1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
4 Translation of GIT committish: FILL-IN-HEAD-COMMITTISH
6 When revising a translation, copy the HEAD committish of the
7 version that you are working on. For details, see the Contributors'
8 Guide, node Updating translation committishes..
16 Negative numbers are allowed:
17 > Are you sure? The following works well
19 > first-page-number = -2
21 > and prints page number -1 on the second page, for example.
24 In 5.2.1 the @refbugs (line 495 in spacing.itely on master) it
27 "@code{layout-set-staff-size} does not change the distance between
31 Could we add a sentence:
32 "Use instead the pair fontSize = #@var{N}
33 \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #(magstep
35 inside the Staff context to change the size of the font and the
37 staff lines accordingly."
39 Actually I found, that the @internalsref{StaffSymbol} at line 481
40 sends to an incomplete
41 documentation. The property staff-space is not explained here. I
42 thought Y-extent might be of
43 help, but it is in turn explained by x-space which again is
44 missing from the list. Who has the
45 knowledge to fix this?
49 http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/detail?id=68
55 @chapter Spacing issues
57 The global paper layout is determined by three factors: the page layout, the
58 line breaks, and the spacing. These all influence each other. The
59 choice of spacing determines how densely each system of music is set.
60 This influences where line breaks are chosen, and thus ultimately, how
61 many pages a piece of music takes.
63 Globally speaking, this procedure happens in four steps: first,
64 flexible distances (@q{springs}) are chosen, based on durations. All
65 possible line breaking combinations are tried, and a @q{badness} score
66 is calculated for each. Then the height of each possible system is
67 estimated. Finally, a page breaking and line breaking combination is chosen
68 so that neither the horizontal nor the vertical spacing is too cramped
71 Two types of blocks can contain layout settings:
72 @code{\paper @{@dots{}@}} and @code{\layout @{@dots{}@}}. The
73 @code{\paper} block contains page layout settings that are
74 expected to be the same for all scores in a book, such as the
75 paper height, or whether to print page numbers, etc. See
76 @ref{Page layout}. The @code{\layout} block contains score layout
77 settings, such as the number of systems to use, or the space
78 between staff-groups, etc. See @ref{Score layout}.
85 * Horizontal spacing::
86 * Fitting music onto fewer pages::
93 This section discusses page layout options for the @code{\paper}
98 * Paper size and automatic scaling::
99 * Fixed vertical spacing \paper variables::
100 * Flexible vertical spacing \paper variables::
101 * Horizontal spacing \paper variables::
102 * Other \paper variables::
106 @node The \paper block
107 @subsection The @code{\paper} block
109 The @code{\paper} block can appear within a @code{\book} block,
110 but not within a @code{\score} block. Settings in a @code{\paper}
111 block apply to the entire book, which may include multiple scores.
112 Settings that can appear in a @code{\paper} block include:
117 the @code{set-paper-size} scheme function,
120 @code{\paper} variables used for customizing page layout, and
123 markup definitions used for customizing the layout of headers,
128 The @code{set-paper-size} function is discussed in the next
129 section, @ref{Paper size and automatic scaling}. The
130 @code{\paper} variables that deal with page layout are discussed
131 in later sections. The markup definitions that deal with headers,
132 footers, and titles are discussed in
133 @ref{Custom headers footers and titles}.
135 Most @code{\paper} variables will only work in a @code{\paper}
136 block. The few that will also work in a @code{\layout} block are
137 listed in @ref{The \layout block}.
139 Except when specified otherwise, all @code{\paper} variables that
140 correspond to distances on the page are measured in millimeters,
141 unless a different unit is specified by the user. For example,
142 the following declaration sets @code{top-margin} to ten
151 To set it to @code{0.5} inches, use the @code{\in} unit suffix:
159 The available unit suffixes are @code{\mm}, @code{\cm},
160 @code{\in}, and @code{\pt}. These units are simple values for
161 converting from millimeters; they are defined in
162 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}. For the sake of clarity, when
163 using millimeters, the @code{\mm} is typically included in the
164 code, even though it is not technically necessary.
166 It is also possible to define @code{\paper} values using Scheme.
167 The Scheme equivalent of the above example is:
171 #(define top-margin (* 0.5 in))
177 @ref{Paper size and automatic scaling},
178 @ref{Custom headers footers and titles},
179 @ref{The \layout block}.
182 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
185 @node Paper size and automatic scaling
186 @subsection Paper size and automatic scaling
194 * Setting paper size::
195 * Automatic scaling to paper size::
199 @node Setting paper size
200 @unnumberedsubsubsec Setting paper size
202 Two functions are available for changing the paper size:
203 @code{set-default-paper-size} and @code{set-paper-size}.
204 @code{set-default-paper-size} must be placed in the toplevel
205 scope, and @code{set-paper-size} must be placed in a @code{\paper}
209 #(set-default-paper-size "a4")
214 #(set-paper-size "a4")
219 In the toplevel scope, the @code{set-default-paper-size} function
220 can safely be called anywhere before the first @code{\paper}
221 block. Within a @code{\paper} block, the safest place to call
222 @code{set-paper-size} is at the top, above the list of variable
223 declarations. The reasons for this are discussed in
224 @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.
226 @code{set-default-paper-size} sets the size of all pages, whereas
227 @code{set-paper-size} only sets the size of the pages that the
228 @code{\paper} block applies to. For example, if the @code{\paper}
229 block is at the top of the file, then it will apply the paper size
230 to all pages. If the @code{\paper} block is inside a
231 @code{\book}, then the paper size will only apply to that book.
233 Common paper sizes are available, including @code{a4},
234 @code{letter}, @code{legal}, and @code{11x17} (also known as
235 tabloid). Many more paper sizes are supported by default. For
236 details, see @file{scm/paper.scm}, and search for the
237 definition of @code{paper-alist}.
239 @c TODO add a new appendix for paper sizes (auto-generated) -pm
241 @warning{The default paper size is @code{a4}.}
243 Extra sizes may be added by editing the definition of
244 @code{paper-alist} in the initialization file
245 @file{scm/paper.scm}, however they will be overridden on a
251 If the symbol @code{'landscape} is supplied as an argument to
252 @code{set-default-paper-size}, pages will be rotated by 90
253 degrees, and wider line widths will be set accordingly.
256 #(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
261 @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.
264 @file{scm/paper.scm}.
267 @node Automatic scaling to paper size
268 @unnumberedsubsubsec Automatic scaling to paper size
270 If the paper size is changed with one of the scheme functions
271 (@code{set-default-paper-size} or @code{set-paper-size}), the
272 values of several @code{\paper} variables are automatically scaled
273 to the new size. To bypass the automatic scaling for a particular
274 variable, set the variable after setting the paper size. Note
275 that the automatic scaling is not triggered by setting the
276 @code{paper-height} or @code{paper-width} variables, even though
277 @code{paper-width} can influence other values (this is separate
278 from scaling and is discussed below). The
279 @code{set-default-paper-size} and @code{set-paper-size} functions
280 are described in @ref{Setting paper size}.
282 The vertical dimensions affected by automatic scaling are
283 @code{top-margin} and @code{bottom-margin} (see
284 @ref{Fixed vertical spacing \paper variables}). The horizontal
285 dimensions affected by automatic scaling are @code{left-margin},
286 @code{right-margin}, @code{inner-margin}, @code{outer-margin},
287 @code{binding-offset}, @code{indent}, and @code{short-indent} (see
288 @ref{Horizontal spacing \paper variables}).
290 The default values for these dimensions are set in
291 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}, using internal variables named
292 @code{top-margin-default}, @code{bottom-margin-default}, etc.
293 These are the values that result at the default paper size
294 @code{a4}. For reference, with @code{a4} paper the
295 @code{paper-height} is @code{297\mm} and the @code{paper-width} is
300 @ref{Fixed vertical spacing \paper variables},
301 @ref{Horizontal spacing \paper variables}.
304 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly},
305 @file{scm/paper.scm}.
308 @node Fixed vertical spacing \paper variables
309 @subsection Fixed vertical spacing @code{\paper} variables
311 @warning{Some @code{@bs{}paper} dimensions are automatically
312 scaled to the paper size, which may lead to unexpected behavior.
313 See @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.}
315 Default values (before scaling) are defined in
316 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
320 @funindex paper-height
322 The height of the page, unset by default. Note that the automatic
323 scaling of some vertical dimensions is not affected by this.
328 The margin between the top of the page and the top of the
329 printable area. If the paper size is modified, this dimension's
330 default value is scaled accordingly.
333 @funindex bottom-margin
335 The margin between the bottom of the printable area and the bottom
336 of the page. If the paper size is modified, this dimension's
337 default value is scaled accordingly.
340 @funindex ragged-bottom
342 If set to true, systems will not spread vertically down the page.
343 This does not affect the last page. This should be set to true
344 for pieces that have only two or three systems per page, for
345 example orchestral scores.
347 @item ragged-last-bottom
348 @funindex ragged-last-bottom
350 If set to false, systems will spread vertically down the last
351 page. Pieces that amply fill two pages or more should have this
352 set to false. It also affects the last page of book parts, i.e.
353 parts of a book created with @code{\bookpart} blocks.
359 @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.
362 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
368 The titles (from the @code{\header} block) are treated as a
369 system, so @code{ragged-bottom} and @code{ragged-last-bottom} will
370 add space between the titles and the first system of the score.
372 Explicitly defined paper-sizes will override any user-defined top or
373 bottom margin settings.
376 @node Flexible vertical spacing \paper variables
377 @subsection Flexible vertical spacing @code{\paper} variables
379 In most cases, it is preferable for the vertical distances between
380 certain items (such as margins, titles, systems, and separate
381 scores) to be flexible, so that they stretch and compress nicely
382 according to each situation. A number of @code{\paper} variables
383 (listed below) are available to fine-tune the stretching behavior
386 Note that the @code{\paper} variables discussed in this section do
387 not control the spacing of staves within individual systems.
388 Within-system spacing is controlled by grob properties, with
389 settings typically entered inside a @code{\score} or
390 @code{\layout} block, and not inside a @code{\paper} block. See
391 @ref{Flexible vertical spacing within systems}.
394 * Structure of flexible vertical spacing alists::
395 * List of flexible vertical spacing \paper variables::
399 @node Structure of flexible vertical spacing alists
400 @unnumberedsubsubsec Structure of flexible vertical spacing alists
402 Each of the flexible vertical spacing @code{\paper} variables is
403 an alist (association list) containing four @emph{keys}:
408 @code{basic-distance} -- the vertical distance, measured in
409 staff-spaces, between the @emph{reference points} of the two
410 items, when no collisions would result, and no stretching or
411 compressing is in effect. The reference point of a (title or
412 top-level) markup is its highest point, and the reference point of
413 a system is the vertical center of the nearest @code{StaffSymbol}
414 -- even if a non-staff line (such as a @code{Lyrics} context) is
415 in the way. Values for @code{basic-distance} that are less than
416 either @code{padding} or @code{minimum-distance} are not
417 meaningful, since the resulting distance will never be less than
418 either @code{padding} or @code{minimum-distance}.
