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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, but to illustrate the format and use of these commands
218 we shall use just a few simple properties and values which are
221 For now, don't worry about the @code{#'}, which must precede the
222 layout property, and the @code{#}, which must precede the value.
223 These must always be present in exactly this form. This is the
224 most common command used in tweaking, and most of the rest of
225 this chapter will be directed to presenting examples of how it is
226 used. Here is a simple example to change the color of the
229 @cindex color property, example
230 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
232 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
234 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
236 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
240 @strong{\revert command}
242 @cindex revert command
247 Once overridden, the property retains its new value until it is
248 overridden again or a @code{\revert} command is encountered.
249 The @code{\revert} command has the following syntax and causes
250 the value of the property to revert to its original default
251 value; note, not its previous value if several @code{\override}
252 commands have been issued.
255 \revert @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject} #'@var{layout-property}
258 Again, just like @var{Context} in the @code{\override} command,
259 @var{Context} is often not needed. It will be omitted
260 in many of the following examples. Here we revert the color
261 of the note head to the default value for the final two notes:
263 @cindex color property, example
264 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
266 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
268 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
270 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
272 \revert NoteHead #'color
276 @strong{\once prefix}
281 Both the @code{\override} and the @code{\set} commands may be
282 prefixed by @code{\once}. This causes the following
283 @code{\override} or @code{\set} command to be effective only
284 during the current musical moment before the property reverts
285 back to its default value. Using the same example, we can
286 change the color of a single note like this:
288 @cindex color property, example
289 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
291 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
293 \once \override NoteHead #'color = #red
295 \once \override NoteHead #'color = #green
299 @strong{\overrideProperty command}
301 @cindex overrideProperty command
303 @funindex \overrideProperty
304 @funindex overrideProperty
306 There is another form of the override command,
307 @code{\overrideProperty}, which is occasionally required.
308 We mention it here for completeness, but for details see
309 @rextend{Difficult tweaks}.
310 @c Maybe explain in a later iteration -td
312 @strong{\tweak command}
314 @cindex tweak command
319 The final tweaking command which is available is @code{\tweak}.
320 This should be used to change the properties of objects which
321 occur at the same musical moment, such as the notes within a
322 chord. Using @code{\override} would affect all the notes
323 within a chord, whereas @code{\tweak} affects just the following
324 item in the input stream.
326 Here's an example. Suppose we wish to change the size of the
327 middle note head (the E) in a C major chord. Let's first see what
328 @code{\once \override} would do:
330 @cindex font-size property, example
331 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
333 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
335 \once \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-3
340 We see the override affects @emph{all} the note heads in the chord.
341 This is because all the notes of a chord occur at the same
342 @emph{musical moment}, and the action of @code{\once} is to
343 apply the override to all layout objects of the type specified
344 which occur at the same musical moment as the @code{\override}
347 The @code{\tweak} command operates in a different way. It acts
348 on the immediately following item in the input stream. However,
349 it is effective only on objects which are created directly from
350 the input stream, essentially note heads and articulations;
351 objects such as stems and accidentals are created later and
352 cannot be tweaked in this way. Furthermore, when it is applied
353 to note heads these @emph{must} be within a chord, i.e., within
354 single angle brackets, so to tweak a single note the @code{\tweak}
355 command must be placed inside single angle brackets with the
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
395 articulation mark as if it were an articulation itself.
397 @cindex tuplets, nested
398 @cindex triplets, nested
399 @cindex bracket, tuplet
400 @cindex bracket, triplet
401 @cindex tuplet bracket
402 @cindex triplet bracket
404 @funindex TupletBracket
406 The @code{\tweak} command must also be used to change the
407 appearance of one of a set of nested tuplets which begin at the
408 same musical moment. In the following example, the long tuplet
409 bracket and the first of the three short brackets begin at the
410 same musical moment, so any @code{\override} command would apply
411 to both of them. In the example, @code{\tweak} is used to
412 distinguish between them. The first @code{\tweak} command
413 specifies that the long tuplet bracket is to be placed above the
414 notes and the second one specifies that the tuplet number is to be
415 printed in red on the first short tuplet bracket.
417 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
418 @cindex direction property, example
419 @cindex color property, example
421 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=2]
422 \tweak #'direction #up
425 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
426 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
427 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
431 If nested tuplets do not begin at the same moment, their
432 appearance may be modified in the usual way with
433 @code{\override} commands:
435 @cindex text property, example
436 @cindex tuplet-number function, example
437 @cindex transparent property, example
438 @cindex TupletNumber, example of overriding
440 @c NOTE Tuplet brackets collide if notes are high on staff
442 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=1]
443 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
444 \once \override TupletNumber
445 #'text = #tuplet-number::calc-fraction-text
449 \once \override TupletNumber #'transparent = ##t
450 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
451 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
458 @ruser{The tweak command}.
461 @node The Internals Reference manual
462 @section The Internals Reference manual
464 @cindex Internals Reference
467 * Properties of layout objects::
468 * Properties found in interfaces::
469 * Types of properties::
472 @node Properties of layout objects
473 @subsection Properties of layout objects
475 @cindex properties of layout objects
476 @cindex properties of grobs
477 @cindex grobs, properties of
478 @cindex layout objects, properties of
479 @cindex Internals Reference manual
481 Suppose you have a slur in a score which, to your mind,
482 appears too thin and you'd like to draw it a little heavier.
483 How do you go about doing this? You know from the statements
484 earlier about the flexibility of LilyPond that such a thing
485 should be possible, and you would probably guess that an
486 @code{\override} command would be needed. But is there a
487 heaviness property for a slur, and if there is, how might it
488 be modified? This is where the Internals Reference manual
489 comes in. It contains all the information you might need to
490 construct this and all other @code{\override} commands.
492 Before we look at the Internals Reference a word of warning.
493 This is a @strong{reference} document, which means there is
494 little or no explanation contained within it: its purpose is
495 to present information precisely and concisely. This
496 means it might look daunting at first sight. Don't worry!
497 The guidance and explanation presented here will enable you
498 to extract the information from the Internals Reference for
499 yourself with just a little practice.
501 @cindex override example
502 @cindex Internals Reference, example of using
503 @cindex @code{\addlyrics} example
505 Let's use a concrete example with a simple fragment of real
508 @c Mozart, Die Zauberflöte Nr.7 Duett
510 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
515 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
516 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
520 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
525 Suppose now that we decide we would like the slurs to be a
526 little heavier. Is this possible? The slur is certainly a
527 layout object, so the question is, @q{Is there a property
528 belonging to a slur which controls the heaviness?} To answer
529 this we must look in the Internals Reference, or IR for short.
531 The IR for the version of LilyPond you are using may be found
532 on the LilyPond website at @uref{http://lilypond.org}. Go to the
533 documentation page and click on the Internals Reference link.
534 For learning purposes you should use the standard HTML version,
535 not the @q{one big page} or the PDF. For the next few
536 paragraphs to make sense you will need to actually do this
539 Under the heading @strong{Top} you will see five links. Select
540 the link to the @emph{Backend}, which is where information about
541 layout objects is to be found. There, under the heading
542 @strong{Backend}, select the link to @emph{All layout objects}.
543 The page that appears lists all the layout objects used in your
544 version of LilyPond, in alphabetic order. Select the link to
545 Slur, and the properties of Slurs are listed.
547 An alternative way of finding this page is from the Notation
548 Reference. On one of the pages that deals with slurs you may find a
549 link to the Internals Reference. This link will take you directly to
550 this page, but if you have an idea about the name of the layout object
551 to be tweaked, it is easier to go straight to the IR and search there.
553 This Slur page in the IR tells us first that Slur objects are created
554 by the Slur_engraver. Then it lists the standard settings. Note
555 these are @strong{not} in alphabetic order. Browse down them looking
556 for a property that might control the heaviness of slurs, and you
560 @code{thickness} (number)
562 Line thickness, generally measured in @code{line-thickness}
565 This looks a good bet to change the heaviness. It tells us that
566 the value of @code{thickness} is a simple @emph{number},
567 that the default value is 1.2, and that the units are
568 in another property called @code{line-thickness}.
570 As we said earlier, there are few to no explanations in the IR,
571 but we already have enough information to try changing the
572 slur thickness. We see that the name of the layout object
573 is @code{Slur}, that the name of the property to change is
574 @code{thickness} and that the new value should be a number
575 somewhat larger than 1.2 if we are to make slurs thicker.
577 We can now construct the @code{\override} command by simply
578 substituting the values we have found for the names, omitting
579 the context. Let's use a very large value for the thickness
580 at first, so we can be sure the command is working. We get:
583 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
586 Don't forget the @code{#'} preceding the
587 property name and a @code{#} preceding the new value!
589 The final question is, @q{Where should this command be
590 placed?} While you are unsure and learning, the best
591 answer is, @q{Within the music, before the first slur and
592 close to it.} Let's do that:
594 @cindex Slur example of overriding
595 @cindex thickness property, example
597 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
602 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
603 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
604 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
605 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
609 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
615 and we see that the slur is indeed heavier.
617 So this is the basic way of constructing @code{\override}
618 commands. There are a few more complications that we
619 shall meet in later sections, but you now know all the
620 essentials required to make up your own -- but you will
621 still need some practice. This is provided in the examples
624 @subheading Finding the context
626 @cindex context, finding
627 @cindex context, identifying correct
629 But first, what if we had needed to specify the Context?
630 What should it be? We could guess that slurs are in
631 the Voice context, as they are clearly closely associated
632 with individual lines of music, but can we be sure? To
633 find out, go back to the top of the IR page describing the
634 Slur, where it says @q{Slur objects are created by: Slur
635 engraver}. So slurs will be created in whichever context
636 the @code{Slur_engraver} is in. Follow the link to the
637 @code{Slur_engraver} page. At the very bottom it tells
638 us that @code{Slur_engraver} is part of five Voice contexts,
639 including the standard voice context, @code{Voice}, so our
640 guess was correct. And because @code{Voice} is one of the
641 lowest level contexts which is implied unambiguously by
642 the fact that we are entering notes, we can omit it in this
645 @subheading Overriding once only
647 @cindex overriding once only
648 @cindex once override
653 As you can see, @emph{all} the slurs are thicker in the final example
654 above. But what if we wanted just the first slur to be thicker? This
655 is achieved with the @code{\once} command. Placed immediately before
656 the @code{\override} command it causes it to change only the slur
657 which begins on the @strong{immediately following} note. If the
658 immediately following note does not begin a slur the command has no
659 effect at all -- it is not remembered until a slur is encountered, it
660 is simply discarded. So the command with @code{\once} must be
661 repositioned as follows:
663 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
664 @cindex thickness property, example
666 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
672 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
673 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
675 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
679 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
685 Now only the first slur is made heavier.
687 The @code{\once} command can also be used before the @code{\set}
690 @subheading Reverting
693 @cindex default properties, reverting to
698 Finally, what if we wanted just the first two slurs to be
699 heavier? Well, we could use two commands, each preceded by
700 @code{\once} placed immediately before each of the notes where
703 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
704 @cindex thickness property, example
706 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
712 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
713 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
715 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
716 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
717 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
721 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
727 or we could omit the @code{\once} command and use the @code{\revert}
728 command to return the @code{thickness} property to its default value
729 after the second slur:
731 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
732 @cindex thickness property, example
734 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
740 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
741 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
744 % Revert thickness of all following slurs to default of 1.2
745 \revert Slur #'thickness
750 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
756 The @code{\revert} command can be used to return any property
757 changed with @code{\override} back to its default value.
