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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 object are
166 modified by different commands, so it is useful to be able to recognize
167 the types of objects and properties from their names.
170 @node Tweaking methods
171 @subsection Tweaking methods
173 @cindex tweaking methods
176 * The \override command::
177 * The \revert command::
179 * The \overrideProperty command::
180 * The \tweak command::
183 @node The \override command
184 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{\override} command
186 @cindex override command
187 @cindex override syntax
192 We have already met the commands @code{\set} and @code{\with}, used to
193 change the properties of @strong{contexts} and to remove and add
194 @strong{engravers}, in @ref{Modifying context properties}, and
195 @ref{Adding and removing engravers}. We must now introduce some more
198 The command to change the properties of @strong{layout objects} is
199 @code{\override}. Because this command has to modify
200 internal properties deep within LilyPond its syntax is not
201 as simple as the commands you have used so far. It needs to
202 know precisely which property of which object in which context
203 has to be modified, and what its new value is to be. Let's see
206 The general syntax of this command is:
209 \override @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject}.@var{layout-property} = #@var{value}
213 This will set the property with the name @var{layout-property} of the
214 layout object with the name @var{LayoutObject}, which is a member of
215 the @var{Context} context, to the value @var{value}.
217 The @var{Context} may be omitted (and usually is) when the
218 required context is unambiguously implied and is one of lowest
219 level contexts, i.e., @code{Voice}, @code{ChordNames} or
220 @code{Lyrics}, and we shall omit it in many of the following
221 examples. We shall see later when it must be specified.
223 Later sections deal comprehensively with properties and their
224 values, see @ref{Types of properties}. But in this section we shall
225 use just a few simple properties and values which are easily
226 understood in order to illustrate the format and use of these
229 LilyPond's primary expressions are musical items like notes,
230 durations, and markups. More basic expressions like numbers,
231 strings, and lists are processed in @q{Scheme mode}, which is
232 invoked by prefixing the value with @samp{#}. Although the
233 values may sometimes have a valid representation in LilyPond's
234 musical mode, this manual will always use @samp{#} for their
235 entry for the sake of consistency. For more information about
236 Scheme mode, see @rextend{LilyPond Scheme syntax}.
238 @code{\override} is the most common command used in tweaking, and
239 most of the rest of this chapter will be directed to presenting
240 examples of how it is used. Here is a simple example to change the
241 color of the note head:
243 @cindex color property, example
244 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
246 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
249 \override NoteHead.color = #red
251 \override NoteHead.color = #green
257 @node The \revert command
258 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{\revert} command
260 @cindex revert command
265 Once overridden, the property retains its new value until it is
266 overridden again or a @code{\revert} command is encountered.
267 The @code{\revert} command has the following syntax and causes
268 the value of the property to revert to its original default
269 value; note, not its previous value if several @code{\override}
270 commands have been issued.
273 \revert @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject}.@var{layout-property}
276 Again, just like @var{Context} in the @code{\override} command,
277 @var{Context} is often not needed. It will be omitted
278 in many of the following examples. Here we revert the color
279 of the note head to the default value for the final two notes:
281 @cindex color property, example
282 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
284 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
287 \override NoteHead.color = #red
289 \override NoteHead.color = #green
291 \revert NoteHead.color
297 @node The \once prefix
298 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{\once} prefix
303 Both the @code{\override} and the @code{\set} commands may be prefixed
304 by @code{\once}. This causes the following @code{\override} or
305 @code{\set} command to be effective only during the current musical
306 moment before the property reverts back to its previous value (this can
307 be different from the default if another @code{\override} is still in
308 effect). Using the same example, we can change the color of a single
311 @cindex color property, example
312 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
314 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
316 \override NoteHead.color = #red
318 \once \override NoteHead.color = #green
320 \revert NoteHead.color
325 @node The \overrideProperty command
326 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{\overrideProperty} command
328 @cindex overrideProperty command
330 @funindex \overrideProperty
331 @funindex overrideProperty
333 There is another form of the override command,
334 @code{\overrideProperty}, which is occasionally required.
335 We mention it here for completeness, but for details see
336 @rextend{Difficult tweaks}.
337 @c Maybe explain in a later iteration -td
340 @node The \tweak command
341 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{\tweak} command
343 @cindex tweak command
348 The final tweaking command which is available is @code{\tweak}. This
349 should be used when several objects occur at the same musical moment,
350 but you only want to change the properties of selected ones, such as a
351 single note within a chord. Using @code{\override} would affect all the
352 notes within a chord, whereas @code{\tweak} affects just the following
353 item in the input stream.
355 Here's an example. Suppose we wish to change the size of the
356 middle note head (the E) in a C major chord. Let's first see what
357 @code{\once \override} would do:
359 @cindex font-size property, example
360 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
362 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
365 \once \override NoteHead.font-size = #-3
371 We see the override affects @emph{all} the note heads in the chord.
372 This is because all the notes of a chord occur at the same
373 @emph{musical moment}, and the action of @code{\once} is to
374 apply the override to all layout objects of the type specified
375 which occur at the same musical moment as the @code{\override}
378 The @code{\tweak} command operates in a different way. It acts on
379 the immediately following item in the input stream. In its simplest
380 form, it is effective only on objects which are created directly
381 from the following item, essentially note heads and articulations.
383 So to return to our example, the size of the middle note of
384 a chord would be changed in this way:
386 @cindex font-size property, example
387 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
389 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
392 <c \tweak font-size #-3 e g>4
396 Note that the syntax of @code{\tweak} is different from that of the
397 @code{\override} command. The context should not be specified; in
398 fact, it would generate an error to do so. Both context and layout
399 object are implied by the following item in the input stream. Note
400 also that an equals sign should not be present. So the simple form
401 of the @code{\tweak} command is
404 \tweak @var{layout-property} #@var{value}
407 A @code{\tweak} command can also be used to modify just one in
408 a series of articulations, as shown here:
410 @cindex color property, example
411 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
413 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
415 -\tweak color #red ^"Red"
416 -\tweak color #green _"Green"
420 Note that the @code{\tweak} command must be preceded by an articulation
421 mark since the tweaked expression needs to be applied as an articulation
422 itself. In case of multiple direction overrides (@code{^} or @code{_}),
423 the leftmost override wins since it is applied last.
425 @cindex @code{\tweak}, Accidental
426 @cindex @code{\tweak}, specific layout object
428 Objects such as stems and accidentals are created later, and not
429 directly from the following event. It is still possible to use
430 @code{\tweak} on such indirectly created objects by explicitly naming
431 the layout object, provided that LilyPond can trace its origin back to
434 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
435 <\tweak Accidental.color #red cis''4
436 \tweak Accidental.color #green es''
440 This long form of the @code{\tweak} command can be described as
443 \tweak @var{layout-object}.@var{layout-property} @var{value}
446 @cindex tuplets, nested
447 @cindex triplets, nested
448 @cindex bracket, tuplet
449 @cindex bracket, triplet
450 @cindex tuplet bracket
451 @cindex triplet bracket
453 @funindex TupletBracket
455 The @code{\tweak} command must also be used to change the
456 appearance of one of a set of nested tuplets which begin at the
457 same musical moment. In the following example, the long tuplet
458 bracket and the first of the three short brackets begin at the
459 same musical moment, so any @code{\override} command would apply
460 to both of them. In the example, @code{\tweak} is used to
461 distinguish between them. The first @code{\tweak} command
462 specifies that the long tuplet bracket is to be placed above the
463 notes and the second one specifies that the tuplet number is to be
464 printed in red on the first short tuplet bracket.
466 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
467 @cindex direction property, example
468 @cindex color property, example
470 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
475 \tuplet 3/2 { c8[ c c] }
476 \tuplet 3/2 { c8[ c c] }
477 \tuplet 3/2 { c8[ c c] }
482 If nested tuplets do not begin at the same moment, their
483 appearance may be modified in the usual way with
484 @code{\override} commands:
486 @cindex text property, example
487 @cindex tuplet-number function, example
488 @cindex transparent property, example
489 @cindex TupletNumber, example of overriding
491 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
493 \tuplet 3/2 { c'8[ c c] }
494 \once \override TupletNumber.text = #tuplet-number::calc-fraction-text
498 \once \override TupletNumber.transparent = ##t
499 \tuplet 3/2 { c8[ c c] }
500 \tuplet 3/2 { c8[ c c] }
508 @ruser{The tweak command}.
511 @node The Internals Reference manual
512 @section The Internals Reference manual
514 @cindex Internals Reference
517 * Properties of layout objects::
518 * Properties found in interfaces::
519 * Types of properties::
522 @node Properties of layout objects
523 @subsection Properties of layout objects
525 @cindex properties of layout objects
526 @cindex properties of grobs
527 @cindex grobs, properties of
528 @cindex layout objects, properties of
529 @cindex Internals Reference manual
531 Suppose you have a slur in a score which, to your mind,
532 appears too thin and you'd like to draw it a little heavier.
533 How do you go about doing this? You know from the statements
534 earlier about the flexibility of LilyPond that such a thing
535 should be possible, and you would probably guess that an
536 @code{\override} command would be needed. But is there a
537 heaviness property for a slur, and if there is, how might it
538 be modified? This is where the Internals Reference manual
539 comes in. It contains all the information you might need to
540 construct this and all other @code{\override} commands.
542 Before we look at the Internals Reference a word of warning.
543 This is a @strong{reference} document, which means there is
544 little or no explanation contained within it: its purpose is
545 to present information precisely and concisely. This
546 means it might look daunting at first sight. Don't worry!
547 The guidance and explanation presented here will enable you
548 to extract the information from the Internals Reference for
549 yourself with just a little practice.
551 @cindex override example
552 @cindex Internals Reference, example of using
553 @cindex @code{\addlyrics} example
555 Let's use a concrete example with a simple fragment of real
558 @c Mozart, Die Zauberflöte Nr.7 Duett
560 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
565 r4 bes'8 bes[( g]) g |
566 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
570 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
575 Suppose now that we decide we would like the slurs to be a
576 little heavier. Is this possible? The slur is certainly a
577 layout object, so the question is, @q{Is there a property
578 belonging to a slur which controls the heaviness?} To answer
579 this we must look in the Internals Reference, or IR for short.
581 The IR for the version of LilyPond you are using may be found
582 on the LilyPond website at @uref{http://lilypond.org}. Go to the
583 documentation page and click on the Internals Reference link.
584 For learning purposes you should use the standard HTML version,
585 not the @q{one big page} or the PDF. For the next few
586 paragraphs to make sense you will need to actually do this
589 Under the heading @strong{Top} you will see five links. Select
590 the link to the @emph{Backend}, which is where information about
591 layout objects is to be found. There, under the heading
592 @strong{Backend}, select the link to @emph{All layout objects}.
593 The page that appears lists all the layout objects used in your
594 version of LilyPond, in alphabetic order. Select the link to
595 Slur, and the properties of Slurs are listed.
597 An alternative way of finding this page is from the Notation
598 Reference. On one of the pages that deals with slurs you may find a
599 link to the Internals Reference. This link will take you directly to
600 this page, but if you have an idea about the name of the layout object
601 to be tweaked, it is easier to go straight to the IR and search there.
603 This Slur page in the IR tells us first that Slur objects are created
604 by the Slur_engraver. Then it lists the standard settings. Browse
605 through them looking for a property that might control the heaviness of
606 slurs, and you should find
609 @code{thickness} (number)
611 Line thickness, generally measured in @code{line-thickness}
614 This looks a good bet to change the heaviness. It tells us that
615 the value of @code{thickness} is a simple @emph{number},
616 that the default value is 1.2, and that the units are
617 in another property called @code{line-thickness}.
619 As we said earlier, there are few to no explanations in the IR,
620 but we already have enough information to try changing the
621 slur thickness. We see that the name of the layout object
622 is @code{Slur}, that the name of the property to change is
623 @code{thickness} and that the new value should be a number
624 somewhat larger than 1.2 if we are to make slurs thicker.
626 We can now construct the @code{\override} command by simply
627 substituting the values we have found for the names, omitting
628 the context. Let's use a very large value for the thickness
629 at first, so we can be sure the command is working. We get:
632 \override Slur.thickness = #5.0
635 Don't forget the@tie{}@code{#} preceding the new value!
637 The final question is, @q{Where should this command be
638 placed?} While you are unsure and learning, the best
639 answer is, @q{Within the music, before the first slur and
640 close to it.} Let's do that:
642 @cindex Slur example of overriding
643 @cindex thickness property, example
645 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
650 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
651 \override Slur.thickness = #5.0
652 r4 bes'8 bes[( g]) g |
653 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
657 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
663 and we see that the slur is indeed heavier.