421 @code{minimum-distance} -- the smallest allowable vertical
422 distance, measured in staff-spaces, between the reference points
423 of the two items, when compressing is in effect. Values for
424 @code{minimum-distance} that are less than @code{padding} are not
425 meaningful, since the resulting distance will never be less than
428 @c TODO: explain skylines somewhere and xref to it from here.
431 @code{padding} -- the minimum required amount of unobstructed
432 vertical whitespace between the bounding boxes (or skylines) of
433 the two items, measured in staff-spaces.
436 @code{stretchability} -- a unitless measure of the dimension's
437 relative propensity to stretch. If zero, the distance will not
438 stretch (unless collisions would result). When positive, the
439 significance of a particular dimension's @code{stretchability}
440 value lies only in its relation to the @code{stretchability}
441 values of the other dimensions. For example, if one dimension has
442 twice the @code{stretchability} of another, it will stretch twice
443 as easily. Values should be non-negative and finite. The value
444 @code{+inf.0} triggers a @code{programming_error} and is ignored,
445 but @code{1.0e7} can be used for an almost infinitely stretchable
446 spring. If unset, the default value is set to
447 @code{basic-distance}. Note that the dimension's propensity to
448 @emph{compress} cannot be directly set by the user and is equal to
449 (@code{basic-distance}@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}@code{minimum-distance}).
453 If a page has a ragged bottom, the resulting distance is the
459 @code{basic-distance},
462 @code{minimum-distance}, and
465 @code{padding} plus the smallest distance necessary to eliminate
470 For multi-page scores with a ragged bottom on the last page, the last
471 page uses the same spacing as the preceding page, provided there is
472 enough space for that.
474 Specific methods for modifying alists are discussed in
475 @ref{Modifying alists}. The following example demonstrates the
476 two ways these alists can be modified. The first declaration
477 updates one key-value individually, and the second completely
478 redefines the variable:
482 system-system-spacing #'basic-distance = #8
483 score-system-spacing =
484 #'((basic-distance . 12)
485 (minimum-distance . 6)
487 (stretchability . 12))
492 @node List of flexible vertical spacing \paper variables
493 @unnumberedsubsubsec List of flexible vertical spacing @code{\paper} variables
495 The names of these variables follow the format
496 @code{@var{upper}-@var{lower}-spacing}, where @code{@var{upper}}
497 and @code{@var{lower}} are the items to be spaced. Each distance
498 is measured between the reference points of the two items (see the
499 description of the alist structure above). Note that in these
500 variable names, the term @q{@code{markup}} refers to both
501 @emph{title markups} (@code{bookTitleMarkup} or
502 @code{scoreTitleMarkup}) and @emph{top-level markups} (see
503 @ref{File structure}). All distances are measured in
506 Default settings are defined in @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
508 @c TODO: Where do headers/footers fit in? -mp
511 @item markup-system-spacing
512 @funindex markup-system-spacing
514 the distance between a (title or top-level) markup and the system
517 @item score-markup-spacing
518 @funindex score-markup-spacing
520 the distance between the last system of a score and the (title or
521 top-level) markup that follows it.
523 @item score-system-spacing
524 @funindex score-system-spacing
526 the distance between the last system of a score and the first
527 system of the score that follows it, when no (title or top-level)
528 markup exists between them.
530 @item system-system-spacing
531 @funindex system-system-spacing
533 the distance between two systems in the same score.
535 @item markup-markup-spacing
536 @funindex markup-markup-spacing
538 the distance between two (title or top-level) markups.
540 @item last-bottom-spacing
541 @funindex last-bottom-spacing
543 the distance from the last system or top-level markup on a page to
544 the bottom of the printable area (i.e. the top of the bottom
547 @item top-system-spacing
548 @funindex top-system-spacing
550 the distance from the top of the printable area (i.e. the bottom
551 of the top margin) to the first system on a page, when there is no
552 (title or top-level) markup between the two.
554 @item top-markup-spacing
555 @funindex top-markup-spacing
557 the distance from the top of the printable area (i.e. the bottom
558 of the top margin) to the first (title or top-level) markup on a
559 page, when there is no system between the two.
564 @ref{Flexible vertical spacing within systems}.
567 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
573 @node Horizontal spacing \paper variables
574 @subsection Horizontal spacing @code{\paper} variables
576 @warning{Some @code{@bs{}paper} dimensions are automatically
577 scaled to the paper size, which may lead to unexpected behavior.
578 See @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.}
581 * \paper variables for widths and margins::
582 * \paper variables for two-sided mode::
583 * \paper variables for shifts and indents::
587 @node \paper variables for widths and margins
588 @unnumberedsubsubsec @code{\paper} variables for widths and margins
590 Default values (before scaling) that are not listed here are
591 defined in @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
596 @funindex paper-width
598 The width of the page, unset by default. While @code{paper-width}
599 has no effect on the automatic scaling of some horizontal
600 dimensions, it does influence the @code{line-width} variable. If
601 both @code{paper-width} and @code{line-width} are set, then
602 @code{left-margin} and @code{right-margin} will also be updated.
603 Also see @code{check-consistency}.
608 The horizontal extent of the staff lines in unindented, non-ragged
610 @code{(paper-width@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}left-margin@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}right-margin)}
611 when unset. If @code{line-width} is set, and both
612 @code{left-margin} and @code{right-margin} are unset, then the
613 margins will be updated to center the systems on the page
614 automatically. Also see @code{check-consistency}. This variable
615 can also be set in a @code{\layout} block.
618 @funindex left-margin
620 The margin between the left edge of the page and the start of the
621 staff lines in unindented systems. If the paper size is modified,
622 this dimension's default value is scaled accordingly. If
623 @code{left-margin} is unset, and both @code{line-width} and
624 @code{right-margin} are set, then @code{left-margin} is set to
625 @code{(paper-width@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}line-width@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}right-margin)}.
626 If only @code{line-width} is set, then both margins are set to
627 @code{((paper-width@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}line-width)@tie{}/@tie{}2)},
628 and the systems are consequently centered on the page. Also see
629 @code{check-consistency}.
632 @funindex right-margin
634 The margin between the right edge of the page and the end of the
635 staff lines in non-ragged systems. If the paper size is modified,
636 this dimension's default value is scaled accordingly. If
637 @code{right-margin} is unset, and both @code{line-width} and
638 @code{left-margin} are set, then @code{right-margin} is set to
639 @code{(paper-width@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}line-width@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}left-margin)}.
640 If only @code{line-width} is set, then both margins are set to
641 @code{((paper-width@tie{}@minus{}@tie{}line-width)@tie{}/@tie{}2)},
642 and the systems are consequently centered on the page. Also see
643 @code{check-consistency}.
645 @item check-consistency
646 @funindex check-consistency
648 If set to true, print a warning if @code{left-margin},
649 @code{line-width}, and @code{right-margin} do not exactly add up
650 to @code{paper-width}, and replace each of these (except
651 @code{paper-width}) with its default value (scaled to the paper
652 size if necessary). If set to false, ignore any inconsistencies
653 and allow systems to run off the edge of the page.
656 @funindex ragged-right
658 If set to true, systems will not fill the line width. Instead,
659 systems end at their natural horizontal length. Default:
660 @code{#t} for scores with only one system, and @code{#f} for
661 scores with two or more systems. This variable can also be set in
662 a @code{\layout} block.
665 @funindex ragged-last
667 If set to true, the last system in the score will not fill the
668 line width. Instead the last system ends at its natural
669 horizontal length. Default: @code{#f}. This variable can also be
670 set in a @code{\layout} block.
676 @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.
679 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
682 Explicitly defined paper-sizes will override any user-defined left or
683 right margin settings.
686 @node \paper variables for two-sided mode
687 @unnumberedsubsubsec @code{\paper} variables for two-sided mode
689 Default values (before scaling) are defined in
690 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
698 @cindex binding gutter
700 If set to true, use @code{inner-margin}, @code{outer-margin} and
701 @code{binding-offset} to determine margins depending on whether
702 the page number is odd or even. This overrides @code{left-margin}
703 and @code{right-margin}.
706 @funindex inner-margin
708 The margin all pages have at the inner side if they are part of a
709 book. If the paper size is modified, this dimension's default
710 value is scaled accordingly. Works only with @code{two-sided} set
714 @funindex outer-margin
716 The margin all pages have at the outer side if they are part of a
717 book. If the paper size is modified, this dimension's default
718 value is scaled accordingly. Works only with @code{two-sided} set
722 @funindex binding-offset
724 The amount @code{inner-margin} is increased to make sure nothing
725 will be hidden by the binding. If the paper size is modified,
726 this dimension's default value is scaled accordingly. Works only
727 with @code{two-sided} set to true.
733 @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.
736 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
739 @node \paper variables for shifts and indents
740 @unnumberedsubsubsec @code{\paper} variables for shifts and indents
742 Default values (before scaling) that are not listed here are
743 defined in @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
747 @item horizontal-shift
748 @funindex horizontal-shift
750 @c This default value is buried in the middle of page.scm. -mp
752 The amount that all systems (including titles and system
753 separators) are shifted to the right. Default: @code{0.0\mm}.
758 The level of indentation for the first system in a score. If the
759 paper size is modified, this dimension's default value is scaled
760 accordingly. This variable can also be set in a @code{\layout}
764 @funindex short-indent
766 The level of indentation for all systems in a score besides the
767 first system. If the paper size is modified, this dimension's
768 default value is scaled accordingly. This variable can also be
769 set in a @code{\layout} block.
775 @ref{Automatic scaling to paper size}.
778 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
784 @node Other \paper variables
785 @subsection Other @code{\paper} variables
788 * \paper variables for line breaking::
789 * \paper variables for page breaking::
790 * \paper variables for page numbering::
791 * Miscellaneous \paper variables::
795 @node \paper variables for line breaking
796 @unnumberedsubsubsec @code{\paper} variables for line breaking
798 @c TODO: Mention that ly:optimal-breaking is on by default? -mp
802 @item max-systems-per-page
803 @funindex max-systems-per-page
805 The maximum number of systems that will be placed on a page. This
806 is currently supported only by the @code{ly:optimal-breaking} algorithm.
809 @item min-systems-per-page
810 @funindex min-systems-per-page
812 The minimum number of systems that will be placed on a page. This
813 may cause pages to be overfilled if it is made too large. This is
814 currently supported only by the @code{ly:optimal-breaking} algorithm.
