This chapter discusses how to modify output. LilyPond is extremely
configurable; virtually every fragment of output may be changed.
-TODO: This chapter is still under development and this version is
-not yet complete. Don't translate yet!
-
-
@menu
* Tweaking basics::
* Appearance of objects::
* Placement of objects::
* Collisions of objects::
-* Page layout::
* Further tweaking::
@end menu
achieved.
In this section we cover the basic concepts required to understand
-tweaking. Later we give a variety of potted commands which can
+tweaking. Later we give a variety of ready-made commands which can
simply be copied to obtain the same effect in your own scores, and
at the same time we show how these commands may be constructed so
that you may learn how to develop your own tweaks.
properties associated with that particular staff, for example, its
name and its key signature, together with details of the engravers
which have been assigned to operate within that staff's context.
-Similarly, there are @code{Voice} objects, @code{Score} objects,
-@code{Lyric} objects, and objects to represent barlines,
- note heads, ties, dynamics, etc, each with their own set of
-properties.
+Similarly, there are objects to hold the properties of all other
+contexts, such as @code{Voice} objects, @code{Score} objects,
+@code{Lyrics} objects, as well as objects to represent all
+notational elements such as bar lines,
+note heads, ties, dynamics, etc. Every object has its own set of
+property values.
Some types of object are given special names. Objects which
represent items of notation on the printed output such as
@headitem Object/property type
@tab Naming convention
@tab Example
-@item Contexts, Layout Objects
+@item Contexts
@tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
- @tab Staff, GrandStaff,
+ @tab Staff, GrandStaff
+@item Layout Objects
+ @tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
+ @tab Slur, NoteHead
@item Engravers
@tab Aaaa_aaa_engraver
@tab Clef_engraver, Note_heads_engraver
@c Maybe explain in a later iteration -td
The final tweaking command which is available is @code{\tweak}.
-It is not really a new command but a shorthand for an
-@code{\override} command which must be used in a few special
-circumstances. Again, we shall not discuss or use it here.
-You may find the details in
+This should be used to change the properties of objects which
+occur at the same musical moment, such as the notes within a
+chord. Using @code{\override} would affect all the notes
+within a chord, whereas @code{\tweak} affects just the following
+item in the input stream. You may find the details in
@ruser{Objects connected to the input}.
-@c Maybe explain in a later iteration -td
@node The Internals Reference manual
@section The Internals Reference manual
@menu
* Visibility and color of objects::
* Size of objects::
+* Length and thickness of objects::
@end menu
@node Visibility and color of objects
In the educational use of music we might wish to print a score
with certain elements omitted as an exercise for the student,
who is required to supply them. As a simple example,
-let us suppose the exercise is to supply the missing barlines
-in a piece of music. But the barlines are normally inserted
+let us suppose the exercise is to supply the missing bar lines
+in a piece of music. But the bar lines are normally inserted
automatically. How do we prevent them printing?
-As before, we go to the IR to find the layout object which prints
-barlines. Going via @emph{Backend} and @emph{All layout objects}
+Before we tackle this, let us remember that object properties
+are grouped in what are called @emph{interfaces} -- see
+@ref{Properties found in interfaces}. This is simply to
+group together those properties that are commonly required
+together -- if one of them is required for an object, so are
+the others. Some objects then need the properties in some
+interfaces, others need them from other interfaces. The
+interfaces which contain the properties required by a
+particular grob are listed in the IR at the bottom of the
+page describing that grob, and those properties may be
+viewed by looking at those interfaces.
+
+We explained how to find information about grobs in
+@ref{Properties of layout objects}. Using the same approach,
+we go to the IR to find the layout object which prints
+bar lines. Going via @emph{Backend} and @emph{All layout objects}
we find there
is a layout object called @code{BarLine}. Its properties include
two that control its visibility: @code{break-visibility} and
@code{stencil}. Barline also supports a number of interfaces,
including the @code{grob-interface}, where we find the
@code{transparent} and the @code{color} properties. All
-of these can affect the visibility of barlines (and, of course,
+of these can affect the visibility of bar lines (and, of course,
by extension, many other layout objects too.) Let's consider
each of these in turn.
