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2 @c This file is part of lilypond-learning.tely
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13 @chapter Tweaking output
15 This chapter discusses how to modify output. LilyPond is extremely
16 configurable; virtually every fragment of output may be changed.
21 * The Internals Reference manual::
22 * Appearance of objects::
23 * Placement of objects::
24 * Collisions of objects::
29 @section Tweaking basics
32 * Introduction to tweaks::
33 * Objects and interfaces::
34 * Naming conventions of objects and properties::
38 @node Introduction to tweaks
39 @subsection Introduction to tweaks
41 @q{Tweaking} is a LilyPond term for the various methods available
42 to the user for modifying the actions taken during interpretation
43 of the input file and modifying the appearance of the printed
44 output. Some tweaks are very easy to use; others are more
45 complex. But taken together the methods available for tweaking
46 permit almost any desired appearance of the printed music to be
49 In this section we cover the basic concepts required to understand
50 tweaking. Later we give a variety of ready-made commands which can
51 simply be copied to obtain the same effect in your own scores, and
52 at the same time we show how these commands may be constructed so
53 that you may learn how to develop your own tweaks.
55 Before starting on this Chapter you may wish to review the section
56 @ref{Contexts and engravers}, as Contexts, Engravers, and the
57 Properties contained within them are fundamental to understanding
58 and constructing Tweaks.
60 @node Objects and interfaces
61 @subsection Objects and interfaces
68 Tweaking involves modifying the internal operation and structures
69 of the LilyPond program, so we must first introduce some terms
70 which are used to describe those internal operations and
73 The term @q{Object} is a generic term used to refer to the
74 multitude of internal structures built by LilyPond during the
75 processing of an input file. So when a command like @code{\new
76 Staff} is encountered a new object of type @code{Staff} is
77 constructed. That @code{Staff} object then holds all the
78 properties associated with that particular staff, for example, its
79 name and its key signature, together with details of the engravers
80 which have been assigned to operate within that staff's context.
81 Similarly, there are objects to hold the properties of all other
82 contexts, such as @code{Voice} objects, @code{Score} objects,
83 @code{Lyrics} objects, as well as objects to represent all
84 notational elements such as bar lines,
85 note heads, ties, dynamics, etc. Every object has its own set of
88 Some types of object are given special names. Objects which
89 represent items of notation on the printed output such as
90 note heads, stems, slurs, ties, fingering, clefs, etc are called
91 @q{Layout objects}, often known as @q{Graphical Objects}, or
92 @q{Grobs} for short. These are still objects in the generic sense
93 above, and so they too all have properties associated with them,
94 such as their position, size, color, etc.
96 Some layout objects are still more specialized. Phrasing slurs,
97 crescendo hairpins, ottava marks, and many other grobs are not
98 localized in a single place -- they have a starting point, an
99 ending point, and maybe other properties concerned with their
100 shape. Objects with an extended shape like these are called
103 It remains to explain what @q{Interfaces} are. Many objects,
104 even though they are quite different, share common features
105 which need to be processed in the same way.
106 For example, all grobs have a color, a size, a position, etc,
107 and all these properties are processed in the same way during
109 interpretation of the input file. To simplify these internal
110 operations these common actions and properties are grouped
111 together in an object called a @code{grob-interface}. There
112 are many other groupings of common properties like this, each
113 one given a name ending in @code{interface}. In total there
114 are over 100 such interfaces. We shall see later why this is
115 of interest and use to the user.
117 These, then, are the main terms relating to objects which we
118 shall use in this chapter.
120 @node Naming conventions of objects and properties
121 @subsection Naming conventions of objects and properties
123 We met some object naming conventions previously, in
124 @ref{Contexts and engravers}. Here for reference is a list
125 of the most common object and property types together with
126 the conventions for naming them and a couple of examples of
127 some real names. We have used @q{A} to stand for any capitalized
128 alphabetic character and @q{aaa} to stand for any number of
129 lower-case alphabetic characters. Other characters are used
132 @multitable @columnfractions .33 .33 .33
133 @headitem Object/property type
134 @tab Naming convention
137 @tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
138 @tab Staff, GrandStaff
140 @tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
143 @tab Aaaa_aaa_engraver
144 @tab Clef_engraver, Note_heads_engraver
146 @tab aaa-aaa-interface
147 @tab grob-interface, break-aligned-interface
148 @item Context Properties
149 @tab aaa or aaaAaaaAaaa
150 @tab alignAboveContext, skipBars
151 @item Layout Object Properties
152 @tab aaa or aaa-aaa-aaa
153 @tab direction, beam-thickness
156 As we shall see shortly, the properties of different types of
157 object are modified by different commands, so it is useful to
158 be able to recognize the type of object from the names of its
162 @node Tweaking methods
163 @subsection Tweaking methods
165 @strong{\override command}
167 @cindex override command
170 We have already met the commands @code{\set} and @code{\with},
171 used to change the properties of @strong{contexts} and to remove
172 and add @strong{engravers}, in
173 @ref{Modifying context properties}, and @ref{Adding
174 and removing engravers}. We now must meet some more important
177 The command to change the properties of @strong{layout objects} is
178 @code{\override}. Because this command has to modify
179 internal properties deep within LilyPond its syntax is not
180 as simple as the commands you have met so far. It needs to
181 know precisely which property of which object in which context
182 has to be modified, and what its new value is to be. Let's see
185 The general syntax of this command is:
188 \override @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject} #'@var{layout-property} = #@var{value}
192 This will set the property with the name @var{layout-property}
193 of the layout object with the name
194 @var{LayoutObject}, which is a member of the @var{Context}
195 context, to the value @var{value}.
197 The @var{Context} can be omitted (and usually is) when the
198 required context is unambiguously implied and is one of lowest
199 level contexts, i.e., @code{Voice}, @code{ChordNames} or
200 @code{Lyrics}, and we shall omit it in many of the following
201 examples. We shall see later when it must be specified.
203 Later sections deal comprehensively with properties and their
204 values, but to illustrate the format and use of these commands
205 we shall use just a few simple properties and values which are
208 For now, don't worry about the @code{#'}, which must precede the
209 layout property, and the @code{#}, which must precede the value.
210 These must always be present in exactly this form. This is the
211 most common command used in tweaking, and most of the rest of
212 this chapter will be directed to presenting examples of how it is
213 used. Here is a simple example to change the color of the
216 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
218 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
220 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
224 @strong{\revert command}
226 @cindex revert command
229 Once overridden, the property retains its new value until it is
230 overridden again or a @code{\revert} command is encountered.
231 The @code{\revert} command has the following syntax and causes
232 the value of the property to revert to its original default
233 value; note, not its previous value if several @code{\override}
234 commands have been issued.
237 \revert @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject} #'@var{layout-property}
240 Again, just like @var{Context} in the @code{\override} command,
241 @var{Context} is often not needed. It will be omitted
242 in many of the following examples. Here we revert the color
243 of the note head to the default value for the final two notes:
245 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
247 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
249 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
251 \revert NoteHead #'color
255 @strong{\once prefix}
257 Both the @code{\override} and the @code{\set} commands may be
258 prefixed by @code{\once}. This causes the following
259 @code{\override} or @code{\set} command to be effective only
260 during the current musical moment before the property reverts
261 back to its default value. Using the same example, we can
262 change the color of a single note like this:
264 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
266 \once \override NoteHead #'color = #red
268 \once \override NoteHead #'color = #green
272 @strong{\overrideProperty command}
274 @cindex overrideProperty command
275 @funindex \overrideProperty
277 There is another form of the override command,
278 @code{\overrideProperty}, which is occasionally required.
279 We mention it here for completeness, but for details see
280 @ruser{Difficult tweaks}.
281 @c Maybe explain in a later iteration -td
283 @strong{\tweak command}
285 @cindex tweak command
288 The final tweaking command which is available is @code{\tweak}.
289 This should be used to change the properties of objects which
290 occur at the same musical moment, such as the notes within a
291 chord. Using @code{\override} would affect all the notes
292 within a chord, whereas @code{\tweak} affects just the following
293 item in the input stream.
295 Here's an example. Suppose we wish to change the size of the
296 middle note head (the E) in a C major chord. Let's first see what
297 @code{\once \override} would do:
299 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
301 \once \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-3
306 We see the override affects @emph{all} the note heads in the chord.
307 This is because all the notes of a chord occur at the same
308 @emph{musical moment}, and the action of @code{\once} is to
309 apply the override to all layout objects of the type specified
310 which occur at the same musical moment as the @code{\override}
313 The @code{\tweak} command operates in a different way. It acts
314 on the immediately following item in the input stream. However,
315 it is effective only on objects which are created directly from
316 the input stream, essentially note heads and articulations;
317 objects such as stems and accidentals are created later and
318 cannot be tweaked in this way. Furthermore, when it is applied
319 to note heads these @emph{must} be within a chord, i.e., within
320 single angle brackets, so to tweak a single note the @code{\tweak}
321 command must be placed inside single angle brackets with the
324 So to return to our example, the size of the middle note of
325 a chord would be changed in this way:
327 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
329 <c \tweak #'font-size #-3 e g>4
332 Note that the syntax of @code{\tweak} is different from that
333 of the @code{\override} command. Neither the context nor the
334 layout object should be specified; in fact, it would generate
335 an error to do so. These are both implied by the following
336 item in the input stream. So the general syntax of the
337 @code{\tweak} command is simply
340 \tweak #'@var{layout-property} = #@var{value}
343 A @code{\tweak} command can also be used to modify just one in
344 a series of articulations, as shown here:
346 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
348 -\tweak #'color #red ^Red
349 -\tweak #'color #green _Green
353 Note that the @code{\tweak} command must be preceded by an
354 articulation mark as if it were an articulation itself.
356 @cindex tuplets, nested
357 @cindex triplets, nested
358 @cindex bracket, tuplet
359 @cindex tuplet bracket
360 @cindex triplet bracket
361 @funindex TupletBracket
363 The @code{\tweak} command must also be used to change the
364 appearance of one of a set of nested tuplets which begin at the
365 same musical moment. In the following example, the long tuplet
366 bracket and the first of the three short brackets begin at the
367 same musical moment, so any @code{\override} command would apply
368 to both of them. In the example, @code{\tweak} is used to
369 distinguish between them. The first @code{\tweak} command
370 specifies that the long tuplet bracket is to be placed above the
371 notes and the second one specifies that the tuplet number is to be
372 printed in red on the first short tuplet bracket.
374 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=2]
375 \tweak #'direction #up
378 \times 2/3 { c8[ c8 c8] }
379 \times 2/3 { c8[ c8 c8] }
380 \times 2/3 { c8[ c8 c8] }
384 If nested tuplets do not begin at the same moment, their
385 appearance may be modified in the usual way with
386 @code{\override} commands:
388 @c NOTE Tuplet brackets collide if notes are high on staff
390 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=1]
391 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c]}
392 \once \override TupletNumber
393 #'text = #tuplet-number::calc-fraction-text
397 \once \override TupletNumber #'transparent = ##t
398 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
399 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c]}
406 @ruser{The tweak command}.
