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. See TRANSLATION for details.
15 Negative numbers are allowed:
16 > Are you sure? The following works well
18 > first-page-number = -2
20 > and prints page number -1 on the second page, for example.
23 In 5.2.1 the @refbugs (line 495 in spacing.itely on master) it
26 "@code{layout-set-staff-size} does not change the distance between
30 Could we add a sentence:
31 "Use instead the pair fontSize = #@var{N}
32 \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #(magstep
34 inside the Staff context to change the size of the font and the
36 staff lines accordingly."
38 Actually I found, that the @internalsref{StaffSymbol} at line 481
39 sends to an uncomplete
40 documentation. The property staff-space is not explained here. I
41 thought Y-extent might be of
42 help, but it is in turn explained by x-space which again is
43 missing from the list. Who has the
44 knowledge to fix this?
48 http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/detail?id=68
54 @chapter Spacing issues
56 The global paper layout is determined by three factors: the page layout, the
57 line breaks, and the spacing. These all influence each other. The
58 choice of spacing determines how densely each system of music is set.
59 This influences where line breaks are chosen, and thus ultimately, how
60 many pages a piece of music takes.
62 Globally speaking, this procedure happens in four steps: first,
63 flexible distances (@q{springs}) are chosen, based on durations. All
64 possible line breaking combinations are tried, and a @q{badness} score
65 is calculated for each. Then the height of each possible system is
66 estimated. Finally, a page breaking and line breaking combination is chosen
67 so that neither the horizontal nor the vertical spacing is too cramped
70 Settings which influence layout may be placed in two blocks.
71 The @code{\paper @{...@}} block is placed outside any
72 @code{\score @{...@}} blocks and contains settings that
73 relate to the entire document. The @code{\layout @{...@}}
74 block is placed within a @code{\score @{...@}} block and
75 contains settings for that particular score. If you have
76 only one @code{\score @{...@}} block the two have the same
77 effect. In general the commands shown in this chapter can
85 * Horizontal spacing::
86 * Fitting music onto fewer pages::
91 @section Paper and pages
93 This section deals with the boundaries that define the area
94 within which music can be printed.
103 @subsection Paper size
108 Two functions are available for changing the paper size:
109 @code{set-default-paper-size} and @code{set-paper-size}.
110 @code{set-default-paper-size} must be placed in the toplevel
111 scope, and @code{set-paper-size} must be placed in a @code{\paper}
115 #(set-default-paper-size "a4")
120 #(set-paper-size "a4")
125 @code{set-default-paper-size} sets the size of all pages, whereas
126 @code{set-paper-size} only sets the size of the pages that the
127 @code{\paper} block applies to. For example, if the @code{\paper}
128 block is at the top of the file, then it will apply the paper size
129 to all pages. If the @code{\paper} block is inside a
130 @code{\book}, then the paper size will only apply to that book.
132 Common paper sizes are available, including @code{a4},
133 @code{letter}, @code{legal}, and @code{11x17} (also known as
134 tabloid). Many more paper sizes are supported by default. For
135 details, see @file{scm/@/paper@/.scm}, and search for the
136 definition of @code{paper-alist}.
138 @c TODO add a new appendix for paper sizes (auto-generated) -pm
140 @warning{The default paper size is @code{a4}.}
142 Extra sizes may be added by editing the definition of
143 @code{paper-alist} in the initialization file
144 @file{scm/@/paper@/.scm}, however they will be overridden on a
150 If the symbol @code{'landscape} is supplied as an argument to
151 @code{set-default-paper-size}, pages will be rotated by 90
152 degrees, and wider line widths will be set accordingly.
155 #(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
158 Setting the paper size will adjust a number of @code{\paper}
159 variables, such as margins. To use a particular paper size with
160 altered @code{\paper} variables, set the paper size before setting
166 @file{scm/@/paper@/.scm}.
172 @node Page formatting
173 @subsection Page formatting
175 Margins, headers, and footers and other layout variables are
176 automatically set according to the paper size.
178 This section lists and describes a number of paper variables that
182 * Vertical dimensions::
183 * Horizontal dimensions::
184 * Other layout variables::
188 @node Vertical dimensions
189 @unnumberedsubsubsec Vertical dimensions
191 These variables are used to set different vertical dimensions on a
198 @item after-title-space
199 @funindex after-title-space
201 The amount of space between the title and the first system.
202 Default: @code{5\mm}.
204 @item before-title-space
205 @funindex before-title-space
207 Amount of space between the last system of the previous piece and the
208 title of the next. Default: @code{10\mm}.
210 @item between-system-padding
211 @funindex between-system-padding
213 The minimum amount of white space that will always be present
214 between the bottom-most symbol of one system, and the top-most of
215 the next system. Default: @code{4\mm}.
217 Increasing this will put systems whose bounding boxes almost touch
220 @item between-system-space
221 @funindex between-system-space
223 The distance between systems. It is the ideal distance between
224 the center of the bottom staff of one system and the center of the
225 top staff of the next system. Default: @code{20\mm}.
227 Increasing this value will provide a more even appearance of the
228 page at the cost of using more vertical space.
230 @item between-title-space
231 @funindex between-title-space
233 Amount of space between consecutive titles (e.g., the title of the
234 book and the title of a piece). Default: @code{2\mm}.
237 @funindex bottom-margin
239 The margin between footer and bottom of the page. Default:
242 @item foot-separation
243 @funindex foot-separation
245 Distance between the bottom-most music system and the page
246 footer. Default: @code{4\mm}.
248 @item head-separation
249 @funindex head-separation
251 Distance between the header markup (@code{oddHeaderMarkup} and
252 @code{evenHeaderMarkup}) and the title markup
253 (@code{bookTitleMarkup}, @code{title}, and others). If the header
254 markup and title markup are not present, it is the distance
255 between @code{top-margin} and the spot where the title markup
256 would normally appear. Default: @code{4\mm}.
259 @funindex page-top-space
261 Distance from the top of the printable area to the center of the
262 first staff. This only works for staves that are vertically
263 small. Big staves are set with the top of their bounding box
264 aligned to the top of the printable area. Default: @code{12\mm}.
267 @funindex paper-height
269 The height of the page. Default: the height of the current paper
270 size. For details, see @ref{Paper size}.
275 The margin between header and top of the page. Default:
283 The header and footer are created by the functions make-footer and
284 make-header, defined in \paper. The default implementations are in
285 ly/paper-defaults.ly and ly/titling-init.ly.
287 The page layout itself is done by two functions in the \paper block,
288 page-music-height and page-make-stencil. The former tells the
289 line-breaking algorithm how much space can be spent on a page, the
290 latter creates the actual page given the system to put on it.
292 You can define paper block values in Scheme. In that case mm, in, pt,
293 and cm are variables defined in paper-defaults.ly with values in
294 millimeters. That is why the value 2 cm must be multiplied in the
299 #(define bottom-margin (* 2 cm))
311 ragged-last-bottom = ##t
315 This second example centers page numbers at the bottom of every page.
319 print-page-number = ##t
320 print-first-page-number = ##t
321 oddHeaderMarkup = \markup \fill-line @{ " " @}
322 evenHeaderMarkup = \markup \fill-line @{ " " @}
323 oddFooterMarkup = \markup @{ \fill-line @{
324 \bold \fontsize #3 \on-the-fly #print-page-number-check-first
325 \fromproperty #'page:page-number-string @} @}
326 evenFooterMarkup = \markup @{ \fill-line @{
327 \bold \fontsize #3 \on-the-fly #print-page-number-check-first
328 \fromproperty #'page:page-number-string @} @}
332 You can also define these values in Scheme. In that case @code{mm},
333 @code{in}, @code{pt}, and @code{cm} are variables defined in
334 @file{paper@/-defaults@/.ly} with values in millimeters. That is why the
335 value must be multiplied in the example
339 #(define bottom-margin (* 2 cm))
343 The header and footer are created by the functions @code{make-footer}
344 and @code{make-header}, defined in @code{\paper}. The default
345 implementations are in @file{ly/@/paper@/-defaults@/.ly} and
346 @file{ly/@/titling@/-init@/.ly}.