@subheading stencil
@cindex stencil property
-This property controls the appearance of the barlines by specifying
+This property controls the appearance of the bar lines by specifying
the symbol (glyph) which should be printed. In common
with many other properties, it can be set to print nothing by
setting its value to @code{#f}. Let's try it, as before, omitting
}
@end lilypond
-The barlines are still printed. What is wrong? Go back to the
+The bar lines are still printed. What is wrong? Go back to the
IR and look again at the page giving the properties of BarLine.
At the top of the page it says @qq{Barline objects are created
by: Bar_engraver}. Go to the @code{Bar_engraver} page.
}
@end lilypond
-Now the barlines have vanished.
+Now the bar lines have vanished.
@subheading break-visibility
We see from the @code{BarLine} properties in the IR that the
@code{break-visibility} property requires a vector of three
booleans.
-These control respectively whether barlines are printed at
+These control respectively whether bar lines are printed at
the end of a line, in the middle of lines, and at the beginning
-of lines. For our example we want all barlines to be suppressed,
+of lines. For our example we want all bar lines to be suppressed,
so the value we need is @code{#(#f #f #f)}.
Let's try that, remembering
to include the @code{Staff} context. Note also that in writing
}
@end lilypond
-And we see this too removes all the barlines.
+And we see this too removes all the bar lines.
@subheading transparent
@cindex transparent property
This
should be set to @code{#t} to make the grob transparent.
In this next example let us make the time signature invisible
-rather than the barlines.
+rather than the bar lines.
To do this we need to find the grob name for the time signature.
Back to
the @q{All layout objects} page in the IR to find the properties
@subheading color
@cindex color property
-Finally we could make the barlines invisible by coloring
+Finally we could make the bar lines invisible by coloring
them white. The @code{grob-interface} specifies that the
color property value is a list, but there is no
explanation of what that list should be. The list it
but, to avoid having to know what these are, several ways
are provided to specify colors. The first way is to use one
of the @q{normal} colours listed in the first table in
-@ruser{List of colors}. To set the barlines to white
+@ruser{List of colors}. To set the bar lines to white
we write:
@lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
@end lilypond
@noindent
-and again, we see the barlines are not visible. Note that
+and again, we see the bar lines are not visible. Note that
@emph{white} is not preceded by an apostrophe -- it is not
a symbol, but a @emph{function}. When called, it provides
the list of internal values required to set the color to
associated with them. These objects generally derive their
size from the objects to which they are attached, so usually
there is no need to change their size manually. Still other
-properties such as the length of stems and barlines, thickness
+properties such as the length of stems and bar lines, thickness
of beams and other lines, and the separation of staff lines all
need to be modified in special ways.
This is still not quite right. The note heads and flags are
smaller, but the stems are too long in proportion and the
staff lines are spaced too widely apart. These need to be
-scaled down in proportion to the font reduction.
+scaled down in proportion to the font reduction. The next
+sub-section discusses how this is done.
+@node Length and thickness of objects
+@subsection Length and thickness of objects
+
+@cindex Distances
+@cindex Thickness
+@cindex Length
@cindex magstep
@cindex size, changing
@cindex stem length, changing
@cindex staff line spacing, changing
+Distances and lengths in LilyPond are generally measured in
+staff-spaces, the distance between adjacent lines in the staff,
+(or occasionally half staff spaces) while most @code{thickness}
+properties are measured in units of an internal property called
+@code{line-thickness.} For example, by default, the lines of
+hairpins are given a thickness of 1 unit of @code{line-thickness},
+while the @code{thickness} of a note stem is 1.3. Note, though,
+that some thickness properties are different; for example, the
+thickness of beams is measured in staff-spaces.
+
+So how are lengths to be scaled in proportion to the font size?
This can be done with the help of a special function called
@code{magstep} provided for exactly this purpose. It takes
one argument, the change in font size (#-2 in the example above)
\override Clef #'stencil = ##f
\override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
fontSize = #-2
- % Reduce stems and line spacing to match
+ % Reduce stem length and line spacing to match
\override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #(magstep -2)
}
{ f8 f c }
are always calculated relative to the
value of the @code{staff-space} property these are automatically
scaled down in length too. Note that this affects only the
-vertical scale of the ossia -- the horizontal scale is determined
+vertical scale of the ossia -- the horizontal scale is determined
by the layout of the main music in order to remain synchronised
with it, so it is not affected by any of these changes in size.