817 @item systems-per-page
818 @funindex systems-per-page
820 The number of systems that should be placed on each page.
821 This is currently supported only by the @code{ly:optimal-breaking} algorithm.
825 @funindex system-count
827 The number of systems to be used for a score. Default: unset.
828 This variable can also be set in a @code{\layout} block.
837 @node \paper variables for page breaking
838 @unnumberedsubsubsec @code{\paper} variables for page breaking
840 Default values not listed here are defined in
841 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}
845 @item blank-after-score-page-force
846 @funindex blank-after-score-page-force
848 The penalty for having a blank page after the end of one score and
849 before the next. By default, this is smaller than
850 @code{blank-page-force}, so that we prefer blank pages after
851 scores to blank pages within a score.
853 @item blank-last-page-force
854 @funindex blank-last-page-force
856 The penalty for ending the score on an odd-numbered page.
858 @item blank-page-force
859 @funindex blank-page-force
861 The penalty for having a blank page in the middle of a
862 score. This is not used by @code{ly:optimal-breaking} since it will
863 never consider blank pages in the middle of a score.
866 @funindex page-breaking
868 The page-breaking algorithm to use. Choices are
869 @code{ly:minimal-breaking}, @code{ly:page-turn-breaking}, and
870 @code{ly:optimal-breaking}.
872 @item page-breaking-system-system-spacing
873 @funindex page-breaking-system-system-spacing
875 Tricks the page breaker into thinking that
876 @code{system-system-spacing} is set to something different than
877 it really is. For example, if
878 @code{page-breaking-system-system-spacing #'padding} is set to something
879 substantially larger than @code{system-system-spacing #'padding}, then the
880 page-breaker will put fewer systems on each page. Default: unset.
885 The number of pages to be used for a score, unset by default.
892 @ref{Optimal page breaking},
893 @ref{Optimal page turning},
894 @ref{Minimal page breaking}.
897 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
900 @node \paper variables for page numbering
901 @unnumberedsubsubsec @code{\paper} variables for page numbering
903 Default values not listed here are defined in
904 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}
908 @cindex page numbers, auto-numbering
909 @item auto-first-page-number
910 @funindex auto-first-page-number
912 The page breaking algorithm is affected by the first page number
913 being odd or even. If set to true, the page breaking algorithm
914 will decide whether to start with an odd or even number. This
915 will result in the first page number remaining as is or being
916 increased by one. Default: @code{#f}.
918 @cindex page numbers, specify the first
919 @item first-page-number
920 @funindex first-page-number
922 The value of the page number on the first page.
924 @item print-first-page-number
925 @funindex print-first-page-number
927 If set to true, a page number is printed on the first page.
929 @cindex page numbers, suppress
930 @item print-page-number
931 @funindex print-page-number
933 If set to false, page numbers are not printed.
939 @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}.
942 Odd page numbers are always on the right. If you want the
943 music to start on page 1 there must be a blank page on the back
944 of the cover page so that page 1 is on the right hand side.
947 @node Miscellaneous \paper variables
948 @unnumberedsubsubsec Miscellaneous @code{\paper} variables
952 @item page-spacing-weight
953 @funindex page-spacing-weight
955 The relative importance of page (vertical) spacing and line
956 (horizontal) spacing. High values will make page spacing more
957 important. Default: @code{10}.
959 @item print-all-headers
960 @funindex print-all-headers
962 If set to true, this will print all headers for each @code{\score}
963 in the output. Normally only the @code{piece} and @code{opus}
964 header variables are printed. Default: @code{#f}.
966 @item system-separator-markup
967 @funindex system-separator-markup
969 A markup object that is inserted between systems, often used for
970 orchestral scores. Default: unset. The @code{\slashSeparator}
971 markup, defined in @file{ly/titling-init.ly}, is provided as a
972 sensible default, for example:
974 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,noragged-right,line-width=30\mm]
975 #(set-default-paper-size "a8")
979 system-separator-markup = \slashSeparator
985 \relative c'' { c1 \break c1 \break c1 }
994 @file{ly/titling-init.ly}.
1000 The default page header puts the page number and the @code{instrument}
1001 field from the @code{\header} block on a line.
1005 @section Score layout
1007 This section discusses score layout options for the @code{\layout}
1011 * The \layout block::
1012 * Setting the staff size::
1016 @node The \layout block
1017 @subsection The @code{\layout} block
1021 While the @code{\paper} block contains settings that relate to the
1022 page formatting of the whole document, the @code{\layout} block
1023 contains settings for score-specific layout. To set score layout
1024 options globally, enter them in a toplevel @code{\layout} block.
1025 To set layout options for an individual score, enter them in a
1026 @code{\layout} block inside the @code{\score} block, after the
1027 music. Settings that can appear in a @code{\layout} block
1031 @item the @code{layout-set-staff-size} scheme function,
1032 @item context modifications in @code{\context} blocks, and
1033 @item @code{\paper} variables that affect score layout.
1036 The @code{layout-set-staff-size} function is discussed in the next
1037 section, @ref{Setting the staff size}. Context modifications are
1038 discussed in a separate chapter; see
1039 @ref{Modifying context plug-ins} and
1040 @ref{Changing context default settings}. The @code{\paper}
1041 variables that can appear in a @code{\layout} block are:
1046 @code{line-width}, @code{ragged-right} and @code{ragged-last}
1047 (see @ref{\paper variables for widths and margins})
1050 @code{indent} and @code{short-indent}
1051 (see @ref{\paper variables for shifts and indents})
1055 (see @ref{\paper variables for line breaking})
1059 Here is an example @code{\layout} block:
1066 \override StaffGrouper #'staff-staff-spacing #'basic-distance = #8
1070 \override TextScript #'padding = #1
1071 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
1078 @ref{Changing context default settings}.
1084 @node Setting the staff size
1085 @subsection Setting the staff size
1087 @cindex font size, setting
1088 @cindex staff size, setting
1089 @funindex layout file
1091 The default @strong{staff size} is set to 20 points.
1092 This may be changed in two ways:
1094 To set the staff size globally for all scores in a file (or
1095 in a @code{book} block, to be precise), use @code{set-global-staff-size}.
1098 #(set-global-staff-size 14)
1102 This sets the global default size to 14pt staff height and scales all
1105 To set the staff size individually for each score, use
1110 #(layout-set-staff-size 15)
1115 The Feta font provides musical symbols at eight different
1116 sizes. Each font is tuned for a different staff size: at a smaller size
1117 the font becomes heavier, to match the relatively heavier staff lines.
1118 The recommended font sizes are listed in the following table:
1121 @multitable @columnfractions .15 .2 .22 .2
1124 @tab @b{staff height (pt)}
1125 @tab @b{staff height (mm)}
1167 @c modern rental material?
1172 These fonts are available in any sizes. The context property
1173 @code{fontSize} and the layout property @code{staff-space} (in
1174 @rinternals{StaffSymbol}) can be used to tune the size for individual
1175 staves. The sizes of individual staves are relative to the global size.
1179 @ref{Selecting notation font size}.
1185 @code{layout-set-staff-size} does not change the distance between the
1195 * Optimal page breaking::
1196 * Optimal page turning::
1197 * Minimal page breaking::
1199 * Using an extra voice for breaks::
1204 @subsection Line breaking
1207 @cindex breaking lines
1209 Line breaks are normally determined automatically. They are chosen
1210 so that lines look neither cramped nor loose, and consecutive
1211 lines have similar density.
1213 To manually force a line break at a bar line, use the
1214 @code{\break} command:
1216 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,verbatim]
1221 By default, a @code{\break} in the middle of a measure is ignored,
1222 and a warning is printed. To force a line break in the middle of
1223 a measure, add an invisible bar line with @w{@samp{\bar ""}}:
1225 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,verbatim]
1232 A @code{\break} occurring at a bar line is also ignored if the
1233 previous measure ends in the middle of a note, such as when a
1234 tuplet begins and ends in different measures. To allow
1235 @code{\break} commands to work in these situations, remove the
1236 @code{Forbid_line_break_engraver} from the @code{Voice} context.
1237 Note that manually forced line breaks have to be added in parallel
1240 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1242 \remove Forbid_line_break_engraver
1245 { c2. \times 2/3 { c4 c c } c2. | }
1246 { s1 | \break s1 | }
1251 Similarly, line breaks are normally forbidden when beams cross bar
1252 lines. This behavior can be changed by setting
1253 @code{\override Beam #'breakable = ##t}:
1255 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,verbatim]
1256 \override Beam #'breakable = ##t
1261 The @code{\noBreak} command forbids a line break at the bar line
1262 where it is inserted.
1264 The most basic settings influencing line spacing are @code{indent}
1265 and @code{line-width}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block.
1266 They control the indentation of the first line of music, and the
1267 lengths of the lines.
1269 If @code{ragged-right} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block,
1270 then systems end at their natural horizontal length, instead of
1271 being spread horizontally to fill the whole line. This is useful
1272 for short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural
1275 @c TODO Check and add para on default for ragged-right
1277 The option @code{ragged-last} is similar to @code{ragged-right},
1278 but affects only the last line of the piece.
1290 @cindex regular line breaks
1291 @cindex four bar music.
1293 For line breaks at regular intervals use @code{\break} separated by
1294 skips and repeated with @code{\repeat}. For example, this would
1295 cause the following 28 measures (assuming 4/4 time) to be broken
1296 every 4 measures, and only there:
1301 s1 \noBreak s1 \noBreak
1302 s1 \noBreak s1 \break
1304 @{ @var{the actual music@dots{}} @}
1309 A linebreaking configuration can be saved as a @file{.ly} file
1310 automatically. This allows vertical alignments to be stretched to
1311 fit pages in a second formatting run. This is fairly new and
1312 complicated. More details are available in
1325 @ref{\paper variables for line breaking}.
1330 Internals Reference:
1331 @rinternals{LineBreakEvent}.
1335 @subsection Page breaking
1337 The default page breaking may be overridden by inserting
1338 @code{\pageBreak} or @code{\noPageBreak} commands. These commands are
1339 analogous to @code{\break} and @code{\noBreak}. They should be
1340 inserted at a bar line. These commands force and forbid a page-break
1341 from happening. Of course, the @code{\pageBreak} command also forces
1344 The @code{\pageBreak} and @code{\noPageBreak} commands may also be
1345 inserted at top-level, between scores and top-level markups.
1347 There are also analogous settings to @code{ragged-right} and
1348 @code{ragged-last} which have the same effect on vertical spacing:
1349 @code{ragged-bottom} and @code{ragged-last-bottom}. If set to
1350 @code{#t} the systems on all pages or just the last page
1351 respectively will not be justified vertically. See
1352 @ref{Fixed vertical spacing \paper variables}.