348 The page layout itself is done by two functions in the
349 @code{\paper} block, @code{page-music-height} and
350 @code{page-make-stencil}. The former tells the line-breaking algorithm
351 how much space can be spent on a page, the latter creates the actual
352 page given the system to put on it.
357 @ref{Vertical spacing between systems}.
363 @node Horizontal dimensions
364 @unnumberedsubsubsec Horizontal dimensions
366 @warning{If @code{paper-width} is manually set, @code{line-width},
367 @code{left-margin}, @code{indent}, and @code{short-indent} may
368 have to be adjusted as well.}
370 There are a few variables that determine the horizontal dimensions
375 @item horizontal-shift
376 @funindex horizontal-shift
378 The amount that all systems (including titles and system
379 separators) are shifted to the right. Default: @code{0.0}.
384 The level of indentation for the first system in a score.
385 Default: @code{paper-width} divided by @code{14}, as determined by
386 @code{set-default-paper-size} or @code{set-paper-size}.
389 @funindex left-margin
391 The margin between the left edge of the page and the beginning of
392 each system. Default: @code{10\mm}, as determined by
393 @code{set-default-paper-size} or @code{set-paper-size}.
398 The width of music systems. Default: @code{paper-width} minus
399 @code{20\mm}, as determined by @code{set-default-paper-size} or
400 @code{set-paper-size}.
403 @funindex paper-width
405 The width of the page. Default: the width of the current paper
406 size. For details, see @ref{Paper size}.
409 @funindex short-indent
411 The level of indentation for all systems in a score besides the
412 first system. Default: @code{0}, as determined by
413 @code{set-default-paper-size} or @code{set-paper-size}.
425 The option @code{right-margin} is defined but doesn't set the
426 right margin yet. The value for the right margin has to be
427 defined by adjusting the values of @code{left-margin} and
431 @node Other layout variables
432 @unnumberedsubsubsec Other layout variables
434 These variables can be used to adjust page layout in general.
438 @item auto-first-page-number
439 @funindex auto-first-page-number
441 The page breaking algorithm is affected by the first page number
442 being odd or even. If set to true, the page breaking algorithm
443 will decide whether to start with an odd or even number. This
444 will result in the first page number remaining as is or being
445 increased by one. Default: @code{##f}.
449 FIXME: this variable is used, but I don't know what it does. -pm
450 @item blank-after-score-page-force
451 @funindex blank-after-score-page-force
457 @item blank-last-page-force
458 @funindex blank-last-page-force
460 The penalty for ending the score on an odd-numbered page.
463 @item blank-page-force
464 @funindex blank-page-force
466 The penalty for having a blank page in the middle of a
467 score. This is not used by @code{ly:optimal-breaking} since it will
468 never consider blank pages in the middle of a score. Default:
471 @item first-page-number
472 @funindex first-page-number
474 The value of the page number on the first page. Default:
477 @item max-systems-per-page
478 The maximum number of systems that will be placed on a page. This
479 is currently supported only by the @code{ly:optimal-breaking} algorithm.
482 @item min-systems-per-page
483 The minimum number of systems that will be placed on a page. This
484 may cause pages to be overfilled if it is made too large. This is
485 currently supported only by the @code{ly:optimal-breaking} algorithm.
488 @item page-breaking-between-system-padding
489 @funindex page-breaking-between-system-padding
491 Tricks the page breaker into thinking that
492 @code{between-system-padding} is set to something different than
493 it really is. For example, if this variable is set to something
494 substantially larger than @code{between-system-padding}, then the
495 page-breaker will put fewer systems on each page. Default: unset.
500 The number of pages to be used for a score. Default: unset.
502 @item page-limit-inter-system-space
503 @funindex page-limit-inter-system-space
505 If set to true, limits space between systems on a page with a lot
506 of space left. Default: @code{##f}. For details, see
507 @ref{Vertical spacing between systems}.
509 @item page-limit-inter-system-space-factor
510 @funindex page-limit-inter-system-space-factor
512 The factor used by @code{page-limit-inter-system-space}. Default:
513 @code{1.4}. For details, see
514 @ref{Vertical spacing between systems}.
516 @item page-spacing-weight
517 @funindex page-spacing-weight
519 The relative importance of page (vertical) spacing and line
520 (horizontal) spacing. High values will make page spacing more
521 important. Default: @code{#10}.
523 @item print-all-headers
524 @funindex print-all-headers
526 If set to true, this will print all headers for each \score in the
527 output. Normally only the piece and opus header variables are
528 printed. Default: @code{##f}.
530 @item print-first-page-number
531 @funindex print-first-page-number
533 If set to true, a page number is printed on the first page.
536 @item print-page-number
537 @funindex print-page-number
539 If set to false, page numbers are not printed. Default:
543 @funindex ragged-bottom
545 If set to true, systems will not spread vertically across the
546 page. This does not affect the last page. Default: @code{##f}.
548 This should be set to true for pieces that have only two or three
549 systems per page, for example orchestral scores.
552 @funindex ragged-last
554 If set to true, the last system in the score will not fill the
555 line width. Instead the last system ends at its natural
556 horizontal length. Default: @code{##f}.
558 @item ragged-last-bottom
559 @funindex ragged-last-bottom
561 If set to false, systems will spread vertically across the last
562 page. Default: @code{##t}.
564 Pieces that amply fill two pages or more should have this set to
567 It also affects the last page of book parts, ie parts of a book created
568 with @code{\bookpart} blocks.
571 @funindex ragged-right
573 If set to true, systems will not fill the line width. Instead,
574 systems end at their natural horizontal length. Default:
577 If the score has only one system, the default value is @code{##t}.
579 @item system-separator-markup
580 @funindex system-separator-markup
582 A markup object that is inserted between systems. This is often
583 used for orchestral scores. Default: unset.
585 The markup command @code{\slashSeparator} is provided as a sensible
588 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
589 #(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
592 \relative { c1 \break c1 }
595 system-separator-markup = \slashSeparator
601 @funindex system-count
603 The number of systems to be used for a score.
606 @item systems-per-page
607 @funindex systems-per-page
609 The number of systems that should be placed on each page.
610 This is currently supported only by the @code{ly:optimal-breaking} algorithm.
623 The default page header puts the page number and the @code{instrument}
624 field from the @code{\header} block on a line.
626 The titles (from the @code{\header@{@}} section) are treated as a
627 system, so @code{ragged-bottom} and @code{ragged-last-bottom} will
628 add space between the titles and the first system of the score.
632 @section Music layout
635 * Setting the staff size::
640 @node Setting the staff size
641 @subsection Setting the staff size
643 @cindex font size, setting
644 @cindex staff size, setting
645 @funindex layout file
647 The default @strong{staff size} is set to 20 points.
648 This may be changed in two ways:
650 To set the staff size globally for all scores in a file (or
651 in a @code{book} block, to be precise), use @code{set-global-staff-size}.
654 #(set-global-staff-size 14)
658 This sets the global default size to 14pt staff height and scales all
661 To set the staff size individually for each score, use
666 #(layout-set-staff-size 15)
671 The Feta font provides musical symbols at eight different
672 sizes. Each font is tuned for a different staff size: at a smaller size
673 the font becomes heavier, to match the relatively heavier staff lines.
674 The recommended font sizes are listed in the following table:
677 @multitable @columnfractions .15 .2 .22 .2
680 @tab @b{staff height (pt)}
681 @tab @b{staff height (mm)}
723 @c modern rental material?
728 These fonts are available in any sizes. The context property
729 @code{fontSize} and the layout property @code{staff-space} (in
730 @rinternals{StaffSymbol}) can be used to tune the size for individual
731 staves. The sizes of individual staves are relative to the global size.