758 You may use whichever method best suits what you want to do.
760 That concludes our introduction to the IR, and the basic
761 method of tweaking. Several examples follow in the later
762 sections of this Chapter, partly to introduce you to some of the
763 additional features of the IR, and partly to give you more
764 practice in extracting information from it. These examples will
765 contain progressively fewer words of guidance and explanation.
768 @node Properties found in interfaces
769 @subsection Properties found in interfaces
772 @cindex interface properties
773 @cindex properties in interfaces
775 Suppose now that we wish to print the lyrics in italics. What form of
776 @code{\override} command do we need to do this? We first look in the
777 IR page listing @q{All layout objects}, as before, and look for an
778 object that might control lyrics. We find @code{LyricText}, which
779 looks right. Clicking on this shows the settable properties for lyric
780 text. These include the @code{font-series} and @code{font-size}, but
781 nothing that might give an italic shape. This is because the shape
782 property is one that is common to all font objects, so, rather than
783 including it in every layout object, it is grouped together with other
784 similar common properties and placed in an @strong{Interface}, the
785 @code{font-interface}.
787 So now we need to learn how to find the properties of interfaces,
788 and to discover what objects use these interface properties.
790 Look again at the IR page which describes LyricText. At the bottom of
791 the page is a list of clickable interfaces which LyricText supports.
792 The list has several items, including @code{font-interface}. Clicking
793 on this brings up the properties associated with this interface, which
794 are also properties of all the objects which support it, including
797 Now we see all the user-settable properties which control fonts,
798 including @code{font-shape(symbol)}, where @code{symbol} can be
799 set to @code{upright}, @code{italics} or @code{caps}.
801 You will notice that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are also
802 listed there. This immediately raises the question: Why are the
803 common font properties @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} listed
804 under @code{LyricText} as well as under the interface
805 @code{font-interface} but @code{font-shape} is not? The answer is
806 that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are changed from their
807 global default values when a @code{LyricText} object is created, but
808 @code{font-shape} is not. The entries in @code{LyricText} then tell
809 you the values for those two properties which apply to
810 @code{LyricText}. Other objects which support @code{font-interface}
811 will set these properties differently when they are created.
813 Let's see if we can now construct the @code{\override} command
814 to change the lyrics to italics. The object is @code{LyricText},
815 the property is @code{font-shape} and the value is
816 @code{italic}. As before, we'll omit the context.
818 As an aside, although it is an important one, note that because the
819 values of @code{font-shape} are symbols they must be introduced with a
820 single apostrophe, @code{'}. That is why apostrophes are needed
821 before @code{thickness} in the earlier example and @code{font-shape}.
822 These are both symbols too. Symbols are then read internally by
823 LilyPond. Some of them are the names of properties, like
824 @code{thickness} or @code{font-shape}, others are used as values that
825 can be given to properties, like @code{italic}. Note the distinction
826 from arbitrary text strings, which would appear as @code{"a text
827 string"}; for more details about symbols and strings, see
828 @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
830 So we see that the @code{\override} command needed to print the lyrics
834 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
838 This should be placed just in front of the lyrics we wish to affect,
841 @cindex font-shape property, example
842 @cindex italic, example
843 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
844 @cindex @code{\addlyrics}, example
846 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
851 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
852 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
856 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
857 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
863 and the lyrics are all printed in italics.
865 @subheading Specifying the context in lyric mode
867 @cindex context, specifying in lyric mode
868 @cindex lyric mode, specifying context
870 In the case of lyrics, if you try specifying the context in the
871 format given earlier the command will fail. A syllable
872 entered in lyricmode is terminated by either a space,
873 a newline or a digit. All other characters are included
874 as part of the syllable. For this reason a space or newline
875 must appear before the terminating @code{@}} to prevent it being
876 included as part of the final syllable. Similarly,
877 spaces must be inserted before and after the
878 period or dot, @q{.}, separating the context name from the
879 object name, as otherwise the two names are run together and
880 the interpreter cannot recognize them. So the command should be:
883 \override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
886 @warning{In lyrics always leave whitespace between the final
887 syllable and the terminating brace.}
889 @warning{In overrides in lyrics always place spaces around
890 the dot between the context name and the object name.}
894 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
897 @node Types of properties
898 @subsection Types of properties
900 @cindex property types
902 So far we have seen two types of property: @code{number} and
903 @code{symbol}. To be valid, the value given to a property
904 must be of the correct type and obey the rules for that type.
905 The type of property is always shown in brackets after the
906 property name in the IR. Here is a list of the types you may
907 need, together with the rules for that type, and some examples.
908 You must always add a hash symbol, @code{#}, of course,
909 to the front of these values when they are entered in the
910 @code{\override} command.
912 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .45 .35
913 @headitem Property type
917 @tab Either True or False, represented by #t or #f
918 @tab @code{#t}, @code{#f}
919 @item Dimension (in staff space)
920 @tab A positive decimal number (in units of staff space)
921 @tab @code{2.5}, @code{0.34}
923 @tab A valid direction constant or its numerical equivalent (decimal
924 values between -1 and 1 are allowed)
925 @tab @code{LEFT}, @code{CENTER}, @code{UP},
928 @tab A positive whole number
929 @tab @code{3}, @code{1}
931 @tab A set of values separated by spaces, enclosed in parentheses
932 and preceded by an apostrophe
933 @tab @code{'(left-edge staff-bar)}, @code{'(1)},
934 @code{'(1.0 0.25 0.5)}
936 @tab Any valid markup
937 @tab @code{\markup @{ \italic "cresc." @}}
939 @tab A fraction of a whole note constructed with the
941 @tab @code{(ly:make-moment 1 4)},
942 @code{(ly:make-moment 3 8)}
944 @tab Any positive or negative decimal value
945 @tab @code{3.5}, @code{-2.45}
946 @item Pair (of numbers)
947 @tab Two numbers separated by a @q{space . space} and enclosed
948 in brackets preceded by an apostrophe
949 @tab @code{'(2 . 3.5)}, @code{'(0.1 . -3.2)}
951 @tab Any of the set of permitted symbols for that property,
952 preceded by an apostrophe
953 @tab @code{'italic}, @code{'inside}
955 @tab A procedure, or @code{#f} to cause no action
956 @tab @code{bend::print}, @code{ly:text-interface::print},
959 @tab A list of three items enclosed in parentheses and preceded
960 by apostrophe-hash, @code{'#}.
961 @tab @code{'#(#t #t #f)}
966 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
969 @node Appearance of objects
970 @section Appearance of objects
972 Let us now put what we have learned into practice with a few
973 examples which show how tweaks may be used to change the
974 appearance of the printed music.
977 * Visibility and color of objects::
979 * Length and thickness of objects::
982 @node Visibility and color of objects
983 @subsection Visibility and color of objects
985 In the educational use of music we might wish to print a score
986 with certain elements omitted as an exercise for the student,
987 who is required to supply them. As a simple example,
988 let us suppose the exercise is to supply the missing bar lines
989 in a piece of music. But the bar lines are normally inserted
990 automatically. How do we prevent them printing?
992 Before we tackle this, let us remember that object properties are
993 grouped in what are called @emph{interfaces} -- see @ref{Properties
994 found in interfaces}. This is simply to group together those
995 properties that may be used together to tweak a graphical object -- if
996 one of them is allowed for an object, so are the others. Some objects
997 then use the properties in some interfaces, others use them from other
998 interfaces. The interfaces which contain the properties used by a
999 particular grob are listed in the IR at the bottom of the page
1000 describing that grob, and those properties may be viewed by looking at
1003 We explained how to find information about grobs in @ref{Properties of
1004 layout objects}. Using the same approach, we go to the IR to find the
1005 layout object which prints bar lines. Going via @emph{Backend} and
1006 @emph{All layout objects} we find there is a layout object called
1007 @code{BarLine}. Its properties include two that control its
1008 visibility: @code{break-visibility} and @code{stencil}. Barline also
1009 supports a number of interfaces, including the @code{grob-interface},
1010 where we find the @code{transparent} and the @code{color} properties.
1011 All of these can affect the visibility of bar lines (and, of course,
1012 by extension, many other layout objects too.) Let's consider each of
1017 @cindex stencil property
1019 This property controls the appearance of the bar lines by specifying
1020 the symbol (glyph) which should be printed. In common
1021 with many other properties, it can be set to print nothing by
1022 setting its value to @code{#f}. Let's try it, as before, omitting
1023 the implied Context, @code{Voice}:
1025 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1026 @cindex stencil property, example
1028 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1031 \override BarLine #'stencil = ##f
1033 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1038 The bar lines are still printed. What is wrong? Go back to the IR
1039 and look again at the page giving the properties of BarLine. At the
1040 top of the page it says @qq{Barline objects are created by:
1041 Bar_engraver}. Go to the @code{Bar_engraver} page. At the bottom it
1042 gives a list of Contexts in which the bar engraver operates. All of
1043 them are of the type @code{Staff}, so the reason the @code{\override}
1044 command failed to work as expected is because @code{Barline} is not in
1045 the default @code{Voice} context. If the context is specified
1046 incorrectly, the command simply does not work. No error message is
1047 produced, and nothing is logged in the log file. Let's try correcting
1048 it by adding the correct context:
1050 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1051 @cindex stencil property, example
1053 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1056 \override Staff.BarLine #'stencil = ##f
1058 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1063 Now the bar lines have vanished.
1065 Note, though, that setting the @code{stencil} property to @code{#f}
1066 will cause errors when the dimensions of the object are required for
1067 correct processing. For example, errors will be generated if the
1068 @code{stencil} property of the @code{NoteHead} object is set to
1069 @code{#f}. If this is the case, you can instead use the
1070 @code{point-stencil} function, which sets the stencil to a object
1073 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1076 \once \override NoteHead #'stencil = #point-stencil
1081 @subheading break-visibility
1083 @cindex break-visibility property
1085 We see from the @code{BarLine} properties in the IR that the
1086 @code{break-visibility} property requires a vector of three booleans.
1087 These control respectively whether bar lines are printed at the end of
1088 a line, in the middle of lines, and at the beginning of lines. For
1089 our example we want all bar lines to be suppressed, so the value we
1090 need is @code{'#(#f #f #f)}. Let's try that, remembering to include
1091 the @code{Staff} context. Note also that in writing this value we
1092 have @code{#'#} before the opening bracket. The @code{'#} is required
1093 as part of the value to introduce a vector, and the first @code{#} is
1094 required, as always, to precede the value itself in the
1095 @code{\override} command.
1097 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1098 @cindex break-visibility property, example
1100 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1103 \override Staff.BarLine #'break-visibility = #'#(#f #f #f)
1105 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1110 And we see this too removes all the bar lines.