665 So this is the basic way of constructing @code{\override}
666 commands. There are a few more complications that we
667 shall meet in later sections, but you now know all the
668 essentials required to make up your own -- but you will
669 still need some practice. This is provided in the examples
672 @subsubsubheading Finding the context
674 @cindex context, finding
675 @cindex context, identifying correct
677 But first, what if we had needed to specify the Context?
678 What should it be? We could guess that slurs are in
679 the Voice context, as they are clearly closely associated
680 with individual lines of music, but can we be sure? To
681 find out, go back to the top of the IR page describing the
682 Slur, where it says @q{Slur objects are created by: Slur
683 engraver}. So slurs will be created in whichever context
684 the @code{Slur_engraver} is in. Follow the link to the
685 @code{Slur_engraver} page. At the very bottom it tells
686 us that @code{Slur_engraver} is part of seven Voice contexts,
687 including the standard voice context, @code{Voice}, so our
688 guess was correct. And because @code{Voice} is one of the
689 lowest level contexts which is implied unambiguously by
690 the fact that we are entering notes, we can omit it in this
693 @subsubsubheading Overriding once only
695 @cindex overriding once only
696 @cindex once override
701 As you can see, @emph{all} the slurs are thicker in the final example
702 above. But what if we wanted just the first slur to be thicker? This
703 is achieved with the @code{\once} command. Placed immediately before
704 the @code{\override} command it causes it to change only the slur
705 which begins on the @strong{immediately following} note. If the
706 immediately following note does not begin a slur the command has no
707 effect at all -- it is not remembered until a slur is encountered, it
708 is simply discarded. So the command with @code{\once} must be
709 repositioned as follows:
711 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
712 @cindex thickness property, example
714 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
720 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
721 \once \override Slur.thickness = #5.0
723 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
727 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
733 Now only the first slur is made heavier.
735 The @code{\once} command can also be used before the @code{\set}
738 @subsubsubheading Reverting
741 @cindex default properties, reverting to
746 Finally, what if we wanted just the first two slurs to be
747 heavier? Well, we could use two commands, each preceded by
748 @code{\once} placed immediately before each of the notes where
751 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
752 @cindex thickness property, example
754 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
760 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
761 \once \override Slur.thickness = #5.0
763 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
764 \once \override Slur.thickness = #5.0
765 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
769 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
775 or we could omit the @code{\once} command and use the @code{\revert}
776 command to return the @code{thickness} property to its default value
777 after the second slur:
779 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
780 @cindex thickness property, example
782 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
788 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
789 \override Slur.thickness = #5.0
792 % Revert thickness of all following slurs to default of 1.2
793 \revert Slur.thickness
798 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
804 The @code{\revert} command can be used to return any property
805 changed with @code{\override} back to its default value.
806 You may use whichever method best suits what you want to do.
808 That concludes our introduction to the IR, and the basic
809 method of tweaking. Several examples follow in the later
810 sections of this Chapter, partly to introduce you to some of the
811 additional features of the IR, and partly to give you more
812 practice in extracting information from it. These examples will
813 contain progressively fewer words of guidance and explanation.
816 @node Properties found in interfaces
817 @subsection Properties found in interfaces
820 @cindex interface properties
821 @cindex properties in interfaces
823 Suppose now that we wish to print the lyrics in italics. What form of
824 @code{\override} command do we need to do this? We first look in the
825 IR page listing @q{All layout objects}, as before, and look for an
826 object that might control lyrics. We find @code{LyricText}, which
827 looks right. Clicking on this shows the settable properties for lyric
828 text. These include the @code{font-series} and @code{font-size}, but
829 nothing that might give an italic shape. This is because the shape
830 property is one that is common to all font objects, so, rather than
831 including it in every layout object, it is grouped together with other
832 similar common properties and placed in an @strong{Interface}, the
833 @code{font-interface}.
835 So now we need to learn how to find the properties of interfaces,
836 and to discover what objects use these interface properties.
838 Look again at the IR page which describes LyricText. At the bottom of
839 the page is a list of clickable interfaces which LyricText supports.
840 The list has several items, including @code{font-interface}. Clicking
841 on this brings up the properties associated with this interface, which
842 are also properties of all the objects which support it, including
845 Now we see all the user-settable properties which control fonts,
846 including @code{font-shape(symbol)}, where @code{symbol} can be
847 set to @code{upright}, @code{italics} or @code{caps}.
849 You will notice that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are also
850 listed there. This immediately raises the question: Why are the
851 common font properties @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} listed
852 under @code{LyricText} as well as under the interface
853 @code{font-interface} but @code{font-shape} is not? The answer is
854 that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are changed from their
855 global default values when a @code{LyricText} object is created, but
856 @code{font-shape} is not. The entries in @code{LyricText} then tell
857 you the values for those two properties which apply to
858 @code{LyricText}. Other objects which support @code{font-interface}
859 will set these properties differently when they are created.
861 Let's see if we can now construct the @code{\override} command
862 to change the lyrics to italics. The object is @code{LyricText},
863 the property is @code{font-shape} and the value is
864 @code{italic}. As before, we'll omit the context.
866 As an aside, although it is an important one, note that some
867 properties take values that are symbols, like @code{italic}, and
868 must be preceded by an apostrophe, @code{'}. Symbols are then
869 read internally by LilyPond. Note the distinction from arbitrary
870 text strings, which would appear as @code{"a text string"}; for
871 more details about symbols and strings, see @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
873 So we see that the @code{\override} command needed to print the lyrics
877 \override LyricText.font-shape = #'italic
881 This should be placed just in front of the lyrics we wish to affect,
884 @cindex font-shape property, example
885 @cindex italic, example
886 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
887 @cindex @code{\addlyrics}, example
889 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
894 r4 bes'8 bes[( g]) g |
895 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
899 \override LyricText.font-shape = #'italic
900 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
906 and the lyrics are all printed in italics.
908 @warning{In lyrics always leave whitespace between the final
909 syllable and the terminating brace.}
913 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
916 @node Types of properties
917 @subsection Types of properties
919 @cindex property types
921 So far we have seen two types of property: @code{number} and
922 @code{symbol}. To be valid, the value given to a property
923 must be of the correct type and obey the rules for that type.
924 The type of property is always shown in brackets after the
925 property name in the IR. Here is a list of the types you may
926 need, together with the rules for that type, and some examples.
927 You must always add a hash symbol, @code{#}, of course,
928 to the front of these values when they are entered in the
929 @code{\override} command, even if the value itself already
930 starts with@tie{}@code{#}. We only give examples for constants
931 here: if you want to compute a value using Scheme, see
932 @rextend{Calculations in Scheme}.
934 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .45 .35
935 @headitem Property type
939 @tab Either True or False, represented by #t or #f
940 @tab @code{#t}, @code{#f}
941 @item Dimension (in staff space)
942 @tab A decimal number (in units of staff space)
943 @tab @code{2.5}, @code{0.34}
945 @tab A valid direction constant or its numerical equivalent
946 (@code{0} or @code{CENTER} indicate a neutral direction)
947 @tab @code{LEFT}, @code{CENTER}, @code{UP},
948 @code{1}, @w{@code{-1}}
951 @tab @code{3}, @code{-1}
953 @tab A sequence of constants or symbols separated by spaces, enclosed
955 and preceded by an apostrophe (quote mark)
956 @tab @code{'(left-edge staff-bar)}, @code{'(1)}, @code{'()},
957 @code{'(1.0 0.25 0.5)}
959 @tab Any valid markup
960 @tab @code{\markup @{ \italic "cresc." @}}, @code{"bagpipe"}
962 @tab A fraction of a whole note constructed with the
964 @tab @code{(ly:make-moment 1/4)},
965 @code{(ly:make-moment 3/8)}
967 @tab Any positive or negative, possibly decimal, value
968 @tab @code{3}, @w{@code{-2.45}}
969 @item Pair (of numbers)
970 @tab Two numbers separated by a @q{space . space} and enclosed
971 in brackets preceded by an apostrophe
972 @tab @code{'(2 . 3.5)}, @code{'(0.1 . -3.2)}
974 @tab Any of the set of permitted symbols for that property,
975 preceded by an apostrophe
976 @tab @code{'italic}, @code{'inside}
978 @tab A procedure, or @code{#f} to cause no action
979 @tab @code{bend::print}, @code{ly:text-interface::print},
983 enclosed in @code{#(}@dots{}@code{)}.
984 @tab @code{#(#t #t #f)}
989 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
992 @node Appearance of objects
993 @section Appearance of objects
995 Let us now put what we have learned into practice with a few
996 examples which show how tweaks may be used to change the
997 appearance of the printed music.
1000 * Visibility and color of objects::
1002 * Length and thickness of objects::
1005 @node Visibility and color of objects
1006 @subsection Visibility and color of objects
1008 In the educational use of music we might wish to print a score
1009 with certain elements omitted as an exercise for the student,
1010 who is required to supply them. As a simple example,
1011 let us suppose the exercise is to supply the missing bar lines
1012 in a piece of music. But the bar lines are normally inserted
1013 automatically. How do we prevent them printing?
1015 Before we tackle this, let us remember that object properties are
1016 grouped in what are called @emph{interfaces} -- see @ref{Properties
1017 found in interfaces}. This is simply to group together those
1018 properties that may be used together to tweak a graphical object -- if
1019 one of them is allowed for an object, so are the others. Some objects
1020 then use the properties in some interfaces, others use them from other
1021 interfaces. The interfaces which contain the properties used by a
1022 particular grob are listed in the IR at the bottom of the page
1023 describing that grob, and those properties may be viewed by looking at
1026 We explained how to find information about grobs in @ref{Properties of
1027 layout objects}. Using the same approach, we go to the IR to find the
1028 layout object which prints bar lines. Going via @emph{Backend} and
1029 @emph{All layout objects} we find there is a layout object called
1030 @code{BarLine}. Its properties include two that control its
1031 visibility: @code{break-visibility} and @code{stencil}. Barline also
1032 supports a number of interfaces, including the @code{grob-interface},
1033 where we find the @code{transparent} and the @code{color} properties.
1034 All of these can affect the visibility of bar lines (and, of course,
1035 by extension, many other layout objects too.) Let's consider each of
1039 * The stencil property::
1040 * The break-visibility property::
1041 * The transparent property::
1042 * The color property::
1045 @node The stencil property
1046 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{stencil} property
1048 @cindex stencil property
1050 This property controls the appearance of the bar lines by specifying
1051 the symbol (glyph) which should be printed. In common
1052 with many other properties, it can be set to print nothing by
1053 setting its value to @code{#f}. Let's try it, as before, omitting
1054 the implied Context, @code{Voice}:
1056 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1057 @cindex stencil property, example
1059 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1062 \override BarLine.stencil = ##f
1063 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1064 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1069 The bar lines are still printed. What is wrong? Go back to the IR
1070 and look again at the page giving the properties of BarLine. At the
1071 top of the page it says @qq{Barline objects are created by:
1072 Bar_engraver}. Go to the @code{Bar_engraver} page. At the bottom it
1073 gives a list of Contexts in which the bar engraver operates. All of
1074 them are of the type @code{Staff}, so the reason the @code{\override}
1075 command failed to work as expected is because @code{Barline} is not in
1076 the default @code{Voice} context. If the context is specified
1077 incorrectly, the command simply does not work. No error message is
1078 produced, and nothing is logged in the log file. Let's try correcting
1079 it by adding the correct context:
1081 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1082 @cindex stencil property, example
1084 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1087 \override Staff.BarLine.stencil = ##f
1088 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1089 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1094 Now the bar lines have vanished. Setting the @code{stencil}
1095 property to @code{#f} is such a frequent operation that there is a
1096 shorthand for it called @code{\omit}:
1099 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1103 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1104 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1109 Note, though, that setting the @code{stencil} property to @code{#f}
1110 will cause errors when the dimensions of the object are required for
1111 correct processing. For example, errors will be generated if the
1112 @code{stencil} property of the @code{NoteHead} object is set to
1113 @code{#f}. If this is the case, you can instead use the
1114 @code{point-stencil} function, which sets the stencil to an object
1117 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1120 \once \override NoteHead.stencil = #point-stencil
1125 @node The break-visibility property
1126 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{break-visibility} property
1128 @cindex break-visibility property
1130 We see from the @code{BarLine} properties in the IR that the
1131 @code{break-visibility} property requires a vector of three booleans.
1132 These control respectively whether bar lines are printed at the end of
1133 a line, in the middle of lines, and at the beginning of lines. For
1134 our example we want all bar lines to be suppressed, so the value we
1135 need is @code{#(#f #f #f)} (also available
1136 under the name @code{all-invisible}). Let's try that, remembering to include
1137 the @code{Staff} context. Note also that in writing this value we
1138 have @code{##} before the opening parenthesis. One @code{#} is required
1139 as part of vector constant syntax, and the first@tie{}@code{#} is
1140 required, as always, to precede the value itself in the
1141 @code{\override} command.