409 @node The Internals Reference manual
410 @section The Internals Reference manual
412 @cindex Internals Reference
415 * Properties of layout objects::
416 * Properties found in interfaces::
417 * Types of properties::
420 @node Properties of layout objects
421 @subsection Properties of layout objects
423 @cindex properties of layout objects
424 @cindex properties of grobs
425 @cindex grobs, properties of
426 @cindex layout objects, properties of
428 Suppose you have a slur in a score which, to your mind,
429 appears too thin and you'd like to draw it a little heavier.
430 How do you go about doing this? You know from the statements
431 earlier about the flexibility of LilyPond that such a thing
432 should be possible, and you would probably guess that an
433 @code{\override} command would be needed. But is there a
434 heaviness property for a slur, and if there is, how might it
435 be modified? This is where the Internals Reference manual
436 comes in. It contains all the information you might need to
437 construct this and all other @code{\override} commands.
439 Before we look at the Internals Reference a word of warning.
440 This is a @strong{reference} document, which means there is
441 little or no explanation contained within it: its purpose is
442 to present information precisely and concisely. This
443 means it might look daunting at first sight. Don't worry!
444 The guidance and explanation presented here will enable you
445 to extract the information from the Internals Reference for
446 yourself with just a little practice.
448 @cindex override example
449 @cindex Internals Reference, example of using
451 Let's use a concrete example with a simple fragment of real
454 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
459 g[( e]) e d[( f]) a |
463 The man who feels love's sweet e -- mo -- tion
468 Suppose now that we decide we would like the slurs to be a
469 little heavier. Is this possible? The slur is certainly a
470 layout object, so the question is, @q{Is there a property
471 belonging to a slur which controls the heaviness?} To answer
472 this we must look in the Internals Reference, or IR for short.
474 The IR for the version of LilyPond you are using may be found
475 on the LilyPond website at @uref{http://lilypond.org}. Go to the
476 documentation page and click on the Internals Reference link.
477 For learning purposes you should use the standard HTML version,
478 not the @q{one big page} or the PDF. For the next few
479 paragraphs to make sense you will need to actually do this
482 Under the heading @strong{Top} you will see five links. Select
483 the link to the @emph{Backend}, which is where information about
484 layout objects is to be found. There, under the heading
485 @strong{Backend}, select the link to @emph{All layout objects}.
486 The page that appears lists all the layout objects used in your
487 version of LilyPond, in alphabetic order. Select the link to
488 Slur, and the properties of Slurs are listed.
490 An alternative way of finding this page is from the Notation
491 Reference. On one of the pages that deals with slurs you may find a
492 link to the Internals Reference. This link will take you directly to
493 this page, but if you have an idea about the name of the layout object
494 to be tweaked, it is easier to go straight to the IR and search there.
496 This Slur page in the IR tells us first that Slur objects are created
497 by the Slur_engraver. Then it lists the standard settings. Note
498 these are @strong{not} in alphabetic order. Browse down them looking
499 for a property that might control the heaviness of slurs, and you
503 @code{thickness} (number)
505 Line thickness, generally measured in @code{line-thickness}
508 This looks a good bet to change the heaviness. It tells us that
509 the value of @code{thickness} is a simple @emph{number},
510 that the default value is 1.2, and that the units are
511 in another property called @code{line-thickness}.
513 As we said earlier, there are few to no explanations in the IR,
514 but we already have enough information to try changing the
515 slur thickness. We see that the name of the layout object
516 is @code{Slur}, that the name of the property to change is
517 @code{thickness} and that the new value should be a number
518 somewhat larger than 1.2 if we are to make slurs thicker.
520 We can now construct the @code{\override} command by simply
521 substituting the values we have found for the names, omitting
522 the context. Let's use a very large value for the thickness
523 at first, so we can be sure the command is working. We get:
526 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
529 Don't forget the @code{#'} preceding the
530 property name and and @code{#} preceding the new value!
532 The final question is, @q{Where should this command be
533 placed?} While you are unsure and learning, the best
534 answer is, @q{Within the music, before the first slur and
535 close to it.} Let's do that:
537 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
541 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
542 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
544 g[( e]) e d[( f]) a |
548 The man who feels love's sweet e -- mo -- tion
554 and we see that the slur is indeed heavier.
556 So this is the basic way of constructing @code{\override}
557 commands. There are a few more complications that we
558 shall meet in later sections, but you now know all the
559 essentials required to make up your own -- but you will
560 still need some practice. This is provided in the examples
563 @subheading Finding the context
564 @cindex context, finding
566 But first, what if we had needed to specify the Context?
567 What should it be? We could guess that slurs are in
568 the Voice context, as they are clearly closely associated
569 with individual lines of music, but can we be sure? To
570 find out, go back to the top of the IR page describing the
571 Slur, where it says @q{Slur objects are created by: Slur
572 engraver}. So slurs will be created in whichever context
573 the @code{Slur_engraver} is in. Follow the link to the
574 @code{Slur_engraver} page. At the very bottom it tells
575 us that @code{Slur_engraver} is part of five Voice contexts,
576 including the standard voice context, @code{Voice}, so our
577 guess was correct. And because @code{Voice} is one of the
578 lowest level contexts which is implied unambiguously by
579 the fact that we are entering notes, we can omit it in this
582 @subheading Overriding once only
584 @cindex overriding once only
585 @cindex once override
588 As you can see, @emph{all} the slurs are thicker in the
589 final example above. But what if we
590 wanted just the first slur to be thicker? This is achieved
591 with the @code{\once} command. Placed immediately before
592 the @code{\override} command it causes it to change only the
593 slur which begins on the @strong{immediately following} note.
595 immediately following note does not begin a slur the command
596 has no effect at all -- it is not remembered until a slur
597 is encountered, it is simply discarded. So the command with
599 repositioned as follows:
601 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
606 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
607 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
609 g[( e]) e d[( f]) a |
613 The man who feels love's sweet e -- mo -- tion
619 Now only the first slur is made heavier.
621 The @code{\once} command can also be used before the @code{\set}
624 @subheading Reverting
627 @cindex default properties, reverting
630 Finally, what if we wanted just the first two slurs to be
631 heavier? Well, we could use two commands, each preceded by
632 @code{\once} placed immediately before each of the notes where
635 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
640 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
641 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
643 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
644 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
645 g[( e]) e d[( f]) a |
649 The man who feels love's sweet e -- mo -- tion
655 or we could omit the @code{\once} command and use the
656 @code{\revert} command
657 to return the @code{thickness} property to its default value
658 after the second slur:
660 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
665 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
666 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
669 % Revert thickness of all following slurs to default of 1.2
670 \revert Slur #'thickness
675 The man who feels love's sweet e -- mo -- tion
681 The @code{\revert} command can be used to return any property
682 changed with @code{\override} back to its default value.
683 You may use whichever method best suits what you want to do.
685 That concludes our introduction to the IR, and the basic
686 method of tweaking. Several examples follow in the later
687 sections of this Chapter, partly to introduce you to some of the
688 additional features of the IR, and partly to give you more
689 practice in extracting information from it. These examples will
690 contain progressively fewer words of guidance and explanation.
693 @node Properties found in interfaces
694 @subsection Properties found in interfaces
696 @cindex interface properties
697 @cindex properties in interfaces
699 Suppose now that we wish to print the lyrics in italics. What
700 form of @code{\override} command do we need to do this?
701 We first look in the IR page listing @q{All layout objects}, as
702 before, and look for an object that might control lyrics. We
703 find @code{LyricText}, which looks right. Clicking on this shows
704 the settable properties for lyric text. These include the
705 @code{font-series} and @code{font-size}, but nothing that might
706 give an italic shape.
707 This is because the shape property is one that is common to all
708 font objects, so, rather than including it in every layout
709 object, it is grouped together with other similar common
710 properties and placed in an @strong{Interface}, the
711 @code{font-interface}.
713 So now we need to learn how to find the properties of interfaces,
714 and to discover what objects use these interface properties.
716 Look again at the IR page which describes LyricText. At the
717 bottom of the page is a list of clickable (in the html versions
718 of the IR) interfaces which LyricText supports. The list has
719 seven items, including @code{font-interface}.
720 Clicking on this brings up the properties associated
721 with this interface, which are also properties of all the objects
722 which support it, including LyricText.
724 Now we see all the user-settable properties which control fonts,
725 including @code{font-shape(symbol)}, where @code{symbol} can be
726 set to @code{upright}, @code{italics} or @code{caps}.
728 You will notice that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size}
729 are also listed there.
730 This immediately raises the question: Why are the common font
731 properties @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} listed under
732 @code{LyricText} as well as under the interface
733 @code{font-interface} but @code{font-shape} is not? The answer
734 is that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are changed
735 from their global default values when a @code{LyricText} object
736 is created, but @code{font-shape} is not. The entries in
737 @code{LyricText} then tell you the values for those two
738 properties which apply to @code{LyricText}. Other objects
739 which support @code{font-interface} will set these
740 properties differently when they are created.
742 Let's see if we can now construct the @code{\override} command
743 to change the lyrics to italics. The object is @code{LyricText},
744 the property is @code{font-shape} and the value is
745 @code{italic}. As before, we'll omit the context.
747 As an aside, although it is an important one, note that because
749 @code{font-shape} are symbols they must be introduced with a
750 single apostrophe, @code{'}. That is why apostrophes
751 are needed before @code{thickness} in the earlier example
752 and @code{font-shape}. These are both symbols too.
753 Symbols are special names which are known internally to
754 LilyPond. Some of them are the names of properties,
755 like @code{thickness} or @code{font-shape}, others are in
756 effect special values that can be given to properties, like
757 @code{italic}. Note the distinction from arbitrary
758 text strings, which would appear as @code{"a text string"}.
760 Ok, so the @code{\override} command we need to print the lyrics
764 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
768 and this should be placed just in front of and close to the
769 lyrics which it should affect, like this:
771 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
776 g[( e]) e d[( f]) a |
780 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
781 The man who feels love's sweet e -- mo -- tion
787 and the lyrics are all printed in italics.
789 @subheading Specifying the context in lyric mode
790 @cindex context, specifying in lyric mode
792 In the case of lyrics, if you try specifying the context in the
793 format given earlier the command will fail. A syllable
794 entered in lyricmode is terminated by either a space,
795 a newline or a digit. All other characters are included
796 as part of the syllable. For this reason a space or newline
797 must appear before the terminating @code{@}} to prevent it being
798 included as part of the final syllable. Similarly,
799 spaces must be inserted before and after the
800 period or dot, @q{.}, separating the context name from the
801 object name, as otherwise the two names are run together and
802 the interpreter cannot recognize them. So the command should be:
805 \override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
808 @warning{In lyrics always leave whitespace between the final
809 syllable and the terminating brace.}
811 @warning{In overrides in lyrics always place spaces around
812 the dot between the context name and the object name.}
814 @node Types of properties
815 @subsection Types of properties
817 @cindex Property types
819 So far we have seen two types of property: @code{number} and
820 @code{symbol}. To be valid, the value given to a property
821 must be of the correct type and obey the rules for that type.