1112 @subheading transparent
1114 @cindex transparent property
1115 @cindex transparency
1117 We see from the properties specified in the @code{grob-interface} page
1118 in the IR that the @code{transparent} property is a boolean. This
1119 should be set to @code{#t} to make the grob transparent. In this next
1120 example let us make the time signature invisible rather than the bar
1121 lines. To do this we need to find the grob name for the time
1122 signature. Back to the @q{All layout objects} page in the IR to find
1123 the properties of the @code{TimeSignature} layout object. This is
1124 produced by the @code{Time_signature_engraver} which you can check
1125 also lives in the @code{Staff} context and also supports the
1126 @code{grob-interface}. So the command to make the time signature
1129 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1130 @cindex transparent property, example
1132 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1135 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'transparent = ##t
1137 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1143 The time signature is gone, but this command leaves a gap where
1144 the time signature should be. Maybe this is what is wanted for
1145 an exercise for the student to fill it in, but in other
1146 circumstances a gap might be undesirable. To remove it, the
1147 stencil for the time signature should be set to @code{#f}
1150 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1151 @cindex stencil property, example
1153 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1156 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1158 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1164 and the difference is obvious: setting the stencil to @code{#f}
1165 removes the object entirely; making the object @code{transparent}
1166 leaves it where it is, but makes it invisible.
1170 @cindex color property
1172 Finally let us try making the bar lines invisible by coloring
1173 them white. (There is a difficulty with this in that the
1174 white bar line may or may not blank out the staff lines where
1175 they cross. You may see in some of the examples below that this
1176 happens unpredictably. The details of why this is so and how to
1177 control it are covered in @ruser{Painting objects white}. But at
1178 the moment we are learning about color, so please just accept this
1179 limitation for now.)
1181 The @code{grob-interface} specifies that the
1182 color property value is a list, but there is no
1183 explanation of what that list should be. The list it
1184 requires is actually a list of values in internal units,
1185 but, to avoid having to know what these are, several ways
1186 are provided to specify colors. The first way is to use one
1187 of the @q{normal} colors listed in the first table in
1188 @ruser{List of colors}. To set the bar lines to white
1191 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1192 @cindex color property, example
1194 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1197 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #white
1199 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1205 and again, we see the bar lines are not visible. Note that
1206 @emph{white} is not preceded by an apostrophe -- it is not
1207 a symbol, but a @emph{function}. When called, it provides
1208 the list of internal values required to set the color to
1209 white. The other colors in the normal list are functions
1210 too. To convince yourself this is working you might like
1211 to change the color to one of the other functions in the
1219 The second way of changing the color is to use the list of
1220 X11 color names in the second list in @ruser{List of colors}.
1221 However, these must be preceded by another function, which
1222 converts X11 color names into the list of internal values,
1223 @code{x11-color}, like this:
1225 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1226 @cindex color property, example
1228 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1231 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'white)
1233 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1239 Note that in this case the function @code{x11-color} takes
1240 a symbol as an argument, so the symbol must be preceded by
1241 an apostrophe and the two enclosed in brackets.
1248 There is yet a third function, one which converts RGB values into
1249 internal colors -- the @code{rgb-color} function. This takes
1250 three arguments giving the intensities of the red, green and
1251 blue colors. These take values in the range 0 to 1. So to
1252 set the color to red the value should be @code{(rgb-color 1 0 0)}
1253 and to white it should be @code{(rgb-color 1 1 1)}:
1255 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1256 @cindex color property, example
1258 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1261 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(rgb-color 1 1 1)
1263 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1268 Finally, there is also a grey scale available as part of the
1269 X11 set of colors. These range from black, @code{'grey0'},
1270 to white, @code{'grey100}, in steps of 1. Let's illustrate
1271 this by setting all the layout objects in our example to
1272 various shades of grey:
1274 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1275 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1276 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1277 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
1278 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1279 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1280 @cindex color property, example
1281 @cindex x11-color, example of using
1283 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1286 \override Staff.StaffSymbol #'color = #(x11-color 'grey30)
1287 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1288 \override Staff.Clef #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1289 \override Voice.NoteHead #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1290 \override Voice.Stem #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1291 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'grey10)
1293 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1299 Note the contexts associated with each of the layout objects.
1300 It is important to get these right, or the commands will not
1301 work! Remember, the context is the one in which the appropriate
1302 engraver is placed. The default context for engravers can be
1303 found by starting from the layout object, going from there to
1304 the engraver which produces it, and on the engraver page in the
1305 IR it tells you in which context the engraver will normally be
1309 @node Size of objects
1310 @subsection Size of objects
1312 @cindex changing size of objects
1313 @cindex size of objects
1314 @cindex objects, size of
1315 @cindex objects, changing size of
1317 Let us begin by looking again at the earlier example
1318 see @ref{Nesting music expressions}) which showed
1319 how to introduce a new temporary staff, as in an @rglos{ossia}.
1321 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1322 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1324 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1325 \new Staff ="main" {
1332 alignAboveContext = #"main" }
1340 Ossia are normally written without clef and time signature, and
1341 are usually printed slightly smaller than the main staff. We
1342 already know now how to remove the clef and time signature --
1343 we simply set the stencil of each to @code{#f}, as follows:
1345 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1346 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1347 @cindex stencil property, example
1348 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1349 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1351 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1352 \new Staff ="main" {
1359 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1362 \override Staff.Clef #'stencil = ##f
1363 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1373 where the extra pair of braces after the @code{\with} clause are
1374 required to ensure the enclosed overrides and music are applied
1377 But what is the difference between modifying the staff context by
1378 using @code{\with} and modifying the stencils of the clef and the
1379 time signature with \override? The main difference is that
1380 changes made in a @code{\with} clause are made at the time the
1381 context is created, and remain in force as the @strong{default}
1382 values for the duration of that context, whereas
1383 @code{\set} or @code{\override} commands embedded in the
1384 music are dynamic -- they make changes synchronized with
1385 a particular point in the music. If changes are unset or
1386 reverted using @code{\unset} or @code{\revert} they return to
1387 their default values, which will be the ones set in the
1388 @code{\with} clause, or if none have been set there, the normal
1391 Some context properties can be modified only in @code{\with} clauses.
1392 These are those properties which cannot sensibly be changed after the
1393 context has been created. @code{alignAboveContext} and its partner,
1394 @code{alignBelowContext}, are two such properties -- once the staff
1395 has been created its alignment is decided and it would make no sense
1396 to try to change it later.
1398 The default values of layout object properties can also be set
1399 in @code{\with} clauses. Simply use the normal @code{\override}
1400 command leaving out the context name, since this is unambiguously
1401 defined as the context which the @code{\with} clause is modifying.
1402 If fact, an error will be generated if a context is specified
1405 So we could replace the example above with
1407 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1408 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1409 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1410 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1412 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1413 \new Staff ="main" {
1420 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1421 % Don't print clefs in this staff
1422 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1423 % Don't print time signatures in this staff
1424 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1433 Finally we come to changing the size of layout objects.
1435 Some layout objects are created as glyphs selected from a typeface
1436 font. These include note heads, accidentals, markup, clefs, time
1437 signatures, dynamics and lyrics. Their size is changed by modifying
1438 the @code{font-size} property, as we shall shortly see. Other layout
1439 objects such as slurs and ties -- in general, spanner objects -- are
1440 drawn individually, so there is no @code{font-size} associated with
1441 them. These objects generally derive their size from the objects to
1442 which they are attached, so usually there is no need to change their
1443 size manually. Still other properties such as the length of stems and
1444 bar lines, thickness of beams and other lines, and the separation of
1445 staff lines all need to be modified in special ways.
1447 Returning to the ossia example, let us first change the font-size.
1448 We can do this in two ways. We can either change the size of the
1449 fonts of each object type, like @code{NoteHead}s with commands
1453 \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-2
1456 or we can change the size of all fonts by setting a special
1457 property, @code{fontSize}, using @code{\set}, or by including
1458 it in a @code{\with} clause (but without the @code{\set}).
1464 Both of these statements would cause the font size to be reduced
1465 by 2 steps from its previous value, where each
1466 step reduces or increases the size by approximately 12%.
1468 Let's try it in our ossia example:
1470 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1471 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1472 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1473 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1474 @cindex fontSize property, example
1476 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1477 \new Staff ="main" {
1484 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1485 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1486 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1487 % Reduce all font sizes by ~24%
1497 This is still not quite right. The note heads and flags are
1498 smaller, but the stems are too long in proportion and the
1499 staff lines are spaced too widely apart. These need to be
1500 scaled down in proportion to the font reduction. The next
1501 sub-section discusses how this is done.
1503 @node Length and thickness of objects
1504 @subsection Length and thickness of objects
1510 @cindex size, changing
1511 @cindex stem length, changing
1512 @cindex staff line spacing, changing
1514 Distances and lengths in LilyPond are generally measured in
1515 staff-spaces, the distance between adjacent lines in the staff,
1516 (or occasionally half staff spaces) while most @code{thickness}
1517 properties are measured in units of an internal property called
1518 @code{line-thickness.} For example, by default, the lines of
1519 hairpins are given a thickness of 1 unit of @code{line-thickness},
1520 while the @code{thickness} of a note stem is 1.3. Note, though,
1521 that some thickness properties are different; for example, the
1522 thickness of beams is controlled by the value of the
1523 @code{beam-thickness} property, which is measured in staff-spaces.
1525 So how are lengths to be scaled in proportion to the font size?
1526 This can be done with the help of a special function called
1527 @code{magstep} provided for exactly this purpose. It takes
1528 one argument, the change in font size (#-2 in the example above)
1529 and returns a scaling factor suitable for reducing other
1530 objects in proportion. It is used like this:
1532 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1533 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1534 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1535 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1536 @cindex fontSize property, example
1537 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1538 @cindex magstep function, example of using
1539 @cindex staff-space property, example
1540 @cindex stencil property, example
1542 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1543 \new Staff ="main" {
1550 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1551 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1552 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1554 % Reduce stem length and line spacing to match
1555 \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #(magstep -2)
1565 Since the length of stems and many other length-related properties are
1566 always calculated relative to the value of the @code{staff-space}
1567 property these are automatically scaled down in length too. Note that
1568 this affects only the vertical scale of the ossia -- the horizontal
1569 scale is determined by the layout of the main music in order to remain
1570 synchronized with it, so it is not affected by any of these changes in
1571 size. Of course, if the scale of all the main music were changed in
1572 this way then the horizontal spacing would be affected. This is
1573 discussed later in the layout section.
1575 This, then, completes the creation of an ossia. The sizes and
1576 lengths of all other objects may be modified in analogous ways.
1578 For small changes in scale, as in the example above, the
1579 thickness of the various drawn lines such as bar lines,
1580 beams, hairpins, slurs, etc does not usually require global
1581 adjustment. If the thickness of any particular layout object
1582 needs to be adjusted this can be best achieved by overriding its
1583 @code{thickness} property. An example of changing the thickness
1584 of slurs was shown above in @ref{Properties of layout objects}.
1585 The thickness of all drawn objects (i.e., those not produced
1586 from a font) may be changed in the same way.
1589 @node Placement of objects
1590 @section Placement of objects
1593 * Automatic behavior::
1594 * Within-staff objects::
1595 * Outside-staff objects::
1599 @node Automatic behavior
1600 @subsection Automatic behavior
1602 @cindex within-staff objects
1603 @cindex outside-staff objects
1604 @cindex objects, within-staff
1605 @cindex objects, outside-staff
1607 There are some objects in musical notation that belong to
1608 the staff and there are other objects that should be
1609 placed outside the staff. These are called within-staff
1610 objects and outside-staff objects respectively.
1612 Within-staff objects are those that are located on the staff
1613 -- note heads, stems, accidentals, etc. The positions of
1614 these are usually fixed by the music itself -- they are
1615 vertically positioned on specific lines of the staff or are
1616 tied to other objects that are so positioned. Collisions of
1617 note heads, stems and accidentals in closely set chords are
1618 normally avoided automatically. There are commands and
1619 overrides which can modify this automatic behavior, as we
1622 Objects belonging outside the staff include things such as
1623 rehearsal marks, text and dynamic markings. LilyPond's rule for
1624 the vertical placement of outside-staff objects is to place them
1625 as close to the staff as possible but not so close that they
1626 collide with any other object. LilyPond uses the
1627 @code{outside-staff-priority} property to determine the order in
1628 which the objects should be placed, as follows.