1143 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1144 @cindex break-visibility property, example
1146 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1149 \override Staff.BarLine.break-visibility = ##(#f #f #f)
1150 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1151 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1156 And we see this too removes all the bar lines.
1158 @node The transparent property
1159 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{transparent} property
1161 @cindex transparent property
1162 @cindex transparency
1164 We see from the properties specified in the @code{grob-interface} page
1165 in the IR that the @code{transparent} property is a boolean. This
1166 should be set to @code{#t} to make the grob transparent. In this next
1167 example let us make the time signature invisible rather than the bar
1168 lines. To do this we need to find the grob name for the time
1169 signature. Back to the @q{All layout objects} page in the IR to find
1170 the properties of the @code{TimeSignature} layout object. This is
1171 produced by the @code{Time_signature_engraver} which you can check
1172 also lives in the @code{Staff} context and also supports the
1173 @code{grob-interface}. So the command to make the time signature
1176 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1177 @cindex transparent property, example
1179 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1182 \override Staff.TimeSignature.transparent = ##t
1183 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1184 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1190 Again, setting the @code{transparent} property is a rather
1191 frequent operation, so we have a shorthand for it called
1195 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1198 \hide Staff.TimeSignature
1199 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1200 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1206 In either case, the time signature is gone, but this command
1208 the time signature should be. Maybe this is what is wanted for
1209 an exercise for the student to fill it in, but in other
1210 circumstances a gap might be undesirable. To remove it, the
1211 stencil for the time signature should be set to @code{#f}
1214 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1215 @cindex stencil property, example
1217 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1220 \omit Staff.TimeSignature
1221 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1222 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1228 and the difference is obvious: setting the stencil to @code{#f}
1229 (possibly via @code{\omit})
1230 removes the object entirely; making the object @code{transparent}
1231 (which can be done using @code{\hide})
1232 leaves it where it is, but makes it invisible.
1234 @node The color property
1235 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{color} property
1237 @cindex color property
1239 Finally let us try making the bar lines invisible by coloring
1240 them white. (There is a difficulty with this in that the
1241 white bar line may or may not blank out the staff lines where
1242 they cross. You may see in some of the examples below that this
1243 happens unpredictably. The details of why this is so and how to
1244 control it are covered in @ruser{Painting objects white}. But at
1245 the moment we are learning about color, so please just accept this
1246 limitation for now.)
1248 The @code{grob-interface} specifies that the
1249 color property value is a list, but there is no
1250 explanation of what that list should be. The list it
1251 requires is actually a list of values in internal units,
1252 but, to avoid having to know what these are, several ways
1253 are provided to specify colors. The first way is to use one
1254 of the @q{normal} colors listed in the first table in
1255 @ruser{List of colors}. To set the bar lines to white
1258 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1259 @cindex color property, example
1261 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1264 \override Staff.BarLine.color = #white
1265 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1266 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1272 and again, we see the bar lines are not visible. Note that
1273 @emph{white} is not preceded by an apostrophe -- it is not
1274 a symbol, but a @emph{variable}. When evaluated, it provides
1275 the list of internal values required to set the color to
1276 white. The other colors in the normal list are variables
1277 too. To convince yourself this is working you might like
1278 to change the color to one of the other variables in the
1286 The second way of changing the color is to use the list of
1287 X11 color names in the second list in @ruser{List of colors}.
1288 However, these are mapped to the actual values by the function
1289 @code{x11-color} which
1290 converts X11 color symbols into the list of internal values like this:
1292 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1293 @cindex color property, example
1295 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1298 \override Staff.BarLine.color = #(x11-color 'white)
1299 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1300 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1306 Note that in this case the function @code{x11-color} takes
1307 a symbol as an argument, so the symbol must be preceded by
1308 an apostrophe to keep it from being evaluated as a variable, and
1309 the whole function call has to be enclosed in parentheses.
1316 There is another function, one which converts RGB values into
1317 internal colors -- the @code{rgb-color} function. This takes
1318 three arguments giving the intensities of the red, green and
1319 blue colors. These take values in the range 0 to 1. So to
1320 set the color to red the value should be @code{(rgb-color 1 0 0)}
1321 and to white it should be @code{(rgb-color 1 1 1)}:
1323 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1324 @cindex color property, example
1326 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1329 \override Staff.BarLine.color = #(rgb-color 1 1 1)
1330 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1331 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1336 Finally, there is also a grey scale available as part of the
1337 X11 set of colors. These range from black, @code{'grey0},
1338 to white, @code{'grey100}, in steps of 1. Let's illustrate
1339 this by setting all the layout objects in our example to
1340 various shades of grey:
1342 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1343 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1344 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1345 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
1346 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1347 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1348 @cindex color property, example
1349 @cindex x11-color, example of using
1351 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1354 \override Staff.StaffSymbol.color = #(x11-color 'grey30)
1355 \override Staff.TimeSignature.color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1356 \override Staff.Clef.color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1357 \override Voice.NoteHead.color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1358 \override Voice.Stem.color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1359 \override Staff.BarLine.color = #(x11-color 'grey10)
1360 c''4 b8 c d16 c d8 |
1361 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1367 Note the contexts associated with each of the layout objects.
1368 It is important to get these right, or the commands will not
1369 work! Remember, the context is the one in which the appropriate
1370 engraver is placed. The default context for engravers can be
1371 found by starting from the layout object, going from there to
1372 the engraver which produces it, and on the engraver page in the
1373 IR it tells you in which context the engraver will normally be
1377 @node Size of objects
1378 @subsection Size of objects
1380 @cindex changing size of objects
1381 @cindex size of objects
1382 @cindex objects, size of
1383 @cindex objects, changing size of
1385 Let us begin by looking again at the earlier example
1386 (see @ref{Nesting music expressions}) which showed
1387 how to introduce a new temporary staff, as in an @rglos{ossia}.
1389 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1390 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1392 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1393 \new Staff ="main" {
1400 alignAboveContext = #"main" }
1408 Ossia are normally written without clef and time signature, and
1409 are usually printed slightly smaller than the main staff. We
1410 already know now how to remove the clef and time signature --
1411 we simply set the stencil of each to @code{#f}, as follows:
1413 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1414 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1416 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1417 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1419 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1420 \new Staff ="main" {
1427 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1431 \omit Staff.TimeSignature
1441 where the extra pair of braces after the @code{\with} clause are
1442 required to ensure the enclosed overrides and music are applied
1445 But what is the difference between modifying the staff context by
1446 using @code{\with} and modifying the stencils of the clef and the
1447 time signature with @code{\override}, or in this case
1449 The main difference is that
1450 changes made in a @code{\with} clause are made at the time the
1451 context is created, and remain in force as the @strong{default}
1452 values for the duration of that context, whereas
1453 @code{\set} or @code{\override} commands embedded in the
1454 music are dynamic -- they make changes synchronized with
1455 a particular point in the music. If changes are unset or
1456 reverted using @code{\unset} or @code{\revert} they return to
1457 their default values, which will be the ones set in the
1458 @code{\with} clause, or if none have been set there, the normal
1461 Some context properties can be modified only in @code{\with} clauses.
1462 These are those properties which cannot sensibly be changed after the
1463 context has been created. @code{alignAboveContext} and its partner,
1464 @code{alignBelowContext}, are two such properties -- once the staff
1465 has been created its alignment is decided and it would make no sense
1466 to try to change it later.
1468 The default values of layout object properties can also be set
1469 in @code{\with} clauses. Simply use the normal @code{\override}
1470 command leaving out the context name, since this is unambiguously
1471 defined as the context which the @code{\with} clause is modifying.
1472 If fact, an error will be generated if a context is specified
1475 So we could replace the example above with
1477 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1478 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1479 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1480 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1482 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1483 \new Staff ="main" {
1490 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1491 % Don't print clefs in this staff
1492 \override Clef.stencil = ##f
1493 % Don't print time signatures in this staff
1494 \override TimeSignature.stencil = ##f
1503 It turns out that we can also employ the shorthands @code{\hide}
1504 and @code{\omit} for setting the @code{transparent} property and
1505 clearing the @code{stencil} here, leading to the result
1507 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1508 \new Staff ="main" {
1515 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1516 % Don't print clefs in this staff
1518 % Don't print time signatures in this staff
1528 Finally we come to changing the size of layout objects.
1530 Some layout objects are created as glyphs selected from a typeface
1531 font. These include note heads, accidentals, markup, clefs, time
1532 signatures, dynamics and lyrics. Their size is changed by modifying
1533 the @code{font-size} property, as we shall shortly see. Other layout
1534 objects such as slurs and ties -- in general, spanner objects -- are
1535 drawn individually, so there is no @code{font-size} associated with
1536 them. These objects generally derive their size from the objects to
1537 which they are attached, so usually there is no need to change their
1538 size manually. Still other properties such as the length of stems and
1539 bar lines, thickness of beams and other lines, and the separation of
1540 staff lines all need to be modified in special ways.
1542 Returning to the ossia example, let us first change the font-size.
1543 We can do this in two ways. We can either change the size of the
1544 fonts of each object type, like @code{NoteHead}s with commands
1548 \override NoteHead.font-size = #-2
1551 or we can change the size of all fonts by setting a special
1552 property, @code{fontSize}, using @code{\set}, or by including
1553 it in a @code{\with} clause (but without the @code{\set}).
1559 Both of these statements would cause the font size to be reduced
1560 by 2 steps from its previous value, where each
1561 step reduces or increases the size by approximately 12%.
1563 Let's try it in our ossia example:
1565 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1566 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1567 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1568 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1569 @cindex fontSize property, example
1571 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1572 \new Staff ="main" {
1579 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1582 % Reduce all font sizes by ~24%
1592 This is still not quite right. The note heads and flags are
1593 smaller, but the stems are too long in proportion and the
1594 staff lines are spaced too widely apart. These need to be
1595 scaled down in proportion to the font reduction. The next
1596 sub-section discusses how this is done.
1598 @node Length and thickness of objects
1599 @subsection Length and thickness of objects
1605 @cindex size, changing
1606 @cindex stem length, changing
1607 @cindex staff line spacing, changing
1609 Distances and lengths in LilyPond are generally measured in
1610 staff-spaces, the distance between adjacent lines in the staff,
1611 (or occasionally half staff spaces) while most @code{thickness}
1612 properties are measured in units of an internal property called
1613 @code{line-thickness.} For example, by default, the lines of
1614 hairpins are given a thickness of 1 unit of @code{line-thickness},
1615 while the @code{thickness} of a note stem is 1.3. Note, though,
1616 that some thickness properties are different; for example, the
1617 thickness of beams is controlled by the value of the
1618 @code{beam-thickness} property, which is measured in staff-spaces.
1620 So how are lengths to be scaled in proportion to the font size?
1621 This can be done with the help of a special function called
1622 @code{magstep} provided for exactly this purpose. It takes
1623 one argument, the change in font size (#-2 in the example above)
1624 and returns a scaling factor suitable for reducing other
1625 objects in proportion. It is used like this:
1627 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1628 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1629 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1630 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1631 @cindex fontSize property, example
1632 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1633 @cindex magstep function, example of using
1634 @cindex staff-space property, example
1635 @cindex stencil property, example
1637 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1638 \new Staff ="main" {
1645 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1649 % Reduce stem length and line spacing to match
1650 \override StaffSymbol.staff-space = #(magstep -2)
1660 Since the length of stems and many other length-related properties are
1661 always calculated relative to the value of the @code{staff-space}
1662 property these are automatically scaled down in length too. Note that
1663 this affects only the vertical scale of the ossia -- the horizontal
1664 scale is determined by the layout of the main music in order to remain
1665 synchronized with it, so it is not affected by any of these changes in
1666 size. Of course, if the scale of all the main music were changed in
1667 this way then the horizontal spacing would be affected. This is
1668 discussed later in the layout section.
1670 This, then, completes the creation of an ossia. The sizes and
1671 lengths of all other objects may be modified in analogous ways.
1673 For small changes in scale, as in the example above, the
1674 thickness of the various drawn lines such as bar lines,
1675 beams, hairpins, slurs, etc does not usually require global
1676 adjustment. If the thickness of any particular layout object
1677 needs to be adjusted this can be best achieved by overriding its
1678 @code{thickness} property. An example of changing the thickness
1679 of slurs was shown above in @ref{Properties of layout objects}.
1680 The thickness of all drawn objects (i.e., those not produced
1681 from a font) may be changed in the same way.