822 The type of property is always shown in brackets after the
823 property name in the IR. Here is a list of the types you may
824 need, together with the rules for that type, and some examples.
825 You must always add a hash symbol, @code{#}, of course,
826 to the front of these values when they are entered in the
827 @code{\override} command.
829 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .45 .35
830 @headitem Property type
834 @tab Either True or False, represented by #t or #f
835 @tab @code{#t}, @code{#f}
836 @item Dimension (in staff space)
837 @tab A positive decimal number (in units of staff space)
838 @tab @code{2.5}, @code{0.34}
840 @tab A valid direction constant or its numerical equivalent
841 @tab @code{LEFT}, @code{CENTER}, @code{UP},
844 @tab A positive whole number
845 @tab @code{3}, @code{1}
847 @tab A bracketed set of items separated by spaces,
848 preceded by an apostrophe
849 @tab @code{'(left-edge staff-bar)}, @code{'(1)},
850 @code{'(1.0 0.25 0.5)}
852 @tab Any valid markup
853 @tab @code{\markup @{ \italic "cresc." @}}
855 @tab A fraction of a whole note constructed with the
857 @tab @code{(ly:make-moment 1 4)},
858 @code{(ly:make-moment 3 8)}
860 @tab Any positive or negative decimal value
861 @tab @code{3.5}, @code{-2.45}
862 @item Pair (of numbers)
863 @tab Two numbers separated by a @q{space . space} and enclosed
864 in brackets preceded by an apostrophe
865 @tab @code{'(2 . 3.5)}, @code{'(0.1 . -3.2)}
867 @tab Any of the set of permitted symbols for that property,
868 preceded by an apostrophe
869 @tab @code{'italic}, @code{'inside}
871 @tab A procedure or @code{#f} (to cause no action)
872 @tab @code{bend::print}, @code{ly:text-interface::print},
875 @tab A list of three items enclosed in brackets and preceded
876 by apostrophe-hash, @code{'#}.
877 @tab @code{'#(#t #t #f)}
880 @node Appearance of objects
881 @section Appearance of objects
883 Let us now put what we have learned into practice with a few
884 examples which show how tweaks may be used to change the
885 appearance of the printed music.
888 * Visibility and color of objects::
890 * Length and thickness of objects::
893 @node Visibility and color of objects
894 @subsection Visibility and color of objects
896 In the educational use of music we might wish to print a score
897 with certain elements omitted as an exercise for the student,
898 who is required to supply them. As a simple example,
899 let us suppose the exercise is to supply the missing bar lines
900 in a piece of music. But the bar lines are normally inserted
901 automatically. How do we prevent them printing?
903 Before we tackle this, let us remember that object properties
904 are grouped in what are called @emph{interfaces} -- see
905 @ref{Properties found in interfaces}. This is simply to
906 group together those properties that are commonly required
907 together -- if one of them is required for an object, so are
908 the others. Some objects then need the properties in some
909 interfaces, others need them from other interfaces. The
910 interfaces which contain the properties required by a
911 particular grob are listed in the IR at the bottom of the
912 page describing that grob, and those properties may be
913 viewed by looking at those interfaces.
915 We explained how to find information about grobs in
916 @ref{Properties of layout objects}. Using the same approach,
917 we go to the IR to find the layout object which prints
918 bar lines. Going via @emph{Backend} and @emph{All layout objects}
920 is a layout object called @code{BarLine}. Its properties include
921 two that control its visibility: @code{break-visibility} and
922 @code{stencil}. Barline also supports a number of interfaces,
923 including the @code{grob-interface}, where we find the
924 @code{transparent} and the @code{color} properties. All
925 of these can affect the visibility of bar lines (and, of course,
926 by extension, many other layout objects too.) Let's consider
927 each of these in turn.
930 @cindex stencil property
932 This property controls the appearance of the bar lines by specifying
933 the symbol (glyph) which should be printed. In common
934 with many other properties, it can be set to print nothing by
935 setting its value to @code{#f}. Let's try it, as before, omitting
936 the implied Context, @code{Voice}:
938 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
941 \override BarLine #'stencil = ##f
948 The bar lines are still printed. What is wrong? Go back to the
949 IR and look again at the page giving the properties of BarLine.
950 At the top of the page it says @qq{Barline objects are created
951 by: Bar_engraver}. Go to the @code{Bar_engraver} page.
953 it gives a list of Contexts in which the bar engraver operates.
954 All of them are of the type @code{Staff}, so the reason the
955 @code{\override} command failed to work as expected is because
956 @code{Barline} is not in the default @code{Voice} context.
958 is specified wrongly, the command simply does not work. No
959 error message is produced, and nothing is logged in the log
960 file. Let's try correcting it by adding the correct context:
962 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
965 \override Staff.BarLine #'stencil = ##f
972 Now the bar lines have vanished.
974 @subheading break-visibility
976 @cindex break-visibility property
978 We see from the @code{BarLine} properties in the IR that the
979 @code{break-visibility} property requires a vector of three
981 These control respectively whether bar lines are printed at
982 the end of a line, in the middle of lines, and at the beginning
983 of lines. For our example we want all bar lines to be suppressed,
984 so the value we need is @code{'#(#f #f #f)}.
985 Let's try that, remembering
986 to include the @code{Staff} context. Note also that in writing
987 this value we have @code{#'#} before the opening bracket.
988 The @code{'#} is required as part of the value to introduce a
989 vector, and the first @code{#} is required, as always, to precede
990 the value itself in the @code{\override} command.
992 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
995 \override Staff.BarLine #'break-visibility = #'#(#f #f #f)
1002 And we see this too removes all the bar lines.
1004 @subheading transparent
1005 @cindex transparent property
1007 We see from the properties specified in the @code{grob-interface}
1008 page in the IR that the @code{transparent} property is a boolean.
1010 should be set to @code{#t} to make the grob transparent.
1011 In this next example let us make the time signature invisible
1012 rather than the bar lines.
1013 To do this we need to find the grob name for the time signature.
1015 the @q{All layout objects} page in the IR to find the properties
1016 of the @code{TimeSignature} layout object. This is produced by
1017 the @code{Time_signature_engraver} which you can check also lives
1018 in the @code{Staff} context and also supports the
1019 @code{grob-interface}. So the command to make the time signature
1022 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1025 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'transparent = ##t
1027 g, a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1033 The time signature is gone, but this command leaves a gap where
1034 the time signature should be. Maybe this is what is wanted for
1035 an exercise for the student to fill it in, but in other
1036 circumstances a gap might be undesirable. To remove it, the
1037 stencil for the time signature should be set to @code{#f}
1040 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1043 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1045 g, a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1051 and the difference is obvious: setting the stencil to @code{#f}
1052 removes the object entirely; making the object @code{transparent}
1053 leaves it where it is, but makes it invisible.
1056 @cindex color property
1058 Finally let us try making the bar lines invisible by coloring
1059 them white. (There is a difficulty with this in that the
1060 white bar line may or may not blank out the staff lines where
1061 they cross. You may see in some of the examples below that this
1062 happens unpredictably. The details of why this is so and how to
1063 control it are covered in @ruser{Painting objects white}. But at
1064 the moment we are learning about color, so please just accept this
1065 limitation for now.)
1067 The @code{grob-interface} specifies that the
1068 color property value is a list, but there is no
1069 explanation of what that list should be. The list it
1070 requires is actually a list of values in internal units,
1071 but, to avoid having to know what these are, several ways
1072 are provided to specify colors. The first way is to use one
1073 of the @q{normal} colors listed in the first table in
1074 @ruser{List of colors}. To set the bar lines to white
1077 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1080 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #white
1082 g, a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1088 and again, we see the bar lines are not visible. Note that
1089 @emph{white} is not preceded by an apostrophe -- it is not
1090 a symbol, but a @emph{function}. When called, it provides
1091 the list of internal values required to set the color to
1092 white. The other colors in the normal list are functions
1093 too. To convince yourself this is working you might like
1094 to change the color to one of the other functions in the
1100 The second way of changing the color is to use the list of
1101 X11 color names in the second list in @ruser{List of colors}.
1102 However, these must be preceded by another function, which
1103 converts X11 color names into the list of internal values,
1104 @code{x11-color}, like this:
1106 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1109 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'white)
1111 g, a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1117 Note that in this case the function @code{x11-color} takes
1118 a symbol as an argument, so the symbol must be preceded by
1119 an apostrophe and the two enclosed in brackets.
1124 There is yet a third function, one which converts RGB values into
1125 internal colors -- the @code{rgb-color} function. This takes
1126 three arguments giving the intensities of the red, green and
1127 blue colors. These take values in the range 0 to 1. So to
1128 set the color to red the value should be @code{(rgb-color 1 0 0)}
1129 and to white it should be @code{(rgb-color 1 1 1)}:
1131 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1134 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(rgb-color 1 1 1)
1136 g, a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1141 Finally, there is also a grey scale available as part of the
1142 X11 set of colors. These range from black, @code{'grey0'},
1143 to white, @code{'grey100}, in steps of 1. Let's illustrate
1144 this by setting all the layout objects in our example to
1145 various shades of grey:
1147 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1150 \override Staff.StaffSymbol #'color = #(x11-color 'grey30)
1151 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1152 \override Staff.Clef #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1153 \override Voice.NoteHead #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1154 \override Voice.Stem #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1155 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'grey10)
1157 g, a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1163 Note the contexts associated with each of the layout objects.
1164 It is important to get these right, or the commands will not
1165 work! Remember, the context is the one in which the appropriate
1166 engraver is placed. The default context for engravers can be
1167 found by starting from the layout object, going from there to
1168 the engraver which produces it, and on the engraver page in the
1169 IR it tells you in which context the engraver will normally be
1173 @node Size of objects
1174 @subsection Size of objects
1176 Let us begin by looking again at the earlier example
1177 see @ref{Nesting music expressions}) which showed
1178 how to introduce a new temporary staff, as in an @rglos{ossia}.
1180 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1181 \new Staff ="main" {
1188 alignAboveContext = "main" }
1196 Ossia are normally written without clef and time signature, and
1197 are usually printed slightly smaller than the main staff. We
1198 already know now how to remove the clef and time signature --
1199 we simply set the stencil of each to @code{#f}, as follows:
1201 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1202 \new Staff ="main" {
1209 alignAboveContext = "main"
1212 \override Staff.Clef #'stencil = ##f
1213 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1223 where the extra pair of braces after the @code{\with} clause are
1224 required to ensure the enclosed overrides and music are applied
1227 But what is the difference between modifying the staff context by
1228 using @code{\with} and modifying the stencils of the clef and the
1229 time signature with \override? The main difference is that
1230 changes made in a @code{\with} clause are made at the time the
1231 context is created, and remain in force as the @strong{default}
1232 values for the duration of that context, whereas
1233 @code{\set} or @code{\override} commands embedded in the
1234 music are dynamic -- they make changes synchronized with
1235 a particular point in the music. If changes are unset or
1236 reverted using @code{\unset} or @code{\revert} they return to
1237 their default values, which will be the ones set in the
1238 @code{\with} clause, or if none have been set there, the normal
1241 Some context properties
1242 can be modified only in @code{\with} clauses. These are those
1243 properties which cannot sensibly be changed after the context
1244 has been created. @code{alignAboveContext} and its partner,
1245 @code{alignBelowContext}, are two such properties -- once the
1246 staff has been created its alignment is decided and it would
1247 make no sense to try to change it later.