1630 First, LilyPond places all the within-staff objects.
1631 Then it sorts the outside-staff objects according to their
1632 @code{outside-staff-priority}. The outside-staff objects are
1633 taken one by one, beginning with the object with the lowest
1634 @code{outside-staff-priority}, and placed so that they do not
1635 collide with any objects that have already been placed. That is,
1636 if two outside-staff grobs are competing for the same space, the
1637 one with the lower @code{outside-staff-priority} will be placed
1638 closer to the staff. If two objects have the same
1639 @code{outside-staff-priority} the one encountered first will be
1640 placed closer to the staff.
1642 In the following example all the markup texts have the same
1643 priority (since it is not explicitly set). Note that @q{Text3}
1644 is automatically positioned close to the staff again, nestling
1647 @cindex markup example
1649 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1656 Staves are also positioned, by default, as closely together as
1657 possible (subject to a minimum separation). If notes project
1658 a long way towards an adjacent staff they will force the
1659 staves further apart only if an overlap of the notation
1660 would otherwise occur. The following example demonstrates
1661 this @q{nestling} of the notes on adjacent staves:
1663 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1666 \relative c' { c4 a, }
1669 \relative c'''' { c4 a, }
1675 @node Within-staff objects
1676 @subsection Within-staff objects
1678 We have already seen how the commands @code{\voiceXXX} affect
1679 the direction of slurs, ties, fingering and
1680 everything else which depends on the direction of the stems.
1681 These commands are essential when writing polyphonic music to
1682 permit interweaving melodic lines to be distinguished.
1683 But occasionally it may be necessary to override this automatic
1684 behavior. This can be done for whole sections of music or even
1685 for an individual note. The property which controls this
1686 behavior is the @code{direction} property of each layout object.
1687 We first explain what this does, and then introduce a number of
1688 ready-made commands which avoid your having to code explicit
1689 overrides for the more common modifications.
1691 Some layout objects like slurs and ties curve, bend or point
1692 either up or down; others like stems and flags also move to
1693 right or left when they point up or down. This is controlled
1694 automatically when @code{direction} is set.
1701 The following example shows in bar 1 the default behavior of stems,
1702 with those on high notes pointing down and those on low notes pointing
1703 up, followed by four notes with all stems forced down, four notes with
1704 all stems forced up, and finally four notes reverted back to the
1707 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1708 @cindex direction property, example
1710 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1712 \override Stem #'direction = #DOWN
1714 \override Stem #'direction = #UP
1716 \revert Stem #'direction
1720 Here we use the constants @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}.
1721 These have the values @code{-1} and @code{+1} respectively, and
1722 these numerical values may be used instead. The value @code{0}
1723 may also be used in some cases. It is simply treated as meaning
1724 @code{UP} for stems, but for some objects it means @q{center}.
1725 There is a constant, @code{CENTER} which has the value @code{0}.
1727 However, these explicit overrides are not usually used, as there are
1728 simpler equivalent predefined commands available. Here is a table of
1729 the commonest. The meaning of each is stated where it is not obvious.
1731 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .2 .25 .35
1736 @item @code{\arpeggioArrowDown}
1737 @tab @code{\arpeggioArrowUp}
1738 @tab @code{\arpeggioNormal}
1739 @tab Arrow is at bottom, at top, or no arrow
1740 @item @code{\dotsDown}
1742 @tab @code{\dotsNeutral}
1743 @tab Direction of movement to avoid staff lines
1744 @item @code{\dynamicDown}
1745 @tab @code{\dynamicUp}
1746 @tab @code{\dynamicNeutral}
1748 @item @code{\phrasingSlurDown}
1749 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurUp}
1750 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurNeutral}
1751 @tab Note: distinct from slur commands
1752 @item @code{\slurDown}
1754 @tab @code{\slurNeutral}
1756 @item @code{\stemDown}
1758 @tab @code{\stemNeutral}
1760 @item @code{\textSpannerDown}
1761 @tab @code{\textSpannerUp}
1762 @tab @code{\textSpannerNeutral}
1763 @tab Text entered as spanner is below/above staff
1764 @item @code{\tieDown}
1766 @tab @code{\tieNeutral}
1768 @item @code{\tupletDown}
1769 @tab @code{\tupletUp}
1770 @tab @code{\tupletNeutral}
1771 @tab Tuplets are below/above notes
1774 Note that these predefined commands may @strong{not} be
1775 preceded by @code{\once}. If you wish to limit the
1776 effect to a single note you must either use the equivalent
1777 @code{\once \override} command or use the predefined command
1778 followed after the affected note by the corresponding
1779 @code{\xxxNeutral} command.
1781 @unnumberedsubsubsec Fingering
1783 @cindex fingering, placement
1784 @cindex fingering, chords
1786 The placement of fingering on single notes can also be controlled
1787 by the @code{direction} property, but changing @code{direction}
1788 has no effect on chords. As we shall see, there are special
1789 commands which allow the fingering of individual notes
1790 of chords to be controlled, with the fingering being placed
1791 above, below, to the left or to the right of each note.
1793 First, here's the effect of @code{direction} on the fingering
1794 attached to single notes. The first bar shows the default
1795 behaviour, and the following two bars shows the effect of
1796 specifying @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}:
1798 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
1799 @cindex direction property, example
1801 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1803 \override Fingering #'direction = #DOWN
1805 \override Fingering #'direction = #UP
1809 However, overriding the @code{direction} property is not the
1810 easiest way of manually setting the fingering above or below
1811 the notes; using @code{_} or @code{^} instead of @code{-} before
1812 the fingering number is usually preferable. Here is the previous
1813 example using this method:
1815 @cindex fingering example
1817 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1823 The @code{direction} property is ignored for chords, but the
1824 directional prefixes, @code{_} and @code{^} do work. By default,
1825 the fingering is automatically placed both above and below the
1826 notes of a chord, as shown:
1828 @cindex fingering example
1830 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1837 but this may be overridden to manually force all or any of the
1838 individual fingering numbers above or below:
1840 @cindex fingering example
1842 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1848 Even greater control over the placement of fingering of the
1849 individual notes in a chord is possible by using the
1850 @code{\set fingeringOrientations} command. The format of this
1854 @code{\set fingeringOrientations = #'([up] [left/right] [down])}
1858 @code{\set} is used because @code{fingeringOrientations} is a
1859 property of the @code{Voice} context, created and used by the
1860 @code{New_fingering_engraver}.
1862 The property may be set to a list of one to three values.
1863 It controls whether fingerings may be placed above (if
1864 @code{up} appears in the list), below (if @code{down} appears),
1865 to the left (if @code{left} appears, or to the right
1866 (if @code{right} appears). Conversely, if a location is not
1867 listed, no fingering is placed there. LilyPond takes these
1868 constraints and works out the best placement for the fingering
1869 of the notes of the following chords. Note that @code{left} and
1870 @code{right} are mutually exclusive -- fingering may be placed
1871 only on one side or the other, not both.
1873 @warning{To control the placement of the fingering of a single
1874 note using this command it is necessary to write it as a single
1875 note chord by placing angle brackets round it.}
1877 Here are a few examples:
1879 @cindex fingering example
1880 @cindex @code{\set}, example of using
1881 @cindex fingeringOrientations property, example
1883 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1884 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1887 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1889 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1890 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1893 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1895 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1896 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1902 If the fingering seems a little crowded the @code{font-size}
1903 could be reduced. The default value can be seen from the
1904 @code{Fingering} object in the IR to be @code{-5}, so let's
1907 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1908 \override Fingering #'font-size = #-7
1909 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1912 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1914 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1915 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1918 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1920 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1921 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1926 @node Outside-staff objects
1927 @subsection Outside-staff objects
1929 Outside-staff objects are automatically placed to avoid collisions.
1930 Objects with the lower value of the @code{outside-staff-priority}
1931 property are placed nearer to the staff, and other outside-staff
1932 objects are then raised as far as necessary to avoid collisions.
1933 The @code{outside-staff-priority} is defined in the
1934 @code{grob-interface} and so is a property of all layout objects.
1935 By default it is set to @code{#f} for all within-staff objects,
1936 and to a numerical value appropriate to each outside-staff object
1937 when the object is created. The following table shows the default
1938 numerical values for some of the commonest outside-staff objects.
1942 Note the unusual names for some of the objects: spanner objects
1943 are automatically created to control the vertical positioning of
1944 grobs which (might) start and end at different musical moments, so
1945 changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the underlying grob
1946 will have no effect. For example, changing
1947 @code{outside-staff-priority} of the @code{Hairpin} object will
1948 have no effect on the vertical positioning of hairpins -- you must
1949 change @code{outside-staff-priority} of the associated
1950 @code{DynamicLineSpanner} object instead. This override must be
1951 placed at the start of the spanner, which might include several
1952 linked hairpins and dynamics.
1954 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .3 .3
1955 @headitem Layout Object
1957 @tab Controls position of:
1958 @item @code{RehearsalMark}
1960 @tab Rehearsal marks
1961 @item @code{MetronomeMark}
1963 @tab Metronome marks
1964 @item @code{VoltaBracketSpanner}
1967 @item @code{TextScript}
1970 @item @code{MultiMeasureRestText}
1972 @tab Markup text over full-bar rests
1973 @item @code{OttavaBracket}
1975 @tab Ottava brackets
1976 @item @code{TextSpanner}
1979 @item @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
1981 @tab All dynamic markings
1982 @item @code{BarNumber}
1985 @item @code{TrillSpanner}
1987 @tab Spanning trills
1990 Here is an example showing the default placement of some of
1993 @cindex text spanner
1994 @cindex ottava bracket
1996 @funindex \startTextSpan
1997 @funindex startTextSpan
1998 @funindex \stopTextSpan
1999 @funindex stopTextSpan
2001 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
2002 @cindex bound-details property, example
2004 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2005 % Set details for later Text Spanner
2006 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text)
2007 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2008 % Place dynamics above staff
2010 % Start Ottava Bracket
2013 % Add Dynamic Text and hairpin
2019 % Add Dynamic Text and terminate hairpin
2020 c4\ff c \stopTextSpan |
2021 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2026 This example also shows how to create Text Spanners --
2027 text with extender lines above a section of music. The
2028 spanner extends from the @code{\startTextSpan} command to
2029 the @code{\stopTextSpan} command, and the format of the
2030 text is defined by the @code{\override TextSpanner} command.
