644 In the following example all the markup texts have the same
1645 priority (since it is not explicitly set). Note that @q{Text3}
1646 is automatically positioned close to the staff again, nestling
1649 @cindex markup example
1651 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1658 Staves are also positioned, by default, as closely together as
1659 possible (subject to a minimum separation). If notes project
1660 a long way towards an adjacent staff they will force the
1661 staves further apart only if an overlap of the notation
1662 would otherwise occur. The following example demonstrates
1663 this @q{nestling} of the notes on adjacent staves:
1665 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1668 \relative c' { c4 a, }
1671 \relative c'''' { c4 a, }
1677 @node Within-staff objects
1678 @subsection Within-staff objects
1680 We have already seen how the commands @code{\voiceXXX} affect
1681 the direction of slurs, ties, fingering and
1682 everything else which depends on the direction of the stems.
1683 These commands are essential when writing polyphonic music to
1684 permit interweaving melodic lines to be distinguished.
1685 But occasionally it may be necessary to override this automatic
1686 behavior. This can be done for whole sections of music or even
1687 for an individual note. The property which controls this
1688 behavior is the @code{direction} property of each layout object.
1689 We first explain what this does, and then introduce a number of
1690 ready-made commands which avoid your having to code explicit
1691 overrides for the more common modifications.
1693 Some layout objects like slurs and ties curve, bend or point
1694 either up or down; others like stems and flags also move to
1695 right or left when they point up or down. This is controlled
1696 automatically when @code{direction} is set.
1703 The following example shows in bar 1 the default behavior of stems,
1704 with those on high notes pointing down and those on low notes pointing
1705 up, followed by four notes with all stems forced down, four notes with
1706 all stems forced up, and finally four notes reverted back to the
1709 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1710 @cindex direction property, example
1712 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1714 \override Stem #'direction = #DOWN
1716 \override Stem #'direction = #UP
1718 \revert Stem #'direction
1722 Here we use the constants @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}.
1723 These have the values @w{@code{-1}} and @code{+1} respectively, and
1724 these numerical values may be used instead. The value @code{0}
1725 may also be used in some cases. It is simply treated as meaning
1726 @code{UP} for stems, but for some objects it means @q{center}.
1727 There is a constant, @code{CENTER} which has the value @code{0}.
1729 However, these explicit overrides are not usually used, as there are
1730 simpler equivalent predefined commands available. Here is a table of
1731 the commonest. The meaning of each is stated where it is not obvious.
1733 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .2 .25 .35
1738 @item @code{\arpeggioArrowDown}
1739 @tab @code{\arpeggioArrowUp}
1740 @tab @code{\arpeggioNormal}
1741 @tab Arrow is at bottom, at top, or no arrow
1742 @item @code{\dotsDown}
1744 @tab @code{\dotsNeutral}
1745 @tab Direction of movement to avoid staff lines
1746 @item @code{\dynamicDown}
1747 @tab @code{\dynamicUp}
1748 @tab @code{\dynamicNeutral}
1750 @item @code{\phrasingSlurDown}
1751 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurUp}
1752 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurNeutral}
1753 @tab Note: distinct from slur commands
1754 @item @code{\slurDown}
1756 @tab @code{\slurNeutral}
1758 @item @code{\stemDown}
1760 @tab @code{\stemNeutral}
1762 @item @code{\textSpannerDown}
1763 @tab @code{\textSpannerUp}
1764 @tab @code{\textSpannerNeutral}
1765 @tab Text entered as spanner is below/above staff
1766 @item @code{\tieDown}
1768 @tab @code{\tieNeutral}
1770 @item @code{\tupletDown}
1771 @tab @code{\tupletUp}
1772 @tab @code{\tupletNeutral}
1773 @tab Tuplets are below/above notes
1776 Note that these predefined commands may @strong{not} be
1777 preceded by @code{\once}. If you wish to limit the
1778 effect to a single note you must either use the equivalent
1779 @code{\once \override} command or use the predefined command
1780 followed after the affected note by the corresponding
1781 @code{\xxxNeutral} command.
1783 @unnumberedsubsubsec Fingering
1785 @cindex fingering, placement
1786 @cindex fingering, chords
1788 The placement of fingering on single notes can also be controlled
1789 by the @code{direction} property, but changing @code{direction}
1790 has no effect on chords. As we shall see, there are special
1791 commands which allow the fingering of individual notes
1792 of chords to be controlled, with the fingering being placed
1793 above, below, to the left or to the right of each note.
1795 First, here's the effect of @code{direction} on the fingering
1796 attached to single notes. The first bar shows the default
1797 behaviour, and the following two bars shows the effect of
1798 specifying @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}:
1800 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
1801 @cindex direction property, example
1803 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1805 \override Fingering #'direction = #DOWN
1807 \override Fingering #'direction = #UP
1811 However, overriding the @code{direction} property is not the
1812 easiest way of manually setting the fingering above or below
1813 the notes; using @code{_} or @code{^} instead of @code{-} before
1814 the fingering number is usually preferable. Here is the previous
1815 example using this method:
1817 @cindex fingering example
1819 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1825 The @code{direction} property is ignored for chords, but the
1826 directional prefixes, @code{_} and @code{^} do work. By default,
1827 the fingering is automatically placed both above and below the
1828 notes of a chord, as shown:
1830 @cindex fingering example
1832 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1839 but this may be overridden to manually force all or any of the
1840 individual fingering numbers above or below:
1842 @cindex fingering example
1844 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1850 Even greater control over the placement of fingering of the
1851 individual notes in a chord is possible by using the
1852 @code{\set fingeringOrientations} command. The format of this
1856 @code{\set fingeringOrientations = #'([up] [left/right] [down])}
1860 @code{\set} is used because @code{fingeringOrientations} is a
1861 property of the @code{Voice} context, created and used by the
1862 @code{New_fingering_engraver}.
1864 The property may be set to a list of one to three values.
1865 It controls whether fingerings may be placed above (if
1866 @code{up} appears in the list), below (if @code{down} appears),
1867 to the left (if @code{left} appears, or to the right
1868 (if @code{right} appears). Conversely, if a location is not
1869 listed, no fingering is placed there. LilyPond takes these
1870 constraints and works out the best placement for the fingering
1871 of the notes of the following chords. Note that @code{left} and
1872 @code{right} are mutually exclusive -- fingering may be placed
1873 only on one side or the other, not both.
1875 @warning{To control the placement of the fingering of a single
1876 note using this command it is necessary to write it as a single
1877 note chord by placing angle brackets round it.}
1879 Here are a few examples:
1881 @cindex fingering example
1882 @cindex @code{\set}, example of using
1883 @cindex fingeringOrientations property, example
1885 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1886 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1889 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1891 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1892 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1895 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1897 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1898 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1904 If the fingering seems a little crowded the @code{font-size}
1905 could be reduced. The default value can be seen from the
1906 @code{Fingering} object in the IR to be @w{@code{-5}}, so let's
1909 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1910 \override Fingering #'font-size = #-7
1911 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1914 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1916 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1917 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1920 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1922 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1923 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1928 @node Outside-staff objects
1929 @subsection Outside-staff objects
1931 Outside-staff objects are automatically placed to avoid collisions.
1932 Objects with the lower value of the @code{outside-staff-priority}
1933 property are placed nearer to the staff, and other outside-staff
1934 objects are then raised as far as necessary to avoid collisions.