1684 @node Placement of objects
1685 @section Placement of objects
1688 * Automatic behavior::
1689 * Within-staff objects::
1690 * Outside-staff objects::
1694 @node Automatic behavior
1695 @subsection Automatic behavior
1697 @cindex within-staff objects
1698 @cindex outside-staff objects
1699 @cindex objects, within-staff
1700 @cindex objects, outside-staff
1702 There are some objects in musical notation that belong to
1703 the staff and there are other objects that should be
1704 placed outside the staff. These are called within-staff
1705 objects and outside-staff objects respectively.
1707 Within-staff objects are those that are located on the staff
1708 -- note heads, stems, accidentals, etc. The positions of
1709 these are usually fixed by the music itself -- they are
1710 vertically positioned on specific lines of the staff or are
1711 tied to other objects that are so positioned. Collisions of
1712 note heads, stems and accidentals in closely set chords are
1713 normally avoided automatically. There are commands and
1714 overrides which can modify this automatic behavior, as we
1717 Objects belonging outside the staff include things such as
1718 rehearsal marks, text and dynamic markings. LilyPond's rule for
1719 the vertical placement of outside-staff objects is to place them
1720 as close to the staff as possible but not so close that they
1721 collide with any other object. LilyPond uses the
1722 @code{outside-staff-priority} property to determine the order in
1723 which the objects should be placed, as follows.
1725 First, LilyPond places all the within-staff objects.
1726 Then it sorts the outside-staff objects according to their
1727 @code{outside-staff-priority}. The outside-staff objects are
1728 taken one by one, beginning with the object with the lowest
1729 @code{outside-staff-priority}, and placed so that they do not
1730 collide with any objects that have already been placed. That is,
1731 if two outside-staff grobs are competing for the same space, the
1732 one with the lower @code{outside-staff-priority} will be placed
1733 closer to the staff. If two objects have the same
1734 @code{outside-staff-priority} the one encountered first will be
1735 placed closer to the staff.
1737 In the following example all the markup texts have the same
1738 priority (since it is not explicitly set). Note that @q{Text3}
1739 is automatically positioned close to the staff again, nestling
1742 @cindex markup example
1744 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
1751 Staves are also positioned, by default, as closely together as
1752 possible (subject to a minimum separation). If notes project
1753 a long way towards an adjacent staff they will force the
1754 staves further apart only if an overlap of the notation
1755 would otherwise occur. The following example demonstrates
1756 this @q{nestling} of the notes on adjacent staves:
1758 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1761 \relative { c'4 a, }
1764 \relative { c''''4 a, }
1770 @node Within-staff objects
1771 @subsection Within-staff objects
1773 We have already seen how the commands @code{\voiceXXX} affect the
1774 direction of slurs, ties, fingering and everything else which depends on
1775 the direction of the stems -- see @ref{Explicitly instantiating voices}.
1776 These commands are essential when writing polyphonic music to permit
1777 interweaving melodic lines to be distinguished. But occasionally it may
1778 be necessary to override this automatic behavior. This can be done for
1779 whole sections of music or even for an individual note. The property
1780 which controls this behavior is the @code{direction} property of each
1781 layout object. We first explain what this does, and then introduce a
1782 number of ready-made commands which avoid your having to code explicit
1783 overrides for the more common modifications.
1785 Some layout objects like slurs and ties curve, bend or point
1786 either up or down; others like stems and flags also move to
1787 right or left when they point up or down. This is controlled
1788 automatically when @code{direction} is set.
1791 * The direction property::
1795 @node The direction property
1796 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{direction} property
1803 The following example shows in bar 1 the default behavior of stems,
1804 with those on high notes pointing down and those on low notes pointing
1805 up, followed by four notes with all stems forced down, four notes with
1806 all stems forced up, and finally four notes reverted back to the
1809 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1810 @cindex direction property, example
1812 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1814 \override Stem.direction = #DOWN
1816 \override Stem.direction = #UP
1818 \revert Stem.direction
1822 Here we use the constants @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}.
1823 These have the values @w{@code{-1}} and @code{+1} respectively, and
1824 these numerical values may be used instead. The value @code{0}
1825 may also be used in some cases. It is simply treated as meaning
1826 @code{UP} for stems, but for some objects it means @q{center}.
1827 There is a constant, @code{CENTER} which has the value @code{0}.
1829 However, these explicit overrides are not usually used, as there are
1830 simpler equivalent predefined commands available. Here is a table of
1831 the commonest. The meaning of each is stated where it is not obvious.
1833 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .2 .25 .35
1838 @item @code{\arpeggioArrowDown}
1839 @tab @code{\arpeggioArrowUp}
1840 @tab @code{\arpeggioNormal}
1841 @tab Arrow is at bottom, at top, or no arrow
1842 @item @code{\dotsDown}
1844 @tab @code{\dotsNeutral}
1845 @tab Direction of movement to avoid staff lines
1846 @item @code{\dynamicDown}
1847 @tab @code{\dynamicUp}
1848 @tab @code{\dynamicNeutral}
1850 @item @code{\phrasingSlurDown}
1851 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurUp}
1852 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurNeutral}
1853 @tab Note: distinct from slur commands
1854 @item @code{\slurDown}
1856 @tab @code{\slurNeutral}
1858 @item @code{\stemDown}
1860 @tab @code{\stemNeutral}
1862 @item @code{\textSpannerDown}
1863 @tab @code{\textSpannerUp}
1864 @tab @code{\textSpannerNeutral}
1865 @tab Text entered as spanner is below/above staff
1866 @item @code{\tieDown}
1868 @tab @code{\tieNeutral}
1870 @item @code{\tupletDown}
1871 @tab @code{\tupletUp}
1872 @tab @code{\tupletNeutral}
1873 @tab Tuplets are below/above notes
1876 The neutral/normal variants of these commands are implemented
1877 using @code{\revert} and may @strong{not} be
1878 preceded by @code{\once}. If you wish to limit the
1879 effect of the other commands (which are implemented using
1880 @code{\override}) to a single timestep, you can precede them with
1881 @code{\once} like you would do with explicit overrides.
1884 @unnumberedsubsubsec Fingering
1886 @cindex fingering, placement
1887 @cindex fingering, chords
1889 The placement of fingering on single notes can also be controlled
1890 by the @code{direction} property, but changing @code{direction}
1891 has no effect on chords. As we shall see, there are special
1892 commands which allow the fingering of individual notes
1893 of chords to be controlled, with the fingering being placed
1894 above, below, to the left or to the right of each note.
1896 First, here's the effect of @code{direction} on the fingering
1897 attached to single notes. The first bar shows the default
1898 behaviour, and the following two bars shows the effect of
1899 specifying @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}:
1901 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
1902 @cindex direction property, example
1904 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1906 c''4-5 a-3 f-1 c'-5 |
1907 \override Fingering.direction = #DOWN
1909 \override Fingering.direction = #UP
1914 However, overriding the @code{direction} property is not the
1915 easiest way of manually setting the fingering above or below
1916 the notes; using @code{_} or @code{^} instead of @code{-} before
1917 the fingering number is usually preferable. Here is the previous
1918 example using this method:
1920 @cindex fingering example
1922 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1924 c''4-5 a-3 f-1 c'-5 |
1930 The @code{direction} property is ignored for chords, but the
1931 directional prefixes, @code{_} and @code{^} do work. By default,
1932 the fingering is automatically placed both above and below the
1933 notes of a chord, as shown:
1935 @cindex fingering example
1937 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1946 but this may be overridden to manually force all or any of the
1947 individual fingering numbers above or below:
1949 @cindex fingering example
1951 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1953 <c''-5 g-3 e-2 c-1>4
1959 Even greater control over the placement of fingering of the
1960 individual notes in a chord is possible by using the
1961 @code{\set fingeringOrientations} command. The format of this
1965 @code{\set fingeringOrientations = #'([up] [left/right] [down])}
1969 @code{\set} is used because @code{fingeringOrientations} is a
1970 property of the @code{Voice} context, created and used by the
1971 @code{New_fingering_engraver}.
1973 The property may be set to a list of one to three values.
1974 It controls whether fingerings may be placed above (if
1975 @code{up} appears in the list), below (if @code{down} appears),
1976 to the left (if @code{left} appears, or to the right
1977 (if @code{right} appears). Conversely, if a location is not
1978 listed, no fingering is placed there. LilyPond takes these
1979 constraints and works out the best placement for the fingering
1980 of the notes of the following chords. Note that @code{left} and
1981 @code{right} are mutually exclusive -- fingering may be placed
1982 only on one side or the other, not both.
1984 @warning{To control the placement of the fingering of a single
1985 note using this command it is necessary to write it as a single
1986 note chord by placing angle brackets round it.}
1988 Here are a few examples:
1990 @cindex fingering example
1991 @cindex @code{\set}, example of using
1992 @cindex fingeringOrientations property, example
1994 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1996 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1999 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
2001 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
2002 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
2005 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
2007 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
2008 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
2015 If the fingering seems a little crowded the @code{font-size}
2016 could be reduced. The default value can be seen from the
2017 @code{Fingering} object in the IR to be @w{@code{-5}}, so let's
2020 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2022 \override Fingering.font-size = #-7
2023 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
2026 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
2028 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
2029 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
2032 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
2034 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
2035 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
2041 @node Outside-staff objects
2042 @subsection Outside-staff objects
2044 Outside-staff objects are automatically placed to avoid collisions.
2045 There are several ways to override the automatic placement if the
2046 positioning is not optimum.
2049 * The outside-staff-priority property::
2050 * The \textLengthOn command::
2051 * Dynamics placement::
2056 @node The outside-staff-priority property
2057 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{outside-staff-priority} property
2059 Objects with the lower value of the @code{outside-staff-priority}
2060 property are placed nearer to the staff, and other outside-staff
2061 objects are then raised as far as necessary to avoid collisions.
2062 The @code{outside-staff-priority} is defined in the
2063 @code{grob-interface} and so is a property of all layout objects.
2064 By default it is set to @code{#f} for all within-staff objects,
2065 and to a numerical value appropriate to each outside-staff object
2066 when the object is created. The following table shows the default
2067 numerical values for some of the commonest outside-staff objects.
2071 Note the unusual names for some of the objects: spanner objects
2072 are automatically created to control the vertical positioning of
2073 grobs which (might) start and end at different musical moments, so
2074 changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the underlying grob
2075 will have no effect. For example, changing
2076 @code{outside-staff-priority} of the @code{Hairpin} object will
2077 have no effect on the vertical positioning of hairpins -- you must
2078 change @code{outside-staff-priority} of the associated
2079 @code{DynamicLineSpanner} object instead. This override must be
2080 placed at the start of the spanner, which might include several
2081 linked hairpins and dynamics.
2083 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .3 .3
2084 @headitem Layout Object
2086 @tab Controls position of:
2087 @item @code{RehearsalMark}
2089 @tab Rehearsal marks
2090 @item @code{MetronomeMark}
2092 @tab Metronome marks
2093 @item @code{VoltaBracketSpanner}
2096 @item @code{TextScript}
2099 @item @code{MultiMeasureRestText}
2101 @tab Markup text over full-bar rests
2102 @item @code{OttavaBracket}
2104 @tab Ottava brackets
2105 @item @code{TextSpanner}
2108 @item @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
2110 @tab All dynamic markings
2111 @item @code{BarNumber}
2114 @item @code{TrillSpanner}
2116 @tab Spanning trills
2119 Here is an example showing the default placement of some of
2122 @cindex text spanner
2123 @cindex ottava bracket
2125 @funindex \startTextSpan
2126 @funindex startTextSpan
2127 @funindex \stopTextSpan
2128 @funindex stopTextSpan
2130 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
2131 @cindex bound-details property, example
2133 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
2134 % Set details for later Text Spanner
2135 \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left.text
2136 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2137 % Place dynamics above staff
2139 % Start Ottava Bracket
2142 % Add Dynamic Text and hairpin
2148 % Add Dynamic Text and terminate hairpin
2149 c''4\ff c'' \stopTextSpan |
2150 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2155 This example also shows how to create Text Spanners --
2156 text with extender lines above a section of music. The
2157 spanner extends from the @code{\startTextSpan} command to
2158 the @code{\stopTextSpan} command, and the format of the
2159 text is defined by the @code{\override TextSpanner} command.