1354 Page breaks are computed by the @code{page-breaking} function. LilyPond
1355 provides three algorithms for computing page breaks,
1356 @code{ly:optimal-breaking}, @code{ly:page-turn-breaking} and
1357 @code{ly:minimal-breaking}. The default is @code{ly:optimal-breaking},
1358 but the value can be changed in the @code{\paper} block:
1362 page-breaking = #ly:page-turn-breaking
1368 When a book has many scores and pages, the page breaking problem may be
1369 difficult to solve, requiring large processing time and memory. To ease
1370 the page breaking process, @code{\bookpart} blocks are used to divide
1371 the book into several parts: the page breaking occurs separately on each
1372 part. Different page breaking functions may also be used in different
1378 subtitle = "Preface"
1381 %% In a part consisting mostly of text,
1382 %% ly:minimal-breaking may be preferred
1383 page-breaking = #ly:minimal-breaking
1385 \markup @{ @dots{} @}
1389 %% In this part, consisting of music, the default optimal
1390 %% page breaking function is used.
1392 subtitle = "First movement"
1394 \score @{ @dots{} @}
1401 @funindex \pageBreak
1403 @funindex \noPageBreak
1404 @code{\noPageBreak}.
1409 @ref{\paper variables for page breaking}.
1415 @node Optimal page breaking
1416 @subsection Optimal page breaking
1418 @funindex ly:optimal-breaking
1420 The @code{ly:optimal-breaking} function is LilyPond's default method of
1421 determining page breaks. It attempts to find a page breaking that minimizes
1422 cramping and stretching, both horizontally and vertically. Unlike
1423 @code{ly:page-turn-breaking}, it has no concept of page turns.
1430 @node Optimal page turning
1431 @subsection Optimal page turning
1433 @funindex ly:page-turn-breaking
1435 Often it is necessary to find a page breaking configuration so that there is
1436 a rest at the end of every second page. This way, the musician can turn the
1437 page without having to miss notes. The @code{ly:page-turn-breaking} function
1438 attempts to find a page breaking minimizing cramping and stretching, but with
1439 the additional restriction that it is only allowed to introduce page turns
1440 in specified places.
1442 There are two steps to using this page breaking function. First, you
1443 must enable it in the @code{\paper} block, as explained in @ref{Page
1444 breaking}. Then you must tell the function where you would like to allow
1447 There are two ways to achieve the second step. First, you can specify each
1448 potential page turn manually, by inserting @code{\allowPageTurn} into your
1449 input file at the appropriate places.
1451 If this is too tedious, you can add a @code{Page_turn_engraver} to a Staff or
1452 Voice context. The @code{Page_turn_engraver} will scan the context for
1453 sections without notes (note that it does not scan for rests; it scans for
1454 the absence of notes. This is so that single-staff polyphony with rests in one
1455 of the parts does not throw off the @code{Page_turn_engraver}). When it finds
1456 a sufficiently long section without notes, the @code{Page_turn_engraver} will
1457 insert an @code{\allowPageTurn} at the final bar line in that section, unless
1458 there is a @q{special} bar line (such as a double bar), in which case the
1459 @code{\allowPageTurn} will be inserted at the final @q{special} bar line in
1462 @funindex minimumPageTurnLength
1463 The @code{Page_turn_engraver} reads the context property
1464 @code{minimumPageTurnLength} to determine how long a note-free section must
1465 be before a page turn is considered. The default value for
1466 @code{minimumPageTurnLength} is @code{(ly:make-moment 1 1)}. If you want
1467 to disable page turns, you can set it to something very large.
1470 \new Staff \with @{ \consists "Page_turn_engraver" @}
1473 R1 | % a page turn will be allowed here
1475 \set Staff.minimumPageTurnLength = #(ly:make-moment 5 2)
1476 R1 | % a page turn will not be allowed here
1478 R1*2 | % a page turn will be allowed here
1483 @funindex minimumRepeatLengthForPageTurn
1484 The @code{Page_turn_engraver} detects volta repeats. It will only allow a page
1485 turn during the repeat if there is enough time at the beginning and end of the
1486 repeat to turn the page back. The @code{Page_turn_engraver} can also disable
1487 page turns if the repeat is very short. If you set the context property
1488 @code{minimumRepeatLengthForPageTurn} then the @code{Page_turn_engraver} will
1489 only allow turns in repeats whose duration is longer than this value.
1491 The page turning commands, @code{\pageTurn}, @code{\noPageTurn} and
1492 @code{\allowPageTurn}, may also be used at top-level, between scores and
1498 @funindex \noPageTurn
1500 @funindex \allowPageTurn
1501 @code{\allowPageTurn}.
1509 There should only be one @code{Page_turn_engraver} in a score. If there is more
1510 than one, they will interfere with each other.
1513 @node Minimal page breaking
1514 @subsection Minimal page breaking
1516 @funindex ly:minimal-breaking
1518 The @code{ly:minimal-breaking} function performs minimal computations to
1519 calculate the page breaking: it fills a page with as many systems as
1520 possible before moving to the next one. Thus, it may be preferred for
1521 scores with many pages, where the other page breaking functions could be
1522 too slow or memory demanding, or a lot of texts. It is enabled using:
1526 page-breaking = #ly:minimal-breaking
1535 @node Explicit breaks
1536 @subsection Explicit breaks
1538 Lily sometimes rejects explicit @code{\break} and @code{\pageBreak}
1539 commands. There are two commands to override this behavior:
1542 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-permission = ##f
1543 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'page-break-permission = ##f
1546 When @code{line-break-permission} is overridden to false, Lily will insert
1547 line breaks at explicit @code{\break} commands and nowhere else. When
1548 @code{page-break-permission} is overridden to false, Lily will insert
1549 page breaks at explicit @code{\pageBreak} commands and nowhere else.
1551 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1558 music = \relative c'' { c8 c c c }
1562 \repeat unfold 2 { \music } \break
1563 \repeat unfold 4 { \music } \break
1564 \repeat unfold 6 { \music } \break
1565 \repeat unfold 8 { \music } \pageBreak
1566 \repeat unfold 8 { \music } \break
1567 \repeat unfold 6 { \music } \break
1568 \repeat unfold 4 { \music } \break
1569 \repeat unfold 2 { \music }
1574 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-permission = ##f
1575 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'page-break-permission = ##f
1586 @node Using an extra voice for breaks
1587 @subsection Using an extra voice for breaks
1589 Line- and page-breaking information usually appears within note entry directly.
1592 music = \relative c'' @{ c4 c c c @}
1596 \repeat unfold 2 @{ \music @} \break
1597 \repeat unfold 3 @{ \music @}
1602 This makes @code{\break} and @code{\pageBreak} commands easy to enter but mixes
1603 music entry with information that specifies how music should lay out
1604 on the page. You can keep music entry and line- and page-breaking
1605 information in two separate places by introducing an extra voice to
1606 contain the breaks. This extra voice
1607 contains only skips together with @code{\break}, @code{pageBreak} and other
1608 breaking layout information.
1610 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1611 music = \relative c'' { c4 c c c }
1622 \repeat unfold 2 { \music }
1623 \repeat unfold 3 { \music }
1624 \repeat unfold 6 { \music }
1625 \repeat unfold 5 { \music }
1631 This pattern becomes especially helpful when overriding
1632 @code{line-break-system-details} and the other useful but long properties of
1633 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumnGrob}, as explained in @ref{Vertical spacing}.
1635 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1636 music = \relative c'' { c4 c c c }
1641 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1642 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 0))
1645 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1646 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 35))
1649 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1650 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 70))
1653 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1654 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 105))
1658 \repeat unfold 2 { \music }
1659 \repeat unfold 3 { \music }
1660 \repeat unfold 6 { \music }
1661 \repeat unfold 5 { \music }
1669 @ref{Vertical spacing}.
1675 @node Vertical spacing
1676 @section Vertical spacing
1678 @cindex vertical spacing
1679 @cindex spacing, vertical
1681 Vertical spacing is controlled by three things: the amount of
1682 space available (i.e., paper size and margins), the amount of
1683 space between systems, and the amount of space between
1684 staves inside a system.
1687 * Flexible vertical spacing within systems::
1688 * Explicit staff and system positioning::
1689 * Vertical collision avoidance::
1693 @node Flexible vertical spacing within systems
1694 @subsection Flexible vertical spacing within systems
1696 @cindex distance between staves
1697 @cindex staff distance
1698 @cindex space between staves
1699 @cindex space inside systems
1701 Three separate mechanisms control the flexible vertical spacing
1702 within systems, one for each of the following categories:
1707 @emph{ungrouped staves},
1710 @emph{grouped staves} (staves within a staff-group such as
1711 @code{ChoirStaff}, etc.), and
1714 @emph{non-staff lines} (such as @code{Lyrics}, @code{ChordNames},
1719 @c TODO: Clarify this. This almost implies that non-staff lines
1720 @c have NO effect on the spacing between staves. -mp
1722 The height of each system is determined in two steps. First, all
1723 of the staves are spaced according to the amount of space
1724 available. Then, the non-staff lines are distributed between the
1727 Note that the spacing mechanisms discussed in this section only
1728 control the vertical spacing of staves and non-staff lines within
1729 individual systems. The vertical spacing between separate
1730 systems, scores, markups, and margins is controlled by
1731 @code{\paper} variables, which are discussed in
1732 @ref{Flexible vertical spacing \paper variables}.
1735 * Within-system spacing properties::
1736 * Spacing of ungrouped staves::
1737 * Spacing of grouped staves::
1738 * Spacing of non-staff lines::
1742 @node Within-system spacing properties
1743 @unnumberedsubsubsec Within-system spacing properties
1745 @funindex staff-affinity
1746 @funindex staffgroup-staff-spacing
1747 @funindex staff-staff-spacing
1748 @funindex nonstaff-unrelatedstaff-spacing
1749 @funindex nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing
1750 @funindex nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing
1751 @funindex default-staff-staff-spacing
1752 @funindex minimum-Y-extent
1753 @funindex extra-offset
1754 @funindex self-alignment-X
1756 @funindex VerticalAxisGroup
1758 The within-system vertical spacing mechanisms are controlled by
1759 two sets of grob properties. The first set is associated with the
1760 @code{VerticalAxisGroup} grob, which is created by all staves and
1761 non-staff lines. The second set is associated with the
1762 @code{StaffGrouper} grob, which can be created by staff-groups,
1763 but only if explicitly called. These properties are described
1764 individually at the end of this section.
1766 The names of these properties (except for @code{staff-affinity})
1767 follow the format @code{@var{item1}-@var{item2}-spacing}, where
1768 @code{@var{item1}} and @code{@var{item2}} are the items to be
1769 spaced. Note that @code{@var{item2}} is not necessarily below
1770 @code{@var{item1}}; for example,
1771 @code{nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing} will measure upwards from the
1772 non-staff line if @code{staff-affinity} is @code{UP}.