1935 The @code{outside-staff-priority} is defined in the
1936 @code{grob-interface} and so is a property of all layout objects.
1937 By default it is set to @code{#f} for all within-staff objects,
1938 and to a numerical value appropriate to each outside-staff object
1939 when the object is created. The following table shows the default
1940 numerical values for some of the commonest outside-staff objects.
1944 Note the unusual names for some of the objects: spanner objects
1945 are automatically created to control the vertical positioning of
1946 grobs which (might) start and end at different musical moments, so
1947 changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the underlying grob
1948 will have no effect. For example, changing
1949 @code{outside-staff-priority} of the @code{Hairpin} object will
1950 have no effect on the vertical positioning of hairpins -- you must
1951 change @code{outside-staff-priority} of the associated
1952 @code{DynamicLineSpanner} object instead. This override must be
1953 placed at the start of the spanner, which might include several
1954 linked hairpins and dynamics.
1956 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .3 .3
1957 @headitem Layout Object
1959 @tab Controls position of:
1960 @item @code{RehearsalMark}
1962 @tab Rehearsal marks
1963 @item @code{MetronomeMark}
1965 @tab Metronome marks
1966 @item @code{VoltaBracketSpanner}
1969 @item @code{TextScript}
1972 @item @code{MultiMeasureRestText}
1974 @tab Markup text over full-bar rests
1975 @item @code{OttavaBracket}
1977 @tab Ottava brackets
1978 @item @code{TextSpanner}
1981 @item @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
1983 @tab All dynamic markings
1984 @item @code{BarNumber}
1987 @item @code{TrillSpanner}
1989 @tab Spanning trills
1992 Here is an example showing the default placement of some of
1995 @cindex text spanner
1996 @cindex ottava bracket
1998 @funindex \startTextSpan
1999 @funindex startTextSpan
2000 @funindex \stopTextSpan
2001 @funindex stopTextSpan
2003 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
2004 @cindex bound-details property, example
2006 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2007 % Set details for later Text Spanner
2008 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text)
2009 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2010 % Place dynamics above staff
2012 % Start Ottava Bracket
2015 % Add Dynamic Text and hairpin
2021 % Add Dynamic Text and terminate hairpin
2022 c4\ff c \stopTextSpan |
2023 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2028 This example also shows how to create Text Spanners --
2029 text with extender lines above a section of music. The
2030 spanner extends from the @code{\startTextSpan} command to
2031 the @code{\stopTextSpan} command, and the format of the
2032 text is defined by the @code{\override TextSpanner} command.
2033 For more details see @ruser{Text spanners}.
2035 It also shows how ottava brackets are created.
2037 @cindex tweaking bar number placement
2038 @cindex bar numbers, tweaking placement
2039 @cindex tweaking metronome mark placement
2040 @cindex metronome mark, tweaking placement
2041 @cindex tweaking rehearsal mark placement
2042 @cindex rehearsal marks, tweaking placement
2044 If the default values of @code{outside-staff-priority} do not give you
2045 the placing you want, the priority of any of the objects may be
2046 overridden. Suppose we would like the ottava bracket to be placed
2047 below the text spanner in the example above. All we need to do is to
2048 look up the priority of @code{OttavaBracket} in the IR or in the
2049 tables above, and reduce it to a value lower than that of a
2050 @code{TextSpanner}, remembering that @code{OttavaBracket} is created
2051 in the @code{Staff} context:
2053 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
2054 @cindex bound-details property, example
2056 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2057 % Set details for later Text Spanner
2058 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text)
2059 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2060 % Place dynamics above staff
2062 % Place following Ottava Bracket below Text Spanners
2063 \once \override Staff.OttavaBracket #'outside-staff-priority = #340
2064 % Start Ottava Bracket
2069 % Add Dynamic Line Spanner
2075 c4\ff c \stopTextSpan |
2076 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2081 Note that some of these objects, in particular bar numbers,
2082 metronome marks and rehearsal marks, live by default in the
2083 @code{Score} context, so be sure to use the correct context
2084 when these are being overriden.
2086 @cindex slurs and outside-staff-priority
2087 @cindex slurs and articulations
2088 @cindex articulations and slurs
2090 Slurs by default are classed as within-staff objects, but
2091 they often appear above the staff if the notes to
2092 which they are attached are high on the staff. This can push
2093 outside-staff objects such as articulations too high, as the slur
2094 will be placed first. The @code{avoid-slur} property of the
2095 articulation can be set to @code{'inside} to bring the articulation
2096 inside the slur, but the @code{avoid-slur} property is effective
2097 only if the @code{outside-staff-priority} is also set to @code{#f}.
2098 Alternatively, the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the slur
2099 can be set to a numerical value to cause it to be placed along with
2100 other outside-staff objects according to that value. Here's an
2101 example showing the effect of the two methods:
2103 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
2104 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2106 \once \override TextScript #'avoid-slur = #'inside
2107 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2108 c4^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2109 \once \override Slur #'outside-staff-priority = #500
2110 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2113 Changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} can also be used to
2114 control the vertical placement of individual objects, although
2115 the results may not always be desirable. Suppose we would
2116 like @qq{Text3} to be placed above @qq{Text4} in the example
2117 under Automatic behavior, above (see @ref{Automatic behavior}).
2118 All we need to do is to look up the priority of @code{TextScript}
2119 in the IR or in the tables above, and increase the priority of
2120 @qq{Text3} to a higher value:
2122 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2123 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2125 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2128 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = #500
2133 This certainly lifts @qq{Text3} above @qq{Text4} but it also lifts it
2134 above @qq{Text2}, and @qq{Text4} now drops down. Perhaps this is not
2135 so good. What we would really like to do is to position all the
2136 annotation at the same distance above the staff. To do this, we
2137 clearly will need to space the notes out horizontally to make more
2138 room for the text. This is done using the @code{textLengthOn}
2141 @subheading \textLengthOn
2143 @cindex notes, spreading out with text
2145 @funindex \textLengthOn
2146 @funindex textLengthOn
2147 @funindex \textLengthOff
2148 @funindex textLengthOff
2150 By default, text produced by markup takes up no horizontal space
2151 as far as laying out the music is concerned. The @code{\textLengthOn}
2152 command reverses this behavior, causing the notes to be spaced
2153 out as far as is necessary to accommodate the text:
2155 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2156 \textLengthOn % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
2163 The command to revert to the default behavior is
2164 @code{\textLengthOff}. Remember @code{\once} only works with
2165 @code{\override}, @code{\set}, @code{\revert} or @code{unset},
2166 so cannot be used with @code{\textLengthOn}.
2168 @cindex markup text, allowing collisions
2170 Markup text will also avoid notes which project above the staff.
2171 If this is not desired, the automatic displacement upwards may
2172 be turned off by setting the priority to @code{#f}. Here's an
2173 example to show how markup text interacts with such notes.