736 @ref{Selecting notation font size}.
744 @code{layout-set-staff-size} does not change the distance between the
749 @subsection Score layout
753 While @code{\paper} contains settings that relate to the page formatting
754 of the whole document, @code{\layout} contains settings for score-specific
761 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'minimum-Y-extent = #'(-6 . 6)
764 \override TextScript #'padding = #1.0
765 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
773 @ref{Changing context default settings}.
785 * Optimal page breaking::
786 * Optimal page turning::
787 * Minimal page breaking::
789 * Using an extra voice for breaks::
794 @subsection Line breaking
797 @cindex breaking lines
799 Line breaks are normally determined automatically. They are chosen
800 so that lines look neither cramped nor loose, and consecutive
801 lines have similar density. Occasionally you might want to
802 override the automatic breaks; you can do this by specifying
803 @code{\break}. This will force a line break at this point. However,
804 line breaks can only occur at the end of @q{complete} bars, i.e.,
805 where there are no notes or tuplets left @q{hanging} over the bar
806 line. If you want to have a line break where there is no bar line,
807 you can force an invisible bar line by entering @code{\bar ""},
808 although again there must be no notes left hanging over in any of
809 the staves at this point, or it will be ignored.
811 The opposite command, @code{\noBreak}, forbids a line break at the
812 bar line where it is inserted.
814 The most basic settings influencing line spacing are @code{indent}
815 and @code{line-width}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block.
816 They control the indentation of the first line of music, and the
817 lengths of the lines.
819 If @code{ragged-right} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block,
820 then systems end at their natural horizontal length, instead of
821 being spread horizontally to fill the whole line. This is useful
822 for short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural
825 @c TODO Check and add para on default for ragged-right
827 The option @code{ragged-last} is similar to @code{ragged-right},
828 but affects only the last line of the piece.
840 @cindex regular line breaks
841 @cindex four bar music.
843 For line breaks at regular intervals use @code{\break} separated by
844 skips and repeated with @code{\repeat}. For example, this would
845 cause the following 28 measures (assuming 4/4 time) to be broken
846 every 4 measures, and only there:
849 << \repeat unfold 7 @{
850 s1 \noBreak s1 \noBreak
851 s1 \noBreak s1 \break @}
852 @emph{the real music}
857 A linebreaking configuration can be saved as a @code{.ly} file
858 automatically. This allows vertical alignments to be stretched to
859 fit pages in a second formatting run. This is fairly new and
860 complicated. More details are available in
874 @rinternals{LineBreakEvent}.
882 Line breaks can only occur if there is a @q{proper} bar line. A note
883 which is hanging over a bar line is not proper, such as
885 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,fragment,verbatim]
886 c4 c2 << c2 {s4 \break } >> % this does nothing
887 c2 c4 | % a break here would work
888 c4 c2 c4 ~ \break % as does this break
892 This can be avoided by removing the @code{Forbid_line_break_engraver}.
893 Note that manually forced line breaks have to be added in parallel
896 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
898 \remove Forbid_line_break_engraver
900 c4 c2 << c2 {s4 \break } >> % now the break is allowed
905 Similarly, line breaks are normally forbidden when beams cross bar
906 lines. This behavior can be changed by setting
907 @code{\override Beam #'breakable = ##t}.
911 @subsection Page breaking
913 The default page breaking may be overridden by inserting
914 @code{\pageBreak} or @code{\noPageBreak} commands. These commands are
915 analogous to @code{\break} and @code{\noBreak}. They should be
916 inserted at a bar line. These commands force and forbid a page-break
917 from happening. Of course, the @code{\pageBreak} command also forces
920 The @code{\pageBreak} and @code{\noPageBreak} commands may also be
921 inserted at top-level, between scores and top-level markups.
923 There are also analogous settings to @code{ragged-right} and
924 @code{ragged-last} which have the same effect on vertical spacing:
925 @code{ragged-bottom} and @code{ragged-last-bottom}. If set to
926 @code{##t} the systems on all pages or just the last page
927 respectively will not be justified vertically.
929 For more details see @ref{Vertical spacing}.
931 Page breaks are computed by the @code{page-breaking} function. LilyPond
932 provides three algorithms for computing page breaks,
933 @code{ly:optimal-breaking}, @code{ly:page-turn-breaking} and
934 @code{ly:minimal-breaking}. The default is @code{ly:optimal-breaking},
935 but the value can be changed in the @code{\paper} block:
939 #(define page-breaking ly:page-turn-breaking)
945 When a book has many scores and pages, the page breaking problem may be
946 difficult to solve, requiring large processing time and memory. To ease
947 the page breaking process, @code{\bookpart} blocks are used to divide
948 the book into several parts: the page breaking occurs separately on each
949 part. Different page breaking functions may also be used in different
958 %% In a part consisting mostly of text,
959 %% ly:minimal-breaking may be prefered
960 #(define page-breaking ly:minimal-breaking)
962 \markup @{ @dots{} @}
966 %% In this part, consisting of music, the default optimal
967 %% page breaking function is used.
969 subtitle = "First movement"
980 @funindex \noPageBreak
990 @node Optimal page breaking
991 @subsection Optimal page breaking
993 @funindex ly:optimal-breaking
995 The @code{ly:optimal-breaking} function is LilyPond's default method of
996 determining page breaks. It attempts to find a page breaking that minimizes
997 cramping and stretching, both horizontally and vertically. Unlike
998 @code{ly:page-turn-breaking}, it has no concept of page turns.
1006 @node Optimal page turning
1007 @subsection Optimal page turning
1009 @funindex ly:page-turn-breaking
1011 Often it is necessary to find a page breaking configuration so that there is
1012 a rest at the end of every second page. This way, the musician can turn the
1013 page without having to miss notes. The @code{ly:page-turn-breaking} function
1014 attempts to find a page breaking minimizing cramping and stretching, but with
1015 the additional restriction that it is only allowed to introduce page turns
1016 in specified places.
1018 There are two steps to using this page breaking function. First, you
1019 must enable it in the @code{\paper} block, as explained in @ref{Page
1020 breaking}. Then you must tell the function where you would like to allow
1023 There are two ways to achieve the second step. First, you can specify each
1024 potential page turn manually, by inserting @code{\allowPageTurn} into your
1025 input file at the appropriate places.
1027 If this is too tedious, you can add a @code{Page_turn_engraver} to a Staff or
1028 Voice context. The @code{Page_turn_engraver} will scan the context for
1029 sections without notes (note that it does not scan for rests; it scans for
1030 the absence of notes. This is so that single-staff polyphony with rests in one
1031 of the parts does not throw off the @code{Page_turn_engraver}). When it finds
1032 a sufficiently long section without notes, the @code{Page_turn_engraver} will
1033 insert an @code{\allowPageTurn} at the final bar line in that section, unless
1034 there is a @q{special} bar line (such as a double bar), in which case the
1035 @code{\allowPageTurn} will be inserted at the final @q{special} bar line in
1038 @funindex minimumPageTurnLength
1039 The @code{Page_turn_engraver} reads the context property
1040 @code{minimumPageTurnLength} to determine how long a note-free section must
1041 be before a page turn is considered. The default value for
1042 @code{minimumPageTurnLength} is @code{#(ly:make-moment 1 1)}. If you want
1043 to disable page turns, you can set it to something very large.
1046 \new Staff \with @{ \consists "Page_turn_engraver" @}
1049 R1 | % a page turn will be allowed here
1051 \set Staff.minimumPageTurnLength = #(ly:make-moment 5 2)
1052 R1 | % a page turn will not be allowed here
1054 R1*2 | % a page turn will be allowed here
1059 @funindex minimumRepeatLengthForPageTurn
1060 The @code{Page_turn_engraver} detects volta repeats. It will only allow a page
1061 turn during the repeat if there is enough time at the beginning and end of the
1062 repeat to turn the page back. The @code{Page_turn_engraver} can also disable
1063 page turns if the repeat is very short. If you set the context property
1064 @code{minimumRepeatLengthForPageTurn} then the @code{Page_turn_engraver} will
1065 only allow turns in repeats whose duration is longer than this value.