1249 The default values of layout object properties can also be set
1250 in @code{\with} clauses. Simply use the normal @code{\override}
1251 command leaving out the context name, since this is unambiguously
1252 defined as the context which the @code{\with} clause is modifying.
1253 If fact, an error will be generated if a context is specified
1256 So we could replace the example above with
1258 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1259 \new Staff ="main" {
1266 alignAboveContext = "main"
1267 % Don't print clefs in this staff
1268 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1269 % Don't print time signatures in this staff
1270 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1279 Finally we come to changing the size of layout objects.
1281 Some layout objects are created as glyphs selected from
1282 a typeface font. These include note heads, accidentals, markup,
1283 clefs, time signatures, dynamics and lyrics.
1284 Their size is changed by modifying the
1285 @code{font-size} property, as we shall shortly see. Other
1286 layout objects such as slurs and ties -- in general, spanner
1287 objects -- are drawn individually, so there is no
1289 associated with them. These objects generally derive their
1290 size from the objects to which they are attached, so usually
1291 there is no need to change their size manually. Still other
1292 properties such as the length of stems and bar lines, thickness
1293 of beams and other lines, and the separation of staff lines all
1294 need to be modified in special ways.
1296 Returning to the ossia example, let us first change the font-size.
1297 We can do this in two ways. We can either change the size of the
1298 fonts of each object type, like @code{NoteHead}s with commands
1302 \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-2
1305 or we can change the size of all fonts by setting a special
1306 property, @code{fontSize}, using @code{\set}, or by including
1307 it in a @code{\with} clause (but without the @code{\set}).
1313 Both of these statements would cause the font size to be reduced
1314 by 2 steps from its previous value, where each
1315 step reduces or increases the size by approximately 12%.
1317 Let's try it in our ossia example:
1319 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1320 \new Staff ="main" {
1327 alignAboveContext = "main"
1328 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1329 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1330 % Reduce all font sizes by ~24%
1340 This is still not quite right. The note heads and flags are
1341 smaller, but the stems are too long in proportion and the
1342 staff lines are spaced too widely apart. These need to be
1343 scaled down in proportion to the font reduction. The next
1344 sub-section discusses how this is done.
1346 @node Length and thickness of objects
1347 @subsection Length and thickness of objects
1353 @cindex size, changing
1354 @cindex stem length, changing
1355 @cindex staff line spacing, changing
1357 Distances and lengths in LilyPond are generally measured in
1358 staff-spaces, the distance between adjacent lines in the staff,
1359 (or occasionally half staff spaces) while most @code{thickness}
1360 properties are measured in units of an internal property called
1361 @code{line-thickness.} For example, by default, the lines of
1362 hairpins are given a thickness of 1 unit of @code{line-thickness},
1363 while the @code{thickness} of a note stem is 1.3. Note, though,
1364 that some thickness properties are different; for example, the
1365 thickness of beams is measured in staff-spaces.
1367 So how are lengths to be scaled in proportion to the font size?
1368 This can be done with the help of a special function called
1369 @code{magstep} provided for exactly this purpose. It takes
1370 one argument, the change in font size (#-2 in the example above)
1371 and returns a scaling factor suitable for reducing other
1372 objects in proportion. It is used like this:
1374 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1375 \new Staff ="main" {
1382 alignAboveContext = "main"
1383 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1384 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1386 % Reduce stem length and line spacing to match
1387 \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #(magstep -2)
1397 Since the length of stems and many other length-related properties
1398 are always calculated relative to the
1399 value of the @code{staff-space} property these are automatically
1400 scaled down in length too. Note that this affects only the
1401 vertical scale of the ossia -- the horizontal scale is determined
1402 by the layout of the main music in order to remain synchronized
1403 with it, so it is not affected by any of these changes in size.
1404 Of course, if the scale of all the main music were changed in this
1405 way then the horizontal spacing would be affected. This is
1406 discussed later in the layout section.
1408 This, then, completes the creation of an ossia. The sizes and
1409 lengths of all other objects may be modified in analogous ways.
1411 For small changes in scale, as in the example above, the
1412 thickness of the various drawn lines such as bar lines,
1413 beams, hairpins, slurs, etc does not usually require global
1414 adjustment. If the thickness of any particular layout object
1415 needs to be adjusted this can be best achieved by overriding its
1416 @code{thickness} property. An example of changing the thickness
1417 of slurs was shown above in @ref{Properties of layout objects}.
1418 The thickness of all drawn objects (i.e., those not produced
1419 from a font) may be changed in the same way.
1422 @node Placement of objects
1423 @section Placement of objects
1426 * Automatic behavior::
1427 * Within-staff objects::
1428 * Outside staff objects::
1432 @node Automatic behavior
1433 @subsection Automatic behavior
1435 There are some objects in musical notation that belong to
1436 the staff and there are other objects that should be
1437 placed outside the staff. These are called within-staff
1438 objects and outside-staff objects respectively.
1440 Within-staff objects are those that are located on the staff
1441 -- note heads, stems, accidentals, etc. The positions of
1442 these are usually fixed by the music itself -- they are
1443 vertically positioned on specific lines of the staff or are
1444 tied to other objects that are so positioned. Collisions of
1445 note heads, stems and accidentals in closely set chords are
1446 normally avoided automatically. There are commands and
1447 overrides which can modify this automatic behavior, as we
1450 Objects belonging outside the staff include things such as
1451 rehearsal marks, text and dynamic markings. LilyPond's rule for
1452 the vertical placement of outside-staff objects is to place them
1453 as close to the staff as possible but not so close that they
1454 collide with any other object. LilyPond uses the
1455 @code{outside-staff-priority} property to determine the order in
1456 which the objects should be placed, as follows.
1458 First, LilyPond places all the within-staff objects.
1459 Then it sorts the outside-staff objects according to their
1460 @code{outside-staff-priority}. The outside-staff objects are
1461 taken one by one, beginning with the object with the lowest
1462 @code{outside-staff-priority}, and placed so that they do not
1463 collide with any objects that have already been placed. That is,
1464 if two outside-staff grobs are competing for the same space, the
1465 one with the lower @code{outside-staff-priority} will be placed
1466 closer to the staff. If two objects have the same
1467 @code{outside-staff-priority} the one encountered first will be
1468 placed closer to the staff.
1470 In the following example all the markup texts have the same
1471 priority (since it is not explicitly set). Note that @q{Text3}
1472 is automatically positioned close to the staff again, nestling
1475 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1482 Staves are also positioned, by default, as closely together as
1483 possible (subject to a minimum separation). If notes project
1484 a long way towards an adjacent staff they will force the
1485 staves further apart only if an overlap of the notation
1486 would otherwise occur. The following example demonstrates
1487 this @q{nestling} of the notes on adjacent staves:
1489 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1492 \relative c' { c a, }
1495 \relative c'''' { c a, }
1501 @node Within-staff objects
1502 @subsection Within-staff objects
1504 We have already seen how the commands @code{\voiceXXX} affect
1505 the direction of slurs, ties, fingering and
1506 everything else which depends on the direction of the stems.
1507 These commands are essential when writing polyphonic music to
1508 permit interweaving melodic lines to be distinguished.
1509 But occasionally it may be necessary to override this automatic
1510 behavior. This can be done for whole sections of music or even
1511 for an individual note. The property which controls this
1512 behavior is the @code{direction} property of each layout object.
1513 We first explain what this does, and then introduce a number of
1514 ready-made commands which avoid your having to code explicit
1515 overrides for the more common modifications.
1517 Some layout objects like slurs and ties curve, bend or point
1518 either up or down; others like stems and flags also move to
1519 right or left when they point up or down. This is controlled
1520 automatically when @code{direction} is set.
1522 The following example shows in bar 1 the default behavior of
1524 with those on high notes pointing down and those on low notes
1525 pointing up, followed by four notes with all stems forced down,
1526 four notes with all stems forced up, and finally four notes
1527 reverted back to the default behavior.
1529 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1531 \override Stem #'direction = #DOWN
1533 \override Stem #'direction = #UP
1535 \revert Stem #'direction
1539 Here we use the constants @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}.
1540 These have the values @code{-1} and @code{+1} respectively, and
1541 these numerical values may be used instead. The value @code{0}
1542 may also be used in some cases. It is simply treated as meaning
1543 @code{UP} for stems, but for some objects it means @q{center}.
1544 There is a constant, @code{CENTER} which has the value @code{0}.
1546 However, these explicit overrides are not usually used, as there
1547 are simpler equivalent predefined commands available.
1548 Here is a table of the commonest. The meaning of each is stated
1549 where it is not obvious.
1551 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .2 .25 .35
1556 @item @code{\arpeggioArrowDown}
1557 @tab @code{\arpeggioArrowUp}
1558 @tab @code{\arpeggioNormal}
1559 @tab Arrow is at bottom, at top, or no arrow
1560 @item @code{\dotsDown}
1562 @tab @code{\dotsNeutral}
1563 @tab Direction of movement to avoid staff lines
1564 @item @code{\dynamicDown}
1565 @tab @code{\dynamicUp}
1566 @tab @code{\dynamicNeutral}
1568 @item @code{\phrasingSlurDown}
1569 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurUp}
1570 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurNeutral}
1571 @tab Note: distinct from slur commands
1572 @item @code{\slurDown}
1574 @tab @code{\slurNeutral}
1576 @item @code{\stemDown}
1578 @tab @code{\stemNeutral}
1580 @item @code{\textSpannerDown}
1581 @tab @code{\textSpannerUp}
1582 @tab @code{\textSpannerNeutral}
1583 @tab Text entered as spanner is below/above staff
1584 @item @code{\tieDown}
1586 @tab @code{\tieNeutral}
1588 @item @code{\tupletDown}
1589 @tab @code{\tupletUp}
1590 @tab @code{\tupletNeutral}
1591 @tab Tuplets are below/above notes
1594 Note that these predefined commands may @strong{not} be
1595 preceded by @code{\once}. If you wish to limit the
1596 effect to a single note you must either use the equivalent
1597 @code{\once \override} command or use the predefined command
1598 followed after the affected note by the corresponding
1599 @code{\xxxNeutral} command.
1601 @subheading Fingering
1602 @cindex fingering, placement
1604 The placement of fingering is also affected by the value
1605 of its @code{direction} property, but there are special
1606 commands which allow the fingering of individual notes
1607 of chords to be controlled, with the fingering being placed
1608 above, below, to the left or to the right of each note.