2175 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2176 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2178 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2179 % This markup is short enough to fit without collision
2183 % This is too long to fit, so it is displaced upwards
2187 % Turn off collision avoidance
2188 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2189 c,,2^"Long Text " c'' |
2192 % Turn off collision avoidance
2193 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2194 \textLengthOn % and turn on textLengthOn
2195 c,,2^"Long Text " % Spaces at end are honored
2200 @subheading Dynamics
2202 @cindex tweaking dynamics placement
2203 @cindex dynamics, tweaking placement
2205 Dynamic markings will normally be positioned beneath the
2206 staff, but may be positioned above with the @code{dynamicUp}
2207 command. They will be positioned vertically relative to the
2208 note to which they are attached, and will float below (or above)
2209 all within-staff objects such as phrasing slurs and bar numbers.
2210 This can give quite acceptable results, as this example
2213 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2218 bes4.~\f\< \( bes4 bes8 des4\ff\> c16 bes\! |
2219 ees,2.~\)\mf ees4 r8 |
2222 However, if the notes and attached dynamics are close
2223 together the automatic placement will avoid collisions
2224 by displacing later dynamic markings further away, but this may
2225 not be the optimum placement, as this rather artificial example
2228 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2234 Should a similar situation arise in @q{real} music, it may be
2235 preferable to space out the notes a little further, so the dynamic
2236 markings can all fit at the same vertical distance from the staff. We
2237 were able to do this for markup text by using the @code{\textLengthOn}
2238 command, but there is no equivalent command for dynamic marks. So we
2239 shall have to work out how to do this using @code{\override} commands.
2241 @subheading Grob sizing
2244 @cindex sizing grobs
2246 First we must learn how grobs are sized. All grobs have a
2247 reference point defined within them which is used to position
2248 them relative to their parent object. This point in the grob
2249 is then positioned at a horizontal distance, @code{X-offset},
2250 and at a vertical distance, @code{Y-offset}, from its parent.
2251 The horizontal extent of the object is given by a pair of
2252 numbers, @code{X-extent}, which say where the left and right
2253 edges are relative to the reference point. The vertical extent
2254 is similarly defined by a pair of numbers, @code{Y-extent}.
2255 These are properties of all grobs which support the
2256 @code{grob-interface}.
2258 @cindex @code{extra-spacing-width}
2260 By default, outside-staff objects are given a width of zero so
2261 that they may overlap in the horizontal direction. This is done
2262 by the trick of adding infinity to the leftmost extent and
2263 minus infinity to the rightmost extent by setting the
2264 @code{extra-spacing-width} to @code{'(+inf.0 . -inf.0)}. So
2265 to ensure they do not overlap in the horizontal direction we
2266 must override this value of @code{extra-spacing-width} to
2267 @code{'(0 . 0)} so the true width shines through. This is
2268 the command to do this for dynamic text:
2271 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2275 Let's see if this works in our previous example:
2277 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2278 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2280 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2282 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2283 a4\f b\mf c\mp b\p |
2287 Well, it has certainly stopped the dynamic marks being
2288 displaced, but two problems remain. The marks should be
2289 spaced a little further apart and it would be better
2290 if they were all the same distance from the staff.
2291 We can solve the first problem easily. Instead of making
2292 the @code{extra-spacing-width} zero we could add a little
2293 more to it. The units are the space between two staff
2294 lines, so moving the left edge half a unit to the left and the
2295 right edge half a unit to the right should do it:
2297 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2298 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2300 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2302 % Extend width by 1 staff space
2303 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2308 This looks better, but maybe we would prefer the dynamic marks
2309 to be aligned along the same baseline rather than going up and
2310 down with the notes. The property to do this is
2311 @code{staff-padding} which is covered in the following section.
2314 @node Collisions of objects
2315 @section Collisions of objects
2319 * Fixing overlapping notation::
2320 * Real music example::
2323 @node Moving objects
2324 @subsection Moving objects
2326 @cindex moving overlapping objects
2327 @cindex moving colliding objects
2328 @cindex moving colliding grobs
2329 @cindex objects, moving colliding
2330 @cindex grobs, moving colliding
2332 This may come as a surprise, but LilyPond is not perfect. Some
2333 notation elements can overlap. This is unfortunate, but in fact
2334 rather rare. Usually the need to move objects is for clarity or
2335 aesthetic reasons -- they would look better with a little more
2336 or a little less space around them.
2338 There are three main approaches to resolving overlapping
2339 notation. They should be considered in the following order:
2343 The @strong{direction} of one of the overlapping objects may
2344 be changed using the predefined commands listed above for
2345 within-staff objects (see @ref{Within-staff objects}).
2346 Stems, slurs, beams, ties, dynamics, text and tuplets may be
2347 repositioned easily in this way. The limitation is that you
2348 have a choice of only two positions, and neither may be
2352 The @strong{object properties}, which LilyPond uses when positioning
2353 layout objects, may be modified using @code{\override}. The
2354 advantages of making changes to this type of property are (a) that
2355 some other objects will be moved automatically if necessary to make
2356 room and (b) the single override can apply to all instances of the
2357 same type of object. Such properties include:
2364 This has already been covered in some detail -- see
2365 @ref{Within-staff objects}.
2368 @code{padding}, @code{right-padding}, @code{staff-padding}
2371 @cindex padding property
2372 @cindex right-padding property
2373 @cindex staff-padding property
2375 As an object is being positioned the value of its @code{padding}
2376 property specifies the gap that must be left between itself and the
2377 nearest edge of the object against which it is being positioned. Note
2378 that it is the @code{padding} value of the object @strong{being
2379 placed} that is used; the @code{padding} value of the object which is
2380 already placed is ignored. Gaps specified by @code{padding} can be
2381 applied to all objects which support the
2382 @code{side-position-interface}.
2384 Instead of @code{padding}, the placement of groups of accidentals
2385 is controlled by @code{right-padding}. This property is to be found
2386 in the @code{AccidentalPlacement} object which, note, lives in the
2387 @strong{Staff} context. In the typesetting process the note heads
2388 are typeset first and then the accidentals, if any, are added to the
2389 left of the note heads using the @code{right-padding} property to determine
2390 the separation from the note heads and between individual accidentals.
2391 So only the @code{right-padding} property of the @code{AccidentalPlacement}
2392 object has any effect on the placement of the accidentals.
2394 The @code{staff-padding} property is closely related to the
2395 @code{padding} property: @code{padding} controls the minimum amount of
2396 space between any object which supports the
2397 @code{side-position-interface} and the nearest other object (generally
2398 the note or the staff lines); @code{staff-padding} applies only to
2399 those objects which are always set outside the staff -- it controls
2400 the minimum amount of space that should be inserted between that
2401 object and the staff. Note that @code{staff-padding} has no effect on
2402 objects which are positioned relative to the note rather than the
2403 staff, even though it may be overridden without error for such objects
2404 -- it is simply ignored.
2406 To discover which padding property is required for the object you wish
2407 to reposition, you need to return to the IR and look up the object's
2408 properties. Be aware that the padding properties might not be located
2409 in the obvious object, so look in objects that appear to be related.
2411 All padding values are measured in staff spaces. For most
2412 objects, this value is set by default to be around 1.0 or less
2413 (it varies with each object). It may be overridden if a larger
2414 (or smaller) gap is required.