1774 Each distance is measured between the @emph{reference points} of
1775 the two items. The reference point for a staff is the vertical
1776 center of its @code{StaffSymbol} (i.e. the middle line if
1777 @code{line-count} is odd; the middle space if @code{line-count} is
1778 even). The reference points for individual non-staff lines are
1779 given in the following table:
1781 @multitable {Non-staff line} {Reference point}
1782 @headitem Non-staff line @tab Reference point
1783 @item @code{ChordNames} @tab baseline
1784 @item @code{NoteNames} @tab baseline
1785 @item @code{Lyrics} @tab baseline
1786 @item @code{Dynamics} @tab vertical center
1787 @item @code{FiguredBass} @tab highest point
1788 @item @code{FretBoards} @tab top line
1791 In the following image, horizontal lines indicate the positions
1792 of these reference points:
1794 @lilypond[quote,noragged-right,line-width=110\mm]
1795 #(define zero-space '((padding . -inf.0) (basic-distance . 0)))
1797 alignToZero = \with {
1798 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing = #zero-space
1799 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing = #zero-space
1801 lowerCaseChords = \with {
1802 chordNameLowercaseMinor = ##t
1804 staffAffinityDown = \with {
1805 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'staff-affinity = #DOWN
1808 #(define-music-function
1809 (parser location context)
1811 #{ s1*0^\markup { \typewriter #context } #})
1814 \context { \Dynamics \alignToZero }
1815 \context { \FiguredBass \alignToZero }
1816 \context { \Lyrics \alignToZero }
1817 \context { \NoteNames \alignToZero \staffAffinityDown }
1818 \context { \ChordNames \alignToZero
1821 \context { \FretBoards \alignToZero \staffAffinityDown }
1823 \override BarLine #'stencil = ##f
1824 \override DynamicText #'self-alignment-X = #-1
1825 \override FretBoard #'X-offset = #1.75
1826 \override InstrumentName #'minimum-Y-extent = #'(-2 . 2)
1827 \override InstrumentName #'extra-offset = #'(0 . -0.5)
1828 \override TextScript #'minimum-Y-extent = #'(-2 . 3)
1829 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1833 %% These contexts have reference points at the baseline:
1834 %% ChordNames, NoteNames, and Lyrics
1836 \new ChordNames { \chords { g1:m } }
1837 \new NoteNames { s1 | g1 | }
1838 \new RhythmicStaff {
1839 \set RhythmicStaff.instrumentName = #"baseline "
1841 \labelContext "ChordNames " s1 |
1842 \labelContext "NoteNames " s1 |
1843 \labelContext "Lyrics" s1 |
1845 \new Lyrics { \lyrics { \skip 1*2 | ghijk1 | } }
1848 %% The reference point for Dynamics is its vertical center
1850 \new RhythmicStaff {
1851 \set RhythmicStaff.instrumentName = #"vertical center "
1852 \labelContext "Dynamics" s1*3
1854 \new Dynamics { s1\mp s\fp }
1857 %% The reference point for FiguredBass is its highest point
1859 \new RhythmicStaff {
1860 \set RhythmicStaff.instrumentName = #"highest point "
1861 \labelContext "FiguredBass" s1
1863 \new FiguredBass { \figuremode { <6 5>1 } }
1866 %% The reference point for FretBoards is the top line
1867 \include "predefined-guitar-fretboards.ly"
1869 \new FretBoards { \chordmode { e1 } }
1870 \new RhythmicStaff {
1871 \set RhythmicStaff.instrumentName = #"top line "
1872 \labelContext "FretBoards " s1
1877 Each of the vertical spacing grob properties (except
1878 @code{staff-affinity}) uses the same alist structure as the
1879 @code{\paper} spacing variables discussed in
1880 @ref{Flexible vertical spacing \paper variables}. Specific methods
1881 for modifying alists are discussed in @ref{Modifying alists}.
1882 Grob properties should be adjusted with an @code{\override} inside
1883 a @code{\score} or @code{\layout} block, and not inside a
1884 @code{\paper} block.
1886 The following example demonstrates the two ways these alists can
1887 be modified. The first declaration updates one key-value
1888 individually, and the second completely re-defines the property:
1892 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'default-staff-staff-spacing
1893 #'basic-distance = #10
1897 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'default-staff-staff-spacing =
1898 #'((basic-distance . 10)
1899 (minimum-distance . 9)
1901 (stretchability . 10))
1905 To change any spacing settings globally, put them in the
1906 @code{\layout} block:
1912 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'default-staff-staff-spacing
1913 #'basic-distance = #10
1918 Standard settings for the vertical spacing grob properties are
1919 listed in @rinternals{VerticalAxisGroup} and
1920 @rinternals{StaffGrouper}. Default overrides for specific types
1921 of non-staff lines are listed in the relevant context descriptions
1922 in @rinternals{Contexts}.
1925 @subsubheading Properties of the @code{VerticalAxisGroup} grob
1927 @code{VerticalAxisGroup} properties are typically adjusted with an
1928 @code{\override} at the @code{Staff} level (or equivalent).
1931 @item staff-staff-spacing
1933 Used to determine the distance between the current staff and the
1934 staff just below it in the same system, even if one or more
1935 non-staff lines (such as @code{Lyrics}) are placed between the two
1936 staves. Does not apply to the bottom staff of a system.
1938 Initially, the @code{staff-staff-spacing} of a
1939 @code{VerticalAxisGroup} is a Scheme function that applies the
1940 properties of the @code{StaffGrouper} if the staff is part of a
1941 group, or the @code{default-staff-staff-spacing} of the staff
1942 otherwise. This allows staves to be spaced differently when they
1943 are grouped. For uniform spacing regardless of grouping, this
1944 function may be replaced by a flexible-spacing alist, using the
1945 complete-redefinition form of override shown above.
1947 @item default-staff-staff-spacing
1948 A flexible-spacing alist defining the @code{staff-staff-spacing} used for
1949 ungrouped staves, unless @code{staff-staff-spacing} has been explicitly
1950 set with an @code{\override}.
1952 @item staff-affinity
1953 The direction of the staff to use for spacing the current
1954 non-staff line. Choices are @code{UP}, @code{DOWN}, and
1955 @code{CENTER}. If @code{CENTER}, the non-staff line will be
1956 placed equidistant between the two nearest staves on either side,
1957 unless collisions or other spacing constraints prevent this.
1958 Adjacent non-staff lines should have non-increasing
1959 @code{staff-affinity} from top to bottom, e.g. a non-staff line
1960 set to @code{UP} should not immediately follow one that is set to
1961 @code{DOWN}. Non-staff lines at the top of a system should use
1962 @code{DOWN}; those at the bottom should use @code{UP}. Setting
1963 @code{staff-affinity} for a staff causes it to be treated as a
1964 non-staff line. Setting @code{staff-affinity} to @code{#f} causes
1965 a non-staff line to be treated as a staff. Setting
1966 @code{staff-affinity} to @code{UP}, @code{CENTER}, or @code{DOWN}
1967 causes a staff to be spaced as a non-staff line.
1969 @item nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing
1970 The distance between the current non-staff line and the nearest
1971 staff in the direction of @code{staff-affinity}, if there are no
1972 non-staff lines between the two, and @code{staff-affinity} is
1973 either @code{UP} or @code{DOWN}. If @code{staff-affinity} is
1974 @code{CENTER}, then @code{nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing} is used
1975 for the nearest staves on @emph{both} sides, even if other
1976 non-staff lines appear between the current one and either of the
1977 staves. This means that the placement of a non-staff line depends
1978 on both the surrounding staves and the surrounding non-staff lines.
1979 Setting the @code{stretchability} of one of these types of spacing to
1980 a small value will make that spacing dominate. Setting the
1981 @code{stretchability} to a large value will make that spacing have
1984 @item nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing
1985 The distance between the current non-staff line and the next
1986 non-staff line in the direction of @code{staff-affinity}, if both
1987 are on the same side of the related staff, and
1988 @code{staff-affinity} is either @code{UP} or @code{DOWN}.
1990 @item nonstaff-unrelatedstaff-spacing
1991 The distance between the current non-staff line and the staff in
1992 the opposite direction from @code{staff-affinity}, if there are no
1993 other non-staff lines between the two, and @code{staff-affinity}
1994 is either @code{UP} or @code{DOWN}. This can be used, for
1995 example, to require a minimum amount of padding between a
1996 @code{Lyrics} line and the staff to which it does not belong.
2000 @subsubheading Properties of the @code{StaffGrouper} grob
2002 @code{StaffGrouper} properties are typically adjusted with an
2003 @code{\override} at the @code{StaffGroup} level (or equivalent).
2006 @item staff-staff-spacing
2007 The distance between consecutive staves within the current
2008 staff-group. The @code{staff-staff-spacing} property of an
2009 individual staff's @code{VerticalAxisGroup} grob can be
2010 overriden with different spacing settings for that staff.
2012 @item staffgroup-staff-spacing
2013 The distance between the last staff of the current staff-group and
2014 the staff just below it in the same system, even if one or more
2015 non-staff lines (such as @code{Lyrics}) exist between the two
2016 staves. Does not apply to the bottom staff of a system. The
2017 @code{staff-staff-spacing} property of an individual staff's
2018 @code{VerticalAxisGroup} grob can be overriden with different
2019 spacing settings for that staff.
2024 @ref{Flexible vertical spacing \paper variables},
2025 @ref{Modifying alists}.
2028 @file{ly/engraver-init.ly},
2029 @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}.
2031 Internals Reference:
2032 @rinternals{Contexts},
2033 @rinternals{VerticalAxisGroup},
2034 @rinternals{StaffGrouper}.
2037 @node Spacing of ungrouped staves
2038 @unnumberedsubsubsec Spacing of ungrouped staves
2040 @emph{Staves} (such as @code{Staff}, @code{DrumStaff},
2041 @code{TabStaff}, etc.) are contexts that can contain one or more
2042 voice contexts, but cannot contain any other staves.
2044 The following properties affect the spacing of @emph{ungrouped}
2048 @item @code{VerticalAxisGroup} properties:
2050 @item @code{default-staff-staff-spacing}
2051 @item @code{staff-staff-spacing}
2055 These grob properties are described individually above; see
2056 @ref{Within-system spacing properties}.
2058 Additional properties are involved for staves that are part of a
2059 staff-group; see @ref{Spacing of grouped staves}.
2061 The following example shows how the @code{default-staff-staff-spacing}
2062 property can affect the spacing of ungrouped staves.