1610 First, here's the effect of @code{direction} on fingering,
1611 the first bar shows the default, then the effect of specifying
1612 @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}:
1614 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1616 \override Fingering #'direction = #DOWN
1618 \override Fingering #'direction = #UP
1622 This is how to control fingering on single notes, but the
1624 property is ignored for chords. Instead, by default, the
1625 fingering is automatically placed both above and below the
1626 notes of a chord, as shown:
1628 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1634 Greater control over the placement of fingering of the
1635 individual notes in a chord is possible by using
1636 the @code{\set fingeringOrientations} command. The format of
1640 @code{\set fingeringOrientations = #'([up] [left/right] [down])}
1644 @code{\set} is used because @code{fingeringOrientations} is a
1645 property of the @code{Voice} context, created and used by the
1646 @code{New_fingering_engraver}.
1648 The property may be set to a list of one to three values.
1649 It controls whether fingerings may be placed above (if
1650 @code{up} appears in the list), below (if @code{down} appears),
1651 to the left (if @code{left} appears, or to the right
1652 (if @code{right} appears). Conversely, if a location is not
1653 listed, no fingering is placed there. LilyPond takes these
1654 constraints and works out the best placement for the fingering
1655 of the notes of the following chords. Note that @code{left} and
1656 @code{right} are mutually exclusive -- fingering may be placed
1657 only on one side or the other, not both.
1659 To control the placement of the fingering of a single note
1660 using this command it is necessary to write it as a single
1661 note chord by placing angle brackets round it.
1663 Here are a few examples:
1665 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1666 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1668 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1669 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1671 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1672 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1674 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1675 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1677 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1678 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1680 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1684 If the fingering seems a little crowded the @code{font-size}
1685 could be reduced. The default value can be seen from the
1686 @code{Fingering} object in the IR to be @code{-5}, so let's
1689 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1690 \override Fingering #'font-size = #-7
1691 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1693 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1694 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1696 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1697 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1699 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1700 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1702 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1703 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1705 < c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5 > 4
1708 @node Outside staff objects
1709 @subsection Outside staff objects
1711 Outside-staff objects are automatically placed to avoid collisions.
1712 Objects with the lower value of the @code{outside-staff-priority}
1713 property are placed nearer to the staff, and other outside-staff
1714 objects are then raised as far as necessary to avoid collisions.
1715 The @code{outside-staff-priority} is defined in the
1716 @code{grob-interface} and so is a property of all layout objects.
1717 By default it is set to @code{#f} for all within-staff objects,
1718 and to a numerical value appropriate to each outside-staff object
1719 when the object is created. The following table shows
1720 the default numerical values for some of the commonest
1721 outside-staff objects which are, by default, placed in the
1722 @code{Staff} or @code{Voice} contexts.
1724 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .3 .3
1725 @headitem Layout Object
1727 @tab Controls position of:
1728 @item @code{MultiMeasureRestText}
1730 @tab Text over full-bar rests
1731 @item @code{TextScript}
1734 @item @code{OttavaBracket}
1736 @tab Ottava brackets
1737 @item @code{TextSpanner}
1740 @item @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
1742 @tab All dynamic markings
1743 @item @code{VoltaBracketSpanner}
1746 @item @code{TrillSpanner}
1748 @tab Spanning trills
1751 Here is an example showing the default placement of some of
1754 @cindex text spanner
1755 @funindex \startTextSpan
1756 @funindex \stopTextSpan
1757 @cindex ottava bracket
1759 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1760 % Set details for later Text Spanner
1761 \override TextSpanner #'bound-details #'left #'text
1762 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
1763 % Place dynamics above staff
1765 % Start Ottava Bracket
1770 % Add Dynamic Line Spanner
1776 c\ff c \stopTextSpan
1777 % Stop Ottava Bracket
1782 This example also shows how to create Text Spanners --
1783 text with extender lines above a section of music. The
1784 spanner extends from the @code{\startTextSpan} command to
1785 the @code{\stopTextSpan} command, and the format of the
1786 text is defined by the @code{\override TextSpanner} command.
1787 For more details see @ruser{Text spanners}.
1789 It also shows how ottava brackets are created.
1791 Note that bar numbers, metronome marks and rehearsal marks
1792 are not shown. By default these are created in the
1793 @code{Score} context and their @code{outside-staff-priority}
1794 is ignored relative to the layout objects which are created
1795 in the @code{Staff} context.
1796 If you wish to place bar numbers, metronome marks or rehearsal
1797 marks in accordance with the value of their
1798 @code{outside-staff-priority} the @code{Bar_number_engraver},
1799 @code{Metronome_mark_engraver} or @code{Mark_engraver} respectively
1800 should be removed from the @code{Score} context and placed in the
1801 top @code{Staff} context. If this is done, these marks will be
1802 given the following default @code{outside-staff-priority} values:
1804 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .3
1805 @headitem Layout Object @tab Priority
1806 @item @code{RehearsalMark} @tab @code{1500}
1807 @item @code{MetronomeMark} @tab @code{1000}
1808 @item @code{BarNumber} @tab @code{ 100}
1811 If the default values of @code{outside-staff-priority} do not
1812 give you the placing you want, the priority of any of the objects
1813 may be overridden. Suppose we would
1814 like the ottava bracket to be placed below the text spanner in the
1815 example above. All we need to do is to look up the priority of
1816 @code{OttavaBracket} in the IR or in the tables above, and reduce
1817 it to a value lower than that of a @code{TextSpanner}, remembering
1818 that @code{OttavaBracket} is created in the @code{Staff} context:
1820 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1821 % Set details for later Text Spanner
1822 \override TextSpanner #'bound-details #'left #'text
1823 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
1824 % Place dynamics above staff
1826 %Place following Ottava Bracket below Text Spanners
1827 \once \override Staff.OttavaBracket #'outside-staff-priority = #340
1828 % Start Ottava Bracket
1833 % Add Dynamic Line Spanner
1839 c\ff c \stopTextSpan
1840 % Stop Ottava Bracket
1845 Changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} can also be used to
1846 control the vertical placement of individual objects, although
1847 the results may not always be desirable. Suppose we would
1848 like @qq{Text3} to be placed above @qq{Text4} in the example
1849 under Automatic behavior, above (see @ref{Automatic behavior}).
1850 All we need to do is to look up the priority of @code{TextScript}
1851 in the IR or in the tables above, and increase the priority of
1852 @qq{Text3} to a higher value:
1854 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1857 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = #500
1862 This certainly lifts @qq{Text3} above @qq{Text4} but it also
1863 lifts it above @qq{Text2}, and @qq{Text4} now drops down.
1864 Perhaps this is not so good. What we would really like to do
1865 is to position all the annotation at the same distance above
1866 the staff? To do this, we clearly
1867 will need to space the notes out horizontally to make more
1868 room for the text. This is done using the @code{textLengthOn}
1871 @subheading \textLengthOn
1873 @funindex \textLengthOn
1874 @cindex notes, spreading out with text
1876 By default, text produced by markup takes up no horizontal space
1877 as far as laying out the music is concerned. The @code{\textLengthOn}
1878 command reverses this behavior, causing the notes to be spaced
1879 out as far as is necessary to accommodate the text:
1881 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1882 \textLengthOn % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
1889 The command to revert to the default behavior is
1890 @code{\textLengthOff}. Remember @code{\once} only works with
1891 @code{\override}, @code{\set}, @code{\revert} or @code{unset},
1892 so cannot be used with @code{\textLengthOn}.
1894 Markup text will also avoid notes which project above the staff.
1895 If this is not desired, the automatic displacement upwards may
1896 be turned off by setting the priority to @code{#f}. Here's an
1897 example to show how markup text interacts with such notes.
1899 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1900 % This markup is short enough to fit without collision
1904 % This is too long to fit, so it is displaced upwards
1908 % Turn off collision avoidance
1909 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
1913 % Turn off collision avoidance
1914 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
1915 \textLengthOn % and turn on textLengthOn
1916 c,,2^"Long Text " % Spaces at end are honored
1921 @subheading Dynamics
1923 Dynamic markings will normally be positioned beneath the
1924 staff, but may be positioned above with the @code{dynamicUp}
1925 command. They will be positioned vertically relative to the
1926 note to which they are attached, and will float below (or above)
1927 all within-staff objects such as phrasing slurs and bar numbers.
1928 This can give quite acceptable results, as this example
1931 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1936 bes4.~\f\< \( bes4 bes8 des4\ff\> c16 bes\! |
1937 ees,2.~\)\mf ees4 r8 |
1940 However, if the notes and attached dynamics are close
1941 together the automatic placement will avoid collisions
1942 by displacing later dynamic markings further away, but this may
1943 not be the optimum placement, as this rather artificial example
1946 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1952 Should a similar situation arise in @q{real} music, it may
1953 be preferable to space out the notes
1954 a little further, so the dynamic markings can all fit at the
1955 same vertical distance from the staff. We were able to do this
1956 for markup text by using the @code{\textLengthOn} command, but there
1957 is no equivalent command for dynamic marks. So we shall have to
1958 work out how to do this using @code{\override} commands.
1960 @subheading Grob sizing
1963 @cindex sizing grobs
1964 @cindex @code{X-offset}
1965 @cindex @code{Y-offset}
1966 @cindex @code{X-extent}
1967 @cindex @code{Y-extent}
1969 First we must learn how grobs are sized. All grobs have a
1970 reference point defined within them which is used to position
1971 them relative to their parent object. This point in the grob
1972 is then positioned at a horizontal distance, @code{X-offset},
1973 and at a vertical distance, @code{Y-offset}, from its parent.
1974 The horizontal extent of the object is given by a pair of
1975 numbers, @code{X-extent}, which say where the left and right
1976 edges are relative to the reference point. The vertical extent
1977 is similarly defined by a pair of numbers, @code{Y-extent}.
1978 These are properties of all grobs which support the
1979 @code{grob-interface}.
1981 @cindex @code{extra-spacing-width}
1983 By default, outside-staff objects are given a width of zero so
1984 that they may overlap in the horizontal direction. This is done
1985 by the trick of adding infinity to the leftmost extent and
1986 minus infinity to the rightmost extent by setting the
1987 @code{extra-spacing-width} to @code{'(+inf.0 . -inf.0)}. So
1988 to ensure they do not overlap in the horizontal direction we
1989 must override this value of @code{extra-spacing-width} to
1990 @code{'(0 . 0)} so the true width shines through. This is
1991 the command to do this for dynamic text:
1994 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
1998 Let's see if this works in our previous example:
2000 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2002 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2007 Well, it has certainly stopped the dynamic marks being
2008 displaced, but two problems remain. The marks should be
2009 spaced a little further apart and it would be better
2010 if they were all the same distance from the staff.