Of course, if the scale of all the main music were changed in this
way then the horizontal spacing would be affected. This is
discussed later in the layout section.
-This, then, completes the creation of an ossia. The sizes of all
-other objects may be modified in analogous ways.
+This, then, completes the creation of an ossia. The sizes and
+lengths of all other objects may be modified in analogous ways.
+
+For small changes in scale, as in the example above, the
+thickness of the various drawn lines such as bar lines,
+beams, hairpins, slurs, etc does not usually require global
+adjustment. If the thickness of any particular layout object
+needs to be adjusted this can be best achieved by overriding its
+@code{thickness} property. An example of changing the thickness
+of slurs was shown above in @ref{Properties of layout objects}.
+The thickness of all drawn objects (i.e., those not produced
+from a font) may be changed in the same way.
+
@node Placement of objects
@section Placement of objects
these are usually fixed by the music itself -- they are
vertically positioned on specific lines of the staff or are
tied to other objects that are so positioned. Collisions of
- note heads, stems and accidentals in closely set chords are
+note heads, stems and accidentals in closely set chords are
normally avoided automatically. There are commands and
overrides which can modify this automatic behaviour, as we
shall shortly see.
@subsection Outside staff objects
Outside-staff objects are automatically placed to avoid collisions.
-Objects with the lower value of @code{outside-staff-priority}
+Objects with the lower value of the @code{outside-staff-priority}
property are placed nearer to the staff, and other outside-staff
objects are then raised as far as necessary to avoid collisions.
The @code{outside-staff-priority} is defined in the
@code{grob-interface} and so is a property of all layout objects.
-It is set to @code{#f} (the default) for all within-staff objects,
-and is set explicitly to the default numerical value appropriate
-to the each object as it is created. The following table shows
+By default it is set to @code{#f} for all within-staff objects,
+and to a numerical value appropriate to each outside-staff object
+when the object is created. The following table shows
the default numerical values for some of the commonest
-outside-staff objects. Others may be found in the object
-properties listed in the IR.
-
-TODO Distinguish between Staff and Score objects when it
-is clear how to do this
-
-@multitable @columnfractions .3 .3
-@headitem Layout Object @tab Priority
-@item @code{BarNumber} @tab @code{ 100}
-@item @code{DynamicLineSpanner} @tab @code{ 250}
-@item @code{DynamicText} @tab @code{ 250}
-@item @code{MetronomeMark} @tab @code{1000}
-@item @code{OttavaBracket} @tab @code{ 400}
-@item @code{RehearsalMark} @tab @code{1500}
-@item @code{TextScript} @tab @code{ 450}
-@item @code{TextSpanner} @tab @code{ 350}
+outside-staff objects which are, by default, placed in the
+@code{Staff} or @code{Voice} contexts.
+
+@multitable @columnfractions .3 .3 .3
+@headitem Layout Object
+ @tab Priority
+ @tab Controls position of:
+@item @code{MultiMeasureRestText}
+ @tab @code{450}
+ @tab Text over full-bar rests
+@item @code{TextScript}
+ @tab @code{450}
+ @tab Markup text
+@item @code{OttavaBracket}
+ @tab @code{400}
+ @tab Ottava brackets
+@item @code{TextSpanner}
+ @tab @code{350}
+ @tab Text spanners
+@item @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
+ @tab @code{250}
+ @tab All dynamic markings
+@item @code{VoltaBracketSpanner}
+ @tab @code{100}
+ @tab Volta brackets
+@item @code{TrillSpanner}
+ @tab @code{50}
+ @tab Spanning trills
@end multitable
-Here is an example showing the default placement of these.
+Here is an example showing the default placement of some of
+these.