2031 For more details see @ruser{Text spanners}.
2033 It also shows how ottava brackets are created.
2035 @cindex tweaking bar number placement
2036 @cindex bar numbers, tweaking placement
2037 @cindex tweaking metronome mark placement
2038 @cindex metronome mark, tweaking placement
2039 @cindex tweaking rehearsal mark placement
2040 @cindex rehearsal marks, tweaking placement
2042 If the default values of @code{outside-staff-priority} do not give you
2043 the placing you want, the priority of any of the objects may be
2044 overridden. Suppose we would like the ottava bracket to be placed
2045 below the text spanner in the example above. All we need to do is to
2046 look up the priority of @code{OttavaBracket} in the IR or in the
2047 tables above, and reduce it to a value lower than that of a
2048 @code{TextSpanner}, remembering that @code{OttavaBracket} is created
2049 in the @code{Staff} context:
2051 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
2052 @cindex bound-details property, example
2054 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2055 % Set details for later Text Spanner
2056 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text)
2057 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2058 % Place dynamics above staff
2060 % Place following Ottava Bracket below Text Spanners
2061 \once \override Staff.OttavaBracket #'outside-staff-priority = #340
2062 % Start Ottava Bracket
2067 % Add Dynamic Line Spanner
2073 c4\ff c \stopTextSpan |
2074 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2079 Note that some of these objects, in particular bar numbers,
2080 metronome marks and rehearsal marks, live by default in the
2081 @code{Score} context, so be sure to use the correct context
2082 when these are being overriden.
2084 @cindex slurs and outside-staff-priority
2085 @cindex slurs and articulations
2086 @cindex articulations and slurs
2088 Slurs by default are classed as within-staff objects, but
2089 they often appear above the staff if the notes to
2090 which they are attached are high on the staff. This can push
2091 outside-staff objects such as articulations too high, as the slur
2092 will be placed first. The @code{avoid-slur} property of the
2093 articulation can be set to @code{'inside} to bring the articulation
2094 inside the slur, but the @code{avoid-slur} property is effective
2095 only if the @code{outside-staff-priority} is also set to @code{#f}.
2096 Alternatively, the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the slur
2097 can be set to a numerical value to cause it to be placed along with
2098 other outside-staff objects according to that value. Here's an
2099 example showing the effect of the two methods:
2101 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
2102 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2104 \once \override TextScript #'avoid-slur = #'inside
2105 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2106 c4^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2107 \once \override Slur #'outside-staff-priority = #500
2108 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2111 Changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} can also be used to
2112 control the vertical placement of individual objects, although
2113 the results may not always be desirable. Suppose we would
2114 like @qq{Text3} to be placed above @qq{Text4} in the example
2115 under Automatic behavior, above (see @ref{Automatic behavior}).
2116 All we need to do is to look up the priority of @code{TextScript}
2117 in the IR or in the tables above, and increase the priority of
2118 @qq{Text3} to a higher value:
2120 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2121 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2123 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2126 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = #500
2131 This certainly lifts @qq{Text3} above @qq{Text4} but it also lifts it
2132 above @qq{Text2}, and @qq{Text4} now drops down. Perhaps this is not
2133 so good. What we would really like to do is to position all the
2134 annotation at the same distance above the staff. To do this, we
2135 clearly will need to space the notes out horizontally to make more
2136 room for the text. This is done using the @code{textLengthOn}
2139 @subheading \textLengthOn
2141 @cindex notes, spreading out with text
2143 @funindex \textLengthOn
2144 @funindex textLengthOn
2145 @funindex \textLengthOff
2146 @funindex textLengthOff
2148 By default, text produced by markup takes up no horizontal space
2149 as far as laying out the music is concerned. The @code{\textLengthOn}
2150 command reverses this behavior, causing the notes to be spaced
2151 out as far as is necessary to accommodate the text:
2153 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2154 \textLengthOn % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
2161 The command to revert to the default behavior is
2162 @code{\textLengthOff}. Remember @code{\once} only works with
2163 @code{\override}, @code{\set}, @code{\revert} or @code{unset},
2164 so cannot be used with @code{\textLengthOn}.
2166 @cindex markup text, allowing collisions
2168 Markup text will also avoid notes which project above the staff.
2169 If this is not desired, the automatic displacement upwards may
2170 be turned off by setting the priority to @code{#f}. Here's an
2171 example to show how markup text interacts with such notes.
2173 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2174 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2176 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2177 % This markup is short enough to fit without collision
2181 % This is too long to fit, so it is displaced upwards
2185 % Turn off collision avoidance
2186 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2187 c,,2^"Long Text " c'' |
2190 % Turn off collision avoidance
2191 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2192 \textLengthOn % and turn on textLengthOn
2193 c,,2^"Long Text " % Spaces at end are honored
2198 @subheading Dynamics
2200 @cindex tweaking dynamics placement
2201 @cindex dynamics, tweaking placement
2203 Dynamic markings will normally be positioned beneath the
2204 staff, but may be positioned above with the @code{dynamicUp}
2205 command. They will be positioned vertically relative to the
2206 note to which they are attached, and will float below (or above)
2207 all within-staff objects such as phrasing slurs and bar numbers.
2208 This can give quite acceptable results, as this example
2211 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2216 bes4.~\f\< \( bes4 bes8 des4\ff\> c16 bes\! |
2217 ees,2.~\)\mf ees4 r8 |
2220 However, if the notes and attached dynamics are close
2221 together the automatic placement will avoid collisions
2222 by displacing later dynamic markings further away, but this may
2223 not be the optimum placement, as this rather artificial example
2226 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2232 Should a similar situation arise in @q{real} music, it may be
2233 preferable to space out the notes a little further, so the dynamic
2234 markings can all fit at the same vertical distance from the staff. We
2235 were able to do this for markup text by using the @code{\textLengthOn}
2236 command, but there is no equivalent command for dynamic marks. So we
2237 shall have to work out how to do this using @code{\override} commands.
2239 @subheading Grob sizing
2242 @cindex sizing grobs
2244 First we must learn how grobs are sized. All grobs have a
2245 reference point defined within them which is used to position
2246 them relative to their parent object. This point in the grob
2247 is then positioned at a horizontal distance, @code{X-offset},
2248 and at a vertical distance, @code{Y-offset}, from its parent.
2249 The horizontal extent of the object is given by a pair of
2250 numbers, @code{X-extent}, which say where the left and right
2251 edges are relative to the reference point. The vertical extent
2252 is similarly defined by a pair of numbers, @code{Y-extent}.
2253 These are properties of all grobs which support the
2254 @code{grob-interface}.
2256 @cindex @code{extra-spacing-width}
2258 By default, outside-staff objects are given a width of zero so
2259 that they may overlap in the horizontal direction. This is done
2260 by the trick of adding infinity to the leftmost extent and
2261 minus infinity to the rightmost extent by setting the
2262 @code{extra-spacing-width} to @code{'(+inf.0 . -inf.0)}. So
2263 to ensure they do not overlap in the horizontal direction we
2264 must override this value of @code{extra-spacing-width} to
2265 @code{'(0 . 0)} so the true width shines through. This is
2266 the command to do this for dynamic text:
2269 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2273 Let's see if this works in our previous example:
2275 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2276 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2278 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2280 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2281 a4\f b\mf c\mp b\p |
2285 Well, it has certainly stopped the dynamic marks being
2286 displaced, but two problems remain. The marks should be
2287 spaced a little further apart and it would be better
2288 if they were all the same distance from the staff.
2289 We can solve the first problem easily. Instead of making
2290 the @code{extra-spacing-width} zero we could add a little
2291 more to it. The units are the space between two staff
2292 lines, so moving the left edge half a unit to the left and the
2293 right edge half a unit to the right should do it:
2295 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2296 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2298 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2300 % Extend width by 1 staff space
2301 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2306 This looks better, but maybe we would prefer the dynamic marks
2307 to be aligned along the same baseline rather than going up and
2308 down with the notes. The property to do this is
2309 @code{staff-padding} which is covered in the following section.
2312 @node Collisions of objects
2313 @section Collisions of objects
2317 * Fixing overlapping notation::
2318 * Real music example::
2321 @node Moving objects
2322 @subsection Moving objects
2324 @cindex moving overlapping objects
2325 @cindex moving colliding objects
2326 @cindex moving colliding grobs
2327 @cindex objects, moving colliding
2328 @cindex grobs, moving colliding
2330 This may come as a surprise, but LilyPond is not perfect. Some
2331 notation elements can overlap. This is unfortunate, but in fact
2332 rather rare. Usually the need to move objects is for clarity or
2333 aesthetic reasons -- they would look better with a little more
2334 or a little less space around them.
2336 There are three main approaches to resolving overlapping
2337 notation. They should be considered in the following order:
2341 The @strong{direction} of one of the overlapping objects may
2342 be changed using the predefined commands listed above for
2343 within-staff objects (see @ref{Within-staff objects}).
2344 Stems, slurs, beams, ties, dynamics, text and tuplets may be
2345 repositioned easily in this way. The limitation is that you
2346 have a choice of only two positions, and neither may be
2350 The @strong{object properties}, which LilyPond uses when positioning
2351 layout objects, may be modified using @code{\override}. The
2352 advantages of making changes to this type of property are (a) that
2353 some other objects will be moved automatically if necessary to make
2354 room and (b) the single override can apply to all instances of the
2355 same type of object. Such properties include:
2362 This has already been covered in some detail -- see
2363 @ref{Within-staff objects}.
2366 @code{padding}, @code{right-padding}, @code{staff-padding}
2369 @cindex padding property
2370 @cindex right-padding property
2371 @cindex staff-padding property
2373 As an object is being positioned the value of its @code{padding}
2374 property specifies the gap that must be left between itself and the
2375 nearest edge of the object against which it is being positioned. Note
2376 that it is the @code{padding} value of the object @strong{being
2377 placed} that is used; the @code{padding} value of the object which is
2378 already placed is ignored. Gaps specified by @code{padding} can be
2379 applied to all objects which support the
2380 @code{side-position-interface}.
2382 Instead of @code{padding}, the placement of groups of accidentals
2383 is controlled by @code{right-padding}. This property is to be found
2384 in the @code{AccidentalPlacement} object which, note, lives in the
2385 @strong{Staff} context. In the typesetting process the note heads
2386 are typeset first and then the accidentals, if any, are added to the
2387 left of the note heads using the @code{right-padding} property to determine
2388 the separation from the note heads and between individual accidentals.
2389 So only the @code{right-padding} property of the @code{AccidentalPlacement}
2390 object has any effect on the placement of the accidentals.
2392 The @code{staff-padding} property is closely related to the
2393 @code{padding} property: @code{padding} controls the minimum amount of
2394 space between any object which supports the
2395 @code{side-position-interface} and the nearest other object (generally
2396 the note or the staff lines); @code{staff-padding} applies only to
2397 those objects which are always set outside the staff -- it controls
2398 the minimum amount of space that should be inserted between that
2399 object and the staff. Note that @code{staff-padding} has no effect on
2400 objects which are positioned relative to the note rather than the
2401 staff, even though it may be overridden without error for such objects
2402 -- it is simply ignored.
2404 To discover which padding property is required for the object you wish
2405 to reposition, you need to return to the IR and look up the object's
2406 properties. Be aware that the padding properties might not be located
2407 in the obvious object, so look in objects that appear to be related.
2409 All padding values are measured in staff spaces. For most
2410 objects, this value is set by default to be around 1.0 or less
2411 (it varies with each object). It may be overridden if a larger
2412 (or smaller) gap is required.
2415 @code{self-alignment-X}
2417 @cindex self-alignment-X property
2419 This property can be used to align the object to the left, to
2420 the right, or to center it with respect to the parent object's
2421 reference point. It may be used with all objects which support
2422 the @code{self-alignment-interface}. In general these are objects
2423 that contain text. The values are @code{LEFT}, @code{RIGHT}
2424 or @code{CENTER}. Alternatively, a numerical value between
2425 @code{-1} and @code{+1} may be specified, where @code{-1} is
2426 left-aligned, @code{+1} is right-aligned, and numbers in between
2427 move the text progressively from left-aligned to right-aligned.