1067 The page turning commands, @code{\pageTurn}, @code{\noPageTurn} and
1068 @code{\allowPageTurn}, may also be used at top-level, between scores and
1075 @funindex \noPageTurn
1077 @funindex \allowPageTurn
1078 @code{\allowPageTurn}.
1089 There should only be one @code{Page_turn_engraver} in a score. If there is more
1090 than one, they will interfere with each other.
1093 @node Minimal page breaking
1094 @subsection Minimal page breaking
1096 @funindex ly:minimal-breaking
1098 The @code{ly:minimal-breaking} function performs minimal computations to
1099 calculate the page breaking: it fills a page with as many systems as
1100 possible before moving to the next one. Thus, it may be preferred for
1101 scores with many pages, where the other page breaking functions could be
1102 too slow or memory demanding, or a lot of texts. It is enabled using:
1106 #(define page-breaking ly:minimal-breaking)
1116 @node Explicit breaks
1117 @subsection Explicit breaks
1119 Lily sometimes rejects explicit @code{\break} and @code{\pageBreak}
1120 commands. There are two commands to override this behavior:
1123 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-permission = ##f
1124 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'page-break-permission = ##f
1127 When @code{line-break-permission} is overridden to false, Lily will insert
1128 line breaks at explicit @code{\break} commands and nowhere else. When
1129 @code{page-break-permission} is overridden to false, Lily will insert
1130 page breaks at explicit @code{\pageBreak} commands and nowhere else.
1132 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1141 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-permission = ##f
1142 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'page-break-permission = ##f
1145 \repeat unfold 2 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 } \break
1146 \repeat unfold 4 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 } \break
1147 \repeat unfold 6 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 } \break
1148 \repeat unfold 8 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 } \pageBreak
1149 \repeat unfold 8 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 } \break
1150 \repeat unfold 6 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 } \break
1151 \repeat unfold 4 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 } \break
1152 \repeat unfold 2 { c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 }
1164 @node Using an extra voice for breaks
1165 @subsection Using an extra voice for breaks
1167 Line- and page-breaking information usually appears within note entry directly.
1172 \repeat unfold 2 @{ c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 @}
1174 \repeat unfold 3 @{ c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 @}
1179 This makes @code{\break} and @code{\pageBreak} commands easy to enter but mixes
1180 music entry with information that specifies how music should lay out
1181 on the page. You can keep music entry and line- and page-breaking
1182 information in two separate places by introducing an extra voice to
1183 contain the breaks. This extra voice
1184 contains only skips together with @code{\break}, @code{pageBreak} and other
1185 breaking layout information.
1187 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1197 \repeat unfold 2 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1198 \repeat unfold 3 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1199 \repeat unfold 6 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1200 \repeat unfold 5 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1206 This pattern becomes especially helpful when overriding
1207 @code{line-break-system-details} and the other useful but long properties of
1208 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumnGrob}, as explained in @ref{Vertical spacing}.
1210 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
1215 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1216 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 0))
1219 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1220 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 35))
1223 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1224 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 70))
1227 \overrideProperty "Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1228 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 105))
1232 \repeat unfold 2 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1233 \repeat unfold 3 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1234 \repeat unfold 6 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1235 \repeat unfold 5 { c'4 c'4 c'4 c'4 }
1244 @ref{Vertical spacing}.
1250 @node Vertical spacing
1251 @section Vertical spacing
1253 @cindex vertical spacing
1254 @cindex spacing, vertical
1256 Vertical spacing is controlled by three things: the amount of
1257 space available (i.e., paper size and margins), the amount of
1258 space between systems, and the amount of space between
1259 staves inside a system.
1262 * Vertical spacing inside a system::
1263 * Vertical spacing between systems::
1264 * Explicit staff and system positioning::
1265 * Two-pass vertical spacing::
1266 * Vertical collision avoidance::
1270 @node Vertical spacing inside a system
1271 @subsection Vertical spacing inside a system
1273 @cindex distance between staves
1274 @cindex staff distance
1275 @cindex space between staves
1276 @cindex space inside systems
1278 The height of each system is determined automatically. To prevent
1279 staves from bumping into each other, some minimum distances are set.
1280 By changing these, you can put staves closer together. This
1281 reduces the amount of space each system requires, and may result
1282 in having more systems per page.
1284 Normally staves are stacked vertically. To make staves maintain a
1285 distance, their vertical size is padded. This is done with the
1286 property @code{minimum-Y-extent}. When applied to a
1287 @rinternals{VerticalAxisGroup}, it controls the size of a horizontal
1288 line, such as a staff or a line of lyrics. @code{minimum-Y-extent}
1289 takes a pair of numbers, so
1290 if you want to make it smaller than its default @code{#'(-4 . 4)}
1294 \override Staff.VerticalAxisGroup #'minimum-Y-extent = #'(-3 . 3)
1298 This sets the vertical size of the current staff to 3 staff spaces on
1299 either side of the center staff line. The value @code{(-3 . 3)} is
1300 interpreted as an interval, where the center line is the 0, so the
1301 first number is generally negative. The numbers need not match;
1302 for example, the staff can be made larger at the bottom by setting
1303 it to @code{(-6 . 4)}.
1306 FIXME: update this section
1308 After page breaks are determined, the vertical spacing within each
1309 system is reevaluated in order to fill the page more evenly; if a page
1310 has space left over, systems are stretched in order to fill that space.
1311 The amount of stretching can be configured though the @code{max-stretch}
1312 property of the @rinternals{VerticalAlignment} grob. By default,
1313 @code{max-stretch} is set to zero, disabling stretching. To enable
1314 stretching, a sane value for @code{max-stretch}
1315 is @code{ly:align-interface::calc-max-stretch}.
1317 In some situations, you may want to stretch most of a system while
1318 leaving some parts fixed. For example, if a piano part occurs in the
1319 middle of an orchestral score, you may want to leave the piano staves
1320 close to each other while stretching the rest of the score. The
1321 @code{keep-fixed-while-stretching} property of
1322 @rinternals{VerticalAxisGroup} can be used to achieve this. When set
1323 to @code{##t}, this property keeps its staff (or line of lyrics) from
1324 moving relative to the one directly above it. In the example above,
1325 you would override @code{keep-fixed-while-stretching} to @code{##t} in
1326 the second piano staff:
1329 #(set-default-paper-size "a6")
1330 #(set-global-staff-size 14.0)
1334 ragged-last-bottom = ##f
1339 \override VerticalAlignment #'max-stretch = #ly:align-interface::calc-max-stretch
1346 \new Staff {c' d' e' f'}
1347 \new Staff {c' d' e' f'}
1348 \new Staff {c' d' e' f'}
1353 \new Staff {c' d' e' f'}
1355 \override VerticalAxisGroup #'keep-fixed-while-stretching = ##t
1362 \new Staff {c' d' e' f'}
1363 \new Staff {c' d' e' f'}
1371 Vertical alignment of staves is handled by the
1372 @code{VerticalAlignment} object. The context parameters
1373 specifying the vertical extent are described in connection with
1374 the @code{Axis_group_engraver}.
1381 @c @lsr{spacing,page-spacing.ly},
1382 @c @lsr{spacing,alignment-vertical-spacing.ly}.
1384 Internals Reference:
1385 @rinternals{VerticalAlignment},
1386 @rinternals{Axis_group_engraver}.