@cindex text spanner
+@funindex \startTextSpan
+@funindex \stopTextSpan
@cindex ottava bracket
@lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
c\pp
% Add Dynamic Line Spanner
c\<
-% Add Metronome Mark
-\tempo 4 = 72
% Add Text Script
c^Text
c c
c, c c c
@end lilypond
-This example also shows how to create Text Spanners --
+This example also shows how to create Text Spanners --
text with extender lines above a section of music. The
spanner extends from the @code{\startTextSpan} command to
the @code{\stopTextSpan} command, and the format of the
It also shows how ottava brackets are created.
-Note that bar numbers and rehearsal marks are not shown.
-By default these are created in the @code{Score} context
-and their @code{outside-staff-priority} is ignored
-relative to the rest of these layout objects, which are
-created in the @code{Staff} context.
-If you wish to place bar numbers or rehearsal marks
-in accordance with the value of their
-@code{outside-staff-priority} the @code{Bar_number_engraver}
-or @code{Mark_engraver} should be removed
-from the @code{Score} context and placed in the top
-@code{Staff} context.
-
-If this ordering does not give you the placing you want, the
-priority of the objects may be overridden. Suppose we would
+Note that bar numbers, metronome marks and rehearsal marks
+are not shown. By default these are created in the
+@code{Score} context and their @code{outside-staff-priority}
+is ignored relative to the layout objects which are created
+in the @code{Staff} context.
+If you wish to place bar numbers, metronome marks or rehearsal
+marks in accordance with the value of their
+@code{outside-staff-priority} the @code{Bar_number_engraver},
+@code{Metronome_mark_engraver} or @code{Mark_engraver} respectively
+should be removed from the @code{Score} context and placed in the
+top @code{Staff} context. If this is done, these marks will be
+given the following default @code{outside-staff-priority} values:
+
+@multitable @columnfractions .3 .3
+@headitem Layout Object @tab Priority
+@item @code{RehearsalMark} @tab @code{1500}
+@item @code{MetronomeMark} @tab @code{1000}
+@item @code{BarNumber} @tab @code{ 100}
+@end multitable
+
+If the default values of @code{outside-staff-priority} does not
+give you the placing you want, the priority of any of the objects
+may be overridden. Suppose we would
+like the ottava bracket to be placed below the text spanner in the
+example above. All we need to do is to look up the priority of
+@code{OttavaBracket} in the IR or in the tables above, and reduce
+it to a value lower than that of a @code{TextSpanner}, remembering
+that @code{OttavaBracket} is created in the @code{Staff} context:
+
+@lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
+% Set details for later Text Spanner
+\override TextSpanner #'bound-details #'left #'text
+ = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
+% Place dynamics above staff
+\dynamicUp
+%Place following Ottava Bracket below Text Spanners
+\once \override Staff.OttavaBracket #'outside-staff-priority = #340
+% Start Ottava Bracket
+#(set-octavation 1)
+c' \startTextSpan
+% Add Dynamic Text
+c\pp
+% Add Dynamic Line Spanner
+c\<
+% Add Text Script
+c^Text
+c c
+% Add Dynamic Text
+c\ff c \stopTextSpan
+% Stop Ottava Bracket
+#(set-octavation 0)
+c, c c c
+@end lilypond
+
+Changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} can also be used to
+control the vertical placement of individual objects, although
+the results may not always be desirable. Suppose we would
like @qq{Text3} to be placed above @qq{Text4} in the example
under Automatic behaviour, above (see @ref{Automatic behaviour}).
All we need to do is to look up the priority of @code{TextScript}
-in the IR or in the table above, and increase the priority of
+in the IR or in the tables above, and increase the priority of
@qq{Text3} to a higher value:
@lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
This certainly lifts @qq{Text3} above @qq{Text4} but it also
lifts it above @qq{Text2}, and @qq{Text4} now drops down.
-Perhaps this is not so good. Can we instead position them all
-at the same distance from the staff? To do this, we clearly
+Perhaps this is not so good. What we would really like to do
+is to position all the annotation at the same distance above
+the staff? To do this, we clearly
will need to space the notes out horizontally to make more
-room for the text. This is done using the @code{fatText}
+room for the text. This is done using the @code{textLengthOn}
command.