2417 @code{self-alignment-X}
2419 @cindex self-alignment-X property
2421 This property can be used to align the object to the left, to
2422 the right, or to center it with respect to the parent object's
2423 reference point. It may be used with all objects which support
2424 the @code{self-alignment-interface}. In general these are objects
2425 that contain text. The values are @code{LEFT}, @code{RIGHT}
2426 or @code{CENTER}. Alternatively, a numerical value between
2427 @w{@code{-1}} and @code{+1} may be specified, where @w{@code{-1}} is
2428 left-aligned, @code{+1} is right-aligned, and numbers in between
2429 move the text progressively from left-aligned to right-aligned.
2430 Numerical values greater than @code{1} may be specified to move
2431 the text even further to the left, or less than @w{@code{-1}} to
2432 move the text even further to the right. A change of @code{1}
2433 in the value corresponds to a movement of half the text's length.
2436 @code{extra-spacing-width}
2438 @cindex extra-spacing-width property
2440 This property is available for all objects which support the
2441 @code{item-interface}. It takes two numbers, the first is added
2442 to the leftmost extent and the second is added to the rightmost
2443 extent. Negative numbers move the edge to the left, positive to
2444 the right, so to widen an object the first number must be negative,
2445 the second positive. Note that not all objects honor both
2446 numbers. For example, the @code{Accidental} object only takes
2447 notice of the first (left edge) number.
2450 @code{staff-position}
2452 @cindex staff-position property
2454 @code{staff-position} is a property of the
2455 @code{staff-symbol-referencer-interface}, which is supported by
2456 objects which are positioned relative to the staff. It specifies
2457 the vertical position of the object relative to the center line
2458 of the staff in half staff-spaces. It is useful in resolving
2459 collisions between layout objects like multi-measure rests, ties
2460 and notes in different voices.
2465 @cindex force-hshift property
2467 Closely spaced notes in a chord, or notes occurring at the same
2468 time in different voices, are arranged in two, occasionally more,
2469 columns to prevent the note heads overlapping. These are called
2470 note columns, and an object called @code{NoteColumn} is created
2471 to lay out the notes in that column.
2473 The @code{force-hshift} property is a property of a @code{NoteColumn}
2474 (actually of the @code{note-column-interface}). Changing it permits a
2475 note column to be moved in units appropriate to a note column,
2476 viz. the note head width of the first voice note. It should be used
2477 in complex situations where the normal @code{\shiftOn} commands (see
2478 @ref{Explicitly instantiating voices}) do not resolve the note
2479 conflict. It is preferable to the @code{extra-offset} property for
2480 this purpose as there is no need to work out the distance in
2481 staff-spaces, and moving the notes into or out of a @code{NoteColumn}
2482 affects other actions such as merging note heads.
2487 Finally, when all else fails, objects may be manually repositioned
2488 relative to the staff center line vertically, or by displacing them by
2489 any distance to a new position. The disadvantages are that the
2490 correct values for the repositioning have to be worked out, often by
2491 trial and error, for every object individually, and, because the
2492 movement is done after LilyPond has placed all other objects, the user
2493 is responsible for avoiding any collisions that might ensue. But the
2494 main difficulty with this approach is that the repositioning values
2495 may need to be reworked if the music is later modified. The
2496 properties that can be used for this type of manual repositioning are:
2501 @cindex extra-offset property
2503 This property applies to any layout object supporting the
2504 @code{grob-interface}. It takes a pair of numbers which specify the
2505 extra displacement in the horizontal and vertical directions.
2506 Negative numbers move the object to the left or down. The units are
2507 staff-spaces. The extra displacement is made after the typesetting of
2508 objects is finished, so an object may be repositioned anywhere without
2509 affecting anything else.
2513 @cindex positions property
2515 This is most useful for manually adjusting the slope and height
2516 of beams, slurs, and tuplets. It takes a pair of numbers
2517 giving the position of the left and right ends of the beam, slur,
2518 etc. relative to the center line of the staff. Units are
2519 staff-spaces. Note, though, that slurs and phrasing slurs cannot
2520 be repositioned by arbitrarily large amounts. LilyPond first
2521 generates a list of possible positions for the slur and by default
2522 finds the slur that @qq{looks best}. If the @code{positions}
2523 property has been overridden the slur that is closest to the
2524 requested positions is selected from the list.
2529 A particular object may not have all of these properties.
2530 It is necessary to go to the IR to look up which properties
2531 are available for the object in question.
2533 Here is a list of the objects which are most likely to be
2534 involved in collisions, together with the name of the object which
2535 should be looked up in the IR in order to discover which properties
2536 should be used to move them.
2538 @multitable @columnfractions .5 .5
2539 @headitem Object type @tab Object name
2540 @item Articulations @tab @code{Script}
2541 @item Beams @tab @code{Beam}
2542 @item Dynamics (vertically) @tab @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
2543 @item Dynamics (horizontally) @tab @code{DynamicText}
2544 @item Fingerings @tab @code{Fingering}
2545 @item Rehearsal / Text marks @tab @code{RehearsalMark}
2546 @item Slurs @tab @code{Slur}
2547 @item Text e.g. @code{^"text"} @tab @code{TextScript}
2548 @item Ties @tab @code{Tie}
2549 @item Tuplets @tab @code{TupletBracket}
2553 @node Fixing overlapping notation
2554 @subsection Fixing overlapping notation
2556 Let's now see how the properties in the previous section can
2557 help to resolve overlapping notation.
2559 @subheading padding property
2562 @cindex fixing overlapping notation
2563 @cindex overlapping notation
2565 The @code{padding} property can be set to increase
2566 (or decrease) the distance between symbols that are printed
2567 above or below notes.
2569 @cindex Script, example of overriding
2570 @cindex padding property, example
2572 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2574 \override Script #'padding = #3
2578 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
2579 @cindex padding property, example
2581 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2582 % This will not work, see below
2583 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2587 \override Score.MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2592 Note in the second example how important it is to figure out what
2593 context handles a certain object. Since the @code{MetronomeMark}
2594 object is handled in the @code{Score} context, property changes in the
2595 @code{Voice} context will not be noticed. For more details, see
2596 @ruser{Modifying properties}.
2598 If the @code{padding} property of an object is increased when that
2599 object is in a stack of objects being positioned according to
2600 their @code{outside-staff-priority}, then that object and all
2601 objects outside it are moved.
2604 @subheading right-padding
2606 @cindex right-padding property
2608 The @code{right-padding} property affects the spacing between the
2609 accidental and the note to which it applies. It is not often
2610 required, but the default spacing may be wrong for certain special
2611 accidental glyphs or combination of glyphs used in some microtonal
2612 music. These have to be entered by overriding the accidental
2613 stencil with a markup containing the desired symbol(s), like this:
2615 @cindex Accidental, example of overriding
2616 @cindex text property, example
2617 @cindex stencil property, example
2618 @cindex AccidentalPlacement, example of overriding
2619 @cindex right-padding property, example
2621 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2622 sesquisharp = \markup { \sesquisharp }
2625 % This prints a sesquisharp but the spacing is too small
2626 \once \override Accidental
2627 #'stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2628 \once \override Accidental #'text = #sesquisharp
2630 % This improves the spacing
2631 \once \override Score.AccidentalPlacement #'right-padding = #0.6
2632 \once \override Accidental
2633 #'stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2634 \once \override Accidental #'text = #sesquisharp
2640 This necessarily uses an override for the accidental stencil which
2641 will not be covered until later. The stencil type must be a
2642 procedure, here changed to print the contents of the @code{text}
2643 property of @code{Accidental}, which itself is set to be a
2644 sesquisharp sign. This sign is then moved further away from the
2645 note head by overriding @code{right-padding}.