2160 For more details see @ruser{Text spanners}.
2162 It also shows how ottava brackets are created.
2164 @cindex tweaking bar number placement
2165 @cindex bar numbers, tweaking placement
2166 @cindex tweaking metronome mark placement
2167 @cindex metronome mark, tweaking placement
2168 @cindex tweaking rehearsal mark placement
2169 @cindex rehearsal marks, tweaking placement
2171 If the default values of @code{outside-staff-priority} do not give you
2172 the placing you want, the priority of any of the objects may be
2173 overridden. Suppose we would like the ottava bracket to be placed
2174 below the text spanner in the example above. All we need to do is to
2175 look up the priority of @code{OttavaBracket} in the IR or in the
2176 tables above, and reduce it to a value lower than that of a
2177 @code{TextSpanner}, remembering that @code{OttavaBracket} is created
2178 in the @code{Staff} context:
2180 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
2181 @cindex bound-details property, example
2183 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
2184 % Set details for later Text Spanner
2185 \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left.text
2186 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2187 % Place dynamics above staff
2189 % Place following Ottava Bracket below Text Spanners
2190 \once \override Staff.OttavaBracket.outside-staff-priority = #340
2191 % Start Ottava Bracket
2196 % Add Dynamic Line Spanner
2202 c''4\ff c'' \stopTextSpan |
2203 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2208 Note that some of these objects, in particular bar numbers,
2209 metronome marks and rehearsal marks, live by default in the
2210 @code{Score} context, so be sure to use the correct context
2211 when these are being overriden.
2213 @cindex slurs and outside-staff-priority
2214 @cindex slurs and articulations
2215 @cindex articulations and slurs
2217 Slurs by default are classed as within-staff objects, but
2218 they often appear above the staff if the notes to
2219 which they are attached are high on the staff. This can push
2220 outside-staff objects such as articulations too high, as the slur
2221 will be placed first. The @code{avoid-slur} property of the
2222 articulation can be set to @code{'inside} to bring the articulation
2223 inside the slur, but the @code{avoid-slur} property is effective
2224 only if the @code{outside-staff-priority} is also set to @code{#f}.
2225 Alternatively, the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the slur
2226 can be set to a numerical value to cause it to be placed along with
2227 other outside-staff objects according to that value. Here's an
2228 example showing the effect of the two methods:
2230 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
2232 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2234 \once \override TextScript.avoid-slur = #'inside
2235 \once \override TextScript.outside-staff-priority = ##f
2236 c4^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2237 \once \override Slur.outside-staff-priority = #500
2238 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2242 Changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} can also be used to
2243 control the vertical placement of individual objects, although
2244 the results may not always be desirable. Suppose we would
2245 like @qq{Text3} to be placed above @qq{Text4} in the example
2246 under Automatic behavior, above (see @ref{Automatic behavior}).
2247 All we need to do is to look up the priority of @code{TextScript}
2248 in the IR or in the tables above, and increase the priority of
2249 @qq{Text3} to a higher value:
2251 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2252 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2254 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
2257 \once \override TextScript.outside-staff-priority = #500
2262 This certainly lifts @qq{Text3} above @qq{Text4} but it also lifts it
2263 above @qq{Text2}, and @qq{Text4} now drops down. Perhaps this is not
2264 so good. What we would really like to do is to position all the
2265 annotation at the same distance above the staff. To do this, we
2266 clearly will need to space the notes out horizontally to make more
2267 room for the text. This is done using the @code{textLengthOn}
2270 @node The \textLengthOn command
2271 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{\textLengthOn} command
2273 @cindex notes, spreading out with text
2275 @funindex \textLengthOn
2276 @funindex textLengthOn
2277 @funindex \textLengthOff
2278 @funindex textLengthOff
2280 By default, text produced by markup takes up no horizontal space
2281 as far as laying out the music is concerned. The @code{\textLengthOn}
2282 command reverses this behavior, causing the notes to be spaced
2283 out as far as is necessary to accommodate the text:
2285 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
2286 \textLengthOn % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
2293 The command to revert to the default behavior is
2294 @code{\textLengthOff}. Remember @code{\once} only works with
2295 @code{\override}, @code{\set}, @code{\revert} or @code{\unset},
2296 so cannot be used with @code{\textLengthOn}.
2298 @cindex markup text, allowing collisions
2300 Markup text will also avoid notes which project above the staff.
2301 If this is not desired, the automatic displacement upwards may
2302 be turned off by setting the priority to @code{#f}. Here's an
2303 example to show how markup text interacts with such notes.
2305 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2306 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2308 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2310 % This markup is short enough to fit without collision
2314 % This is too long to fit, so it is displaced upwards
2318 % Turn off collision avoidance
2319 \once \override TextScript.outside-staff-priority = ##f
2320 c,,2^"Long Text " c'' |
2323 % Turn off collision avoidance
2324 \once \override TextScript.outside-staff-priority = ##f
2325 \textLengthOn % and turn on textLengthOn
2326 c,,2^"Long Text " % Spaces at end are honored
2331 @node Dynamics placement
2332 @unnumberedsubsubsec Dynamics placement
2334 @cindex tweaking dynamics placement
2335 @cindex dynamics, tweaking placement
2337 Dynamic markings will normally be positioned beneath the
2338 staff, but may be positioned above with the @code{\dynamicUp}
2339 command. They will be positioned vertically relative to the
2340 note to which they are attached, and will float below (or above)
2341 all within-staff objects such as phrasing slurs and bar numbers.
2342 This can give quite acceptable results, as this example
2345 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2351 bes4.~\f\< \( bes4 bes8 des4\ff\> c16 bes\! |
2352 ees,2.~\)\mf ees4 r8 |
2356 However, if the notes and attached dynamics are close
2357 together the automatic placement will avoid collisions
2358 by displacing later dynamic markings further away, but this may
2359 not be the optimum placement, as this rather artificial example
2362 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2368 Should a similar situation arise in @q{real} music, it may be
2369 preferable to space out the notes a little further, so the dynamic
2370 markings can all fit at the same vertical distance from the staff. We
2371 were able to do this for markup text by using the @code{\textLengthOn}
2372 command, but there is no equivalent command for dynamic marks. So we
2373 shall have to work out how to do this using @code{\override} commands.
2376 @unnumberedsubsubsec Grob sizing
2379 @cindex sizing grobs
2381 First we must learn how grobs are sized. All grobs have a
2382 reference point defined within them which is used to position
2383 them relative to their parent object. This point in the grob
2384 is then positioned at a horizontal distance, @code{X-offset},
2385 and at a vertical distance, @code{Y-offset}, from its parent.
2386 The horizontal extent of the object is given by a pair of
2387 numbers, @code{X-extent}, which say where the left and right
2388 edges are relative to the reference point. The vertical extent
2389 is similarly defined by a pair of numbers, @code{Y-extent}.
2390 These are properties of all grobs which support the
2391 @code{grob-interface}.
2393 @cindex @code{extra-spacing-width}
2395 By default, outside-staff objects are given a width of zero so
2396 that they may overlap in the horizontal direction. This is done
2397 by the trick of adding infinity to the leftmost extent and
2398 minus infinity to the rightmost extent by setting the
2399 @code{extra-spacing-width} to @code{'(+inf.0 . -inf.0)}. So
2400 to ensure they do not overlap in the horizontal direction we
2401 must override this value of @code{extra-spacing-width} to
2402 @code{'(0 . 0)} so the true width shines through. This is
2403 the command to do this for dynamic text:
2406 \override DynamicText.extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2410 Let's see if this works in our previous example:
2412 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2413 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2415 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2417 \override DynamicText.extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2418 a4\f b\mf c\mp b\p |
2422 Well, it has certainly stopped the dynamic marks being
2423 displaced, but two problems remain. The marks should be
2424 spaced a little further apart and it would be better
2425 if they were all the same distance from the staff.
2426 We can solve the first problem easily. Instead of making
2427 the @code{extra-spacing-width} zero we could add a little
2428 more to it. The units are the space between two staff
2429 lines, so moving the left edge half a unit to the left and the
2430 right edge half a unit to the right should do it:
2432 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2433 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2435 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2437 % Extend width by 1 staff space
2438 \override DynamicText.extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2443 This looks better, but maybe we would prefer the dynamic marks
2444 to be aligned along the same baseline rather than going up and
2445 down with the notes. The property to do this is
2446 @code{staff-padding} which is covered in the following section.
2449 @node Collisions of objects
2450 @section Collisions of objects
2454 * Fixing overlapping notation::
2455 * Real music example::
2458 @node Moving objects
2459 @subsection Moving objects
2461 @cindex moving overlapping objects
2462 @cindex moving colliding objects
2463 @cindex moving colliding grobs
2464 @cindex objects, moving colliding
2465 @cindex grobs, moving colliding
2467 This may come as a surprise, but LilyPond is not perfect. Some
2468 notation elements can overlap. This is unfortunate, but in fact
2469 rather rare. Usually the need to move objects is for clarity or
2470 aesthetic reasons -- they would look better with a little more
2471 or a little less space around them.
2473 There are three main approaches to resolving overlapping
2474 notation. They should be considered in the following order:
2478 The @strong{direction} of one of the overlapping objects may
2479 be changed using the predefined commands listed above for
2480 within-staff objects (see @ref{Within-staff objects}).
2481 Stems, slurs, beams, ties, dynamics, text and tuplets may be
2482 repositioned easily in this way. The limitation is that you
2483 have a choice of only two positions, and neither may be
2487 The @strong{object properties}, which LilyPond uses when positioning
2488 layout objects, may be modified using @code{\override}. The
2489 advantages of making changes to this type of property are (a) that
2490 some other objects will be moved automatically if necessary to make
2491 room and (b) the single override can apply to all instances of the
2492 same type of object. Such properties include:
2499 This has already been covered in some detail -- see
2500 @ref{Within-staff objects}.
2503 @code{padding}, @code{right-padding}, @code{staff-padding}
2506 @cindex padding property
2507 @cindex right-padding property
2508 @cindex staff-padding property
2510 As an object is being positioned the value of its @code{padding}
2511 property specifies the gap that must be left between itself and the
2512 nearest edge of the object against which it is being positioned. Note
2513 that it is the @code{padding} value of the object @strong{being
2514 placed} that is used; the @code{padding} value of the object which is
2515 already placed is ignored. Gaps specified by @code{padding} can be
2516 applied to all objects which support the
2517 @code{side-position-interface}.
2519 Instead of @code{padding}, the placement of groups of accidentals
2520 is controlled by @code{right-padding}. This property is to be found
2521 in the @code{AccidentalPlacement} object which, note, lives in the
2522 @strong{Staff} context. In the typesetting process the note heads
2523 are typeset first and then the accidentals, if any, are added to the
2524 left of the note heads using the @code{right-padding} property to determine
2525 the separation from the note heads and between individual accidentals.
2526 So only the @code{right-padding} property of the @code{AccidentalPlacement}
2527 object has any effect on the placement of the accidentals.
2529 The @code{staff-padding} property is closely related to the
2530 @code{padding} property: @code{padding} controls the minimum amount of
2531 space between any object which supports the
2532 @code{side-position-interface} and the nearest other object (generally
2533 the note or the staff lines); @code{staff-padding} applies only to
2534 those objects which are always set outside the staff -- it controls
2535 the minimum amount of space that should be inserted between that
2536 object and the staff. Note that @code{staff-padding} has no effect on
2537 objects which are positioned relative to the note rather than the
2538 staff, even though it may be overridden without error for such objects
2539 -- it is simply ignored.
2541 To discover which padding property is required for the object you wish
2542 to reposition, you need to return to the IR and look up the object's
2543 properties. Be aware that the padding properties might not be located
2544 in the obvious object, so look in objects that appear to be related.
2546 All padding values are measured in staff spaces. For most
2547 objects, this value is set by default to be around 1.0 or less
2548 (it varies with each object). It may be overridden if a larger
2549 (or smaller) gap is required.
2552 @code{self-alignment-X}
2554 @cindex self-alignment-X property
2556 This property can be used to align the object to the left, to
2557 the right, or to center it with respect to the parent object's
2558 reference point. It may be used with all objects which support
2559 the @code{self-alignment-interface}. In general these are objects
2560 that contain text. The values are @code{LEFT}, @code{RIGHT}
2561 or @code{CENTER}. Alternatively, a numerical value between
2562 @w{@code{-1}} and @code{+1} may be specified, where @w{@code{-1}} is
2563 left-aligned, @code{+1} is right-aligned, and numbers in between
2564 move the text progressively from left-aligned to right-aligned.
2565 Numerical values greater than @code{1} may be specified to move
2566 the text even further to the left, or less than @w{@code{-1}} to
2567 move the text even further to the right. A change of @code{1}
2568 in the value corresponds to a movement of half the text's length.
2571 @code{extra-spacing-width}
2573 @cindex extra-spacing-width property
2575 This property is available for all objects which support the
2576 @code{item-interface}. It takes two numbers, the first is added
2577 to the leftmost extent and the second is added to the rightmost
2578 extent. Negative numbers move the edge to the left, positive to
2579 the right, so to widen an object the first number must be negative,
2580 the second positive. Note that not all objects honor both
2581 numbers. For example, the @code{Accidental} object only takes
2582 notice of the first (left edge) number.