-@subheading \fatText
+@subheading \textLengthOn
-@funindex \fatText
+@funindex \textLengthOn
@cindex notes, spreading out with text
By default, text produced by markup takes up no horizontal space
-as far as laying out the music is concerned. The @code{\fatText}
-command reverses this behaviour, causing the notes to be spaced
+as far as laying out the music is concerned. The @code{\textLengthOn}
+command reverses this behaviour, causing the notes to be spaced
out as far as is necessary to accommodate the text:
@lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
-\fatText % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
+\textLengthOn % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
c2^"Text1"
c^"Text2"
c^"Text3"
@end lilypond
The command to revert to the default behaviour is
-@code{\emptyText}. Remember @code{\once} only works with
+@code{\textLengthOff}. Remember @code{\once} only works with
@code{\override}, @code{\set}, @code{\revert} or @code{unset},
-so cannot be used with @code{\fatText}.
+so cannot be used with @code{\textLengthOn}.
Markup text will also avoid notes which project above the staff.
If this is not desired, the automatic displacement upwards may
R1
% Turn off collision avoidance
\once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
-\fatText % and turn on fatText
+\textLengthOn % and turn on textLengthOn
c,,2^"Long Text " % Spaces at end are honoured
c''2
@end lilypond
be preferable to space out the notes
a little further, so the dynamic markings can all fit at the
same vertical distance from the staff. We were able to do this
-for markup text by using the @code{\fatText} command, but there
+for markup text by using the @code{\textLengthOn} command, but there
is no equivalent command for dynamic marks. So we shall have to
work out how to do this using @code{\override} commands.
By default, outside-staff objects are given a width of zero so
that they may overlap in the horizontal direction. This is done
-by by the trick of adding infinity to the leftmost extent and
+by the trick of adding infinity to the leftmost extent and
minus infinity to the rightmost extent by setting the
@code{extra-spacing-width} to @code{'(+inf.0 . -inf.0)}. So
to ensure they do not overlap in the horizontal direction we
These properties are to be found in the @code{AccidentalPlacement}
object which, note, lives in the @strong{staff} context. Because
accidentals are always positioned after and to the left of
- note heads only the @code{right-padding} property has any effect.
+note heads only the @code{right-padding} property has any effect.
The @code{staff-padding} property is closely related to the
@code{padding} property: @code{padding}
@code{self-alignment-X}
@cindex self-alignment-X property
-This property aligns the object to the left, to the right, or
-centers it with respect to the parent object's reference point.
-It may be used with all objects which support the
-@code{self-alignment-interface}. In general these are objects
+This property can be used to align the object to the left, to
+the right, or to center it with respect to the parent object's
+reference point. It may be used with all objects which support
+the @code{self-alignment-interface}. In general these are objects
that contain text. The values are @code{LEFT}, @code{RIGHT}
-or @code{CENTER}. The movement is limited by the length of the
-object. Any numerical value between @code{-1} and @code{+1} may
-also be specified, where @code{-1} is left-aligned, @code{+1}
-is right-aligned, and numbers in between move the text
-progressively from left-aligned to right-aligned.
+or @code{CENTER}. Alternatively, a numerical value between
+@code{-1} and @code{+1} may be specified, where @code{-1} is
+left-aligned, @code{+1} is right-aligned, and numbers in between
+move the text progressively from left-aligned to right-aligned.
+Numerical values greater than @code{1} may be specified to move
+the text even further to the left, or less than @code{-1} to
+move the text even further to the right. A change of @code{1}
+in the value corresponds to a movement of half the text's length.
@item
@code{extra-spacing-width}
of beams, slurs, and tuplets. It takes a pair of numbers
giving the position of the left and right ends of the beam, slur,
etc. relative to the center line of the staff. Units are
-staff-spaces.
+staff-spaces. Note, though, that slurs and phrasing slurs cannot
+be repositioned by arbitrarily large amounts. LilyPond first
+generates a list of possible positions for the slur and by default
+finds the slur that @qq{looks best}. If the @code{positions}
+property has been overridden the slur that is closest to the
+requested positions is selected from the list.