2649 @subheading staff-padding property
2651 @cindex aligning objects on a baseline
2652 @cindex objects, aligning on a baseline
2654 @code{staff-padding} can be used to align objects such as dynamics
2655 along a baseline at a fixed height above the staff, rather than at a
2656 height dependent on the position of the note to which they are
2657 attached. It is not a property of @code{DynamicText} but of
2658 @code{DynamicLineSpanner}. This is because the baseline should apply
2659 equally to @strong{all} dynamics, including those created as extended
2660 spanners. So this is the way to align the dynamic marks in the
2661 example taken from the previous section:
2663 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2664 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2665 @cindex DynamicLineSpanner, example of overriding
2666 @cindex staff-padding property, example
2668 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2670 % Extend width by 1 unit
2671 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2672 % Align dynamics to a base line 2 units above staff
2673 \override DynamicLineSpanner #'staff-padding = #2
2678 @subheading self-alignment-X property
2680 The following example shows how this can resolve the collision
2681 of a string fingering object with a note's stem by aligning the
2682 right edge with the reference point of the parent note:
2684 @cindex StringNumber, example of overriding
2685 @cindex self-alignment-X property, example
2687 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=3]
2690 \once \override StringNumber #'self-alignment-X = #RIGHT
2694 @subheading staff-position property
2696 @cindex object collision within a staff
2698 Multimeasure rests in one voice can collide with notes in another.
2699 Since these rests are typeset centered between the bar lines, it
2700 would require significant effort for LilyPond to figure out which
2701 other notes might collide with it, since all the current collision
2702 handling between notes and between notes and rests is done only
2703 for notes and rests that occur at the same time. Here's an
2704 example of a collision of this type:
2706 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2707 << { c4 c c c } \\ { R1 } >>
2710 The best solution here is to move the multimeasure rest down, since
2711 the rest is in voice two. The default in @code{\voiceTwo} (i.e. in
2712 the second voice of a @code{<<@{...@} \\ @{...@}>>} construct) is that
2713 @code{staff-position} is set to -4 for MultiMeasureRest, so we need to
2714 move it, say, four half-staff spaces down to @w{@code{-8}}.
2716 @cindex MultiMeasureRest, example of overriding
2717 @cindex staff-position property, example
2719 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2723 \override MultiMeasureRest #'staff-position = #-8
2728 This is better than using, for example, @code{extra-offset},
2729 because the ledger line above the rest is inserted automatically.
2731 @subheading extra-offset property
2733 @cindex positioning objects
2734 @cindex positioning grobs
2735 @cindex objects, positioning
2736 @cindex grobs, positioning
2738 The @code{extra-offset} property provides complete control over the
2739 positioning of an object both horizontally and vertically.
2741 In the following example, the second fingering is moved a little to
2742 the left, and 1.8 staff space downwards:
2744 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
2745 @cindex extra-offset property, example
2747 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2750 \once \override Fingering #'extra-offset = #'(-0.3 . -1.8)
2755 @subheading positions property
2757 @cindex controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams manually
2758 @cindex manually controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams
2759 @cindex tuplet beams, controlling manually
2760 @cindex slurs, controlling manually
2761 @cindex phrasing slurs, controlling manually
2762 @cindex beams, controlling manually
2764 The @code{positions} property allows the position and slope of
2765 tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs and beams to be controlled manually.
2766 Here's an example which has an ugly phrasing slur due to its trying to
2767 avoid the slur on the acciaccatura.
2769 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2770 r4 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2774 We could simply move the phrasing slur above the notes, and this
2775 would be the preferred solution:
2777 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2780 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2784 But if there were some reason why this could not be done the
2785 other alternative would be to move the left end of the phrasing
2786 slur down a little using the @code{positions} property. This
2787 also resolves the rather nasty shape.
2789 @cindex PhrasingSlur, example of overriding
2790 @cindex positions property, example
2792 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2794 \once \override PhrasingSlur #'positions = #'(-4 . -3)
2795 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2798 Here's a further example. We see that the beams
2799 collide with the ties:
2801 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2805 { c'1 ~ c'2. e'8 f' }
2807 { e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g'' }
2810 { c'1 ~ c'2. e'8 f' }
2812 { e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g'' }
2818 This can be resolved by manually moving both ends of the beam
2819 up from their position at 1.81 staff-spaces below the center line to,
2822 @cindex Beam, example of overriding
2823 @cindex positions property, example
2825 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2829 { c'1 ~ c'2. e'8 f' }
2832 \override Beam #'positions = #'(-1 . -1)
2833 e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g''
2837 { c'1 ~ c'2. e'8 f' }
2839 { e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g'' }
2845 Note that the override continues to apply in the first voice of
2846 the second measure of eighth notes, but not to any of the beams in the
2849 @subheading force-hshift property
2851 We can now see how to apply the final corrections to the Chopin
2852 example introduced at the end of @ref{I'm hearing Voices}, which
2853 was left looking like this:
2855 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2856 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2871 The inner note of the first chord (i.e. the A-flat in the fourth
2872 Voice) need not be shifted away from the note column of the higher
2873 note. To correct this we set @code{force-hshift}, which is a property
2874 of @code{NoteColumn}, of this note to zero.
2876 In the second chord we prefer the F to line up with the A and the
2877 lowest note to be positioned slightly right to avoid a collision of
2878 stems. We achieve this by setting @code{force-hshift} in the
2879 @code{NoteColumn} of the low D-flat to move it to the right by half
2882 Here's the final result:
2884 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
2885 @cindex force-hshift property, example
2887 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2888 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2895 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0.5
2901 \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0
2910 @node Real music example
2911 @subsection Real music example
2913 We end this section on Tweaks by showing the steps to be taken to
2914 deal with a tricky example which needs several tweaks to produce
2915 the desired output. The example has been deliberately chosen to
2916 illustrate the use of the Notation Reference to resolve unusual
2917 problems with notation. It is not representative of the more usual
2918 engraving process, so please do not let these difficulties put
2919 you off! Fortunately, difficulties like these are not very common!
2921 The example is from Chopin's Première Ballade, Op. 23, bars 6 to
2922 9, the transition from the opening Lento to Moderato.
2923 Here, first, is what we want the output to look like, but to avoid
2924 over-complicating the example too much we have left out the
2925 dynamics, fingering and pedalling.