2585 @code{staff-position}
2587 @cindex staff-position property
2589 @code{staff-position} is a property of the
2590 @code{staff-symbol-referencer-interface}, which is supported by
2591 objects which are positioned relative to the staff. It specifies
2592 the vertical position of the object relative to the center line
2593 of the staff in half staff-spaces. It is useful in resolving
2594 collisions between layout objects like multi-measure rests, ties
2595 and notes in different voices.
2600 @cindex force-hshift property
2602 Closely spaced notes in a chord, or notes occurring at the same
2603 time in different voices, are arranged in two, occasionally more,
2604 columns to prevent the note heads overlapping. These are called
2605 note columns, and an object called @code{NoteColumn} is created
2606 to lay out the notes in that column.
2608 The @code{force-hshift} property is a property of a @code{NoteColumn}
2609 (actually of the @code{note-column-interface}). Changing it permits a
2610 note column to be moved in units appropriate to a note column,
2611 viz. the note head width of the first voice note. It should be used
2612 in complex situations where the normal @code{\shiftOn} commands (see
2613 @ref{Explicitly instantiating voices}) do not resolve the note
2614 conflict. It is preferable to the @code{extra-offset} property for
2615 this purpose as there is no need to work out the distance in
2616 staff-spaces, and moving the notes into or out of a @code{NoteColumn}
2617 affects other actions such as merging note heads.
2622 Finally, when all else fails, objects may be manually repositioned
2623 relative to the staff center line vertically, or by displacing them by
2624 any distance to a new position. The disadvantages are that the
2625 correct values for the repositioning have to be worked out, often by
2626 trial and error, for every object individually, and, because the
2627 movement is done after LilyPond has placed all other objects, the user
2628 is responsible for avoiding any collisions that might ensue. But the
2629 main difficulty with this approach is that the repositioning values
2630 may need to be reworked if the music is later modified. The
2631 properties that can be used for this type of manual repositioning are:
2636 @cindex extra-offset property
2638 This property applies to any layout object supporting the
2639 @code{grob-interface}. It takes a pair of numbers which specify the
2640 extra displacement in the horizontal and vertical directions.
2641 Negative numbers move the object to the left or down. The units are
2642 staff-spaces. The extra displacement is made after the typesetting of
2643 objects is finished, so an object may be repositioned anywhere without
2644 affecting anything else.
2648 @cindex positions property
2650 This is most useful for manually adjusting the slope and height
2651 of beams, slurs, and tuplets. It takes a pair of numbers
2652 giving the position of the left and right ends of the beam, slur,
2653 etc. relative to the center line of the staff. Units are
2654 staff-spaces. Note, though, that slurs and phrasing slurs cannot
2655 be repositioned by arbitrarily large amounts. LilyPond first
2656 generates a list of possible positions for the slur and by default
2657 finds the slur that @qq{looks best}. If the @code{positions}
2658 property has been overridden the slur that is closest to the
2659 requested positions is selected from the list.
2664 A particular object may not have all of these properties.
2665 It is necessary to go to the IR to look up which properties
2666 are available for the object in question.
2668 Here is a list of the objects which are most likely to be
2669 involved in collisions, together with the name of the object which
2670 should be looked up in the IR in order to discover which properties
2671 should be used to move them.
2673 @multitable @columnfractions .5 .5
2674 @headitem Object type @tab Object name
2675 @item Articulations @tab @code{Script}
2676 @item Beams @tab @code{Beam}
2677 @item Dynamics (vertically) @tab @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
2678 @item Dynamics (horizontally) @tab @code{DynamicText}
2679 @item Fingerings @tab @code{Fingering}
2680 @item Rehearsal / Text marks @tab @code{RehearsalMark}
2681 @item Slurs @tab @code{Slur}
2682 @item Text e.g. @code{^"text"} @tab @code{TextScript}
2683 @item Ties @tab @code{Tie}
2684 @item Tuplets @tab @code{TupletBracket}
2688 @node Fixing overlapping notation
2689 @subsection Fixing overlapping notation
2691 Let's now see how the properties in the previous section can
2692 help to resolve overlapping notation.
2695 * The padding property::
2696 * The right-padding property::
2697 * The staff-padding property::
2698 * The self-alignment-X property::
2699 * The staff-position property::
2700 * The extra-offset property::
2701 * The positions property::
2702 * The force-hshift property::
2705 @node The padding property
2706 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{padding} property
2709 @cindex fixing overlapping notation
2710 @cindex overlapping notation
2712 The @code{padding} property can be set to increase
2713 (or decrease) the distance between symbols that are printed
2714 above or below notes.
2716 @cindex Script, example of overriding
2717 @cindex padding property, example
2719 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim]
2721 \override Script.padding = #3
2725 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
2726 @cindex padding property, example
2728 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim]
2729 % This will not work, see below
2730 \override MetronomeMark.padding = #3
2734 \override Score.MetronomeMark.padding = #3
2739 Note in the second example how important it is to figure out what
2740 context handles a certain object. Since the @code{MetronomeMark}
2741 object is handled in the @code{Score} context, property changes in the
2742 @code{Voice} context will not be noticed. For more details, see
2743 @ruser{Modifying properties}.
2745 If the @code{padding} property of an object is increased when that
2746 object is in a stack of objects being positioned according to
2747 their @code{outside-staff-priority}, then that object and all
2748 objects outside it are moved.
2751 @node The right-padding property
2752 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{right-padding} property
2754 @cindex right-padding property
2756 The @code{right-padding} property affects the spacing between the
2757 accidental and the note to which it applies. It is not often
2758 required, but the default spacing may be wrong for certain special
2759 accidental glyphs or combination of glyphs used in some microtonal
2760 music. These have to be entered by overriding the accidental
2761 stencil with a markup containing the desired symbol(s), like this:
2763 @cindex Accidental, example of overriding
2764 @cindex text property, example
2765 @cindex stencil property, example
2766 @cindex AccidentalPlacement, example of overriding
2767 @cindex right-padding property, example
2769 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2770 sesquisharp = \markup { \sesquisharp }
2773 % This prints a sesquisharp but the spacing is too small
2774 \once \override Accidental.stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2775 \once \override Accidental.text = #sesquisharp
2777 % This improves the spacing
2778 \once \override Score.AccidentalPlacement.right-padding = #0.6
2779 \once \override Accidental.stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2780 \once \override Accidental.text = #sesquisharp
2786 This necessarily uses an override for the accidental stencil which
2787 will not be covered until later. The stencil type must be a
2788 procedure, here changed to print the contents of the @code{text}
2789 property of @code{Accidental}, which itself is set to be a
2790 sesquisharp sign. This sign is then moved further away from the
2791 note head by overriding @code{right-padding}.
2795 @node The staff-padding property
2796 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{staff-padding} property
2798 @cindex aligning objects on a baseline
2799 @cindex objects, aligning on a baseline
2801 @code{staff-padding} can be used to align objects such as dynamics
2802 along a baseline at a fixed height above the staff, rather than at a
2803 height dependent on the position of the note to which they are
2804 attached. It is not a property of @code{DynamicText} but of
2805 @code{DynamicLineSpanner}. This is because the baseline should apply
2806 equally to @strong{all} dynamics, including those created as extended
2807 spanners. So this is the way to align the dynamic marks in the
2808 example taken from the previous section:
2810 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2811 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2812 @cindex DynamicLineSpanner, example of overriding
2813 @cindex staff-padding property, example
2815 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2817 % Extend width by 1 unit
2818 \override DynamicText.extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2819 % Align dynamics to a base line 2 units above staff
2820 \override DynamicLineSpanner.staff-padding = #2
2825 @node The self-alignment-X property
2826 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{self-alignment-X} property
2828 The following example shows how this can resolve the collision
2829 of a string fingering object with a note's stem by aligning the
2830 right edge with the reference point of the parent note:
2832 @cindex StringNumber, example of overriding
2833 @cindex self-alignment-X property, example
2835 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
2838 \once \override StringNumber.self-alignment-X = #RIGHT
2842 @node The staff-position property
2843 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{staff-position} property
2845 @cindex object collision within a staff
2847 Multimeasure rests in one voice can collide with notes in another.
2848 Since these rests are typeset centered between the bar lines, it
2849 would require significant effort for LilyPond to figure out which
2850 other notes might collide with it, since all the current collision
2851 handling between notes and between notes and rests is done only
2852 for notes and rests that occur at the same time. Here's an
2853 example of a collision of this type:
2855 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2856 << \relative { c'4 c c c } \\ { R1 } >>
2859 The best solution here is to move the multimeasure rest down, since
2860 the rest is in voice two. The default in @code{\voiceTwo} (i.e. in
2861 the second voice of a @code{<<@{...@} \\ @{...@}>>} construct) is that
2862 @code{staff-position} is set to -4 for MultiMeasureRest, so we need to
2863 move it, say, four half-staff spaces down to @w{@code{-8}}.
2865 @cindex MultiMeasureRest, example of overriding
2866 @cindex staff-position property, example
2868 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2870 \relative { c'4 c c c }
2872 \override MultiMeasureRest.staff-position = #-8
2877 This is better than using, for example, @code{extra-offset},
2878 because the ledger line above the rest is inserted automatically.
2880 @node The extra-offset property
2881 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{extra-offset} property
2883 @cindex positioning objects
2884 @cindex positioning grobs
2885 @cindex objects, positioning
2886 @cindex grobs, positioning
2888 The @code{extra-offset} property provides complete control over the
2889 positioning of an object both horizontally and vertically.
2891 In the following example, the second fingering is moved a little to
2892 the left, and 1.8 staff space downwards:
2894 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
2895 @cindex extra-offset property, example
2897 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2900 \once \override Fingering.extra-offset = #'(-0.3 . -1.8)
2905 @node The positions property
2906 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{positions} property
2908 @cindex controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams manually
2909 @cindex manually controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams
2910 @cindex tuplet beams, controlling manually
2911 @cindex slurs, controlling manually
2912 @cindex phrasing slurs, controlling manually
2913 @cindex beams, controlling manually
2915 The @code{positions} property allows the vertical position and hence
2916 the slope of tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs and beams to be controlled
2919 Here's an example in which the phrasing slur and slur collide:
2921 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2922 \relative { a'8 \( ( a'16 ) a \) }
2925 @cindex PhrasingSlur, example of overriding
2926 @cindex positions property, example
2929 One possibility would be to move the two ends of the phrasing slur
2930 higher. We can try setting the left end to 2.5 staff-spaces above the
2931 centre line and the right end to 4.5 above, and LilyPond will
2932 select the phrasing slur from the candidates it has found with its
2933 end points closest to these:
2935 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2936 \once \override PhrasingSlur.positions = #'(2.5 . 4.5)
2937 a'8 \( ( a''16 ) a'' \)
2940 This is an improvement, but why not lower the right end of the slur
2941 a little? If you try it you'll find it can't be done in this way.
2942 That's because there are no candidate slurs lower than the one
2943 already selected, and in this case the @code{positions} property has
2944 no effect. However, ties, slurs and phrasing slurs @emph{can} be
2945 positioned and shaped very precisely when necessary. To learn how to
2946 do this, see @ruser{Modifying ties and slurs}.
2948 Here's a further example. We see that the beams
2949 collide with the ties:
2951 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2957 { e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g'' }
2962 { e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g'' }
2968 This can be resolved by manually moving both ends of the beam
2969 up from their position at 1.81 staff-spaces below the center line to,
2972 @cindex Beam, example of overriding
2973 @cindex positions property, example
2975 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2982 \override Beam.positions = #'(-1 . -1)
2983 e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g''
2989 { e''8 e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' e'' f''2 g'' }
2995 Note that the override continues to apply in the first voice of
2996 the second measure of eighth notes, but not to any of the beams in the
2999 @node The force-hshift property
3000 @unnumberedsubsubsec The @code{force-hshift property}
3002 We can now see how to apply the final corrections to the Chopin
3003 example introduced at the end of @ref{I'm hearing Voices}, which
3004 was left looking like this:
3006 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
3007 \new Staff \relative {
3022 The inner note of the first chord (i.e. the A-flat in the fourth
3023 Voice) need not be shifted away from the note column of the higher
3024 note. To correct this we set @code{force-hshift}, which is a property
3025 of @code{NoteColumn}, of this note to zero.