2428 Numerical values greater than @code{1} may be specified to move
2429 the text even further to the left, or less than @code{-1} to
2430 move the text even further to the right. A change of @code{1}
2431 in the value corresponds to a movement of half the text's length.
2434 @code{extra-spacing-width}
2436 @cindex extra-spacing-width property
2438 This property is available for all objects which support the
2439 @code{item-interface}. It takes two numbers, the first is added
2440 to the leftmost extent and the second is added to the rightmost
2441 extent. Negative numbers move the edge to the left, positive to
2442 the right, so to widen an object the first number must be negative,
2443 the second positive. Note that not all objects honor both
2444 numbers. For example, the @code{Accidental} object only takes
2445 notice of the first (left edge) number.
2448 @code{staff-position}
2450 @cindex staff-position property
2452 @code{staff-position} is a property of the
2453 @code{staff-symbol-referencer-interface}, which is supported by
2454 objects which are positioned relative to the staff. It specifies
2455 the vertical position of the object relative to the center line
2456 of the staff in half staff-spaces. It is useful in resolving
2457 collisions between layout objects like multi-measure rests, ties
2458 and notes in different voices.
2463 @cindex force-hshift property
2465 Closely spaced notes in a chord, or notes occurring at the same
2466 time in different voices, are arranged in two, occasionally more,
2467 columns to prevent the note heads overlapping. These are called
2468 note columns, and an object called @code{NoteColumn} is created
2469 to lay out the notes in that column.
2471 The @code{force-hshift} property is a property of a @code{NoteColumn}
2472 (actually of the @code{note-column-interface}). Changing it permits a
2473 note column to be moved in units appropriate to a note column,
2474 viz. the note head width of the first voice note. It should be used
2475 in complex situations where the normal @code{\shiftOn} commands (see
2476 @ref{Explicitly instantiating voices}) do not resolve the note
2477 conflict. It is preferable to the @code{extra-offset} property for
2478 this purpose as there is no need to work out the distance in
2479 staff-spaces, and moving the notes into or out of a @code{NoteColumn}
2480 affects other actions such as merging note heads.
2485 Finally, when all else fails, objects may be manually repositioned
2486 relative to the staff center line vertically, or by displacing them by
2487 any distance to a new position. The disadvantages are that the
2488 correct values for the repositioning have to be worked out, often by
2489 trial and error, for every object individually, and, because the
2490 movement is done after LilyPond has placed all other objects, the user
2491 is responsible for avoiding any collisions that might ensue. But the
2492 main difficulty with this approach is that the repositioning values
2493 may need to be reworked if the music is later modified. The
2494 properties that can be used for this type of manual repositioning are:
2499 @cindex extra-offset property
2501 This property applies to any layout object supporting the
2502 @code{grob-interface}. It takes a pair of numbers which specify the
2503 extra displacement in the horizontal and vertical directions.
2504 Negative numbers move the object to the left or down. The units are
2505 staff-spaces. The extra displacement is made after the typesetting of
2506 objects is finished, so an object may be repositioned anywhere without
2507 affecting anything else.
2511 @cindex positions property
2513 This is most useful for manually adjusting the slope and height
2514 of beams, slurs, and tuplets. It takes a pair of numbers
2515 giving the position of the left and right ends of the beam, slur,
2516 etc. relative to the center line of the staff. Units are
2517 staff-spaces. Note, though, that slurs and phrasing slurs cannot
2518 be repositioned by arbitrarily large amounts. LilyPond first
2519 generates a list of possible positions for the slur and by default
2520 finds the slur that @qq{looks best}. If the @code{positions}
2521 property has been overridden the slur that is closest to the
2522 requested positions is selected from the list.
2527 A particular object may not have all of these properties.
2528 It is necessary to go to the IR to look up which properties
2529 are available for the object in question.
2531 Here is a list of the objects which are most likely to be
2532 involved in collisions, together with the name of the object which
2533 should be looked up in the IR in order to discover which properties
2534 should be used to move them.
2536 @multitable @columnfractions .5 .5
2537 @headitem Object type @tab Object name
2538 @item Articulations @tab @code{Script}
2539 @item Beams @tab @code{Beam}
2540 @item Dynamics (vertically) @tab @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
2541 @item Dynamics (horizontally) @tab @code{DynamicText}
2542 @item Fingerings @tab @code{Fingering}
2543 @item Rehearsal / Text marks @tab @code{RehearsalMark}
2544 @item Slurs @tab @code{Slur}
2545 @item Text e.g. @code{^"text"} @tab @code{TextScript}
2546 @item Ties @tab @code{Tie}
2547 @item Tuplets @tab @code{TupletBracket}
2551 @node Fixing overlapping notation
2552 @subsection Fixing overlapping notation
2554 Let's now see how the properties in the previous section can
2555 help to resolve overlapping notation.
2557 @subheading padding property
2560 @cindex fixing overlapping notation
2561 @cindex overlapping notation
2563 The @code{padding} property can be set to increase
2564 (or decrease) the distance between symbols that are printed
2565 above or below notes.
2567 @cindex Script, example of overriding
2568 @cindex padding property, example
2570 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2572 \override Script #'padding = #3
2576 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
2577 @cindex padding property, example
2579 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2580 % This will not work, see below
2581 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2585 \override Score.MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2590 Note in the second example how important it is to figure out what
2591 context handles a certain object. Since the @code{MetronomeMark}
2592 object is handled in the @code{Score} context, property changes in the
2593 @code{Voice} context will not be noticed. For more details, see
2594 @ruser{Modifying properties}.
2596 If the @code{padding} property of an object is increased when that
2597 object is in a stack of objects being positioned according to
2598 their @code{outside-staff-priority}, then that object and all
2599 objects outside it are moved.
2602 @subheading right-padding
2604 @cindex right-padding property
2606 The @code{right-padding} property affects the spacing between the
2607 accidental and the note to which it applies. It is not often
2608 required, but the default spacing may be wrong for certain special
2609 accidental glyphs or combination of glyphs used in some microtonal
2610 music. These have to be entered by overriding the accidental
2611 stencil with a markup containing the desired symbol(s), like this:
2613 @cindex Accidental, example of overriding
2614 @cindex text property, example
2615 @cindex stencil property, example
2616 @cindex AccidentalPlacement, example of overriding
2617 @cindex right-padding property, example
2619 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2620 sesquisharp = \markup { \sesquisharp }
2623 % This prints a sesquisharp but the spacing is too small
2624 \once \override Accidental
2625 #'stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2626 \once \override Accidental #'text = #sesquisharp
2628 % This improves the spacing
2629 \once \override Score.AccidentalPlacement #'right-padding = #0.6
2630 \once \override Accidental
2631 #'stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2632 \once \override Accidental #'text = #sesquisharp
2638 This necessarily uses an override for the accidental stencil which
2639 will not be covered until later. The stencil type must be a
2640 procedure, here changed to print the contents of the @code{text}
2641 property of @code{Accidental}, which itself is set to be a
2642 sesquisharp sign. This sign is then moved further away from the
2643 note head by overriding @code{right-padding}.
2647 @subheading staff-padding property
2649 @cindex aligning objects on a baseline
2650 @cindex objects, aligning on a baseline
2652 @code{staff-padding} can be used to align objects such as dynamics
2653 along a baseline at a fixed height above the staff, rather than at a
2654 height dependent on the position of the note to which they are
2655 attached. It is not a property of @code{DynamicText} but of
2656 @code{DynamicLineSpanner}. This is because the baseline should apply
2657 equally to @strong{all} dynamics, including those created as extended
2658 spanners. So this is the way to align the dynamic marks in the
2659 example taken from the previous section:
2661 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2662 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2663 @cindex DynamicLineSpanner, example of overriding
2664 @cindex staff-padding property, example
2666 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2668 % Extend width by 1 unit
2669 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2670 % Align dynamics to a base line 2 units above staff
2671 \override DynamicLineSpanner #'staff-padding = #2
2676 @subheading self-alignment-X property
2678 The following example shows how this can resolve the collision
2679 of a string fingering object with a note's stem by aligning the
2680 right edge with the reference point of the parent note:
2682 @cindex StringNumber, example of overriding
2683 @cindex self-alignment-X property, example
2685 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=3]
2688 \once \override StringNumber #'self-alignment-X = #RIGHT
2692 @subheading staff-position property
2694 @cindex object collision within a staff
2696 Multimeasure rests in one voice can collide with notes in another.
2697 Since these rests are typeset centered between the bar lines, it
2698 would require significant effort for LilyPond to figure out which
2699 other notes might collide with it, since all the current collision
2700 handling between notes and between notes and rests is done only
2701 for notes and rests that occur at the same time. Here's an
2702 example of a collision of this type:
2704 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2705 << { c4 c c c } \\ { R1 } >>
2708 The best solution here is to move the multimeasure rest down, since
2709 the rest is in voice two. The default in @code{\voiceTwo} (i.e. in
2710 the second voice of a @code{<<@{...@} \\ @{...@}>>} construct) is that
2711 @code{staff-position} is set to -4 for MultiMeasureRest, so we need to
2712 move it, say, four half-staff spaces down to @code{-8}.
2714 @cindex MultiMeasureRest, example of overriding
2715 @cindex staff-position property, example
2717 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2721 \override MultiMeasureRest #'staff-position = #-8
2726 This is better than using, for example, @code{extra-offset},
2727 because the ledger line above the rest is inserted automatically.
2729 @subheading extra-offset property
2731 @cindex positioning objects
2732 @cindex positioning grobs
2733 @cindex objects, positioning
2734 @cindex grobs, positioning
2736 The @code{extra-offset} property provides complete control over the
2737 positioning of an object both horizontally and vertically.
2739 In the following example, the second fingering is moved a little to
2740 the left, and 1.8 staff space downwards:
2742 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
2743 @cindex extra-offset property, example
2745 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2748 \once \override Fingering #'extra-offset = #'(-0.3 . -1.8)
2753 @subheading positions property
2755 @cindex controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams manually
2756 @cindex manually controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams
2757 @cindex tuplet beams, controlling manually
2758 @cindex slurs, controlling manually
2759 @cindex phrasing slurs, controlling manually
2760 @cindex beams, controlling manually
2762 The @code{positions} property allows the position and slope of
2763 tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs and beams to be controlled manually.
2764 Here's an example which has an ugly phrasing slur due to its trying to
2765 avoid the slur on the acciaccatura.
2767 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2768 r4 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2772 We could simply move the phrasing slur above the notes, and this
2773 would be the preferred solution:
2775 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2778 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2782 But if there were some reason why this could not be done the
2783 other alternative would be to move the left end of the phrasing
2784 slur down a little using the @code{positions} property. This
2785 also resolves the rather nasty shape.