2927 @c The following should appear as music without code
2928 @c This example should not be indexed
2929 @c line-width ensures no break
2930 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
2931 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2934 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2938 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2939 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2940 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
2946 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
2947 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
2948 % Move the c2 out of the main note column
2949 % so the merge will work
2956 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
2958 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
2959 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
2960 \once \override Flag #'transparent = ##t
2968 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2969 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2974 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2976 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2983 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2987 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2996 We note first that the right hand part in the third bar
2997 requires four voices. These are the five beamed eighth notes,
2998 the tied C, the half-note D which is merged with the eighth note
2999 D, and the dotted quarter note F-sharp, which is also merged with
3000 the eighth note at the same pitch. Everything else is in a single
3001 voice, so the easiest way is to introduce these extra three voices
3002 temporarily at the time they are needed. If you have forgotten
3003 how to do this, look at @ref{I'm hearing Voices} and @ref{Explicitly
3004 instantiating voices}. Here we choose to use explicitly instantiated
3005 voices for the polyphonic passage, as LilyPond is better able to
3006 avoid collisions if all voices are instantiated explicitly in this
3009 So let us begin by entering the notes as two variables, setting up
3010 the staff structure in a score block, and seeing what LilyPond
3011 produces by default:
3013 @c line-width ensures no break
3014 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3015 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3021 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3023 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3037 g2. % continuation of main voice
3041 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3050 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3054 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3063 All the notes are right, but the appearance is far from
3064 satisfactory. The tie collides with the change in time signature,
3065 some notes are not merged together, and several notation elements
3066 are missing. Let's first deal with the easier things. We can
3067 easily add the left hand slur and the right hand phrasing slur,
3068 since these were all covered in the Tutorial. Doing this gives:
3070 @c line-width ensures no break
3071 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3072 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3078 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3080 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3094 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3098 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3107 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3111 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3120 The first bar is now correct. The second bar contains an arpeggio and
3121 is terminated by a double bar line. How do we do these, as they have
3122 not been mentioned in this Learning Manual? This is where we need to
3123 turn to the Notation Reference. Looking up @q{arpeggio} and @q{bar
3124 line} in the index quickly shows us that an arpeggio is produced by
3125 appending @code{\arpeggio} to a chord, and a double bar line is
3126 produced by the @code{\bar "||"} command. That's easily done. We
3127 next need to correct the collision of the tie with the time signature.
3128 This is best done by moving the tie upwards. Moving objects was
3129 covered earlier in @ref{Moving objects}, which says that objects
3130 positioned relative to the staff can be moved vertically by overriding
3131 their @code{staff-position} property, which is specified in half staff
3132 spaces relative to the center line of the staff. So the following
3133 override placed just before the first tied note would move the tie up
3134 to 3.5 half staff spaces above the center line:
3136 @code{\once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5}
3138 This completes bar two, giving:
3140 @c line-width ensures no break
3141 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3142 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3145 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3150 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3152 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3166 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3170 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3172 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3179 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3183 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3192 On to bar three and the start of the Moderato section. The tutorial
3193 showed how to add bold text with the @code{\markup} command, so
3194 adding @qq{Moderato} in bold is easy. But how do we merge notes in
3195 different voices together? This is where we need to turn again to
3196 the Notation Reference for help. A search for @qq{merge} in the
3197 Notation Reference index quickly leads us to the commands for merging
3198 differently headed and differently dotted notes in
3199 @ruser{Collision resolution}. In our example we need to merge both
3200 types of note for the duration of the polyphonic section in bar 3,
3201 so using the information we find in the Notation Reference we add
3204 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3205 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3209 to the start of that section and
3212 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3213 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3219 @c line-width ensures no break
3220 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3221 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3224 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3228 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3229 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3230 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3231 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3233 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3247 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3248 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3249 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3253 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3255 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3262 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3266 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3275 These overrides have merged the two F-sharp notes, but not the two
3276 on D. Why not? The answer is there in the same section in the
3277 Notation Reference -- notes being merged must have stems in
3278 opposite directions and two notes cannot be merged successfully if
3279 there is a third note in the same note column. Here the two D's
3280 both have upward stems and there is a third note -- the C. We know
3281 how to change the stem direction using @code{\stemDown}, and
3282 the Notation Reference also says how to move the C -- apply a shift
3283 using one of the @code{\shift} commands. But which one?
3284 The C is in voice two which has shift off, and the two D's are in
3285 voices one and three, which have shift off and shift on,
3286 respectively. So we have to shift the C a further level still
3287 using @code{\shiftOnn} to avoid it interfering with the two D's.
3288 Applying these changes gives:
3290 @cindex Tie, example of overriding
3291 @cindex staff-position property, example
3293 @c line-width ensures no break
3294 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3295 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3298 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3302 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3303 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3304 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3305 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3307 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3310 % Move the c2 out of the main note column
3311 % so the merge will work
3316 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3324 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3325 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3326 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3330 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3332 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3339 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3343 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3352 Nearly there. Only two problems remain: The downward stem on the
3353 merged D should not be there, and the C would be better positioned
3354 to the right of the D's. We know how to do both of these from the
3355 earlier tweaks: we make the stem transparent, and move the C with
3356 the @code{force-hshift} property. Here's the final result:
3358 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
3359 @cindex force-hshift property, example
3360 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3361 @cindex transparent property, example
3363 @c line-width ensures no break
3364 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3365 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3368 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3372 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3373 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3374 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3375 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3377 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3381 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
3382 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
3383 % Move the c2 out of the main note column
3384 % so the merge will work
3391 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3393 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
3394 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3395 \once \override Flag #'transparent = ##t
3403 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3404 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3405 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3409 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3411 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3418 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3422 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3432 @node Further tweaking
3433 @section Further tweaking
3436 * Other uses for tweaks::
3437 * Using variables for tweaks::
3439 * Other sources of information::
3440 * Advanced tweaks with Scheme::
3443 @node Other uses for tweaks
3444 @subsection Other uses for tweaks
3446 @cindex transparent property, use of
3447 @cindex objects, making invisible
3448 @cindex removing objects
3449 @cindex objects, removing
3450 @cindex hiding objects
3451 @cindex objects, hiding
3452 @cindex invisible objects
3453 @cindex objects, invisible
3454 @cindex tying notes across voices
3456 @subheading Tying notes across voices
3458 The following example demonstrates how to connect notes in
3459 different voices using ties. Normally, only two notes in the
3460 same voice can be connected with ties. By using two voices,
3461 with the tied notes in one of them
3463 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2]
3464 << { b8~ b\noBeam } \\ { b8[ g] } >>
3468 and blanking the first up-stem in that voice, the tie appears to
3471 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3472 @cindex transparent property, example
3474 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3477 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3478 \once \override Flag #'transparent = ##t
3486 To make sure that the just-blanked stem doesn't squeeze the tie
3487 too much, we can lengthen the stem by setting the
3488 @code{length} to @code{8},
3490 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3493 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3494 \once \override Flag #'transparent = ##t
3495 \once \override Stem #'length = #8
3503 @subheading Simulating a fermata in MIDI
3505 @cindex stencil property, use of
3506 @cindex fermata, implementing in MIDI
3508 For outside-staff objects it is usually better to override the
3509 object's @code{stencil} property rather than its @code{transparent}
3510 property when you wish to remove it from the printed output.
3511 Setting the @code{stencil} property of an object to @code{#f} will
3512 remove that object entirely from the printed output. This means it
3513 has no effect on the placement of other objects placed relative to
3516 For example, if we wished to change the metronome setting in order
3517 to simulate a fermata in the MIDI output we would not want the
3518 metronome markings to appear in the printed output, and we would
3519 not want it to influence the spacing between the two systems or
3520 the positions of adjacent annotations on the staff. So setting
3521 its @code{stencil} property to @code{#f} would be the best way.