1389 @node Vertical spacing between systems
1390 @subsection Vertical spacing between systems
1392 Space between systems are controlled by four @code{\paper} variables,
1396 between-system-space = 1.5\cm
1397 between-system-padding = #1
1399 ragged-last-bottom=##f
1403 When only a couple of flat systems are placed on a page, the resulting
1404 vertical spacing may be non-elegant: one system at the top of the page,
1405 and the other at the bottom, with a huge gap between them. To avoid this
1406 situation, the space added between the systems can be limited. This
1407 feature is activated by setting to @code{#t} the
1408 @code{page-limit-inter-system-space} variable in the @code{\paper}
1409 block. The paper variable @code{page-limit-inter-system-space-factor}
1410 determines how much the space can be increased: for instance, the value
1411 @code{1.3} means that the space can be 30% larger than what it would be
1412 on a ragged-bottom page.
1414 In the following example, if the inter system space were not limited,
1415 the second system of page 1 would be placed at the page bottom. By
1416 activating the space limitation, the second system is placed closer to
1417 the first one. By setting @code{page-limit-inter-system-space-factor} to
1418 @code{1}, the spacing would the same as on a ragged-bottom page, like
1422 #(set-default-paper-size "a6")
1425 page-limit-inter-system-space = ##t
1426 page-limit-inter-system-space-factor = 1.3
1428 oddFooterMarkup = \markup "page bottom"
1429 evenFooterMarkup = \markup "page bottom"
1430 oddHeaderMarkup = \markup \fill-line {
1431 "page top" \fromproperty #'page:page-number-string }
1432 evenHeaderMarkup = \markup \fill-line {
1433 "page top" \fromproperty #'page:page-number-string }
1435 \new Staff << \repeat unfold 4 { g'4 g' g' g' \break }
1436 { s1*2 \pageBreak } >>
1446 @node Explicit staff and system positioning
1447 @subsection Explicit staff and system positioning
1449 One way to understand the @code{VerticalAxisGroup} and @code{\paper}
1450 settings explained in the previous two sections is as a collection of
1451 different settings that primarily concern the amount of vertical padding
1452 different staves and systems running down the page.
1454 It is possible to approach vertical spacing in a different way using
1455 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details}. Where
1456 @code{VerticalAxisGroup} and @code{\paper} settings specify vertical padding,
1457 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details} specifies exact
1458 vertical positions on the page.
1460 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details} accepts an associative
1461 list of five different settings:
1464 @item @code{X-offset}
1465 @item @code{Y-offset}
1466 @item @code{alignment-offsets}
1467 @item @code{alignment-extra-space}
1468 @item @code{fixed-alignment-extra-space}
1471 Grob overrides, including the overrides for @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn}
1472 below, can occur in any of three different places in an input file:
1475 @item in the middle of note entry directly
1476 @item in a @code{\context} block
1477 @item in the @code{\with} block
1480 When we override @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn}, we use the usual
1481 @code{\override} command in @code{\context} blocks and in the
1482 @code{\with} block. On the other hand, when we override
1483 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} in the middle of note entry,
1484 use the special @code{\overrideProperty} command. Here are some
1485 example @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} overrides with the special
1486 @code{\overrideProperty} command:
1489 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
1490 #'line-break-system-details #'((X-offset . 20))
1492 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
1493 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 40))
1495 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
1496 #'line-break-system-details #'((X-offset . 20) (Y-offset . 40))
1498 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
1499 #'line-break-system-details #'((alignment-offsets . (0 -15)))
1501 \overrideProperty NonMusicalPaperColumn
1502 #'line-break-system-details #'((X-offset . 20) (Y-offset . 40)
1503 (alignment-offsets . (0 -15)))
1506 To understand how each of these different settings work, we begin
1507 by looking at an example that includes no overrides at all.
1509 @c \book { } is required in these examples to ensure the spacing
1510 @c overrides can be seen between systems. -np
1513 \header { tagline = ##f }
1514 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
1524 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
1527 \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' }
1534 This score isolates line- and page-breaking information in a dedicated
1535 voice. This technique of creating a breaks voice will help keep layout
1536 separate from music entry as our example becomes more complicated.
1537 See @ref{Using an extra voice for breaks}.
1539 Explicit @code{\breaks} evenly divide the music into six measures per
1540 line. Vertical spacing results from LilyPond's defaults. To set
1541 the vertical startpoint of each system explicitly, we can set
1542 the @code{Y-offset} pair in the @code{line-break-system-details}
1543 attribute of the @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} grob:
1546 \header { tagline = ##f }
1547 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
1553 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1554 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 0))
1556 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1557 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 40))
1559 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1560 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 80))
1563 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
1566 \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' }
1573 Note that @code{line-break-system-details} takes an associative list of
1574 potentially many values, but that we set only one value here. Note,
1575 too, that the @code{Y-offset} property here determines the exact vertical
1576 position on the page at which each new system will render.
1578 Now that we have set the vertical startpoint of each system
1579 explicitly, we can also set the vertical startpoint of each staff
1580 within each system manually. We do this using the @code{alignment-offsets}
1581 subproperty of @code{line-break-system-details}.
1584 \header { tagline = ##f }
1585 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
1591 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1592 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 20)
1593 (alignment-offsets . (0 -15)))
1595 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1596 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 60)
1597 (alignment-offsets . (0 -15)))
1599 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1600 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 100)
1601 (alignment-offsets . (0 -15)))
1604 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
1607 \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' }
1614 Note that here we assign two different values to the
1615 @code{line-break-system-details} attribute of the
1616 @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn} grob. Though the
1617 @code{line-break-system-details} attribute alist accepts many
1618 additional spacing parameters (including, for example, a corresponding
1619 @code{X-offset} pair), we need only set the @code{Y-offset} and
1620 @code{alignment-offsets} pairs to control the vertical startpoint of
1621 every system and every staff. Finally, note that @code{alignment-offsets}
1622 specifies the vertical positioning of staves but not of staff groups.
1625 \header { tagline = ##f }
1626 \paper { left-margin = 0\mm }
1632 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1633 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 0)
1634 (alignment-offsets . (0 -30 -40)))
1636 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1637 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 60)
1638 (alignment-offsets . (0 -10 -20)))
1640 \overrideProperty #"Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn"
1641 #'line-break-system-details #'((Y-offset . 100)
1642 (alignment-offsets . (0 -10 -40)))
1645 \new Voice { \repeat unfold 15 { c'4 c' c' c' } }
1648 \new Staff { \repeat unfold 15 { d'4 d' d' d' } }
1649 \new Staff { \repeat unfold 15 { e'4 e' e' e' } }
1656 Some points to consider:
1659 @item When using @code{alignment-offsets}, lyrics count as a staff.
1661 @item The units of the numbers passed to @code{X-offset},
1662 @code{Y-offset} and @code{alignment-offsets} are interpreted as multiples
1663 of the distance between adjacent staff lines. Positive values move staves
1664 and lyrics up, negative values move staves and lyrics down.
1666 @item Because the @code{NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-system-details}
1667 settings given here allow the positioning of staves and systems anywhere
1668 on the page, it is possible to violate paper or margin boundaries or even
1669 to print staves or systems on top of one another. Reasonable values
1670 passed to these different settings will avoid this.
1679 @node Two-pass vertical spacing
1680 @subsection Two-pass vertical spacing
1682 @warning{Two-pass vertical spacing is deprecated and will be removed in
1683 a future version of LilyPond. Systems are now stretched automatically
1684 in a single pass. See @ref{Vertical spacing inside a system}.}
1686 In order to automatically stretch systems so that they should fill the
1687 space left on a page, a two-pass technique can be used:
1690 @item In the first pass, the amount of vertical space used to increase
1691 the height of each system is computed and dumped to a file.
1692 @item In the second pass, spacing inside the systems are
1693 stretched according to the data in the page layout file.
1696 The @code{ragged-bottom} property adds space between systems, while
1697 the two-pass technique adds space between staves inside a system.
1699 To allow this behavior, a @code{tweak-key} variable has to be set in
1700 each score @code{\layout} block, and the tweaks included in each score
1701 music, using the @code{\scoreTweak} music function.