2787 @cindex PhrasingSlur, example of overriding
2788 @cindex positions property, example
2790 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2792 \once \override PhrasingSlur #'positions = #'(-4 . -3)
2793 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2796 Here's a further example taken from the opening of the left-hand
2797 staff of Chopin's Prelude Op 28 No. 2. We see that the beam
2798 collides with the upper notes:
2800 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2803 << { b,8 ais, b, g, } \\ { e,8 g e, g } >>
2804 << { b,8 ais, b, g, } \\ { e,8 g e, g } >>
2809 This can be resolved by manually moving both ends of the beam
2810 up from their position at 2 staff-spaces above the center line to,
2813 @cindex Beam, example of overriding
2814 @cindex positions property, example
2816 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2820 \override Beam #'positions = #'(3 . 3)
2825 << { b,8 ais, b, g, } \\ { e,8 g e, g } >>
2830 Note that the override continues to apply in the first voice of
2831 the second block of quavers, but not to any of the beams in the
2834 @subheading force-hshift property
2836 We can now see how to apply the final corrections to the Chopin
2837 example introduced at the end of @ref{I'm hearing Voices}, which
2838 was left looking like this:
2840 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2841 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2858 The lower two notes of the first chord (i.e, those in the third voice)
2859 should not be shifted away from the note column of the higher two
2860 notes. To correct this we set @code{force-hshift}, which is a
2861 property of @code{NoteColumn}, of these notes to zero. The lower note
2862 of the second chord is best placed just to the right of the higher
2863 notes. We achieve this by setting @code{force-hshift} of this note to
2864 0.5, ie half a note head's width to the right of the note column of
2867 Here's the final result:
2869 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
2870 @cindex force-hshift property, example
2872 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2873 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2882 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0
2884 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0.5
2893 @node Real music example
2894 @subsection Real music example
2896 We end this section on Tweaks by showing the steps to be taken to
2897 deal with a tricky example which needs several tweaks to produce
2898 the desired output. The example has been deliberately chosen to
2899 illustrate the use of the Notation Reference to resolve unusual
2900 problems with notation. It is not representative of the more usual
2901 engraving process, so please do not let these difficulties put
2902 you off! Fortunately, difficulties like these are not very common!
2904 The example is from Chopin's Première Ballade, Op. 23, bars 6 to
2905 9, the transition from the opening Lento to Moderato.
2906 Here, first, is what we want the output to look like, but to avoid
2907 over-complicating the example too much we have left out the
2908 dynamics, fingering and pedalling.
2910 @c The following should appear as music without code
2911 @c This example should not be indexed
2912 @c line-width ensures no break
2913 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
2914 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2917 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2921 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2922 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2923 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
2929 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
2930 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
2931 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
2938 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
2940 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
2941 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
2949 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2950 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2955 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2957 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2964 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2968 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2977 We note first that the right hand part in the third bar
2978 requires four voices. These are the five beamed eighth notes,
2979 the tied C, the half-note D which is merged with the eighth note
2980 D, and the dotted quarter note F-sharp, which is also merged with
2981 the eighth note at the same pitch. Everything else is in a single
2982 voice, so the easiest way is to introduce these extra three voices
2983 temporarily at the time they are needed. If you have forgotten
2984 how to do this, look at @ref{I'm hearing Voices} and @ref{Explicitly
2985 instantiating voices}. Here we choose to use explicitly instantiated
2986 voices for the polyphonic passage, as LilyPond is better able to
2987 avoid collisions if all voices are instantiated explicitly in this
2990 So let us begin by entering the notes as two variables, setting up
2991 the staff structure in a score block, and seeing what LilyPond
2992 produces by default:
2994 @c line-width ensures no break
2995 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
2996 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3002 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3004 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3018 g2. % continuation of main voice
3022 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3031 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3035 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3044 All the notes are right, but the appearance is far from
3045 satisfactory. The tie collides with the change in time signature,
3046 some notes are not merged together, and several notation elements
3047 are missing. Let's first deal with the easier things. We can
3048 easily add the left hand slur and the right hand phrasing slur,
3049 since these were all covered in the Tutorial. Doing this gives:
3051 @c line-width ensures no break
3052 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3053 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3059 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3061 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3075 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3079 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3088 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3092 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3101 The first bar is now correct. The second bar contains an arpeggio and
3102 is terminated by a double bar line. How do we do these, as they have
3103 not been mentioned in this Learning Manual? This is where we need to
3104 turn to the Notation Reference. Looking up @q{arpeggio} and @q{bar
3105 line} in the index quickly shows us that an arpeggio is produced by
3106 appending @code{\arpeggio} to a chord, and a double bar line is
3107 produced by the @code{\bar "||"} command. That's easily done. We
3108 next need to correct the collision of the tie with the time signature.
3109 This is best done by moving the tie upwards. Moving objects was
3110 covered earlier in @ref{Moving objects}, which says that objects
3111 positioned relative to the staff can be moved vertically by overriding
3112 their @code{staff-position} property, which is specified in half staff
3113 spaces relative to the center line of the staff. So the following
3114 override placed just before the first tied note would move the tie up
3115 to 3.5 half staff spaces above the center line:
3117 @code{\once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5}
3119 This completes bar two, giving:
3121 @c line-width ensures no break
3122 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3123 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3126 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3131 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3133 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3147 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3151 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3153 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3160 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3164 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3173 On to bar three and the start of the Moderato section. The tutorial
3174 showed how to add bold text with the @code{\markup} command, so
3175 adding @qq{Moderato} in bold is easy. But how do we merge notes in
3176 different voices together? This is where we need to turn again to
3177 the Notation Reference for help. A search for @qq{merge} in the
3178 Notation Reference index quickly leads us to the commands for merging
3179 differently headed and differently dotted notes in
3180 @ruser{Collision resolution}. In our example we need to merge both
3181 types of note for the duration of the polyphonic section in bar 3,
3182 so using the information we find in the Notation Reference we add
3185 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3186 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3190 to the start of that section and
3193 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3194 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3200 @c line-width ensures no break
3201 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3202 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3205 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3209 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3210 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3211 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3212 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3214 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3228 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3229 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3230 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3234 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3236 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3243 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3247 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3256 These overrides have merged the two F-sharp notes, but not the two
3257 on D. Why not? The answer is there in the same section in the
3258 Notation Reference -- notes being merged must have stems in
3259 opposite directions and two notes cannot be merged successfully if
3260 there is a third note in the same note column. Here the two D's
3261 both have upward stems and there is a third note -- the C. We know
3262 how to change the stem direction using @code{\stemDown}, and
3263 the Notation Reference also says how to move the C -- apply a shift
3264 using one of the @code{\shift} commands. But which one?
3265 The C is in voice two which has shift off, and the two D's are in
3266 voices one and three, which have shift off and shift on,
3267 respectively. So we have to shift the C a further level still
3268 using @code{\shiftOnn} to avoid it interfering with the two D's.
3269 Applying these changes gives:
3271 @cindex Tie, example of overriding
3272 @cindex staff-position property, example
3274 @c line-width ensures no break
3275 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3276 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3279 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3283 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3284 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3285 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3286 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3288 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3291 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
3296 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3304 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3305 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3306 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3310 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3312 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3319 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3323 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3332 Nearly there. Only two problems remain: The downward stem on the
3333 merged D should not be there, and the C would be better positioned
3334 to the right of the D's. We know how to do both of these from the
3335 earlier tweaks: we make the stem transparent, and move the C with
3336 the @code{force-hshift} property. Here's the final result:
3338 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
3339 @cindex force-hshift property, example
3340 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3341 @cindex transparent property, example
3343 @c line-width ensures no break
3344 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3345 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3348 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3352 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3353 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3354 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3355 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3357 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3361 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
3362 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
3363 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
3370 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3372 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
3373 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3381 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3382 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3383 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3387 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3389 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3396 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3400 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3410 @node Further tweaking
3411 @section Further tweaking
3414 * Other uses for tweaks::
3415 * Using variables for tweaks::
3417 * Other sources of information::
3418 * Advanced tweaks with Scheme::
3421 @node Other uses for tweaks
3422 @subsection Other uses for tweaks
3424 @cindex transparent property, use of
3425 @cindex objects, making invisible
3426 @cindex removing objects
3427 @cindex objects, removing
3428 @cindex hiding objects
3429 @cindex objects, hiding
3430 @cindex invisible objects
3431 @cindex objects, invisible
3432 @cindex tying notes across voices
3434 @subheading Tying notes across voices
3436 The following example demonstrates how to connect notes in
3437 different voices using ties. Normally, only two notes in the
3438 same voice can be connected with ties. By using two voices,
3439 with the tied notes in one of them
3441 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2]
3442 << { b8~ b\noBeam } \\ { b8[ g] } >>
3446 and blanking the first up-stem in that voice, the tie appears to
3449 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3450 @cindex transparent property, example
3452 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3455 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3463 To make sure that the just-blanked stem doesn't squeeze the tie
3464 too much, we can lengthen the stem by setting the
3465 @code{length} to @code{8},
3467 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3470 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3471 \once \override Stem #'length = #8
3479 @subheading Simulating a fermata in MIDI
3481 @cindex stencil property, use of
3482 @cindex fermata, implementing in MIDI
3484 For outside-staff objects it is usually better to override the
3485 object's @code{stencil} property rather than its @code{transparent}
3486 property when you wish to remove it from the printed output.
3487 Setting the @code{stencil} property of an object to @code{#f} will
3488 remove that object entirely from the printed output. This means it
3489 has no effect on the placement of other objects placed relative to
3492 For example, if we wished to change the metronome setting in order
3493 to simulate a fermata in the MIDI output we would not want the
3494 metronome markings to appear in the printed output, and we would
3495 not want it to influence the spacing between the two systems or
3496 the positions of adjacent annotations on the staff. So setting
3497 its @code{stencil} property to @code{#f} would be the best way.
3498 We show here the effect of the two methods:
3500 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3501 @cindex transparent property, example
3503 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3506 % Visible tempo marking
3509 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'transparent = ##t
3510 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3513 % New tempo for next section
3522 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3523 @cindex stencil property, example
3525 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3528 % Visible tempo marking
3531 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'stencil = ##f
3532 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3535 % New tempo for next section
3545 Both methods remove the metronome mark which lengthens the fermata
3546 from the printed output, and both affect the MIDI timing as
3547 required, but the transparent metronome mark in the first line
3548 forces the following tempo indication too high while the
3549 second (with the stencil removed) does not.
3555 @node Using variables for tweaks
3556 @subsection Using variables for tweaks
3558 @cindex variables, using for tweaks
3559 @cindex using variables for tweaks
3560 @cindex tweaks, using variables for
3562 Override commands are often long and tedious to type, and they
3563 have to be absolutely correct. If the same overrides are to be
3564 used many times it may be worth defining variables to hold them.
3566 Suppose we wish to emphasize certain words in lyrics by printing
3567 them in bold italics. The @code{\italic} and @code{\bold}
3568 commands only work within lyrics if they are embedded, together with
3569 the word or words to be modified, within a @code{\markup} block,
3570 which makes them tedious to enter. The need to embed the words
3571 themselves prevents their use in simple variables. As an
3572 alternative can we use @code{\override} and @code{\revert} commands?
3575 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic}
3576 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series = #'bold}
3578 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape}
3579 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series}
3582 These would also be extremely tedious to enter if there were many
3583 words requiring emphasis. But we @emph{can} define these as two
3584 variables and use those to bracket the words to be emphasized.