3522 We show here the effect of the two methods:
3524 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3525 @cindex transparent property, example
3527 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3530 % Visible tempo marking
3533 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'transparent = ##t
3534 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3537 % New tempo for next section
3546 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3547 @cindex stencil property, example
3549 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3552 % Visible tempo marking
3555 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'stencil = ##f
3556 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3559 % New tempo for next section
3569 Both methods remove the metronome mark which lengthens the fermata
3570 from the printed output, and both affect the MIDI timing as
3571 required, but the transparent metronome mark in the first line
3572 forces the following tempo indication too high while the
3573 second (with the stencil removed) does not.
3579 @node Using variables for tweaks
3580 @subsection Using variables for tweaks
3582 @cindex variables, using for tweaks
3583 @cindex using variables for tweaks
3584 @cindex tweaks, using variables for
3586 Override commands are often long and tedious to type, and they
3587 have to be absolutely correct. If the same overrides are to be
3588 used many times it may be worth defining variables to hold them.
3590 Suppose we wish to emphasize certain words in lyrics by printing
3591 them in bold italics. The @code{\italic} and @code{\bold}
3592 commands only work within lyrics if they are embedded, together with
3593 the word or words to be modified, within a @code{\markup} block,
3594 which makes them tedious to enter. The need to embed the words
3595 themselves prevents their use in simple variables. As an
3596 alternative can we use @code{\override} and @code{\revert} commands?
3599 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic}
3600 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series = #'bold}
3602 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape}
3603 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series}
3606 These would also be extremely tedious to enter if there were many
3607 words requiring emphasis. But we @emph{can} define these as two
3608 variables and use those to bracket the words to be emphasized.
3609 Another advantage of using variables for these overrides is that
3610 the spaces around the dot are not necessary, since they are not
3611 being interpreted in @code{\lyricmode} directly. Here's an example
3612 of this, although in practice we would choose shorter names
3613 for the variables to make them quicker to type:
3615 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
3616 @cindex font-shape property, example
3617 @cindex font-series property, example
3619 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
3621 \override Lyrics.LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
3622 \override Lyrics.LyricText #'font-series = #'bold
3626 \revert Lyrics.LyricText #'font-shape
3627 \revert Lyrics.LyricText #'font-series
3630 global = { \key c \major \time 4/4 \partial 4 }
3632 SopranoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | e4. e8 g4 g | a4 a g }
3633 AltoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | c4. c8 e4 e | f4 f e }
3634 TenorMusic = \relative c { e4 | g4. g8 c4. b8 | a8 b c d e4 }
3635 BassMusic = \relative c { c4 | c4. c8 c4 c | f8 g a b c4 }
3637 VerseOne = \lyrics {
3638 E -- | ter -- nal \emphasize Fa -- ther, | \normal strong to save,
3641 VerseTwo = \lyricmode {
3642 O | \once \emphasize Christ, whose voice the | wa -- ters heard,
3645 VerseThree = \lyricmode {
3646 O | \emphasize Ho -- ly Spi -- rit, | \normal who didst brood
3649 VerseFour = \lyricmode {
3650 O | \emphasize Tri -- ni -- ty \normal of | love and pow'r
3657 \new Voice = "Soprano" { \voiceOne \global \SopranoMusic }
3658 \new Voice = "Alto" { \voiceTwo \AltoMusic }
3659 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseOne }
3660 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseTwo }
3661 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseThree }
3662 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseFour }
3666 \new Voice = "Tenor" { \voiceOne \TenorMusic }
3667 \new Voice = "Bass" { \voiceTwo \BassMusic }
3675 @subsection Style sheets
3677 The output that LilyPond produces can be heavily modified; see
3678 @ref{Tweaking output}, for details. But what if you have many
3679 input files that you want to apply your tweaks to? Or what if you
3680 simply want to separate your tweaks from the actual music? This
3681 is quite easy to do.
3683 Let's look at an example. Don't worry if you don't understand
3684 the parts with all the @code{#()}. This is explained in
3685 @ref{Advanced tweaks with Scheme}.
3687 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3689 #(make-dynamic-script
3690 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
3691 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3692 \line { \dynamic "mp"
3693 \text \italic "dolce" } }
3697 #(define-music-function
3698 (parser location string)
3700 #{ ^\markup \bold \box #string #})
3704 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3708 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3712 Let's do something about the @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst} definitions.
3713 They produce the output we desire, but we might want to use them in
3714 another piece. We could simply copy-and-paste them at the top of every
3715 file, but that's an annoyance. It also leaves those definitions in our
3716 input files, and I personally find all the @code{#()} somewhat ugly.
3717 Let's hide them in another file:
3720 %%% save this to a file called "definitions.ily"
3722 #(make-dynamic-script
3723 #@{ \markup @{ \hspace #0
3724 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3725 \line @{ \dynamic "mp"
3726 \text \italic "dolce" @} @}
3730 #(define-music-function
3731 (parser location string)
3733 #@{ ^\markup \bold \box #string #@})
3736 We will refer to this file using the @code{\include} command near
3737 the top of the music file. (The extension @file{.ily} is used to
3738 distinguish this included file, which is not meant to be compiled
3739 on its own, from the main file.)
3740 Now let's modify our music (let's save this file as @file{music.ly}).
3742 @c We have to do this awkward example/lilypond-non-verbatim
3743 @c because we can't do the \include stuff in the manual.
3746 \include "definitions.ily"
3750 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3754 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3758 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3760 #(make-dynamic-script
3761 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
3762 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3763 \line { \dynamic "mp"
3764 \text \italic "dolce" } }
3768 #(define-music-function
3769 (parser location string)
3771 #{ ^\markup \bold \box #string #})
3775 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3779 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3783 That looks better, but let's make a few changes. The glissando is hard
3784 to see, so let's make it thicker and closer to the note heads. Let's
3785 put the metronome marking above the clef, instead of over the first
3786 note. And finally, my composition professor hates @q{C} time signatures,
3787 so we'd better make that @q{4/4} instead.
3789 Don't change @file{music.ly}, though. Replace our @file{definitions.ily}
3795 #(make-dynamic-script
3796 #@{ \markup @{ \hspace #0
3797 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3798 \line @{ \dynamic "mp"
3799 \text \italic "dolce" @} @}
3803 #(define-music-function
3804 (parser location string)
3806 #@{ ^\markup \bold \box #string #@})
3811 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3812 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3816 \override TimeSignature #'style = #'numbered
3820 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3821 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3826 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3828 #(make-dynamic-script
3829 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
3830 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3831 \line { \dynamic "mp"
3832 \text \italic "dolce" } }
3836 #(define-music-function
3837 (parser location string)
3839 #{ ^\markup \bold \box #string #})
3844 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3845 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3849 \override TimeSignature #'style = #'numbered
3853 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3854 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3860 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3864 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3868 That looks nicer! But now suppose that I want to publish this
3869 piece. My composition professor doesn't like @q{C} time
3870 signatures, but I'm somewhat fond of them. Let's copy the
3871 current @file{definitions.ily} to @file{web-publish.ily} and
3872 modify that. Since this music is aimed at producing a pdf which
3873 will be displayed on the screen, we'll also increase the
3874 overall size of the output.