3027 In the second chord we prefer the F to line up with the A-flat and the
3028 lowest note to be positioned slightly right to avoid a collision of
3029 stems. We achieve this by setting @code{force-hshift} in the
3030 @code{NoteColumn} of the low D-flat to move it to the right by half
3033 Here's the final result:
3035 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
3036 @cindex force-hshift property, example
3038 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
3039 \new Staff \relative {
3046 \once \override NoteColumn.force-hshift = #0.5
3052 \override NoteColumn.force-hshift = #0
3061 @node Real music example
3062 @subsection Real music example
3064 We end this section on Tweaks by showing the steps to be taken to
3065 deal with a tricky example which needs several tweaks to produce
3066 the desired output. The example has been deliberately chosen to
3067 illustrate the use of the Notation Reference to resolve unusual
3068 problems with notation. It is not representative of the more usual
3069 engraving process, so please do not let these difficulties put
3070 you off! Fortunately, difficulties like these are not very common!
3072 The example is from Chopin's Première Ballade, Op. 23, bars 6 to
3073 9, the transition from the opening Lento to Moderato.
3074 Here, first, is what we want the output to look like, but to avoid
3075 over-complicating the example too much we have left out the
3076 dynamics, fingering and pedalling.
3078 @c The following should appear as music without code
3079 @c This example should not be indexed
3080 @c line-width ensures no break
3081 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3082 rhMusic = \relative {
3085 \once \override Tie.staff-position = #3.5
3089 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3090 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3091 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3097 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
3098 \once \override NoteColumn.force-hshift = #1.0
3099 % Move the c2 out of the main note column
3100 % so the merge will work
3107 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3109 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
3110 \tweak Stem.transparent ##t
3118 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3119 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3124 lhMusic = \relative {
3126 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3133 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3137 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3146 We note first that the right hand part in the third bar
3147 requires four voices. These are the five beamed eighth notes,
3148 the tied C, the half-note D which is merged with the eighth note
3149 D, and the dotted quarter note F-sharp, which is also merged with
3150 the eighth note at the same pitch. Everything else is in a single
3151 voice, so the easiest way is to introduce these extra three voices
3152 temporarily at the time they are needed. If you have forgotten
3153 how to do this, look at @ref{I'm hearing Voices} and @ref{Explicitly
3154 instantiating voices}. Here we choose to use explicitly instantiated
3155 voices for the polyphonic passage, as LilyPond is better able to
3156 avoid collisions if all voices are instantiated explicitly in this
3159 So let us begin by entering the notes as two variables, setting up
3160 the staff structure in a score block, and seeing what LilyPond
3161 produces by default:
3163 @c line-width ensures no break
3164 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3165 rhMusic = \relative {
3171 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3173 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3187 g2. % continuation of main voice
3191 lhMusic = \relative {
3200 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3204 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3213 All the notes are right, but the appearance is far from
3214 satisfactory. The tie collides with the change in time signature,
3215 some notes are not merged together, and several notation elements
3216 are missing. Let's first deal with the easier things. We can
3217 easily add the left hand slur and the right hand phrasing slur,
3218 since these were all covered in the Tutorial. Doing this gives:
3220 @c line-width ensures no break
3221 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3222 rhMusic = \relative {
3228 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3230 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3244 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3248 lhMusic = \relative {
3257 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3261 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3270 The first bar is now correct. The second bar contains an arpeggio and
3271 is terminated by a double bar line. How do we do these, as they have
3272 not been mentioned in this Learning Manual? This is where we need to
3273 turn to the Notation Reference. Looking up @q{arpeggio} and @q{bar
3274 line} in the index quickly shows us that an arpeggio is produced by
3275 appending @code{\arpeggio} to a chord, and a double bar line is
3276 produced by the @code{\bar "||"} command. That's easily done. We
3277 next need to correct the collision of the tie with the time signature.
3278 This is best done by moving the tie upwards. Moving objects was
3279 covered earlier in @ref{Moving objects}, which says that objects
3280 positioned relative to the staff can be moved vertically by overriding
3281 their @code{staff-position} property, which is specified in half staff
3282 spaces relative to the center line of the staff. So the following
3283 override placed just before the first tied note would move the tie up
3284 to 3.5 half staff spaces above the center line:
3286 @code{\once \override Tie.staff-position = #3.5}
3288 This completes bar two, giving:
3290 @c line-width ensures no break
3291 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3292 rhMusic = \relative {
3295 \once \override Tie.staff-position = #3.5
3300 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3302 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3316 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3320 lhMusic = \relative {
3322 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3329 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3333 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3342 On to bar three and the start of the Moderato section. The tutorial
3343 showed how to add bold text with the @code{\markup} command, so
3344 adding @qq{Moderato} in bold is easy. But how do we merge notes in
3345 different voices together? This is where we need to turn again to
3346 the Notation Reference for help. A search for @qq{merge} in the
3347 Notation Reference index quickly leads us to the commands for merging
3348 differently headed and differently dotted notes in
3349 @ruser{Collision resolution}. In our example we need to merge both
3350 types of note for the duration of the polyphonic section in bar 3,
3351 so using the information we find in the Notation Reference we add
3354 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3355 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3359 to the start of that section and
3362 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3363 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3369 @c line-width ensures no break
3370 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3371 rhMusic = \relative {
3374 \once \override Tie.staff-position = #3.5
3378 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3379 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3380 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3381 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3383 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3397 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3398 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3399 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3403 lhMusic = \relative {
3405 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3412 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3416 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3425 These overrides have merged the two F-sharp notes, but not the two
3426 on D. Why not? The answer is there in the same section in the
3427 Notation Reference -- notes being merged must have stems in
3428 opposite directions and two notes cannot be merged successfully if
3429 there is a third note in the same note column. Here the two D's
3430 both have upward stems and there is a third note -- the C. We know
3431 how to change the stem direction using @code{\stemDown}, and
3432 the Notation Reference also says how to move the C -- apply a shift
3433 using one of the @code{\shift} commands. But which one?
3434 The C is in voice two which has shift off, and the two D's are in
3435 voices one and three, which have shift off and shift on,
3436 respectively. So we have to shift the C a further level still
3437 using @code{\shiftOnn} to avoid it interfering with the two D's.
3438 Applying these changes gives:
3440 @cindex Tie, example of overriding
3441 @cindex staff-position property, example
3443 @c line-width ensures no break
3444 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3445 rhMusic = \relative {
3448 \once \override Tie.staff-position = #3.5
3452 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3453 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3454 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3455 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3457 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3460 % Move the c2 out of the main note column
3461 % so the merge will work
3466 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3474 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3475 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3476 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3480 lhMusic = \relative {
3482 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3489 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3493 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3502 Nearly there. Only two problems remain: The downward stem on the
3503 merged D should not be there, and the C would be better positioned
3504 to the right of the D's. We know how to do both of these from the
3505 earlier tweaks: we make the stem transparent, and move the C with
3506 the @code{force-hshift} property. Here's the final result:
3508 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
3509 @cindex force-hshift property, example
3510 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3511 @cindex transparent property, example
3513 @c line-width ensures no break
3514 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3515 rhMusic = \relative {
3518 \once \override Tie.staff-position = #3.5
3522 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3523 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3524 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3525 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3527 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3531 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
3532 \once \override NoteColumn.force-hshift = #1.0
3533 % Move the c2 out of the main note column
3534 % so the merge will work
3541 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3543 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
3544 \tweak Stem.transparent ##t
3552 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3553 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3554 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3558 lhMusic = \relative {
3560 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3567 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3571 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3581 @node Further tweaking
3582 @section Further tweaking
3585 * Other uses for tweaks::
3586 * Using variables for tweaks::
3588 * Other sources of information::
3589 * Advanced tweaks with Scheme::
3592 @node Other uses for tweaks
3593 @subsection Other uses for tweaks
3596 * Tying notes across voices::
3597 * Simulating a fermata in MIDI::
3600 @cindex transparent property, use of
3601 @cindex objects, making invisible
3602 @cindex removing objects
3603 @cindex objects, removing
3604 @cindex hiding objects
3605 @cindex objects, hiding
3606 @cindex invisible objects
3607 @cindex objects, invisible
3609 @node Tying notes across voices
3610 @unnumberedsubsubsec Tying notes across voices
3612 @cindex tying notes across voices
3614 The following example demonstrates how to connect notes in
3615 different voices using ties. Normally, only two notes in the
3616 same voice can be connected with ties. By using two voices,
3617 with the tied notes in one of them
3620 << { b'8~ 8\noBeam } \\ { b'8[ g'] } >>
3624 and blanking the first up-stem in that voice, the tie appears to
3627 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3628 @cindex transparent property, example
3630 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3633 \tweak Stem.transparent ##t
3641 To make sure that the just-blanked stem doesn't squeeze the tie
3642 too much, we can lengthen the stem by setting the
3643 @code{length} to @code{8},
3645 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3648 \tweak Stem.transparent ##t
3649 \tweak Stem.length #8
3658 @cindex tweak, generated from override
3659 Now for @emph{overriding} the transparency of a graphical object,
3660 we could have used the shorthand @code{\hide} as explained above.
3661 Tweaking is a different operation, affecting only properties
3662 generated from a single music expression. It turns out that we
3663 can convert overrides into tweaks using @code{\single}, making it
3664 possible to rewrite the above example as
3666 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3671 \tweak Stem.length #8
3679 In this particular case, the difference to @code{\once \hide} is
3680 not apparent. It is important when there are several objects at
3681 the same point in musical time (like noteheads in a chord). In
3682 that case, @code{\once} will affect all of those objects while
3683 @code{\single} will only affect a single one, the one generated by
3684 the immediately following music expression.
3686 @node Simulating a fermata in MIDI
3687 @unnumberedsubsubsec Simulating a fermata in MIDI
3689 @cindex stencil property, use of
3690 @cindex fermata, implementing in MIDI
3692 For outside-staff objects it is usually better to override the
3693 object's @code{stencil} property rather than its @code{transparent}
3694 property when you wish to remove it from the printed output.
3695 Setting the @code{stencil} property of an object to @code{#f} will
3696 remove that object entirely from the printed output. This means it
3697 has no effect on the placement of other objects placed relative to
3700 For example, if we wished to change the metronome setting in order
3701 to simulate a fermata in the MIDI output we would not want the
3702 metronome markings to appear in the printed output, and we would
3703 not want it to influence the spacing between the two systems or
3704 the positions of adjacent annotations on the staff. So setting
3705 its @code{stencil} property to @code{#f} would be the best way.
3706 We show here the effect of the two methods:
3708 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3709 @cindex transparent property, example
3711 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3714 % Visible tempo marking
3717 \once \hide Score.MetronomeMark
3718 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3721 % New tempo for next section
3730 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3731 @cindex stencil property, example
3733 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3736 % Visible tempo marking
3739 \once \omit Score.MetronomeMark
3740 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3743 % New tempo for next section
3753 Both methods remove the metronome mark which lengthens the fermata
3754 from the printed output, and both affect the MIDI timing as
3755 required, but the transparent metronome mark in the first line
3756 forces the following tempo indication too high while the
3757 second (with the stencil removed) does not.
3763 @node Using variables for tweaks
3764 @subsection Using variables for tweaks
3766 @cindex variables, using for tweaks
3767 @cindex using variables for tweaks
3768 @cindex tweaks, using variables for
3770 Override commands are often long and tedious to type, and they
3771 have to be absolutely correct. If the same overrides are to be
3772 used many times it may be worth defining variables to hold them.
3774 Suppose we wish to emphasize certain words in lyrics by printing
3775 them in bold italics. The @code{\italic} and @code{\bold}
3776 commands only work within lyrics if they are embedded, together with
3777 the word or words to be modified, within a @code{\markup} block,
3778 which makes them tedious to enter. The need to embed the words
3779 themselves prevents their use in simple variables. As an
3780 alternative can we use @code{\override} and @code{\revert} commands?
3783 @code{\override Lyrics.LyricText.font-shape = #'italic}
3784 @code{\override Lyrics.LyricText.font-series = #'bold}
3786 @code{\revert Lyrics.LyricText.font-shape}
3787 @code{\revert Lyrics.LyricText.font-series}
3790 These would also be extremely tedious to enter if there were many
3791 words requiring emphasis. But we @emph{can} define these as two
3792 variables and use those to bracket the words to be emphasized.