2063 The same overrides applied to @code{staff-staff-spacing} would
2064 have the same effect, but would also apply in cases where the staves
2065 are combined in a group or groups.
2067 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,staffsize=16]
2071 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'default-staff-staff-spacing =
2072 #'((basic-distance . 8)
2073 (minimum-distance . 7)
2079 % The very low note here needs more room than 'basic-distance
2080 % can provide, so the distance between this staff and the next
2081 % is determined by 'padding.
2082 \new Staff { b,2 r | }
2084 % Here, 'basic-distance provides enough room, and there is no
2085 % need to compress the space (towards 'minimum-distance) to make
2086 % room for anything else on the page, so the distance between
2087 % this staff and the next is determined by 'basic-distance.
2088 \new Staff { \clef bass g2 r | }
2090 % By setting 'padding to a negative value, staves can be made to
2091 % collide. The lowest acceptable value for 'basic-distance is 0.
2093 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'default-staff-staff-spacing =
2094 #'((basic-distance . 3.5)
2096 } { \clef bass g2 r | }
2097 \new Staff { \clef bass g2 r | }
2103 @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}.
2108 Internals Reference:
2109 @rinternals{VerticalAxisGroup}.
2112 @node Spacing of grouped staves
2113 @unnumberedsubsubsec Spacing of grouped staves
2115 In orchestral and other large scores, it is common to place staves
2116 in groups. The space between groups is typically larger than the
2117 space between staves of the same group.
2119 @emph{Staff-groups} (such as @code{StaffGroup}, @code{ChoirStaff},
2120 etc.) are contexts that can contain one or more staves
2123 The following properties affect the spacing of staves inside
2127 @item @code{VerticalAxisGroup} properties:
2129 @item @code{staff-staff-spacing}
2131 @item @code{StaffGrouper} properties:
2133 @item @code{staff-staff-spacing}
2134 @item @code{staffgroup-staff-spacing}
2138 These grob properties are described individually above; see
2139 @ref{Within-system spacing properties}.
2141 The following example shows how properties of the
2142 @code{StaffGrouper} grob can affect the spacing of grouped staves:
2144 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,staffsize=16]
2148 \override StaffGrouper #'staff-staff-spacing #'padding = #0
2149 \override StaffGrouper #'staff-staff-spacing #'basic-distance = #1
2154 \new PianoStaff \with {
2155 \override StaffGrouper #'staffgroup-staff-spacing #'basic-distance = #20
2170 @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}.
2175 Internals Reference:
2176 @rinternals{VerticalAxisGroup},
2177 @rinternals{StaffGrouper}.
2180 @node Spacing of non-staff lines
2181 @unnumberedsubsubsec Spacing of non-staff lines
2183 @emph{Non-staff lines} (such as @code{Lyrics}, @code{ChordNames},
2184 etc.) are contexts whose layout objects are engraved like staves
2185 (i.e. in horizontal lines within systems). Specifically,
2186 non-staff lines are non-staff contexts that create the
2187 @code{VerticalAxisGroup} layout object.
2189 The following properties affect the spacing of non-staff lines:
2192 @item @code{VerticalAxisGroup} properties:
2194 @item @code{staff-affinity}
2195 @item @code{nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing}
2196 @item @code{nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing}
2197 @item @code{nonstaff-unrelatedstaff-spacing}
2201 These grob properties are described individually above; see
2202 @ref{Within-system spacing properties}.
2204 The following example shows how the
2205 @code{nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing} property can affect the spacing
2206 of consecutive non-staff lines. Here, by setting the
2207 @code{stretchability} key to a very high value, the lyrics are
2208 able to stretch much more than usual:
2210 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,staffsize=16]
2214 \override VerticalAxisGroup
2215 #'nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing #'stretchability = #1000
2222 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'staff-staff-spacing = #'((basic-distance . 30))
2225 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'staff-affinity = #UP
2228 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'staff-affinity = #CENTER
2229 } \lyricmode { center }
2231 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'staff-affinity = #DOWN
2232 } \lyricmode { down }
2239 @file{ly/engraver-init.ly},
2240 @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}.
2245 @c @lsr{spacing,page-spacing.ly},
2246 @c @lsr{spacing,alignment-vertical-spacing.ly}.
2248 Internals Reference:
2249 @rinternals{Contexts},
2250 @rinternals{VerticalAxisGroup}.
2253 @node Explicit staff and system positioning
2254 @subsection Explicit staff and system positioning
2256 One way to understand the flexible vertical spacing mechanisms
2257 explained above is as a collection of settings that control the
2258 amount of vertical padding between staves and systems.
2260 It is possible to approach vertical spacing in a different way
2261 using @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details}.
2262 While the flexible vertical spacing mechanisms specify vertical
2263 padding, @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details}
2264 can specify exact vertical positions on the page.
2266 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details} accepts
2267 an associative list of three different settings:
2270 @item @code{X-offset}
2271 @item @code{Y-offset}
2272 @item @code{alignment-distances}
2275 Grob overrides, including the overrides for @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn}
2276 below, can occur in any of three different places in an input file:
2279 @item in the middle of note entry directly
2280 @item in a @code{\context} block
2281 @item in the @code{\with} block
2284 When we override @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn}, we use the usual
2285 @code{\override} command in @code{\context} blocks and in the
2286 @code{\with} block. On the other hand, when we override
2287 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} in the middle of note entry,
2288 use the special @code{\overrideProperty} command. Here are some
2289 example @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} overrides with the special
2290 @code{\overrideProperty} command:
2293 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
2294 #'line-break-system-details #'((X-offset . 20))
2296 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
2297 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 40))
2299 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
2300 #'line-break-system-details #'((X-offset . 20)
2303 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
2304 #'line-break-system-details #'((alignment-distances . (15)))
2306 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
2307 #'line-break-system-details #'((X-offset . 20)
2309 (alignment-distances . (15)))
2312 To understand how each of these different settings work, we begin
2313 by looking at an example that includes no overrides at all.
2315 @c \book { } is required in these examples to ensure the spacing
2316 @c overrides can be seen between systems. -np
2318 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,staffsize=16]
2319 \header { tagline = ##f }
2320 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
2330 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
2333 \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' }
2340 This score isolates line- and page-breaking information in a dedicated
2341 voice. This technique of creating a breaks voice will help keep layout
2342 separate from music entry as our example becomes more complicated.
2343 See @ref{Using an extra voice for breaks}.
2345 Explicit @code{\breaks} evenly divide the music into six measures per
2346 line. Vertical spacing results from LilyPond's defaults. To set
2347 the vertical startpoint of each system explicitly, we can set
2348 the @code{Y-offset} pair in the @code{line-break-system-details}
2349 attribute of the @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} grob:
2351 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,staffsize=16]
2352 \header { tagline = ##f }
2353 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
2359 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2360 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 0))
2362 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2363 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 40))
2365 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2366 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 80))
2369 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
2372 \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' }
2379 Note that @code{line-break-system-details} takes an associative list of
2380 potentially many values, but that we set only one value here. Note,
2381 too, that the @code{Y-offset} property here determines the exact vertical
2382 position on the page at which each new system will render.
2384 Now that we have set the vertical startpoint of each system
2385 explicitly, we can also set the vertical distances between staves
2386 within each system manually. We do this using the @code{alignment-distances}
2387 subproperty of @code{line-break-system-details}.
2389 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,staffsize=16]
2390 \header { tagline = ##f }
2391 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
2397 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2398 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 20)
2399 (alignment-distances . (15)))
2401 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2402 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 60)
2403 (alignment-distances . (15)))
2405 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2406 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 100)
2407 (alignment-distances . (15)))
2410 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
2413 \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' }
2420 Note that here we assign two different values to the
2421 @code{line-break-system-details} attribute of the
2422 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} grob. Though the
2423 @code{line-break-system-details} attribute alist accepts many
2424 additional spacing parameters (including, for example, a corresponding
2425 @code{X-offset} pair), we need only set the @code{Y-offset} and
2426 @code{alignment-distances} pairs to control the vertical startpoint of
2427 every system and every staff. Finally, note that @code{alignment-distances}
2428 specifies the vertical positioning of staves but not of staff groups.
2430 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,staffsize=16]
2431 \header { tagline = ##f }
2432 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
2438 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2439 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 0)
2440 (alignment-distances . (30 10)))
2442 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2443 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 60)
2444 (alignment-distances . (10 10)))
2446 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
2447 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 100)
2448 (alignment-distances . (10 30)))
2451 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
2454 \new Staff { \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' } }
2455 \new Staff { \repeat unfold 15 { e'4 e' e' e' } }
2462 Some points to consider:
2465 @item When using @code{alignment-distances}, lyrics and other non-staff lines
2466 do not count as a staff.
2468 @item The units of the numbers passed to @code{X-offset},
2469 @code{Y-offset} and @code{alignment-distances} are interpreted as multiples
2470 of the distance between adjacent staff lines. Positive values move staves
2471 and lyrics up, negative values move staves and lyrics down.
2473 @item Because the @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details}
2474 settings given here allow the positioning of staves and systems anywhere
2475 on the page, it is possible to violate paper or margin boundaries or even
2476 to print staves or systems on top of one another. Reasonable values
2477 passed to these different settings will avoid this.
2485 @node Vertical collision avoidance
2486 @subsection Vertical collision avoidance
2488 @funindex outside-staff-priority
2489 @funindex outside-staff-padding
2490 @funindex outside-staff-horizontal-padding
2492 Intuitively, there are some objects in musical notation that belong
2493 to the staff and there are other objects that should be placed outside
2494 the staff. Objects belonging outside the staff include things such as
2495 rehearsal marks, text and dynamic markings (from now on, these will
2496 be called outside-staff objects). LilyPond's rule for the
2497 vertical placement of outside-staff objects is to place them as close
2498 to the staff as possible but not so close that they collide with
2501 LilyPond uses the @code{outside-staff-priority} property to determine
2502 whether a grob is an outside-staff object: if @code{outside-staff-priority}
2503 is a number, the grob is an outside-staff object. In addition,
2504 @code{outside-staff-priority} tells LilyPond in which order the objects
2507 First, LilyPond places all the objects that do not belong outside
2508 the staff. Then it sorts the outside-staff objects according to their
2509 @code{outside-staff-priority} (in increasing order). One by one, LilyPond
2510 takes the outside-staff objects and places them so that they do
2511 not collide with any objects that have already been placed. That
2512 is, if two outside-staff grobs are competing for the same space, the one
2513 with the lower @code{outside-staff-priority} will be placed closer to
2516 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,verbatim]
2519 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = #1
2520 c4_"Text"\pp % this time the text will be closer to the staff
2522 % by setting outside-staff-priority to a non-number,
2523 % we disable the automatic collision avoidance
2524 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2525 \once \override DynamicLineSpanner #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2526 c4_"Text"\pp % now they will collide
2529 The vertical padding between an outside-staff object and the
2530 previously-positioned grobs can be controlled with
2531 @code{outside-staff-padding}.