@end table
Objects do not all have all of these properties in general.
Let's now see how the properties in the previous section can
help to resolve overlapping notation.
-@subheading padding property
+@c FIXME: formatting
+@subheading @code{padding}
@cindex padding property
The @code{padding} property can be set to increase
@end lilypond
Note in the second example how important it is to figure out what
-context handles a certain object. Since the @code{MetronomeMark} object
+context handles a certain object. Since the @code{MetronomeMark}
+object
is handled in the @code{Score} context, property changes in the
@code{Voice} context will not be noticed. For more details, see
@ruser{Constructing a tweak}.
-@subheading left-padding and right-padding properties
+If the @code{padding} property of an object is increased when that
+object is in a stack of objects being positioned according to
+their @code{outside-staff-priority}, then that object and all
+objects outside it are moved.
+
+
+@subheading @code{left-padding} and @code{right-padding}
@cindex left-padding property
@cindex right-padding property
-TODO Example of this - at the moment I can't find one! -td
+TODO Example showing the utility of these properties -td
@subheading staff-padding property
@cindex staff-padding property
@end lilypond
The first bar is now correct. The second bar contains an arpeggio
-and is terminated by a double barline. How do we do these, as they
+and is terminated by a double bar line. How do we do these, as they
have not been mentioned in this Learning Manual? This is where
we need to turn to the Notation Reference. Looking up @q{arpeggio}
-and @q{barline} in the
+and @q{bar line} in the
index quickly shows us that an arpeggio is produced by appending
-@code{\arpeggio} to a chord, and a double barline is produced by
+@code{\arpeggio} to a chord, and a double bar line is produced by
the @code{\bar "||"} command. That's easily done. We next need
to correct the collision of the tie with the time signature. This
is best done by moving the tie upwards. Moving objects was covered
@end lilypond
-@node Page layout
-@section Page layout
-
-@menu
-* Introduction to layout::
-* Global sizes::
-* Line breaks::
-* Page breaks::
-* Fitting music onto fewer pages::
-@end menu
-
-@node Introduction to layout
-@subsection Introduction to layout
-
-The global paper layout is determined by three factors:
-the page layout, the line breaks, and the spacing. These all
-influence each other. The choice of spacing determines how
-densely each system of music is set. This influences where line
-breaks are chosen, and thus ultimately, how many pages a piece
-of music takes.
-
-Settings which influence layout may be placed in two blocks.
-The @code{\paper @{...@}} block is placed outside any
-@code{\score @{...@}} blocks and contains settings that
-relate to the entire document. The @code{\layout @{...@}}
-block is placed within a @code{\score @{...@}} block and
-contains settings for that particular score. If you have
-only one @code{\score @{...@}} block the two have the same
-effect. In general the commands shown in this section can
-be placed in either.
-
-Much more detail on the options for tweaking the laying out
-of music are contained in @ruser{Spacing issues}.
-
-@node Global sizes
-@subsection Global sizes
-
-TODO Check all these examples
-
-The default @strong{paper size} which LilyPond assumes in laying
-out the music is A4. This may be changed in two ways:
-
-@example
-#(set-default-paper-size "a6")
-
-\paper @{
-#(set-paper-size "letter")
-@}
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-The first command sets the size of all pages. The second command
-sets the size of the pages to which the \paper block applies -- if
-the \paper block is at the top of the file, then it will apply
-to all pages. Support for the following paper sizes is available:
-a6, a5, a4, a3, legal, letter, 11x17 (also known as tabloid).
-Setting the paper size automatically sets suitable margins and
-line length.
-
-If the symbol @code{landscape} is supplied as an argument to
-@code{set-default-paper-size}, the pages will be rotated by 90
-degrees, and wider line widths will be set correspondingly, e.g.
-
-@example
-#(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
-@end example
-
-The default @strong{staff size} is set to 20 points.
-This may be changed in two ways:
-
-@example
-#(set-global-staff-size 14)
-
-\paper @{
-#(set-global-staff-size 16)
-@}
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-The first command sets the size in all pages. The second command
-sets the size in the pages to which the \paper block applies -\96 if
-the \paper block is at the top of the file, then it will apply
-to all pages. All the fonts are automatically scaled to suit
-the new value of the staff size.