1705 %% include the generated page layout file:
1706 \includePageLayoutFile
1711 %% Include this score tweaks:
1712 \scoreTweak "scoreA"
1713 { \clef french c''1 \break c''1 }
1715 \new Staff { \clef soprano g'1 g'1 }
1716 \new Staff { \clef mezzosoprano e'1 e'1 }
1717 \new Staff { \clef alto g1 g1 }
1718 \new Staff { \clef bass c1 c1 }
1721 piece = "Score with tweaks"
1723 %% Define how to name the tweaks for this score:
1724 \layout { #(define tweak-key "scoreA") }
1729 For the first pass, the @code{dump-tweaks} option should be set to
1730 generate the page layout file.
1733 lilypond -dbackend=null -d dump-tweaks <file>.ly
1743 @node Vertical collision avoidance
1744 @subsection Vertical collision avoidance
1746 @funindex outside-staff-priority
1747 @funindex outside-staff-padding
1748 @funindex outside-staff-horizontal-padding
1750 Intuitively, there are some objects in musical notation that belong
1751 to the staff and there are other objects that should be placed outside
1752 the staff. Objects belonging outside the staff include things such as
1753 rehearsal marks, text and dynamic markings (from now on, these will
1754 be called outside-staff objects). LilyPond's rule for the
1755 vertical placement of outside-staff objects is to place them as close
1756 to the staff as possible but not so close that they collide with
1759 LilyPond uses the @code{outside-staff-priority} property to determine
1760 whether a grob is an outside-staff object: if @code{outside-staff-priority}
1761 is a number, the grob is an outside-staff object. In addition,
1762 @code{outside-staff-priority} tells LilyPond in which order the objects
1765 First, LilyPond places all the objects that do not belong outside
1766 the staff. Then it sorts the outside-staff objects according to their
1767 @code{outside-staff-priority} (in increasing order). One by one, LilyPond
1768 takes the outside-staff objects and places them so that they do
1769 not collide with any objects that have already been placed. That
1770 is, if two outside-staff grobs are competing for the same space, the one
1771 with the lower @code{outside-staff-priority} will be placed closer to
1774 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,fragment,verbatim]
1777 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = #1
1778 c4_"Text"\pp % this time the text will be closer to the staff
1780 % by setting outside-staff-priority to a non-number,
1781 % we disable the automatic collision avoidance
1782 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
1783 \once \override DynamicLineSpanner #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
1784 c4_"Text"\pp % now they will collide
1787 The vertical padding between an outside-staff object and the
1788 previously-positioned grobs can be controlled with
1789 @code{outside-staff-padding}.
1791 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,fragment,verbatim]
1792 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-padding = #0
1793 a'^"This text is placed very close to the note"
1794 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-padding = #3
1795 c^"This text is padded away from the previous text"
1796 c^"This text is placed close to the previous text"
1800 By default, outside-staff objects are placed only to avoid
1801 a horizontal collision with previously-positioned grobs. This
1802 can lead to situations in which objects are placed very close to each
1803 other horizontally. The vertical spacing between staffs can
1804 also be set so that outside staff objects are interleaved.
1805 Setting @code{outside-staff-horizontal-padding}
1806 causes an object to be offset vertically so that such a situation
1809 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,fragment,verbatim]
1810 % the markup is too close to the following note
1814 % setting outside-staff-horizontal-padding fixes this
1816 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-horizontal-padding = #1
1828 @node Horizontal spacing
1829 @section Horizontal spacing
1831 @cindex horizontal spacing
1832 @cindex spacing, horizontal
1835 * Horizontal spacing overview::
1836 * New spacing area::
1837 * Changing horizontal spacing::
1839 * Proportional notation::
1843 @node Horizontal spacing overview
1844 @subsection Horizontal spacing overview
1846 The spacing engine translates differences in durations into stretchable
1847 distances (@q{springs}) of differing lengths. Longer durations get
1848 more space, shorter durations get less. The shortest durations get a
1849 fixed amount of space (which is controlled by
1850 @code{shortest-duration-space} in the @rinternals{SpacingSpanner}
1851 object). The longer the duration, the more space it gets: doubling a
1852 duration adds a fixed amount (this amount is controlled by
1853 @code{spacing-increment}) of space to the note.
1855 For example, the following piece contains lots of half, quarter, and
1856 8th notes; the eighth note is followed by 1 note head width (NHW).
1857 The quarter note is followed by 2 NHW, the half by 3 NHW, etc.
1859 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=1]
1860 c2 c4. c8 c4. c8 c4. c8 c8
1864 Normally, @code{spacing-increment} is set to 1.2 staff space, which is
1865 approximately the width of a note head, and
1866 @code{shortest-duration-space} is set to 2.0, meaning that the
1867 shortest note gets 2.4 staff space (2.0 times the
1868 @code{spacing-increment}) of horizontal space. This space is counted
1869 from the left edge of the symbol, so the shortest notes are generally
1870 followed by one NHW of space.
1872 If one would follow the above procedure exactly, then adding a single
1873 32nd note to a score that uses 8th and 16th notes, would widen up the
1874 entire score a lot. The shortest note is no longer a 16th, but a 32nd,
1875 thus adding 1 NHW to every note. To prevent this, the shortest
1876 duration for spacing is not the shortest note in the score, but rather
1877 the one which occurs most frequently.
1880 The most common shortest duration is determined as follows: in every
1881 measure, the shortest duration is determined. The most common shortest
1882 duration is taken as the basis for the spacing, with the stipulation
1883 that this shortest duration should always be equal to or shorter than
1884 an 8th note. The shortest duration is printed when you run
1885 @code{lilypond} with the @code{--verbose} option.
1887 These durations may also be customized. If you set the
1888 @code{common-shortest-duration} in @rinternals{SpacingSpanner}, then
1889 this sets the base duration for spacing. The maximum duration for this
1890 base (normally an 8th), is set through @code{base-shortest-duration}.
1892 @funindex common-shortest-duration
1893 @funindex base-shortest-duration
1894 @funindex stem-spacing-correction
1897 Notes that are even shorter than the common shortest note are
1898 followed by a space that is proportional to their duration relative to
1899 the common shortest note. So if we were to add only a few 16th notes
1900 to the example above, they would be followed by half a NHW:
1902 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=2]
1903 c2 c4. c8 c4. c16[ c] c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
1909 @c (see @rlearning{Engraving}),
1910 it was explained that stem
1911 directions influence spacing. This is controlled with the
1912 @code{stem-spacing-correction} property in the
1913 @rinternals{NoteSpacing}, object. These are generated for every
1914 @rinternals{Voice} context. The @code{StaffSpacing} object
1915 (generated in @rinternals{Staff} context) contains the same property
1916 for controlling the stem/bar line spacing. The following example shows
1917 these corrections, once with default settings, and once with
1918 exaggerated corrections:
1920 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
1924 \override Staff.NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
1925 \override Staff.StaffSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
1931 Proportional notation is supported; see @ref{Proportional notation}.
1938 Internals Reference:
1939 @rinternals{SpacingSpanner},
1940 @rinternals{NoteSpacing},
1941 @rinternals{StaffSpacing},
1942 @rinternals{NonMusicalPaperColumn}.
1947 There is no convenient mechanism to manually override spacing. The
1948 following work-around may be used to insert extra space into a score,
1949 adjusting the padding value as necessary.
1951 \override Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn #'padding = #10
1954 No work-around exists for decreasing the amount of space.
1957 @node New spacing area
1958 @subsection New spacing area
1960 New sections with different spacing parameters can be started with
1961 @code{newSpacingSection}. This is useful when there are
1962 sections with a different notions of long and short notes.
1964 In the following example, the time signature change introduces a new
1965 section, and hence the 16ths notes are spaced wider.
1967 @lilypond[relative,fragment,verbatim,quote]
1970 c8 c c4 c16[ c c8] c4
1976 The @code{\newSpacingSection} command creates a new
1977 @code{SpacingSpanner} object, and hence new @code{\override}s
1978 may be used in that location.