2011 We can solve the first problem easily. Instead of making
2012 the @code{extra-spacing-width} zero we could add a little
2013 more to it. The units are the space between two staff
2014 lines, so moving the left edge half a unit to the left and the
2015 right edge half a unit to the right should do it:
2017 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2019 % Extend width by 1 staff space
2020 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2025 This looks better, but maybe we would prefer the dynamic marks
2026 to be aligned along the same baseline rather than going up and
2027 down with the notes. The property to do this is
2028 @code{staff-padding} which is covered in the following section.
2031 @node Collisions of objects
2032 @section Collisions of objects
2036 * Fixing overlapping notation::
2037 * Real music example::
2040 @node Moving objects
2041 @subsection Moving objects
2043 This may come as a surprise, but LilyPond is not perfect. Some
2044 notation elements can overlap. This is unfortunate, but in fact
2045 rather rare. Usually the need to move objects is for clarity or
2046 aesthetic reasons -- they would look better with a little more
2047 or a little less space around them.
2049 There are three main approaches to resolving overlapping
2050 notation. They should be considered in the following order:
2054 The @strong{direction} of one of the overlapping objects may
2055 be changed using the predefined commands listed above for
2056 within-staff objects (see @ref{Within-staff objects}).
2057 Stems, slurs, beams, ties, dynamics, text and tuplets may be
2058 repositioned easily in this way. The limitation is that you
2059 have a choice of only two positions, and neither may be
2063 The @strong{object properties}, which LilyPond uses
2064 when positioning layout objects, may be modified using
2065 @code{\override}. The advantages
2066 of making changes to this type of property are (a) that some
2067 other objects will be moved automatically if necessary to make
2068 room and (b) the single override can apply to all instances of
2069 the same type of object. Such properties include:
2076 This has already been covered in some detail -- see
2077 @ref{Within-staff objects}.
2080 @code{padding}, @code{left-padding},
2081 @code{right-padding}, @code{staff-padding}
2083 @cindex left-padding property
2084 @cindex padding property
2085 @cindex right-padding property
2086 @cindex staff-padding property
2087 As an object is being positioned the value of its @code{padding}
2088 property specifies the gap that must be left between itself and
2089 the nearest edge of the object against which it is being
2090 positioned. Note that it is the @code{padding} value of the object
2091 @strong{being placed} that is used;
2092 the @code{padding} value of the object which is already placed is
2093 ignored. Gaps specified by @code{padding} can be applied
2094 to all objects which support the @code{side-position-interface}.
2096 Instead of @code{padding}, the placement of groups of accidentals
2097 is controlled by @code{left-padding} and @code{right-padding}.
2098 These properties are to be found in the @code{AccidentalPlacement}
2099 object which, note, lives in the @strong{staff} context. In the
2100 type-setting process the note heads are type-set first and then
2101 the accidentals, if any, are added to the left of the note heads
2102 using the @code{right-padding} property to determine the separation
2103 from the note heads. So only the @code{right-padding} property of the
2104 @code{AccidentalPlacement} object has any effect on the placement
2107 The @code{staff-padding} property is closely related to the
2108 @code{padding} property: @code{padding}
2109 controls the minimum amount of space between any object which
2110 supports the @code{side-position-interface} and the nearest
2111 other object (generally the note or the staff lines);
2112 @code{staff-padding} applies only to those objects which are always
2113 set outside the staff -- it controls the minimum amount of space
2114 that should be inserted between that object and the staff. Note
2115 that @code{staff-padding} has no effect on objects which are
2116 positioned relative to the note rather than the staff, even though
2117 it may be overridden without error for such objects -- it is simply
2120 To discover which padding property is required for the object
2121 you wish to reposition, you
2122 need to return to the IR and look up the object's properties.
2123 Be aware that the padding properties might not be located in the
2124 obvious object, so look in objects that appear to be related.
2126 All padding values are measured in staff spaces. For most
2127 objects, this value is set by default to be around 1.0 or less
2128 (it varies with each object). It may be overridden if a larger
2129 (or smaller) gap is required.
2132 @code{self-alignment-X}
2134 @cindex self-alignment-X property
2135 This property can be used to align the object to the left, to
2136 the right, or to center it with respect to the parent object's
2137 reference point. It may be used with all objects which support
2138 the @code{self-alignment-interface}. In general these are objects
2139 that contain text. The values are @code{LEFT}, @code{RIGHT}
2140 or @code{CENTER}. Alternatively, a numerical value between
2141 @code{-1} and @code{+1} may be specified, where @code{-1} is
2142 left-aligned, @code{+1} is right-aligned, and numbers in between
2143 move the text progressively from left-aligned to right-aligned.
2144 Numerical values greater than @code{1} may be specified to move
2145 the text even further to the left, or less than @code{-1} to
2146 move the text even further to the right. A change of @code{1}
2147 in the value corresponds to a movement of half the text's length.
2150 @code{extra-spacing-width}
2152 @cindex extra-spacing-width property
2153 This property is available for all objects which support the
2154 @code{item-interface}. It takes two numbers, the first is added
2155 to the leftmost extent and the second is added to the rightmost
2156 extent. Negative numbers move the edge to the left, positive to
2157 the right, so to widen an object the first number must be negative,
2158 the second positive. Note that not all objects honor both
2159 numbers. For example, the @code{Accidental} object only takes
2160 notice of the first (left edge) number.
2163 @code{staff-position}
2165 @cindex staff-position property
2166 @code{staff-position} is a property of the
2167 @code{staff-symbol-referencer-interface}, which is supported by
2168 objects which are positioned relative to the staff. It specifies
2169 the vertical position of the object relative to the center line
2170 of the staff in half staff-spaces. It is useful in resolving
2171 collisions between layout objects like multi-measure rests, ties
2172 and notes in different voices.
2177 @cindex force-hshift property
2179 Closely spaced notes in a chord, or notes occurring at the same
2180 time in different voices, are arranged in two, occasionally more,
2181 columns to prevent the note heads overlapping. These are called
2182 note columns, and an object called @code{NoteColumn} is created
2183 to lay out the notes in that column.
2185 The @code{force-hshift}
2186 property is a property of a @code{NoteColumn} (actually of the
2187 @code{note-column-interface}). Changing it permits a note column
2188 to be moved in units appropriate to a note column, viz. the note
2189 head width of the first voice note. It should be used in
2190 complex situations where the normal @code{\shiftOn} commands (see
2191 @ref{Explicitly instantiating voices}) do
2192 not resolve the note conflict. It is preferable to the
2193 @code{extra-offset} property for this purpose as there is no need
2194 to work out the distance in staff-spaces, and moving the notes
2195 into or out of a @code{NoteColumn} affects other actions such as
2201 Finally, when all else fails, objects may be manually repositioned
2202 relative to the staff center line vertically, or by
2203 displacing them by any distance to a new position. The
2204 disadvantages are that the correct values for the repositioning
2205 have to be worked out, often by trial and error, for every object
2206 individually, and, because the movement is done after LilyPond has
2207 placed all other objects, the user is responsible for avoiding any
2208 collisions that might ensue. But the main difficulty with this
2209 approach is that the repositioning values may need to be reworked
2210 if the music is later modified. The properties that can be used
2211 for this type of manual repositioning are:
2215 @cindex extra-offset property
2216 This property applies to any layout object
2217 supporting the @code{grob-interface}. It takes a pair of
2218 numbers which specify the extra displacement in the horizontal and
2219 vertical directions. Negative numbers move the object to
2220 the left or down. The units are staff-spaces. The extra
2221 displacement is made after the typesetting of objects is
2222 finished, so an object may be repositioned anywhere without
2223 affecting anything else.
2226 @cindex positions property
2227 This is most useful for manually adjusting the slope and height
2228 of beams, slurs, and tuplets. It takes a pair of numbers
2229 giving the position of the left and right ends of the beam, slur,
2230 etc. relative to the center line of the staff. Units are
2231 staff-spaces. Note, though, that slurs and phrasing slurs cannot
2232 be repositioned by arbitrarily large amounts. LilyPond first
2233 generates a list of possible positions for the slur and by default
2234 finds the slur that @qq{looks best}. If the @code{positions}
2235 property has been overridden the slur that is closest to the
2236 requested positions is selected from the list.
2241 A particular object may not have all of these properties.
2242 It is necessary to go to the IR to look up which properties
2243 are available for the object in question.
2245 Here is a list of the objects which are most likely to be
2246 involved in collisions, together with the name of the object which
2247 should be looked up in the IR in order to discover which properties
2248 should be used to move them.
2250 @multitable @columnfractions .5 .5
2251 @headitem Object type @tab Object name
2252 @item Articulations @tab @code{Script}
2253 @item Beams @tab @code{Beam}
2254 @item Dynamics (vertically) @tab @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
2255 @item Dynamics (horizontally) @tab @code{DynamicText}
2256 @item Fingerings @tab @code{Fingering}
2257 @item Rehearsal / Text marks @tab @code{RehearsalMark}
2258 @item Slurs @tab @code{Slur}
2259 @item Text e.g. @code{^"text"} @tab @code{TextScript}
2260 @item Ties @tab @code{Tie}
2261 @item Tuplets @tab @code{TupletBracket}
2265 @node Fixing overlapping notation
2266 @subsection Fixing overlapping notation
2268 Let's now see how the properties in the previous section can
2269 help to resolve overlapping notation.
2271 @subheading padding property
2272 @cindex padding property
2274 The @code{padding} property can be set to increase
2275 (or decrease) the distance between symbols that are printed
2276 above or below notes.
2278 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2280 \override Script #'padding = #3
2284 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2285 % This will not work, see below:
2286 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2290 \override Score.MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2295 Note in the second example how important it is to figure out what
2296 context handles a certain object. Since the @code{MetronomeMark}
2298 is handled in the @code{Score} context, property changes in the
2299 @code{Voice} context will not be noticed. For more details, see
2300 @ruser{Modifying properties}.
2302 If the @code{padding} property of an object is increased when that
2303 object is in a stack of objects being positioned according to
2304 their @code{outside-staff-priority}, then that object and all
2305 objects outside it are moved.
2308 @subheading left-padding and right-padding
2309 @cindex left-padding property
2310 @cindex right-padding property
2312 The @code{right-padding} property affects the spacing between the
2313 accidental and the note to which it applies. It is not often
2314 required, but the following example shows one situation where it
2315 is needed. Suppose we wish to show a chord containing both
2316 a B-natural and a B-flat. To avoid ambiguity we would like to
2317 precede the notes with both a natural and a flat sign. Here
2318 are a few attempts to do this:
2320 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2326 None work, with the second two showing bad collisions between
2329 One way of achieving this is to override the accidental stencil
2330 with a markup containing the natural and flat symbols in the
2331 order we would like, like this:
2333 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2334 naturalplusflat = \markup { \natural \flat }
2336 \once \override Accidental
2337 #'stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2338 \once \override Accidental #'text = #naturalplusflat
2339 \once \override Score.AccidentalPlacement #'right-padding = #1.5
2345 This necessarily uses an override for the accidental stencil which
2346 will not be covered until later. The stencil type must be a
2347 procedure, here changed to print the contents of the @code{text}
2348 property of @code{Accidental}, which itself is set to be a natural
2349 sign followed by a flat sign. These are then moved further away
2350 from the note head by overriding @code{right-padding}.