-
-@node Line breaks
-@subsection Line breaks
-
-Line breaks are normally determined automatically. They are chosen
-so that lines look neither cramped nor loose, and consecutive
-lines have similar density. Occasionally you might want to
-override the automatic breaks; you can do this by specifying
-@code{\break}. This will force a line break at this point. However,
-line breaks can only occur at the end of @q{complete} bars, i.e.,
-where there are no notes or tuplets left @q{hanging} over the bar
-line. If you want to have a line break where there is no bar line,
-you can force an invisible bar line by entering @code{\bar ""},
-although again there must be no notes left hanging over in any of
-the staves at this point, or it will be ignored.
-
-The opposite command, @code{\noBreak}, forbids a line break at the
-bar line where it is inserted.
-
-The most basic settings influencing line spacing are @code{indent}
-and @code{line-width}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block.
-They control the indentation of the first line of music, and the
-lengths of the lines.
-
-If @code{ragged-right} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block,
-then systems end at their natural horizontal length, instead of
-being spread horizontally to fill the whole line. This is useful
-for short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural
-spacing is.
-
-The option @code{ragged-last} is similar to @code{ragged-right},
-but affects only the last line of the piece.
-
-@example
-\layout @{
-indent = #0
-line-width = #150
-ragged-last = ##t
-@}
-@end example
-
-@node Page breaks
-@subsection Page breaks
-
-The default page breaking may be overriden by inserting
-@code{\pageBreak} or @code{\noPageBreak} commands.
-These commands are analogous to the @code{\break} and
-@code{\noBreak} commands discused above and force or forbid
-a page-break at the point where they are inserted.
-Of course, the @code{\pageBreak} command also forces a line break.
-Like @code{\break}, the @code{\pageBreak} command is effective only
-at the end of a @q{complete} bar as defined above. For more
-details see @ruser{Page breaking} and following sections.
-
-There are also analogous settings to @code{ragged-right} and
-@code{ragged-last} which have the same effect on vertical spacing:
-@code{ragged-bottom} and @code{ragged-last-bottom}. If set to
-@code{##t} the systems on all pages or just the last page
-respectively will not be justified vertically.
-
-For more details see @ruser{Vertical spacing}.
-
-@node Fitting music onto fewer pages
-@subsection Fitting music onto fewer pages
-
-Sometimes you can end up with one or two staves on a second
-(or third, or fourth...) page. This is annoying, especially
-if you look at previous pages and it looks like there is plenty
-of room left on those.
-
-When investigating layout issues, @code{annotate-spacing} is
-an invaluable tool. This command prints the values of various
-layout spacing commands; see @ruser{Displaying spacing}, for more
-details. From the output of @code{annotate-spacing}, we can
-see which margins we may wish to alter.
-
-Other than margins, there are a few other options to save space:
-
-@itemize
-@item
-You may tell LilyPond to place systems as close together as
-possible (to fit as many systems as possible onto a page), but
-then to space those systems out so that there is no blank
-space at the bottom of the page.
-
-@example
-\paper @{
- between-system-padding = #0.1
- between-system-space = #0.1
- ragged-last-bottom = ##f
- ragged-bottom = ##f
-@}
-@end example
-
-@item
-You may force the number of systems (i.e., if LilyPond wants
-to typeset some music with 11 systems, you could force it to
-use 10).
-
-@example
-\paper @{
- system-count = #10
-@}
-@end example
-
-@item
-Avoid (or reduce) objects which increase the vertical size of
-a system. For example, volta repeats (or alternate repeats)
-require extra space. If these repeats are spread over two
-systems, they will take up more space than one system with
-the volta repeats and another system without.