3879 #(make-dynamic-script
3880 #@{ \markup @{ \hspace #0
3881 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3882 \line @{ \dynamic "mp"
3883 \text \italic "dolce" @} @}
3887 #(define-music-function
3888 (parser location string)
3890 #@{ ^\markup \bold \box #string #@})
3892 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
3897 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3898 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3905 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3906 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3911 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3913 #(make-dynamic-script
3914 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
3915 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3916 \line { \dynamic "mp"
3917 \text \italic "dolce" } }
3921 #(define-music-function
3922 (parser location string)
3924 #{ ^\markup \bold \box #string #})
3926 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
3930 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3931 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3934 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3935 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3941 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3945 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3949 Now in our music, I simply replace
3950 @code{\include "definitions.ily"} with
3951 @code{\include "web-publish.ily"}. Of course, we could make this
3952 even more convenient. We could make a @file{definitions.ily} file which
3953 contains only the definitions of @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst}, a
3954 @file{web-publish.ily} file which contains only the @code{\layout}
3955 section listed above, and a @file{university.ily} file which
3956 contains only the tweaks to produce the output that my professor
3957 prefers. The top of @file{music.ly} would then look like this:
3960 \include "definitions.ily"
3962 %%% Only uncomment one of these two lines!
3963 \include "web-publish.ily"
3964 %\include "university.ily"
3967 This approach can be useful even if you are only producing
3968 one set of parts. I use half a dozen different
3969 @q{style sheet} files for my projects. I begin every music
3970 file with @code{\include "../global.ily"}, which contains
3974 \version @w{"@version{}"}
3976 #(ly:set-option 'point-and-click #f)
3978 \include "../init/init-defs.ly"
3979 \include "../init/init-layout.ly"
3980 \include "../init/init-headers.ly"
3981 \include "../init/init-paper.ly"
3985 @node Other sources of information
3986 @subsection Other sources of information
3988 The Internals Reference documentation contains a lot of information
3989 about LilyPond, but even more information can be gathered by
3990 looking at the internal LilyPond files. To explore these, you must
3991 first find the directory appropriate to your system. The location
3992 of this directory depends (a) on whether you obtained LilyPond
3993 by downloading a precompiled binary from lilypond.org
3994 or whether you installed it from a package manager (i.e.
3995 distributed with Linux, or installed under fink or cygwin) or
3996 compiled it from source, and (b) on which operating system it is
3999 @strong{Downloaded from lilypond.org}
4006 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/lilypond/usr/@/share/lilypond/current/}
4013 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond.app/Contents/@/Resources/share/lilypond/current/}
4016 by either @code{cd}-ing into this directory from the
4017 Terminal, or control-clicking on the LilyPond application and
4018 selecting @q{Show Package Contents}.
4022 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to
4024 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond/usr/@/share/lilypond/current/}
4029 @strong{Installed from a package manager or compiled from source}
4032 @file{@var{PREFIX}/share/lilypond/@var{X.Y.Z}/}, where
4033 @var{PREFIX} is set by your package manager or @code{configure}
4034 script, and @var{X.Y.Z} is the LilyPond version number.
4038 Within this directory the two interesting subdirectories are
4041 @item @file{ly/} - contains files in LilyPond format
4042 @item @file{scm/} - contains files in Scheme format
4045 Let's begin by looking at some files in @file{ly/}.
4046 Open @file{ly/property-init.ly} in a text editor. The one
4047 you normally use for @code{.ly} files will be fine. This file
4048 contains the definitions of all the standard LilyPond predefined
4049 commands, such as @code{\stemUp} and @code{\slurDotted}. You will
4050 see that these are nothing more than definitions of variables
4051 containing one or a group of @code{\override} commands. For
4052 example, @code{/tieDotted} is defined to be:
4056 \override Tie #'dash-period = #0.75
4057 \override Tie #'dash-fraction = #0.1
4061 If you do not like the default values these predefined commands can
4062 be redefined easily, just like any other variable, at the
4063 head of your input file.
4065 The following are the most useful files to be found in
4068 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4071 @item @file{ly/engraver-init.ly}
4072 @tab Definitions of engraver Contexts
4073 @item @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}
4074 @tab Specifications of paper-related defaults
4075 @item @file{ly/performer-init.ly}
4076 @tab Definitions of performer Contexts
4077 @item @file{ly/property-init.ly}
4078 @tab Definitions of all common predefined commands
4079 @item @file{ly/spanner-init.ly}
4080 @tab Definitions of spanner-related predefined commands
4083 Other settings (such as the definitions of markup commands) are
4084 stored as @file{.scm} (Scheme) files. The Scheme programming
4085 language is used to provide a programmable interface into
4086 LilyPond internal operation. Further explanation of these files
4087 is currently outside the scope of this manual, as a knowledge of
4088 the Scheme language is required. Users should be warned that
4089 a substantial amount of technical knowledge or time is required
4090 to understand Scheme and these files (see @rextend{Scheme tutorial}).
4092 If you have this knowledge, the Scheme files which may be of
4095 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4098 @item @file{scm/auto-beam.scm}
4099 @tab Sub-beaming defaults
4100 @item @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}
4101 @tab Default settings for grob properties
4102 @item @file{scm/define-markup-commands.scm}
4103 @tab Specify all markup commands
4104 @item @file{scm/midi.scm}
4105 @tab Default settings for MIDI output
4106 @item @file{scm/output-lib.scm}
4107 @tab Settings that affect appearance of frets, colors,
4108 accidentals, bar lines, etc
4109 @item @file{scm/parser-clef.scm}
4110 @tab Definitions of supported clefs
4111 @item @file{scm/script.scm}
4112 @tab Default settings for articulations
4116 @node Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4117 @subsection Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4119 Although many things are possible with the @code{\override} and
4120 @code{\tweak} commands, an even more powerful way of modifying
4121 the action of LilyPond is available through a programmable
4122 interface to the LilyPond internal operation. Code written in
4123 the Scheme programming language can be incorporated directly in
4124 the internal operation of LilyPond. Of course, at least a basic
4125 knowledge of programming in Scheme is required to do this, and an
4126 introduction is provided in the @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
4128 As an illustration of one of the many possibilities, instead of
4129 setting a property to a constant it can be set to a Scheme
4130 procedure which is then called whenever that property is accessed
4131 by LilyPond. The property can then be set dynamically to a value
4132 determined by the procedure at the time it is called. In this
4133 example we color the note head in accordance with its position on
4136 @cindex x11-color function, example of using
4137 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
4138 @cindex color property, setting to Scheme procedure
4140 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
4141 #(define (color-notehead grob)
4142 "Color the notehead according to its position on the staff."
4143 (let ((mod-position (modulo (ly:grob-property grob 'staff-position)
4146 ;; Return rainbow colors
4147 ((1) (x11-color 'red )) ; for C
4148 ((2) (x11-color 'orange )) ; for D
4149 ((3) (x11-color 'yellow )) ; for E
4150 ((4) (x11-color 'green )) ; for F
4151 ((5) (x11-color 'blue )) ; for G
4152 ((6) (x11-color 'purple )) ; for A
4153 ((0) (x11-color 'violet )) ; for B
4157 % Arrange to obtain color from color-notehead procedure
4158 \override NoteHead #'color = #color-notehead
4159 a2 b | c2 d | e2 f | g2 a |
4163 Further examples showing the use of these programmable interfaces
4164 can be found in @rextend{Callback functions}.