2354 @subheading staff-padding property
2355 @cindex staff-padding property
2357 @code{staff-padding} can be used to align objects such as dynamics
2358 along a baseline at a fixed height above the staff, rather than
2359 at a height dependent on the position of the note to which they
2360 are attached. It is not a property of
2361 @code{DynamicText} but of @code{DynamicLineSpanner}.
2362 This is because the baseline should apply equally to @strong{all}
2363 dynamics, including those created as extended spanners.
2364 So this is the way to align the dynamic marks in the example
2365 taken from the previous section:
2367 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2369 % Extend width by 1 unit
2370 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2371 % Align dynamics to a base line 2 units above staff
2372 \override DynamicLineSpanner #'staff-padding = #2
2377 @subheading self-alignment-X property
2378 @cindex self-alignment-X property
2380 The following example shows how this can resolve the collision
2381 of a string fingering object with a note's stem by aligning the
2382 right edge with the reference point of the parent note:
2384 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=3]
2387 \once \override StringNumber #'self-alignment-X = #RIGHT
2391 @subheading staff-position property
2392 @cindex staff-position property
2394 Multimeasure rests in one voice can collide with notes in another.
2395 Since these rests are typeset centered between the bar lines, it
2396 would require significant effort for LilyPond to figure out which
2397 other notes might collide with it, since all the current collision
2398 handling between notes and between notes and rests is done only
2399 for notes and rests that occur at the same time. Here's an
2400 example of a collision of this type:
2402 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2403 << {c c c c} \\ {R1} >>
2406 The best solution here is to move the multimeasure rest down,
2407 since the rest is in voice two.
2408 The default in @code{\voiceTwo} (i.e. in the second voice of a
2409 @code{<<@{...@} \\ @{...@}>>} construct)
2410 is that @code{staff-position} is set to -4 for MultiMeasureRest,
2411 so we need to move it, say, four half-staff spaces down to
2414 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2418 \override MultiMeasureRest #'staff-position = #-8
2423 This is better than using, for example, @code{extra-offset},
2424 because the ledger line above the rest is inserted automatically.
2426 @subheading extra-offset property
2427 @cindex extra-offset property
2429 The @code{extra-offset} property provides complete control over the
2430 positioning of an object both horizontally and vertically.
2432 In the following example, the second fingering is moved a little to
2433 the left, and 1.8 staff space downwards:
2435 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2438 \once \override Fingering
2439 #'extra-offset = #'(-0.3 . -1.8)
2444 @subheading positions property
2445 @cindex positions property
2447 The @code{positions} property allows the position and slope of
2448 tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs and beams to be controlled
2449 manually. Here's an example which has an ugly phrasing slur
2450 due to its trying to avoid the slur on the acciaccatura.
2452 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2453 r4 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c ~c d c d\)
2457 We could simply move the phrasing slur above the notes, and this
2458 would be the preferred solution:
2460 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2463 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c ~c d c d\)
2467 but if there were some reason why this could not be done the
2468 other alternative would be to move the left end of the phrasing
2469 slur down a little using the @code{positions} property. This
2470 also resolves the rather nasty shape.
2472 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2474 \once \override PhrasingSlur #'positions = #'(-4 . -3)
2476 e8\( d8 c ~c d c d\)
2479 Here's a further example taken from the opening of the left-hand
2480 staff of Chopin's Prelude Op 28 No. 2. We see that the beam
2481 collides with the upper notes:
2483 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2486 << {b,8 ais, b, g,} \\ {e, g e, g} >>
2487 << {b,8 ais, b, g,} \\ {e, g e, g} >>
2492 This can be resolved by manually moving both ends of the beam
2493 up from their position at 2 staff-spaces above the center line to,
2496 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2500 \override Beam #'positions = #'(3 . 3)
2505 << {b,8 ais, b, g,} \\ {e, g e, g} >>
2510 Note that the override continues to apply in the first voice of
2511 the second block of quavers, but not to any of the beams in the
2514 @subheading force-hshift property
2515 @cindex force-hshift property
2516 @c FIXME: formatting stuff (ie not important right now IMO)
2517 @c @a nchor Chopin finally corrected TODOgp
2519 We can now see how to apply the final corrections to the Chopin
2520 example introduced at the end of @ref{I'm hearing Voices}, which
2521 was left looking like this:
2523 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2524 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2527 { c2 aes4. bes8 } \\
2539 The lower two notes of the first chord (i.e,
2540 those in the third voice) should not be shifted away from the
2541 note column of the higher two notes. To correct this we set
2542 @code{force-hshift}, which is a property of
2543 @code{NoteColumn}, of these notes to zero.
2544 The lower note of the second chord is best placed just to the
2545 right of the higher notes. We achieve this by setting
2546 @code{force-hshift} of this note to 0.5, ie half a note head's
2547 width to the right of the note column of the higher notes.
2549 Here's the final result:
2551 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2552 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2555 { c2 aes4. bes8 } \\
2558 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0 <ees c>2
2559 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0.5 des2
2567 @node Real music example
2568 @subsection Real music example
2570 We end this section on Tweaks by showing the steps to be taken to
2571 deal with a tricky example which needs several tweaks to produce
2572 the desired output. The example has been deliberately chosen to
2573 illustrate the use of the Notation Reference to resolve unusual
2574 problems with notation. It is not representative of more usual
2575 engraving process, so please do not let these difficulties put
2576 you off! Fortunately, difficulties like these are not very common!
2578 The example is from Chopin's Première Ballade, Op. 23, bars 6 to
2579 9, the transition from the opening Lento to Moderato.
2580 Here, first, is what we want the output to look like, but to avoid
2581 over-complicating the example too much we have left out the
2582 dynamics, fingering and pedalling.
2584 @c The following should appear as music without code
2585 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
2586 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2589 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2593 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2594 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2595 bes2.^\markup {\bold "Moderato"} r8
2597 {c,8[ d fis bes a] | }
2599 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
2600 {c,8~ \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
2601 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
2604 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
2605 {s8 \stemDown \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t d2}
2609 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2610 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2614 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2616 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2623 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2627 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2636 We note first that the right hand part in the third bar
2637 requires four voices. These are the five beamed eighth notes,
2638 the tied C, the half-note D which is merged with the eighth note
2639 D, and the dotted quarter note F-sharp, which is also merged with
2640 the eighth note at the same pitch. Everything else is in a single
2641 voice, so the easiest way is to introduce these four voices
2642 temporarily at the time they are needed. If you have forgotten
2643 how to do this, look at @ref{I'm hearing Voices}. Let us begin
2644 by entering the notes as two variables and setting up the staff
2645 structure in a score block, and see what LilyPond produces by
2648 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2649 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2654 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
2656 {c,8 d fis bes a | }
2667 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2676 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2680 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2689 All the notes are right, but the appearance is far from
2690 satisfactory. The tie clashes with the change in time signature,
2691 the beaming in the third bar is wrong, the notes are not
2692 merged together, and several notation elements are missing.
2693 Let's first deal with the easier things.
2694 We can correct the beaming by inserting a beam
2695 manually, and we can easily add the left hand slur and the right
2696 hand phrasing slur, since these were all covered in the Tutorial.
2699 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2700 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2705 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
2707 {c,8[ d fis bes a] | }
2718 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2727 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2731 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2740 The first bar is now correct. The second bar contains an arpeggio
2741 and is terminated by a double bar line. How do we do these, as they
2742 have not been mentioned in this Learning Manual? This is where
2743 we need to turn to the Notation Reference. Looking up @q{arpeggio}
2744 and @q{bar line} in the
2745 index quickly shows us that an arpeggio is produced by appending
2746 @code{\arpeggio} to a chord, and a double bar line is produced by
2747 the @code{\bar "||"} command. That's easily done. We next need
2748 to correct the collision of the tie with the time signature. This
2749 is best done by moving the tie upwards. Moving objects was covered
2750 earlier in @ref{Moving objects}, which says that objects positioned
2751 relative to the staff can be moved by overriding their
2752 @code{staff-position} property, which is specified in half staff
2753 spaces relative to the center line of the staff. So the following
2754 override placed just before the first tied note would move the tie
2755 up to 3.5 half staff spaces above the center line:
2757 @code{\once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5}
2759 This completes bar two, giving:
2761 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2762 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2764 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2769 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
2771 {c,8[ d fis bes a] | }
2782 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2784 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2791 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2795 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2804 On to bar three and the start of the Moderato section. The
2805 tutorial showed how to add embolded text with the @code{\markup}
2806 command, so adding @q{Moderato} in bold is easy.
2807 But how do we merge notes in different voices together? This is
2808 where we need to turn to the Notation Reference for help. A search
2809 for @qq{merge} in the Notation Reference index quickly leads us to
2810 the commands for merging differently headed and differently
2811 dotted notes in @ruser{Collision resolution}. In our
2812 example we need to merge both types of note for the duration
2813 of the polyphonic section in bar 3, so using the information
2814 we find in the Notation Reference we add
2817 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2818 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2822 to the start of that section and
2825 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2826 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2832 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2833 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2835 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2839 bes2.^\markup {\bold "Moderato"} r8
2840 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2841 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2842 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
2844 {c,8[ d fis bes a] | }
2852 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2853 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2857 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2859 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2866 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2870 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2879 These overrides have merged the two F-sharp notes, but not the two
2880 on D. Why not? The answer is there in the same section in the
2881 Notation Reference -- notes being merged must have stems in
2882 opposite directions and two notes cannot be merged successfully if
2883 there is a third note in the same note column. Here the two D's
2884 both have upward stems and there is a third note -- the C. We know
2885 how to change the stem direction using @code{\stemDown}, and
2886 the Notation Reference also says how to move the C -- apply a shift
2887 using one of the @code{\shift} commands. But which one?
2888 The C is in voice two which has shift off, and the two D's are in
2889 voices one and three, which have shift off and shift on,
2890 respectively. So we have to shift the C a further level still
2891 using @code{\shiftOnn} to avoid it interfering with the two D's.