-
-Another example is moving dynamics which @q{stick out} of
-a system, as in the second bar here:
-
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
-e4 c g\f c
-\override DynamicText #'extra-offset = #'( -2.2 . 2.0)
-e4 c g\f c
-@end lilypond
-
-@item
-Alter the horizontal spacing via @code{SpacingSpanner}. See
-@ruser{Changing horizontal spacing}, for more details. Here's
-an example first showing the default behaviour:
-
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote,ragged-right]
-\score {
- \relative c'' {
- g4 e e2 |
- f4 d d2 |
- c4 d e f |
- g4 g g2 |
- g4 e e2 |
- }
-}
-@end lilypond
-
-@noindent
-and now with @code{common-shortest-duration} increased from the
-value of @code{1/4} (a quarter note is the most common in this
-example) to @code{1/2}:
-
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote,ragged-right]
-\score {
- \relative c'' {
- g4 e e2 |
- f4 d d2 |
- c4 d e f |
- g4 g g2 |
- g4 e e2 |
- }
- \layout {
- \context {
- \Score
- \override SpacingSpanner
- #'common-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 2)
- }
- }
-}
-@end lilypond
-
-@noindent
-Note that this override cannot be modified dynamically, so it must
-always be placed in a @code{\context@{..@}} block so that it applies
-to the whole score.
-
-TODO Add description of using \context in this way earlier if it is
-not already anywhere -td
-
-@end itemize
-
-TODO Mention line-thickness somewhere else and move this there
-
-@cindex Tweaks, distances
-@cindex Distances
-
-Distances in LilyPond are measured in staff-spaces, while most
-thickness properties are measured in line-thickness. Some
-properties are different; for example, the thickness of beams
-are measured in staff-spaces. For more information, see the
-relevant portion of the program reference.
-
-
-
@node Further tweaking
@section Further tweaking
@menu
* Other uses for tweaks::
+* Using variables for tweaks::
* Other sources of information::
* Advanced tweaks with Scheme::
* Avoiding tweaks with slower processing::
@itemize
-@item
-Setting the @code{transparent} property will cause an object to be printed
-in @q{invisible ink}: the object is not printed, but all its other
-behavior is retained. The object still takes up space, it takes part in
-collisions, and slurs, ties, and beams can be attached to it.
-
-@cindex transparent objects
+@cindex transparent property
+@cindex objects, making invisible
@cindex removing objects
+@cindex objects, removing
@cindex hiding objects
@cindex invisible objects
+
+@item
+Setting the @code{transparent} property will cause an object
+to be printed in @q{invisible ink}: the object is not printed,
+but all its other behavior is retained. The object still takes
+up space, it takes part in collisions, and slurs, ties, and beams
+can be attached to it.
+
The following example demonstrates how to connect different voices
using ties. Normally, ties only connect two notes in the same
voice. By introducing a tie in a different voice,
} >>
@end lilypond
+@cindex stencil property
+
+@item
+For outside-staff objects it is usually better to override the
+object's @code{stencil} property rather than its @code{transparent}
+property when you wish to remove it from the printed output.
+Setting the @code{stencil} property of an object to @code{#f} will
+remove that object entirely from the printed output. This means it
+has no effect on the placement of other objects placed relative to
+it.
+
+For example, if we wished to change the metronome setting in order
+to simulate a fermata in the MIDI output we would not want the
+metronome marking to appear in the printed output, and we would
+not want it to influence the spacing between the two systems or
+the spacing of the notes on the staff. So setting its
+@code{stencil} property to @code{#f} would be the best way.
+We show here the effect of the two methods:
+
+@lilypond[quote,verbatim]
+\score {
+ \relative c'' {
+ % Visible tempo marking
+ \tempo 4=120
+ a4 a a
+ \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'transparent = ##t
+ % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata note in MIDI
+ \tempo 4=80
+ a\fermata
+ \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'stencil = ##f
+ % Invisible tempo marking to restore tempo in MIDI
+ \tempo 4=120
+ a a a a
+ }
+ \midi { }
+}
+@end lilypond
+
+@noindent
+Both methods remove the metronome mark from the printed output,
+and both affect the MIDI timing as required, but the first
+(transparent) metronome mark still influences the note spacing
+while the second (with no stencil) does not.
+
@end itemize
+@node Using variables for tweaks
+@subsection Using variables for tweaks
+
+TODO Add section
@node Other sources of information
@subsection Other sources of information
+
+
+
+
projects / lilypond.git / blobdiff