2533 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,verbatim]
2534 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-padding = #0
2535 a'^"This text is placed very close to the note"
2536 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-padding = #3
2537 c^"This text is padded away from the previous text"
2538 c^"This text is placed close to the previous text"
2542 By default, outside-staff objects are placed only to avoid
2543 a horizontal collision with previously-positioned grobs. This
2544 can lead to situations in which objects are placed very close to each
2545 other horizontally. The vertical spacing between staves can
2546 also be set so that outside staff objects are interleaved.
2547 Setting @code{outside-staff-horizontal-padding}
2548 causes an object to be offset vertically so that such a situation
2551 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,verbatim]
2552 % the markup is too close to the following note
2556 % setting outside-staff-horizontal-padding fixes this
2558 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-horizontal-padding = #1
2569 @node Horizontal spacing
2570 @section Horizontal spacing
2572 @cindex horizontal spacing
2573 @cindex spacing, horizontal
2576 * Horizontal spacing overview::
2577 * New spacing area::
2578 * Changing horizontal spacing::
2580 * Proportional notation::
2584 @node Horizontal spacing overview
2585 @subsection Horizontal spacing overview
2587 The spacing engine translates differences in durations into stretchable
2588 distances (@q{springs}) of differing lengths. Longer durations get
2589 more space, shorter durations get less. The shortest durations get a
2590 fixed amount of space (which is controlled by
2591 @code{shortest-duration-space} in the @rinternals{SpacingSpanner}
2592 object). The longer the duration, the more space it gets: doubling a
2593 duration adds a fixed amount (this amount is controlled by
2594 @code{spacing-increment}) of space to the note.
2596 For example, the following piece contains lots of half, quarter, and
2597 8th notes; the eighth note is followed by 1 note head width (NHW).
2598 The quarter note is followed by 2 NHW, the half by 3 NHW, etc.
2600 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=1]
2601 c2 c4. c8 c4. c8 c4. c8 c8
2605 Normally, @code{spacing-increment} is set to 1.2 staff space, which is
2606 approximately the width of a note head, and
2607 @code{shortest-duration-space} is set to 2.0, meaning that the
2608 shortest note gets 2.4 staff space (2.0 times the
2609 @code{spacing-increment}) of horizontal space. This space is counted
2610 from the left edge of the symbol, so the shortest notes are generally
2611 followed by one NHW of space.
2613 If one would follow the above procedure exactly, then adding a single
2614 32nd note to a score that uses 8th and 16th notes, would widen up the
2615 entire score a lot. The shortest note is no longer a 16th, but a 32nd,
2616 thus adding 1 NHW to every note. To prevent this, the shortest
2617 duration for spacing is not the shortest note in the score, but rather
2618 the one which occurs most frequently.
2621 The most common shortest duration is determined as follows: in every
2622 measure, the shortest duration is determined. The most common shortest
2623 duration is taken as the basis for the spacing, with the stipulation
2624 that this shortest duration should always be equal to or shorter than
2625 an 8th note. The shortest duration is printed when you run
2626 @code{lilypond} with the @option{--verbose} option.
2628 These durations may also be customized. If you set the
2629 @code{common-shortest-duration} in @rinternals{SpacingSpanner}, then
2630 this sets the base duration for spacing. The maximum duration for this
2631 base (normally an 8th), is set through @code{base-shortest-duration}.
2633 @funindex common-shortest-duration
2634 @funindex base-shortest-duration
2635 @funindex stem-spacing-correction
2638 Notes that are even shorter than the common shortest note are
2639 followed by a space that is proportional to their duration relative to
2640 the common shortest note. So if we were to add only a few 16th notes
2641 to the example above, they would be followed by half a NHW:
2643 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
2644 c2 c4. c8 c4. c16[ c] c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
2648 In the @emph{Essay on automated music engraving}, it was explained
2649 that stem directions influence spacing (see
2650 @ressay{Optical spacing}). This is controlled with the
2651 @code{stem-spacing-correction} property in the
2652 @rinternals{NoteSpacing}, object. These are generated for every
2653 @rinternals{Voice} context. The @code{StaffSpacing} object
2654 (generated in @rinternals{Staff} context) contains the same
2655 property for controlling the stem/bar line spacing. The following
2656 example shows these corrections, once with default settings, and
2657 once with exaggerated corrections:
2659 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
2663 \override Staff.NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
2664 \override Staff.StaffSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
2670 Proportional notation is supported; see @ref{Proportional notation}.
2673 Essay on automated music engraving:
2674 @ressay{Optical spacing}.
2679 Internals Reference:
2680 @rinternals{SpacingSpanner},
2681 @rinternals{NoteSpacing},
2682 @rinternals{StaffSpacing},
2683 @rinternals{NonMusicalPaperColumn}.
2686 There is no convenient mechanism to manually override spacing. The
2687 following work-around may be used to insert extra space into a score,
2688 adjusting the padding value as necessary.
2691 \override Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn #'padding = #10
2694 No work-around exists for decreasing the amount of space.
2697 @node New spacing area
2698 @subsection New spacing area
2700 New sections with different spacing parameters can be started with
2701 @code{newSpacingSection}. This is useful when there are
2702 sections with a different notions of long and short notes.
2704 In the following example, the time signature change introduces a new
2705 section, and hence the 16ths notes are spaced wider.
2707 @lilypond[relative=1,verbatim,quote]
2710 c8 c c4 c16[ c c8] c4
2716 The @code{\newSpacingSection} command creates a new
2717 @code{SpacingSpanner} object, and hence new @code{\override}s
2718 may be used in that location.
2724 Internals Reference:
2725 @rinternals{SpacingSpanner}.
2728 @node Changing horizontal spacing
2729 @subsection Changing horizontal spacing
2731 Horizontal spacing may be altered with the
2732 @code{base-shortest-duration} property. Here
2733 we compare the same music; once without altering
2734 the property, and then altered. Larger values
2735 of @code{ly:make-moment} will produce smaller
2736 music. Note that @code{ly:make-moment} constructs
2737 a duration, so @code{1 4} is a longer duration
2740 @lilypond[verbatim,line-width=12\cm]
2743 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 d e f | g4 g g2 |
2744 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2745 d4 d d d | d4 e f2 | e4 e e e | e4 f g2 |
2746 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2751 @lilypond[verbatim,line-width=12\cm]
2754 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 d e f | g4 g g2 |
2755 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2756 d4 d d d | d4 e f2 | e4 e e e | e4 f g2 |
2757 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2762 \override SpacingSpanner
2763 #'base-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
2772 By default, spacing in tuplets depends on various non-duration
2773 factors (such as accidentals, clef changes, etc). To disregard
2774 such symbols and force uniform equal-duration spacing, use
2775 @code{Score.SpacingSpanner #'uniform-stretching}. This
2776 property can only be changed at the beginning of a score,
2778 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2797 \override SpacingSpanner #'uniform-stretching = ##t
2803 When @code{strict-note-spacing} is set, notes are spaced without
2804 regard for clefs, bar lines, and grace notes,
2806 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,verbatim]
2807 \override Score.SpacingSpanner #'strict-note-spacing = ##t
2808 \new Staff { c8[ c \clef alto c \grace { c16[ c] } c8 c c] c32[ c32] }
2817 @subsection Line length
2820 @cindex breaking pages
2823 @funindex line-width
2824 @funindex ragged-right
2825 @funindex ragged-last
2827 @c Although line-width can be set in \layout, it should be set in paper
2828 @c block, to get page layout right.
2829 @c Setting indent in \paper block makes not much sense, but it works.
2831 @c Bit verbose and vague, use examples?
2832 The most basic settings influencing the spacing are @code{indent} and
2833 @code{line-width}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block. They
2834 control the indentation of the first line of music, and the lengths of
2837 If @code{ragged-right} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block, then
2838 systems ends at their natural horizontal length, instead of being spread
2839 horizontally to fill the whole line. This is useful for
2840 short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural spacing is.
2841 The normal default setting is false, but if the score has only one
2842 system the default value is true.
2845 @cindex vertical spacing
2847 The option @code{ragged-last} is similar to @code{ragged-right}, but
2848 only affects the last line of the piece. No restrictions are put on
2849 that line. The result is similar to formatting text paragraphs. In a
2850 paragraph, the last line simply takes its natural horizontal length.
2851 @c Note that for text there are several options for the last line.
2852 @c While Knuth TeX uses natural length, lead typesetters use the same
2853 @c stretch as the previous line. eTeX uses \lastlinefit to
2854 @c interpolate between both these solutions.
2869 @node Proportional notation
2870 @subsection Proportional notation
2872 LilyPond supports proportional notation, a type of horizontal spacing
2873 in which each note consumes an amount of horizontal space exactly
2874 equivalent to its rhythmic duration. This type of proportional spacing
2875 is comparable to horizontal spacing on top of graph paper. Some late
2876 20th- and early 21st-century scores use proportional notation to
2877 clarify complex rhythmic relationships or to facilitate the placement
2878 of timelines or other graphics directly in the score.
2880 LilyPond supports five different settings for proportional notation,
2881 which may be used together or alone:
2884 @item @code{proportionalNotationDuration}
2885 @item @code{uniform-stretching}
2886 @item @code{strict-note-spacing}
2887 @item @code{\remove Separating_line_group_engraver}
2888 @item @code{\override PaperColumn #'used = ##t}
2891 In the examples that follow, we explore these five different
2892 proportional notation settings and examine how these settings interact.
2894 We start with the following one-measure example, which uses classical
2895 spacing with ragged-right turned on.
2897 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2900 \new RhythmicStaff {
2904 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2911 Notice that the half note which begins the measure takes up far less
2912 than half of the horizontal space of the measure. Likewise, the
2913 sixteenth notes and sixteenth-note quintuplets (or twentieth notes)
2914 which end the measure together take up far more than half the
2915 horizontal space of the measure.
2917 In classical engraving, this spacing may be exactly what we want
2918 because we can borrow horizontal space from the half note and conserve
2919 horizontal space across the measure as a whole.
2921 On the other hand, if we want to insert a measured timeline or other
2922 graphic above or below our score, we need proportional notation. We
2923 turn proportional notation on with the proportionalNotationDuration
2926 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2929 \new RhythmicStaff {
2933 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2940 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 20)
2946 The half note at the beginning of the measure and the faster notes in
2947 the second half of the measure now occupy equal amounts of horizontal
2948 space. We could place a measured timeline or graphic above or below
2951 The @code{proportionalNotationDuration} setting is a context setting
2952 that lives in @code{Score}. Remember that context settings can appear
2953 in one of three locations within our input file -- in a @code{\with}
2954 block, in a @code{\context} block, or directly in music entry preceded
2955 by the @code{\set} command. As with all context settings, users can
2956 pick which of the three different locations they would like to
2957 set @code{proportionalNotationDuration} in to.