3585 Another advantage of using variables for these overrides is that
3586 the spaces around the dot are not necessary, since they are not
3587 being interpreted in @code{\lyricmode} directly. Here's an example
3588 of this, although in practice we would choose shorter names
3589 for the variables to make them quicker to type:
3591 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
3592 @cindex font-shape property, example
3593 @cindex font-series property, example
3595 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
3597 \override Lyrics.LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
3598 \override Lyrics.LyricText #'font-series = #'bold
3602 \revert Lyrics.LyricText #'font-shape
3603 \revert Lyrics.LyricText #'font-series
3606 global = { \key c \major \time 4/4 \partial 4 }
3608 SopranoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | e4. e8 g4 g | a4 a g }
3609 AltoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | c4. c8 e4 e | f4 f e }
3610 TenorMusic = \relative c { e4 | g4. g8 c4. b8 | a8 b c d e4 }
3611 BassMusic = \relative c { c4 | c4. c8 c4 c | f8 g a b c4 }
3613 VerseOne = \lyrics {
3614 E -- | ter -- nal \emphasize Fa -- ther, | \normal strong to save,
3617 VerseTwo = \lyricmode {
3618 O | \emphasize Christ, \normal whose voice the | wa -- ters heard,
3621 VerseThree = \lyricmode {
3622 O | \emphasize Ho -- ly Spi -- rit, | \normal who didst brood
3625 VerseFour = \lyricmode {
3626 O | \emphasize Tri -- ni -- ty \normal of | love and pow'r
3633 \new Voice = "Soprano" { \voiceOne \global \SopranoMusic }
3634 \new Voice = "Alto" { \voiceTwo \AltoMusic }
3635 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseOne }
3636 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseTwo }
3637 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseThree }
3638 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseFour }
3642 \new Voice = "Tenor" { \voiceOne \TenorMusic }
3643 \new Voice = "Bass" { \voiceTwo \BassMusic }
3651 @subsection Style sheets
3653 The output that LilyPond produces can be heavily modified; see
3654 @ref{Tweaking output}, for details. But what if you have many
3655 input files that you want to apply your tweaks to? Or what if you
3656 simply want to separate your tweaks from the actual music? This
3657 is quite easy to do.
3659 Let's look at an example. Don't worry if you don't understand
3660 the parts with all the @code{#()}. This is explained in
3661 @ref{Advanced tweaks with Scheme}.
3663 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3665 #(make-dynamic-script
3667 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3668 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3669 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3672 #(define-music-function
3673 (parser location string)
3678 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3682 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3686 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3690 There are some problems with overlapping output; we'll fix those using
3691 the techniques in @ref{Moving objects}. But let's also
3692 do something about the @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst}
3693 definitions. They produce the output we desire, but we might want
3694 to use them in another piece. We could simply copy-and-paste them
3695 at the top of every file, but that's an annoyance. It also leaves
3696 those definitions in our input files, and I personally find all
3697 the @code{#()} somewhat ugly. Let's hide them in another file:
3700 %%% save this to a file called "definitions.ily"
3702 #(make-dynamic-script
3704 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3705 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3706 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3709 #(define-music-function
3710 (parser location string)
3715 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3718 We will refer to this file using the @code{\include} command near
3719 the top of the music file. (The extension @file{.ily} is used to
3720 distinguish this included file, which is not meant to be compiled
3721 on its own, from the main file.)
3722 Now let's modify our music (let's save this file as @file{music.ly}).
3724 @c We have to do this awkward example/lilypond-non-verbatim
3725 @c because we can't do the \include stuff in the manual.
3728 \include "definitions.ily"
3732 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3736 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3740 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3742 #(make-dynamic-script
3744 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3745 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3746 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3749 #(define-music-function
3750 (parser location string)
3755 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3759 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3763 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3767 That looks better, but let's make a few changes. The glissando is hard
3768 to see, so let's make it thicker and closer to the note heads. Let's
3769 put the metronome marking above the clef, instead of over the first
3770 note. And finally, my composition professor hates @q{C} time signatures,
3771 so we'd better make that @q{4/4} instead.
3773 Don't change @file{music.ly}, though. Replace our @file{definitions.ily}
3779 #(make-dynamic-script
3781 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3782 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3783 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3786 #(define-music-function
3787 (parser location string)
3792 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3797 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3798 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3802 \override TimeSignature #'style = #'numbered
3806 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3807 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3812 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3814 #(make-dynamic-script
3816 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3817 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3818 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3821 #(define-music-function
3822 (parser location string)
3827 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3832 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3833 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3837 \override TimeSignature #'style = #'numbered
3841 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3842 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3848 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3852 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3856 That looks nicer! But now suppose that I want to publish this
3857 piece. My composition professor doesn't like @q{C} time
3858 signatures, but I'm somewhat fond of them. Let's copy the
3859 current @file{definitions.ily} to @file{web-publish.ily} and
3860 modify that. Since this music is aimed at producing a pdf which
3861 will be displayed on the screen, we'll also increase the
3862 overall size of the output.
3867 #(make-dynamic-script
3869 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3870 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3871 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3874 #(define-music-function
3875 (parser location string)
3880 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3882 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
3887 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3888 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3895 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3896 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3901 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3903 #(make-dynamic-script
3905 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3906 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3907 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3910 #(define-music-function
3911 (parser location string)
3916 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3918 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
3922 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3923 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3926 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3927 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3933 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3937 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3941 Now in our music, I simply replace
3942 @code{\include "definitions.ily"} with
3943 @code{\include "web-publish.ily"}. Of course, we could make this
3944 even more convenient. We could make a @file{definitions.ily} file which
3945 contains only the definitions of @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst}, a
3946 @file{web-publish.ily} file which contains only the @code{\layout}
3947 section listed above, and a @file{university.ily} file which
3948 contains only the tweaks to produce the output that my professor
3949 prefers. The top of @file{music.ly} would then look like this:
3952 \include "definitions.ily"
3954 %%% Only uncomment one of these two lines!
3955 \include "web-publish.ily"
3956 %\include "university.ily"
3959 This approach can be useful even if you are only producing
3960 one set of parts. I use half a dozen different
3961 @q{style sheet} files for my projects. I begin every music
3962 file with @code{\include "../global.ily"}, which contains
3966 \version @w{"@version{}"}
3968 #(ly:set-option 'point-and-click #f)
3970 \include "../init/init-defs.ly"
3971 \include "../init/init-layout.ly"
3972 \include "../init/init-headers.ly"
3973 \include "../init/init-paper.ly"
3977 @node Other sources of information
3978 @subsection Other sources of information
3980 The Internals Reference documentation contains a lot of information
3981 about LilyPond, but even more information can be gathered by
3982 looking at the internal LilyPond files. To explore these, you must
3983 first find the directory appropriate to your system. The location
3984 of this directory depends (a) on whether you obtained LilyPond
3985 by downloading a precompiled binary from lilypond.org
3986 or whether you installed it from a package manager (i.e.
3987 distributed with Linux, or installed under fink or cygwin) or
3988 compiled it from source, and (b) on which operating system it is
3991 @strong{Downloaded from lilypond.org}
3997 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/lilypond/usr/@/share/lilypond/current/}
4002 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond.app/Contents/@/Resources/share/lilypond/current/}
4003 by either @code{cd}-ing into this directory from the
4004 Terminal, or control-clicking on the LilyPond application and
4005 selecting @q{Show Package Contents}.
4009 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to
4010 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond/usr/@/share/lilypond/current/}
4014 @strong{Installed from a package manager or compiled from source}
4017 @file{@var{PREFIX}/share/lilypond/@var{X.Y.Z}/}, where
4018 @var{PREFIX} is set by your package manager or @code{configure}
4019 script, and @var{X.Y.Z} is the LilyPond version number.
4023 Within this directory the two interesting subdirectories are
4026 @item @file{ly/} - contains files in LilyPond format
4027 @item @file{scm/} - contains files in Scheme format
4030 Let's begin by looking at some files in @file{ly/}.
4031 Open @file{ly/property-init.ly} in a text editor. The one
4032 you normally use for @code{.ly} files will be fine. This file
4033 contains the definitions of all the standard LilyPond predefined
4034 commands, such as @code{\stemUp} and @code{\slurDotted}. You will
4035 see that these are nothing more than definitions of variables
4036 containing one or a group of @code{\override} commands. For
4037 example, @code{/tieDotted} is defined to be:
4041 \override Tie #'dash-period = #0.75
4042 \override Tie #'dash-fraction = #0.1
4046 If you do not like the default values these predefined commands can
4047 be redefined easily, just like any other variable, at the
4048 head of your input file.
4050 The following are the most useful files to be found in
4053 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4056 @item @file{ly/engraver-init.ly}
4057 @tab Definitions of engraver Contexts
4058 @item @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}
4059 @tab Specifications of paper-related defaults
4060 @item @file{ly/performer-init.ly}
4061 @tab Definitions of performer Contexts
4062 @item @file{ly/property-init.ly}
4063 @tab Definitions of all common predefined commands
4064 @item @file{ly/spanner-init.ly}
4065 @tab Definitions of spanner-related predefined commands
4068 Other settings (such as the definitions of markup commands) are
4069 stored as @file{.scm} (Scheme) files. The Scheme programming
4070 language is used to provide a programmable interface into
4071 LilyPond internal operation. Further explanation of these files
4072 is currently outside the scope of this manual, as a knowledge of
4073 the Scheme language is required. Users should be warned that
4074 a substantial amount of technical knowledge or time is required
4075 to understand Scheme and these files (see @rextend{Scheme tutorial}).
4077 If you have this knowledge, the Scheme files which may be of
4080 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4083 @item @file{scm/auto-beam.scm}
4084 @tab Sub-beaming defaults
4085 @item @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}
4086 @tab Default settings for grob properties
4087 @item @file{scm/define-markup-commands.scm}
4088 @tab Specify all markup commands
4089 @item @file{scm/midi.scm}
4090 @tab Default settings for MIDI output
4091 @item @file{scm/output-lib.scm}
4092 @tab Settings that affect appearance of frets, colors,
4093 accidentals, bar lines, etc
4094 @item @file{scm/parser-clef.scm}
4095 @tab Definitions of supported clefs
4096 @item @file{scm/script.scm}
4097 @tab Default settings for articulations
4101 @node Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4102 @subsection Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4104 Although many things are possible with the @code{\override} and
4105 @code{\tweak} commands, an even more powerful way of modifying
4106 the action of LilyPond is available through a programmable
4107 interface to the LilyPond internal operation. Code written in
4108 the Scheme programming language can be incorporated directly in
4109 the internal operation of LilyPond. Of course, at least a basic
4110 knowledge of programming in Scheme is required to do this, and an
4111 introduction is provided in the @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
4113 As an illustration of one of the many possibilities, instead of
4114 setting a property to a constant it can be set to a Scheme
4115 procedure which is then called whenever that property is accessed
4116 by LilyPond. The property can then be set dynamically to a value
4117 determined by the procedure at the time it is called. In this
4118 example we color the note head in accordance with its position on
4121 @cindex x11-color function, example of using
4122 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
4123 @cindex color property, setting to Scheme procedure
4125 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
4126 #(define (color-notehead grob)
4127 "Color the notehead according to its position on the staff."
4128 (let ((mod-position (modulo (ly:grob-property grob 'staff-position)
4131 ;; Return rainbow colors
4132 ((1) (x11-color 'red )) ; for C
4133 ((2) (x11-color 'orange )) ; for D
4134 ((3) (x11-color 'yellow )) ; for E
4135 ((4) (x11-color 'green )) ; for F
4136 ((5) (x11-color 'blue )) ; for G
4137 ((6) (x11-color 'purple )) ; for A
4138 ((0) (x11-color 'violet )) ; for B
4142 % Arrange to obtain color from color-notehead procedure
4143 \override NoteHead #'color = #color-notehead
4144 a2 b | c2 d | e2 f | g2 a |
4148 Further examples showing the use of these programmable interfaces
4149 can be found in @rextend{Callback functions}.