3793 Another advantage of using variables for these overrides is that
3794 the spaces around the dot are not necessary, since they are not
3795 being interpreted in @code{\lyricmode} directly. Here's an example
3796 of this, although in practice we would choose shorter names
3797 for the variables to make them quicker to type:
3799 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
3800 @cindex font-shape property, example
3801 @cindex font-series property, example
3803 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
3805 \override Lyrics.LyricText.font-shape = #'italic
3806 \override Lyrics.LyricText.font-series = #'bold
3810 \revert Lyrics.LyricText.font-shape
3811 \revert Lyrics.LyricText.font-series
3814 global = { \key c \major \time 4/4 \partial 4 }
3816 SopranoMusic = \relative { c'4 | e4. e8 g4 g | a4 a g }
3817 AltoMusic = \relative { c'4 | c4. c8 e4 e | f4 f e }
3818 TenorMusic = \relative { e4 | g4. g8 c4. b8 | a8 b c d e4 }
3819 BassMusic = \relative { c4 | c4. c8 c4 c | f8 g a b c4 }
3821 VerseOne = \lyrics {
3822 E -- | ter -- nal \emphasize Fa -- ther, | \normal strong to save,
3825 VerseTwo = \lyricmode {
3826 O | \once \emphasize Christ, whose voice the | wa -- ters heard,
3829 VerseThree = \lyricmode {
3830 O | \emphasize Ho -- ly Spi -- rit, | \normal who didst brood
3833 VerseFour = \lyricmode {
3834 O | \emphasize Tri -- ni -- ty \normal of | love and pow'r
3841 \new Voice = "Soprano" { \voiceOne \global \SopranoMusic }
3842 \new Voice = "Alto" { \voiceTwo \AltoMusic }
3843 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseOne }
3844 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseTwo }
3845 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseThree }
3846 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseFour }
3850 \new Voice = "Tenor" { \voiceOne \TenorMusic }
3851 \new Voice = "Bass" { \voiceTwo \BassMusic }
3859 @subsection Style sheets
3861 The output that LilyPond produces can be heavily modified; see
3862 @ref{Tweaking output}, for details. But what if you have many
3863 input files that you want to apply your tweaks to? Or what if you
3864 simply want to separate your tweaks from the actual music? This
3865 is quite easy to do.
3867 Let's look at an example. Don't worry if you don't understand
3868 the parts with all the @code{#()}. This is explained in
3869 @ref{Advanced tweaks with Scheme}.
3871 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3873 #(make-dynamic-script
3874 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
3875 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3876 \line { \dynamic "mp"
3877 \text \italic "dolce" } }
3881 #(define-music-function
3884 #{ <>^\markup \bold \box #string #})
3888 a'4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3892 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3896 Let's do something about the @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst} definitions.
3897 They produce the output we desire, but we might want to use them in
3898 another piece. We could simply copy-and-paste them at the top of every
3899 file, but that's an annoyance. It also leaves those definitions in our
3900 input files, and I personally find all the @code{#()} somewhat ugly.
3901 Let's hide them in another file:
3904 %%% save this to a file called "definitions.ily"
3906 #(make-dynamic-script
3907 #@{ \markup @{ \hspace #0
3908 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3909 \line @{ \dynamic "mp"
3910 \text \italic "dolce" @} @}
3914 #(define-music-function
3917 #@{ <>^\markup \bold \box #string #@})
3920 We will refer to this file using the @code{\include} command near
3921 the top of the music file. (The extension @file{.ily} is used to
3922 distinguish this included file, which is not meant to be compiled
3923 on its own, from the main file.)
3924 Now let's modify our music (let's save this file as @file{music.ly}).
3926 @c We have to do this awkward example/lilypond-non-verbatim
3927 @c because we can't do the \include stuff in the manual.
3930 \include "definitions.ily"
3934 a'4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3938 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3942 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3944 #(make-dynamic-script
3945 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
3946 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3947 \line { \dynamic "mp"
3948 \text \italic "dolce" } }
3952 #(define-music-function
3955 #{ <>^\markup \bold \box #string #})
3959 a'4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3963 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3967 That looks better, but let's make a few changes. The glissando is hard
3968 to see, so let's make it thicker and closer to the note heads. Let's
3969 put the metronome marking above the clef, instead of over the first
3970 note. And finally, my composition professor hates @q{C} time signatures,
3971 so we'd better make that @q{4/4} instead.
3973 Don't change @file{music.ly}, though. Replace our @file{definitions.ily}
3979 #(make-dynamic-script
3980 #@{ \markup @{ \hspace #0
3981 \translate #'(5 . 0)
3982 \line @{ \dynamic "mp"
3983 \text \italic "dolce" @} @}
3987 #(define-music-function
3990 #@{ <>^\markup \bold \box #string #@})
3995 \override MetronomeMark.extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3996 \override MetronomeMark.padding = #'3
4000 \override TimeSignature.style = #'numbered
4004 \override Glissando.thickness = #3
4005 \override Glissando.gap = #0.1
4010 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
4012 #(make-dynamic-script
4013 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
4014 \translate #'(5 . 0)
4015 \line { \dynamic "mp"
4016 \text \italic "dolce" } }
4020 #(define-music-function
4023 #{ <>^\markup \bold \box #string #})
4028 \override MetronomeMark.extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
4029 \override MetronomeMark.padding = #'3
4033 \override TimeSignature.style = #'numbered
4037 \override Glissando.thickness = #3
4038 \override Glissando.gap = #0.1
4044 a'4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
4048 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
4052 That looks nicer! But now suppose that I want to publish this
4053 piece. My composition professor doesn't like @q{C} time
4054 signatures, but I'm somewhat fond of them. Let's copy the
4055 current @file{definitions.ily} to @file{web-publish.ily} and
4056 modify that. Since this music is aimed at producing a pdf which
4057 will be displayed on the screen, we'll also increase the
4058 overall size of the output.
4063 #(make-dynamic-script
4064 #@{ \markup @{ \hspace #0
4065 \translate #'(5 . 0)
4066 \line @{ \dynamic "mp"
4067 \text \italic "dolce" @} @}
4071 #(define-music-function
4074 #@{ <>^\markup \bold \box #string #@})
4076 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
4081 \override MetronomeMark.extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
4082 \override MetronomeMark.padding = #'3
4089 \override Glissando.thickness = #3
4090 \override Glissando.gap = #0.1
4095 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
4097 #(make-dynamic-script
4098 #{ \markup { \hspace #0
4099 \translate #'(5 . 0)
4100 \line { \dynamic "mp"
4101 \text \italic "dolce" } }
4105 #(define-music-function
4108 #{ <>^\markup \bold \box #string #})
4110 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
4114 \override MetronomeMark.extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
4115 \override MetronomeMark.padding = #'3
4118 \override Glissando.thickness = #3
4119 \override Glissando.gap = #0.1
4125 a'4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
4129 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
4133 Now in our music, I simply replace
4134 @code{\include "definitions.ily"} with
4135 @code{\include "web-publish.ily"}. Of course, we could make this
4136 even more convenient. We could make a @file{definitions.ily} file which
4137 contains only the definitions of @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst}, a
4138 @file{web-publish.ily} file which contains only the @code{\layout}
4139 section listed above, and a @file{university.ily} file which
4140 contains only the tweaks to produce the output that my professor
4141 prefers. The top of @file{music.ly} would then look like this:
4144 \include "definitions.ily"
4146 %%% Only uncomment one of these two lines!
4147 \include "web-publish.ily"
4148 %\include "university.ily"
4151 This approach can be useful even if you are only producing
4152 one set of parts. I use half a dozen different
4153 @q{style sheet} files for my projects. I begin every music
4154 file with @code{\include "../global.ily"}, which contains
4158 \version @w{"@version{}"}
4160 #(ly:set-option 'point-and-click #f)
4162 \include "../init/init-defs.ly"
4163 \include "../init/init-layout.ly"
4164 \include "../init/init-headers.ly"
4165 \include "../init/init-paper.ly"
4169 @node Other sources of information
4170 @subsection Other sources of information
4172 The Internals Reference documentation contains a lot of information
4173 about LilyPond, but even more information can be gathered by
4174 looking at the internal LilyPond files. To explore these, you must
4175 first find the directory appropriate to your system. The location
4176 of this directory depends (a) on whether you obtained LilyPond
4177 by downloading a precompiled binary from lilypond.org
4178 or whether you installed it from a package manager (i.e.
4179 distributed with GNU/Linux, or installed under fink or cygwin) or
4180 compiled it from source, and (b) on which operating system it is
4183 @subsubsubheading Downloaded from lilypond.org
4190 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/lilypond/usr/@/share/lilypond/current/}
4197 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond.app/Contents/@/Resources/share/lilypond/current/}
4200 by either @code{cd}-ing into this directory from the
4201 Terminal, or control-clicking on the LilyPond application and
4202 selecting @q{Show Package Contents}.
4206 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to
4208 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond/usr/@/share/lilypond/current/}
4213 @subsubsubheading Installed from a package manager or compiled from source
4216 @file{@var{PREFIX}/share/lilypond/@var{X.Y.Z}/}, where
4217 @var{PREFIX} is set by your package manager or @code{configure}
4218 script, and @var{X.Y.Z} is the LilyPond version number.
4222 Within this directory the two interesting subdirectories are
4225 @item @file{ly/} - contains files in LilyPond format
4226 @item @file{scm/} - contains files in Scheme format
4229 Let's begin by looking at some files in @file{ly/}.
4230 Open @file{ly/property-init.ly} in a text editor. The one
4231 you normally use for @code{.ly} files will be fine. This file
4232 contains the definitions of all the standard LilyPond predefined
4233 commands, such as @code{\stemUp} and @code{\slurDotted}. You will
4234 see that these are nothing more than definitions of variables
4235 containing one or a group of @code{\override} commands. For
4236 example, @code{/tieDotted} is defined to be:
4240 \override Tie.dash-period = #0.75
4241 \override Tie.dash-fraction = #0.1
4245 If you do not like the default values these predefined commands can
4246 be redefined easily, just like any other variable, at the
4247 head of your input file.
4249 The following are the most useful files to be found in
4252 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4255 @item @file{ly/engraver-init.ly}
4256 @tab Definitions of engraver Contexts
4257 @item @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}
4258 @tab Specifications of paper-related defaults
4259 @item @file{ly/performer-init.ly}
4260 @tab Definitions of performer Contexts
4261 @item @file{ly/property-init.ly}
4262 @tab Definitions of all common predefined commands
4263 @item @file{ly/spanner-init.ly}
4264 @tab Definitions of spanner-related predefined commands
4267 Other settings (such as the definitions of markup commands) are
4268 stored as @file{.scm} (Scheme) files. The Scheme programming
4269 language is used to provide a programmable interface into
4270 LilyPond internal operation. Further explanation of these files
4271 is currently outside the scope of this manual, as a knowledge of
4272 the Scheme language is required. Users should be warned that
4273 a substantial amount of technical knowledge or time is required
4274 to understand Scheme and these files (see @rextend{Scheme tutorial}).
4276 If you have this knowledge, the Scheme files which may be of
4279 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4282 @item @file{scm/auto-beam.scm}
4283 @tab Sub-beaming defaults
4284 @item @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}
4285 @tab Default settings for grob properties
4286 @item @file{scm/define-markup-commands.scm}
4287 @tab Specify all markup commands
4288 @item @file{scm/midi.scm}
4289 @tab Default settings for MIDI output
4290 @item @file{scm/output-lib.scm}
4291 @tab Settings that affect appearance of frets, colors,
4292 accidentals, bar lines, etc
4293 @item @file{scm/parser-clef.scm}
4294 @tab Definitions of supported clefs
4295 @item @file{scm/script.scm}
4296 @tab Default settings for articulations
4300 @node Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4301 @subsection Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4303 Although many things are possible with the @code{\override} and
4304 @code{\tweak} commands, an even more powerful way of modifying
4305 the action of LilyPond is available through a programmable
4306 interface to the LilyPond internal operation. Code written in
4307 the Scheme programming language can be incorporated directly in
4308 the internal operation of LilyPond. Of course, at least a basic
4309 knowledge of programming in Scheme is required to do this, and an
4310 introduction is provided in the @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
4312 As an illustration of one of the many possibilities, instead of
4313 setting a property to a constant it can be set to a Scheme
4314 procedure which is then called whenever that property is accessed
4315 by LilyPond. The property can then be set dynamically to a value
4316 determined by the procedure at the time it is called. In this
4317 example we color the note head in accordance with its position on
4320 @cindex x11-color function, example of using
4321 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
4322 @cindex color property, setting to Scheme procedure
4324 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
4325 #(define (color-notehead grob)
4326 "Color the notehead according to its position on the staff."
4327 (let ((mod-position (modulo (ly:grob-property grob 'staff-position)
4330 ;; Return rainbow colors
4331 ((1) (x11-color 'red )) ; for C
4332 ((2) (x11-color 'orange )) ; for D
4333 ((3) (x11-color 'yellow )) ; for E
4334 ((4) (x11-color 'green )) ; for F
4335 ((5) (x11-color 'blue )) ; for G
4336 ((6) (x11-color 'purple )) ; for A
4337 ((0) (x11-color 'violet )) ; for B
4341 % Arrange to obtain color from color-notehead procedure
4342 \override NoteHead.color = #color-notehead
4343 a2 b | c2 d | e2 f | g2 a |
4347 Further examples showing the use of these programmable interfaces
4348 can be found in @rextend{Callback functions}.