2959 The @code{proportionalNotationDuration} setting takes a single argument,
2960 which is the reference duration against that all music will be spaced.
2961 The LilyPond Scheme function @code{make-moment} takes two arguments
2962 -- a numerator and denominator which together express some fraction of
2963 a whole note. The call @code{(ly:make-moment 1 20)} therefore produces
2964 a reference duration of a twentieth note. Values such as
2965 @code{(ly:make-moment 1 16)}, @code{(ly:make-moment 1 8)}, and
2966 @code{(ly:make-moment 3 97)} are all possible as well.
2968 How do we select the right reference duration to pass to
2969 @code{proportionalNotationDuration}? Usually by a process of trial
2970 and error, beginning with a duration close to the fastest (or smallest)
2971 duration in the piece. Smaller reference durations space music loosely;
2972 larger reference durations space music tightly.
2974 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2977 \new RhythmicStaff {
2981 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2988 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 8)
2995 \new RhythmicStaff {
2999 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
3006 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
3013 \new RhythmicStaff {
3017 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
3024 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 32)
3030 Note that too large a reference duration -- such as the eighth note,
3031 above -- spaces music too tightly and can cause note head collisions.
3032 Also that proportional notation in general takes up more horizontal
3033 space than classical spacing. Proportional spacing provides rhythmic
3034 clarity at the expense of horizontal space.
3036 Next we examine how to optimally space overlapping tuplets.
3038 We start by examining what happens to our original example, with
3039 classical spacing, when we add a second staff with a different type of
3042 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3045 \new RhythmicStaff {
3049 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
3052 \new RhythmicStaff {
3054 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8
3061 The spacing is bad because the evenly spaced notes of the bottom staff
3062 do not stretch uniformly. Classical engravings include very few complex
3063 triplets and so classical engraving rules can generate this type of
3064 result. Setting @code{proportionalNotationDuration} fixes this.
3066 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3069 \new RhythmicStaff {
3073 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
3076 \new RhythmicStaff {
3078 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8
3085 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 20)
3091 But if we look very carefully we can see that notes of the second half
3092 of the 9-tuplet space ever so slightly more widely than the notes
3093 of the first half of the 9-tuplet. To ensure uniform stretching, we
3094 turn on @code{uniform-stretching}, which is a property of
3095 @code{SpacingSpanner}.
3097 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3100 \new RhythmicStaff {
3104 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
3107 \new RhythmicStaff {
3109 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8
3116 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 20)
3117 \override SpacingSpanner #'uniform-stretching = ##t
3123 Our two-staff example now spaces exactly, our rhythmic
3124 relationships are visually clear, and we can include a measured
3125 timeline or graphic if we want.
3127 Note that the LilyPond's proportional notation package expects
3128 that all proportional scores set the SpacingSpanner's
3129 'uniform-stretching attribute to ##t. Setting
3130 proportionalNotationDuration without also setting the
3131 SpacingSpanner's 'uniform-stretching attribute to ##t will, for
3132 example, cause Skips to consume an incorrect amount of horizontal
3135 The SpacingSpanner is an abstract grob that lives in the Score
3136 context. As with our settings of proportionalNotationDuration,
3137 overrides to the SpacingSpanner can occur in any of three
3138 different places in our input file – in the Score \with block, in
3139 a Score \context block, or in note entry directly.
3141 There is by default only one @code{SpacingSpanner} per @code{Score}. This
3142 means that, by default, @code{uniform-stretching} is either turned on for the
3143 entire score or turned off for the entire score. We can, however,
3144 override this behavior and turn on different spacing features at
3145 different places in the score. We do this with the command
3146 @code{\newSpacingSection}. See @ref{New spacing area}, for more info.
3148 Next we examine the effects of the @code{Separating_line_group_engraver} and
3149 see why proportional scores frequently remove this engraver. The following
3150 example shows that there is a small amount of @qq{prefatory} space
3151 just before the first note in each system.
3153 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3166 The amount of this prefatory space is the same whether after a time
3167 signature, a key signature or a clef. @code{Separating_line_group_engraver}
3168 is responsible for this space. Removing @code{Separating_line_group_engraver}
3169 reduces this space to zero.
3171 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3177 \remove Separating_line_group_engraver
3185 non-musical elements like time signatures, key signatures, clefs and
3186 accidentals are problematic in proportional notation. None of these
3187 elements has rhythmic duration. But all of these elements consume
3188 horizontal space. Different proportional scores approach these
3189 problems differently.
3191 It may be possible to avoid spacing problems with key signatures
3192 simply by not having any. This is a valid option since most
3193 proportional scores are contemporary music. The same may be true
3194 of time signatures, especially for those scores
3195 that include a measured timeline or other graphic. But these scores
3196 are exceptional and most proportional scores include at least some
3197 time signatures. Clefs and accidentals are even more essential.
3199 So what strategies exist for spacing non-musical elements in a
3200 proportional context? One good option is the @code{strict-note-spacing}
3201 property of @code{SpacingSpanner}. Compare the two scores below:
3203 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3205 \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
3215 \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
3216 \override Score.SpacingSpanner #'strict-note-spacing = ##t
3226 Both scores are proportional, but the spacing in the first score
3227 is too loose because of the clef change. The spacing of the second
3228 score remains strict, however, because strict-note-spacing is
3229 turned on. Turning on strict-note-spacing causes the width of
3230 time signatures, key signatures, clefs and accidentals to play no
3231 part in the spacing algorithm.
3233 In addition to the settings given here, there are other settings
3234 that frequently appear in proportional scores. These include:
3237 @item @code{\override SpacingSpanner #'strict-grace-spacing = ##t}
3238 @item @code{tupletFullLength = ##t}
3239 @item @code{\override Beam #'breakable = ##t}
3240 @item @code{\override Glissando #'breakable = ##t}
3241 @item @code{\override TextSpanner #'breakable = ##t}
3242 @item @code{\remove Forbid_line_break_engraver in the Voice context}
3245 These settings space grace notes strictly, extend tuplet brackets to
3246 mark both rhythmic start- and stop-points, and allow spanning elements
3247 to break across systems and pages. See the respective parts of the manual
3248 for these related settings.
3252 @ref{New spacing area}.
3258 @node Fitting music onto fewer pages
3259 @section Fitting music onto fewer pages
3261 Sometimes you can end up with one or two staves on a second
3262 (or third, or fourth@dots{}) page. This is annoying, especially
3263 if you look at previous pages and it looks like there is plenty
3264 of room left on those.
3266 When investigating layout issues, @code{annotate-spacing} is an
3267 invaluable tool. This command prints the values of various layout
3268 spacing variables; for more details see the following section,
3269 @ref{Displaying spacing}.
3272 * Displaying spacing::
3273 * Changing spacing::
3277 @node Displaying spacing
3278 @subsection Displaying spacing
3280 @funindex annotate-spacing
3281 @cindex spacing, display of layout
3283 To graphically display the dimensions of vertical layout variables
3284 that may be altered for page formatting, set
3285 @code{annotate-spacing} in the @code{\paper} block:
3287 @c need to have \book{} otherwise we get the separate systems. -hwn
3288 @lilypond[verbatim,quote]
3289 #(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
3292 \paper { annotate-spacing = ##t }
3298 All layout dimensions are displayed in staff-spaces, regardless
3299 of the units specified in the @code{\paper} or @code{\layout} block.
3300 In the above example, @code{paper-height} has a value of 59.75
3301 @code{staff-spaces}, and the @code{staff-size} is 20 points (the
3302 default value). Note that:
3304 @multitable {1 staff-space} {staff-size)/4 * (25.4/72.27) mm}
3307 @tab = (25.4/72.27) mm
3310 @tab = (@code{staff-size})/4 pts
3312 @tab = (@code{staff-size})/4 * (25.4/72.27) mm
3317 In this case, one @code{staff-space} is approximately equal to
3318 1.757mm. Thus the @code{paper-height} measurement of 59.75
3319 @code{staff-spaces} is equivalent to 105 millimeters, the height
3320 of @code{a6} paper in landscape orientation. The pairs
3321 (@var{a},@var{b}) are intervals, where @var{a} is the lower
3322 edge and @var{b} the upper edge of the interval.
3326 @ref{Setting the staff size}.
3332 @node Changing spacing
3333 @subsection Changing spacing
3335 The output of @code{annotate-spacing} reveals vertical dimensions
3336 in great detail. For details about modifying margins and other
3337 layout variables, see @ref{Page layout}.
3339 Other than margins, there are a few other options to save space:
3343 Force systems to move as close together as possible (to fit as
3344 many systems as possible onto a page) while being spaced so that
3345 there is no blank space at the bottom of the page.
3349 system-system-spacing = #'((basic-distance . 0.1) (padding . 0))
3350 ragged-last-bottom = ##f
3356 Force the number of systems. This can help in two ways. Just
3357 setting a value, even the same value as the number of systems
3358 being typeset by default, will sometimes cause more systems to
3359 be fitted onto each page, as an estimation step is then bypassed,
3360 giving a more accurate fit to each page. Also, forcing an actual
3361 reduction in the number of systems may save a further page. For
3362 example, if the default layout has 11 systems, the following
3363 assignment will force a layout with 10 systems.
3372 Avoid (or reduce) objects that increase the vertical size of a
3373 system. For example, volta repeats (or alternate repeats) require
3374 extra space. If these repeats are spread over two systems, they
3375 will take up more space than one system with the volta repeats and
3376 another system without. For example, dynamics that @q{stick out} of
3377 a system can be moved closer to the staff:
3379 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
3381 e4 c g-\tweak #'X-offset #-2.7 -\tweak #'Y-offset #2.5 \f c
3385 Alter the horizontal spacing via @code{SpacingSpanner}. For more
3386 details, see @ref{Changing horizontal spacing}. The following
3387 example illustrates the default spacing:
3389 @lilypond[verbatim,quote]
3402 The next example modifies @code{common-shortest-duration} from a
3403 value of @code{1/4} to @code{1/2}. The quarter note is the most
3404 common and shortest duration in this example, so by making this
3405 duration longer, a @q{squeezing} effect occurs:
3407 @lilypond[verbatim,quote]
3419 \override SpacingSpanner
3420 #'common-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 2)
3427 The @code{common-shortest-duration} property cannot be modified
3428 dynamically, so it must always be placed in a @code{\context}
3429 block so that it applies to the whole score.
3436 @ref{Changing horizontal spacing}.