1985 Internals Reference:
1986 @rinternals{SpacingSpanner}.
1989 @node Changing horizontal spacing
1990 @subsection Changing horizontal spacing
1992 Horizontal spacing may be altered with the
1993 @code{base-shortest-duration} property. Here
1994 we compare the same music; once without altering
1995 the property, and then altered. Larger values
1996 of @code{ly:make-moment} will produce smaller
1997 music. Note that @code{ly:make-moment} constructs
1998 a duration, so @code{1 4} is a longer duration
2001 @lilypond[verbatim,line-width=12\cm]
2004 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 d e f | g4 g g2 |
2005 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2006 d4 d d d | d4 e f2 | e4 e e e | e4 f g2 |
2007 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2012 @lilypond[verbatim,line-width=12\cm]
2015 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 d e f | g4 g g2 |
2016 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2017 d4 d d d | d4 e f2 | e4 e e e | e4 f g2 |
2018 g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
2023 \override SpacingSpanner
2024 #'base-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
2033 By default, spacing in tuplets depends on various non-duration
2034 factors (such as accidentals, clef changes, etc). To disregard
2035 such symbols and force uniform equal-duration spacing, use
2036 @code{Score.SpacingSpanner #'uniform-stretching}. This
2037 property can only be changed at the beginning of a score,
2039 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,fragment,verbatim]
2041 \override SpacingSpanner #'uniform-stretching = ##t
2058 When @code{strict-note-spacing} is set, notes are spaced without
2059 regard for clefs, bar lines, and grace notes,
2061 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,relative=2,fragment,verbatim]
2062 \override Score.SpacingSpanner #'strict-note-spacing = ##t
2063 \new Staff { c8[ c \clef alto c \grace { c16[ c] } c8 c c] c32[ c32] }
2073 @subsection Line length
2076 @cindex breaking pages
2079 @funindex line-width
2080 @funindex ragged-right
2081 @funindex ragged-last
2083 @c Although line-width can be set in \layout, it should be set in paper
2084 @c block, to get page layout right.
2085 @c Setting indent in \paper block makes not much sense, but it works.
2087 @c Bit verbose and vague, use examples?
2088 The most basic settings influencing the spacing are @code{indent} and
2089 @code{line-width}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block. They
2090 control the indentation of the first line of music, and the lengths of
2093 If @code{ragged-right} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block, then
2094 systems ends at their natural horizontal length, instead of being spread
2095 horizontally to fill the whole line. This is useful for
2096 short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural spacing is.
2099 @cindex vertical spacing
2101 The option @code{ragged-last} is similar to @code{ragged-right}, but
2102 only affects the last line of the piece. No restrictions are put on
2103 that line. The result is similar to formatting text paragraphs. In a
2104 paragraph, the last line simply takes its natural horizontal length.
2105 @c Note that for text there are several options for the last line.
2106 @c While Knuth TeX uses natural length, lead typesetters use the same
2107 @c stretch as the previous line. eTeX uses \lastlinefit to
2108 @c interpolate between both these solutions.
2124 @node Proportional notation
2125 @subsection Proportional notation
2127 LilyPond supports proportional notation, a type of horizontal spacing
2128 in which each note consumes an amount of horizontal space exactly
2129 equivalent to its rhythmic duration. This type of proportional spacing
2130 is comparable to horizontal spacing on top of graph paper. Some late
2131 20th- and early 21st-century scores use proportional notation to
2132 clarify complex rhythmic relationships or to facilitate the placement
2133 of timelines or other graphics directly in the score.
2135 LilyPond supports five different settings for proportional notation,
2136 which may be used together or alone:
2139 @item @code{proportionalNotationDuration}
2140 @item @code{uniform-stretching}
2141 @item @code{strict-note-spacing}
2142 @item @code{\remove Separating_line_group_engraver}
2143 @item @code{\override PaperColumn #'used = ##t}
2146 In the examples that follow, we explore these five different
2147 proportional notation settings and examine how these settings interact.
2149 We start with the following one-measure example, which uses classical
2150 spacing with ragged-right turned on.
2152 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2154 \new RhythmicStaff {
2158 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2164 Notice that the half note which begins the measure takes up far less
2165 than half of the horizontal space of the measure. Likewise, the
2166 sixteenth notes and sixteenth-note quintuplets (or twentieth notes)
2167 which end the measure together take up far more than half the
2168 horizontal space of the measure.
2170 In classical engraving, this spacing may be exactly what we want
2171 because we can borrow horizontal space from the half note and conserve
2172 horizontal space across the measure as a whole.
2174 On the other hand, if we want to insert a measured timeline or other
2175 graphic above or below our score, we need proportional notation. We
2176 turn proportional notation on with the proportionalNotationDuration
2179 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2181 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 20)
2183 \new RhythmicStaff {
2187 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2193 The half note at the beginning of the measure and the faster notes in
2194 the second half of the measure now occupy equal amounts of horizontal
2195 space. We could place a measured timeline or graphic above or below
2198 The @code{proportionalNotationDuration} setting is a context setting that
2199 lives in @code{Score}. Recall that context settings appear in one of
2200 three locations in our input file -- in a @code{\with} block, in a
2201 @code{\context} block, or directly in music entry
2202 preceded by the @code{\set} command. As with all
2203 context settings, users can pick which of the three different
2204 locations they would like to set @code{proportionalNotationDuration}.
2206 The @code{proportionalNotationDuration} setting takes a single argument,
2207 which is the reference duration against which all music will be
2208 spaced. The LilyPond Scheme function make-moment takes two arguments
2209 -- a numerator and denominator which together express some fraction of
2210 a whole note. The call @code{#(ly:make-moment 1 20)} therefore produces a
2211 reference duration of a twentieth note. The values
2212 @code{#(ly:make-moment 1 16)}, @code{#(ly:make-moment 1 8)}, and
2213 @code{#(ly:make-moment 3 97)} are all possible as well.
2215 How do we select the right reference duration to pass to
2216 @code{proportionalNotationDuration}? Usually by a process of trial and error,
2217 beginning with a duration close to the fastest (or smallest) duration
2218 in the piece. Smaller reference durations space music loosely; larger
2219 reference durations space music tightly.
2221 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2223 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 8)
2225 \new RhythmicStaff {
2229 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2235 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
2237 \new RhythmicStaff {
2241 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2247 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 32)
2249 \new RhythmicStaff {
2253 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2259 Note that too large a reference duration -- such as the eighth note,
2260 above -- spaces music too tightly and can cause note head collisions.
2261 Note also that proportional notation in general takes up more
2262 horizontal space that does classical spacing. Proportional spacing
2263 provides rhythmic clarity at the expense of horizontal space.
2265 Next we examine how to optimally space overlapping tuplets.
2267 We start by examining what happens to our original example, with
2268 classical spacing, when we add a second staff with a different type of
2271 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2273 \new RhythmicStaff {
2277 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2280 \new RhythmicStaff {
2282 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8
2288 The spacing is bad because the evenly notes of the bottom staff do not
2289 stretch uniformly. Classical engraving includes very few complex
2290 triplets and so classical engraving rules can generate this type of
2291 result. Setting @code{proportionalNotationDuration} remedies this
2292 situation considerably.
2294 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2296 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 20)
2298 \new RhythmicStaff {
2302 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2305 \new RhythmicStaff {
2307 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8
2313 But if we look very carefully we can see that notes of the second half
2314 of the 9-tuplet space ever so slightly more widely than do the notes
2315 of the first half of the 9-tuplet. To ensure uniform stretching, we
2316 turn on @code{uniform-stretching}, which is a property of
2317 @code{SpacingSpanner}.
2319 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2321 proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 20)
2322 \override SpacingSpanner #'uniform-stretching = ##t
2324 \new RhythmicStaff {
2328 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16 c'16
2331 \new RhythmicStaff {
2333 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8 c'8
2339 Our two-staff example now spaces exactly, our rhythmic
2340 relationships are visually clear, and we can include a measured
2341 timeline or graphic if we want.