2892 Applying these changes gives:
2894 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2895 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2897 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2901 bes2.^\markup {\bold "Moderato"} r8
2902 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2903 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2904 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
2906 {c,8[ d fis bes a] | }
2908 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
2909 {c,8~ \shiftOnn c2 | }
2911 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
2912 {s8 \stemDown d2 | }
2916 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2917 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2921 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2923 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2930 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2934 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2943 Nearly there. Only two problems remain: The downward stem on the
2944 merged D should not be there, and the C would be better positioned
2945 to the right of the D's. We know how to do both of these from the
2946 earlier tweaks: we make the stem transparent, and move the C with
2947 the @code{force-hshift} property. Here's the final result:
2949 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
2950 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2953 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2957 bes2.^\markup {\bold "Moderato"} r8
2958 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2959 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2961 {c,8[ d fis bes a] | }
2963 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
2964 {c,8~ \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
2965 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
2968 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
2969 {s8 \stemDown \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t d2}
2973 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2974 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2978 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2980 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2987 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2991 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3001 @node Further tweaking
3002 @section Further tweaking
3005 * Other uses for tweaks::
3006 * Using variables for tweaks::
3007 * Other sources of information::
3008 * Avoiding tweaks with slower processing::
3009 * Advanced tweaks with Scheme::
3012 @node Other uses for tweaks
3013 @subsection Other uses for tweaks
3015 @cindex transparent property, use of
3016 @cindex objects, making invisible
3017 @cindex removing objects
3018 @cindex objects, removing
3019 @cindex hiding objects
3020 @cindex invisible objects
3021 @cindex tying notes across voices
3023 @subheading Tying notes across voices
3025 The following example demonstrates how to connect notes in
3026 different voices using ties. Normally, only two notes in the
3027 same voice can be connected with ties. By using two voices,
3028 with the tied notes in one of them
3030 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2]
3031 << { b8~ b8\noBeam }
3037 and blanking the first up-stem in that voice, the tie appears to
3040 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3043 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3051 To make sure that the just-blanked stem doesn't squeeze the tie
3052 too much, we can lengthen the stem by setting the
3053 @code{length} to @code{8},
3055 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3058 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3059 \once \override Stem #'length = #8
3067 @subheading Simulating a fermata in MIDI
3069 @cindex stencil property, use of
3070 @cindex fermata, implementing in MIDI
3072 For outside-staff objects it is usually better to override the
3073 object's @code{stencil} property rather than its @code{transparent}
3074 property when you wish to remove it from the printed output.
3075 Setting the @code{stencil} property of an object to @code{#f} will
3076 remove that object entirely from the printed output. This means it
3077 has no effect on the placement of other objects placed relative to
3080 For example, if we wished to change the metronome setting in order
3081 to simulate a fermata in the MIDI output we would not want the
3082 metronome markings to appear in the printed output, and we would
3083 not want it to influence the spacing between the two systems or
3084 the positions of adjacent annotations on the staff. So setting
3085 its @code{stencil} property to @code{#f} would be the best way.
3086 We show here the effect of the two methods:
3088 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3091 % Visible tempo marking
3094 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'transparent = ##t
3095 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3098 % New tempo for next section
3107 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3110 % Visible tempo marking
3113 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'stencil = ##f
3114 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3117 % New tempo for next section
3127 Both methods remove the metronome mark which lengthens the fermata
3128 from the printed output, and both affect the MIDI timing as
3129 required, but the transparent metronome mark in the first line
3130 forces the following tempo indication too high while the
3131 second (with the stencil removed) does not.
3133 @node Using variables for tweaks
3134 @subsection Using variables for tweaks
3136 Override commands are often long and tedious to type, and they
3137 have to be absolutely correct. If the same overrides are to be
3138 used many times it may be worth defining variables to hold them.
3139 Suppose we wish to emphasize certain words in lyrics by printing
3140 them in bold italics. The @code{\italic} and @code{\bold}
3141 commands only work within lyrics if they are also embedded in
3142 @code{\markup}, which makes them tedious to enter, so as an
3143 alternative can we instead use the @code{\override} and
3144 @code{\revert} commands?
3147 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic}
3148 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series = #'bold}
3150 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape}
3151 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series}
3154 These would also be extremely tedious to enter if there were many
3155 words requiring emphasis. So instead we define these as two
3156 variables, and use them as follows, although normally we would
3157 perhaps choose shorter names for the variables to make them
3160 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
3162 \override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
3163 \override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series = #'bold
3166 \revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape
3167 \revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series
3170 global = { \time 4/4 \partial 4 \key c \major}
3171 SopranoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | e4. e8 g4 g | a a g }
3172 AltoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | c4. c8 e4 e | f f e }
3173 TenorMusic = \relative c { e4 | g4. g8 c4. b8 | a8 b c d e4 }
3174 BassMusic = \relative c { c4 | c4. c8 c4 c | f8 g a b c4 }
3175 VerseOne = \lyrics { E -- | ter -- nal \emphasize Fa -- ther, \normal | strong to save, }
3176 VerseTwo = \lyricmode { O | \emphasize Christ, \normal whose voice the | wa -- ters heard, }
3177 VerseThree = \lyricmode { O | \emphasize Ho -- ly Spi -- rit, \normal | who didst brood }
3178 VerseFour = \lyricmode { O | \emphasize Tri -- ni -- ty \normal of | love and pow'r }
3184 \new Voice = "Soprano" { \voiceOne \global \SopranoMusic }
3185 \new Voice = "Alto" { \voiceTwo \AltoMusic }
3186 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseOne }
3187 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseTwo }
3188 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseThree }
3189 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseFour }
3193 \new Voice = "Tenor" { \voiceOne \TenorMusic }
3194 \new Voice = "Bass" { \voiceTwo \BassMusic }
3202 @node Other sources of information
3203 @subsection Other sources of information
3205 The Internals Reference documentation contains a lot of information
3206 about LilyPond, but even more information can be gathered by
3207 looking at the internal LilyPond files. To explore these, you must
3208 first find the directory appropriate to your system. The location
3209 of this directory depends (a) on whether you obtained LilyPond
3210 by downloading a precompiled binary from lilypond.org
3211 or whether you installed it from a package manager (i.e.
3212 distributed with Linux, or installed under fink or cygwin) or
3213 compiled it from source, and (b) on which operating system it is
3216 @strong{Downloaded from lilypond.org}
3222 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/lilypond/usr/share/lilypond/current/}
3227 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond.app/Contents/Resources/share/lilypond/current/}
3228 by either @code{cd}-ing into this directory from the
3229 Terminal, or control-clicking on the LilyPond application and
3230 selecting @q{Show Package Contents}.
3234 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to
3235 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond/usr/share/lilypond/current/}
3239 @strong{Installed from a package manager or compiled from source}
3242 @file{@var{PREFIX}/share/lilypond/@var{X.Y.Z}/}, where
3243 @var{PREFIX} is set by your package manager or @code{configure}
3244 script, and @var{X.Y.Z} is the LilyPond version number.
3248 Within this directory the two interesting subdirectories are
3251 @item @file{ly/} - contains files in LilyPond format
3252 @item @file{scm/} - contains files in Scheme format
3255 Let's begin by looking at some files in @file{ly/}.
3256 Open @file{ly/property-init.ly} in a text editor. The one
3257 you normally use for @code{.ly} files will be fine. This file
3258 contains the definitions of all the standard LilyPond built-in
3259 commands, such as @code{\stemUp} and @code{\slurDotted}. You will
3260 see that these are nothing more than definitions of variables
3261 containing one or a group of @code{\override} commands. For
3262 example, @code{/tieDotted} is defined to be:
3266 \override Tie #'dash-period = #0.75
3267 \override Tie #'dash-fraction = #0.1
3271 If you do not like the default values these built-in commands can
3272 be redefined easily, just like any other variable, at the
3273 head of your input file.
3275 The following are the most useful files to be found in
3278 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
3281 @item @file{ly/engraver-init.ly}
3282 @tab Definitions of engraver Contexts
3283 @item @file{ly/paper-defaults.ly}
3284 @tab Specifications of paper-related defaults
3285 @item @file{ly/performer-init.ly}
3286 @tab Definitions of performer Contexts
3287 @item @file{ly/property-init.ly}
3288 @tab Definitions of all common built-in commands
3291 Other settings (such as the definitions of markup commands) are
3292 stored as @code{.scm} (Scheme) files. The Scheme programming
3293 language is used to provide a programmable interface into
3294 LilyPond internal operation. Further explanation of these files
3295 is currently outside the scope of this manual, as a knowledge of
3296 the Scheme language is required. Users should be warned that
3297 a substantial amount of technical knowledge or time is required
3298 to understand Scheme and these files (see @ref{Scheme tutorial}).
3300 If you have this knowledge, the Scheme files which may be of
3303 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
3306 @item @file{scm/auto-beam.scm}
3307 @tab Sub-beaming defaults
3308 @item @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}
3309 @tab Default settings for grob properties
3310 @item @file{scm/define-markup-commands.scm}
3311 @tab Specify all markup commands
3312 @item @file{scm/midi.scm}
3313 @tab Default settings for MIDI output
3314 @item @file{scm/output-lib.scm}
3315 @tab Settings that affect appearance of frets, colors,
3316 accidentals, bar lines, etc
3317 @item @file{scm/parser-clef.scm}
3318 @tab Definitions of supported clefs
3319 @item @file{scm/script.scm}
3320 @tab Default settings for articulations
3325 @node Avoiding tweaks with slower processing
3326 @subsection Avoiding tweaks with slower processing
3328 LilyPond can perform extra checks while it processes input files. These
3329 checks will take extra time to perform, but fewer manual tweaks
3330 may be required to obtain an acceptable result. If a text script
3331 or part of the lyrics extends over the margins these checks will
3332 compress that line of the score just enough to fit within the
3335 To be effective under all circumstances these checks must be enabled
3336 by placing the overrides in a Score @code{\with} block, rather than
3337 in-line in music, as follows:
3341 % Makes sure text scripts and lyrics are within the paper margins
3342 \override PaperColumn #'keep-inside-line = ##t
3343 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'keep-inside-line = ##t
3349 @node Advanced tweaks with Scheme
3350 @subsection Advanced tweaks with Scheme
3352 Although many things are possible with the @code{\override} and
3353 @code{\tweak} commands, an even more powerful way of modifying
3354 the action of LilyPond is available through a programmable
3355 interface to the LilyPond internal operation. Code written in
3356 the Scheme programming language can be incorporated directly in
3357 the internal operation of LilyPond. Of course, at least a basic
3358 knowledge of programming in Scheme is required to do this, and an
3359 introduction is provided in the @ref{Scheme tutorial}.
3361 As an illustration of one of the many possibilities, instead of
3362 setting a property to a constant it can be set to a Scheme
3363 procedure which is then called whenever that property is accessed
3364 by LilyPond. The property can then be set dynamically to a value
3365 determined by the procedure at the time it is called. In this
3366 example we color the note head in accordance with its position on
3369 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3370 #(define (color-notehead grob)
3371 "Color the notehead according to its position on the staff."
3372 (let ((mod-position (modulo (ly:grob-property grob 'staff-position) 7)))
3374 ;; Return rainbow colors
3375 ((1) (x11-color 'red )) ; for C
3376 ((2) (x11-color 'orange )) ; for D
3377 ((3) (x11-color 'yellow )) ; for E
3378 ((4) (x11-color 'green )) ; for F
3379 ((5) (x11-color 'blue )) ; for G
3380 ((6) (x11-color 'purple )) ; for A
3381 ((0) (x11-color 'violet )) ; for B
3387 % Arrange to obtain color from color-notehead procedure
3388 \override NoteHead #'color = #color-notehead
3395 Some -- where o -- ver the Rain -- bow, way up high,
3399 Further examples showing the use of these programmable interfaces
3400 can be found in @ref{Tweaking with Scheme}.