2343 Note that the LilyPond's proportional notation package expects
2344 that all proportional scores set the SpacingSpanner's
2345 'uniform-stretching attribute to ##t. Setting
2346 proportionalNotationDuration without also setting the
2347 SpacingSpanner's 'uniform-stretching attribute to ##t will, for
2348 example, cause Skips to consume an incorrect amount of horizontal
2351 The SpacingSpanner is an abstract grob that lives in the Score
2352 context. As with our settings of proportionalNotationDuration,
2353 overrides to the SpacingSpanner can occur in any of three
2354 different places in our input file – in the Score \with block, in
2355 a Score \context block, or in note entry directly.
2357 There is by default only one @code{SpacingSpanner} per @code{Score}. This
2358 means that, by default, @code{uniform-stretching} is either turned on for the
2359 entire score or turned off for the entire score. We can, however,
2360 override this behavior and turn on different spacing features at
2361 different places in the score. We do this with the command
2362 @code{\newSpacingSection}. See @ref{New spacing area}, for more info.
2364 Next we examine the effects of the @code{Separating_line_group_engraver} and
2365 see why proportional scores frequently remove this engraver. The following
2366 example shows that there is a small amount of @qq{preferatory} space
2367 just before the first note in each system.
2369 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2382 The amount of this preferatory space is the same whether after a time
2383 signature, a key signature or a clef. @code{Separating_line_group_engraver}
2384 is responsible for this space. Removing @code{Separating_line_group_engraver}
2385 reduces this space to zero.
2387 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2393 \remove Separating_line_group_engraver
2401 Nonmusical elements like time signatures, key signatures, clefs and
2402 accidentals are problematic in proportional notation. None of these
2403 elements has rhythmic duration. But all of these elements consume
2404 horizontal space. Different proportional scores approach these
2405 problems differently.
2407 It may be possible to avoid spacing problems with key signatures
2408 simply by not having any. This is a valid option since most
2409 proportional scores are contemporary music. The same may be true
2410 of time signatures, especially for those scores
2411 that include a measured timeline or other graphic. But these scores
2412 are exceptional and most proportional scores include at least some
2413 time signatures. Clefs and accidentals are even more essential.
2415 So what strategies exist for spacing nonmusical elements in a
2416 proportional context? One good option is the @code{strict-note-spacing}
2417 property of @code{SpacingSpanner}. Compare the two scores below:
2419 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2421 \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
2431 \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1 16)
2432 \override Score.SpacingSpanner #'strict-note-spacing = ##t
2442 Both scores are proportional, but the spacing in the first score
2443 is too loose because of the clef change. The spacing of the second
2444 score remains strict, however, because strict-note-spacing is
2445 turned on. Turning on strict-note-spacing causes the width of
2446 time signatures, key signatures, clefs and accidentals to play no
2447 part in the spacing algorithm.
2449 In addition to the settings given here, there are other settings
2450 that frequently appear in proportional scores. These include:
2453 @item @code{\override SpacingSpanner #'strict-grace-spacing = ##t}
2454 @item @code{tupletFullLength = ##t}
2455 @item @code{\override Beam #'breakable = ##t}
2456 @item @code{\override Glissando #'breakable = ##t}
2457 @item @code{\override TextSpanner #'breakable = ##t}
2458 @item @code{\remove Forbid_line_break_engraver in the Voice context}
2461 These settings space grace notes strictly, extend tuplet brackets to
2462 mark both rhythmic start- and stop-points, and allow spanning elements
2463 to break across systems and pages. See the respective parts of the manual
2464 for these related settings.
2469 @ref{New spacing area}.
2475 @node Fitting music onto fewer pages
2476 @section Fitting music onto fewer pages
2478 Sometimes you can end up with one or two staves on a second
2479 (or third, or fourth...) page. This is annoying, especially
2480 if you look at previous pages and it looks like there is plenty
2481 of room left on those.
2483 When investigating layout issues, @code{annotate-spacing} is an
2484 invaluable tool. This command prints the values of various layout
2485 spacing variables; for more details see the following section,
2486 @ref{Displaying spacing}.
2489 * Displaying spacing::
2490 * Changing spacing::
2494 @node Displaying spacing
2495 @subsection Displaying spacing
2497 @funindex annotate-spacing
2498 @cindex spacing, display of layout
2500 To graphically display the dimensions of vertical layout variables
2501 that may be altered for page formatting, set
2502 @code{annotate-spacing} in the @code{\paper} block:
2504 @c need to have \book{} otherwise we get the separate systems. -hwn
2505 @lilypond[verbatim,quote]
2506 #(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
2509 \paper { annotate-spacing = ##t }
2515 All layout dimensions are displayed in staff-spaces, regardless
2516 of the units specified in the @code{\paper} or @code{\layout} block.
2517 In the above example, @code{paper-height} has a value of 59.75
2518 @code{staff-spaces}, and the @code{staff-size} is 20 points (the
2519 default value). Note that:
2521 @multitable {1 staff-space} {staff-size)/4 * (25.4/72.27) mm}
2524 @tab = (25.4/72.27) mm
2527 @tab = (@code{staff-size})/4 pts
2529 @tab = (@code{staff-size})/4 * (25.4/72.27) mm
2534 In this case, one @code{staff-space} is approximately equal to
2535 1.757mm. Thus the @code{paper-height} measurement of 59.75
2536 @code{staff-spaces} is equivalent to 105 millimeters, the height
2537 of @code{a6} paper in landscape orientation. The pairs
2538 (@var{a},@var{b}) are intervals, where @var{a} is the lower
2539 edge and @var{b} the upper edge of the interval.
2544 @ref{Setting the staff size}.
2550 @node Changing spacing
2551 @subsection Changing spacing
2553 The output of @code{annotate-spacing} reveals vertical dimensions
2554 in great detail. For details about modifying margins and other
2555 layout variables, see @ref{Page formatting}.
2557 Other than margins, there are a few other options to save space:
2561 Force systems to move as close together as possible (to fit as
2562 many systems as possible onto a page) while being spaced so that
2563 there is no blank space at the bottom of the page.
2567 between-system-padding = #0.1
2568 between-system-space = #0.1
2569 ragged-last-bottom = ##f
2575 Force the number of systems. This can help in two ways. Just
2576 setting a value, even the same value as the number of systems
2577 being typeset by default, will sometimes cause more systems to
2578 be fitted onto each page, as an estimation step is then bypassed,
2579 giving a more accurate fit to each page. Also, forcing an actual
2580 reduction in the number of systems may save a further page. For
2581 example, if the default layout has 11 systems, the following
2582 assignment will force a layout with 10 systems.
2591 Avoid (or reduce) objects that increase the vertical size of a
2592 system. For example, volta repeats (or alternate repeats) require
2593 extra space. If these repeats are spread over two systems, they
2594 will take up more space than one system with the volta repeats and
2595 another system without. For example, dynamics that @q{stick out} of
2596 a system can be moved closer to the staff:
2598 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
2600 \override DynamicText #'extra-offset = #'( -2.2 . 2.0)
2605 Alter the horizontal spacing via @code{SpacingSpanner}. For more
2606 details, see @ref{Changing horizontal spacing}. The following
2607 example illustrates the default spacing:
2609 @lilypond[verbatim,quote]
2622 The next example modifies @code{common-shortest-duration} from a
2623 value of @code{1/4} to @code{1/2}. The quarter note is the most
2624 common and shortest duration in this example, so by making this
2625 duration longer, a @q{squeezing} effect occurs:
2627 @lilypond[verbatim,quote]
2639 \override SpacingSpanner
2640 #'common-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 2)
2647 The @code{common-shortest-duration} property cannot be modified
2648 dynamically, so it must always be placed in a @code{\context}
2649 block so that it applies to the whole score.
2656 @ref{Page formatting},
2657 @ref{Changing horizontal spacing}.