X-Git-Url: https://git.donarmstrong.com/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=Documentation%2Fessay%2Fengraving.itely;h=ace6cc1c08f87fd97d1c62e6c4cc121b47cdde95;hb=b3f0c2f6c352a850f03dc44a947776199eb3fa0b;hp=baf8d60b2f396d4b41c109d7c71b4337026eabbf;hpb=42aeb12cd52eefe8fd99cdc6eba0def699d21196;p=lilypond.git diff --git a/Documentation/essay/engraving.itely b/Documentation/essay/engraving.itely index baf8d60b2f..ace6cc1c08 100644 --- a/Documentation/essay/engraving.itely +++ b/Documentation/essay/engraving.itely @@ -33,54 +33,62 @@ LilyPond. @cindex plate engraving @cindex music engraving -The art of music typography is called @emph{(plate) engraving}. -The term derives from the traditional process of music printing. -Just a few decades ago, sheet music was made by cutting and -stamping the music into a zinc or pewter plate in mirror image. -The plate would be inked, and the depressions caused by the cutting -and stamping would hold ink. An image was formed by pressing -paper to the plate. The stamping and cutting was done completely -by hand. Making a correction was cumbersome, if possible at all, -so the engraving had to be perfect in one go. Engraving was a -highly specialized skill; a craftsman had to complete around five -years of training before earning the title of master engraver, and -another five years of experience were necessary to become truly -skilled. - -Nowadays, all newly printed music is produced with computers. -This has obvious advantages: prints are cheaper to make, and -editorial work can be delivered by email. Unfortunately, the -pervasive use of computers has also decreased the graphical -quality of scores. Computer printouts have a bland, mechanical -look, which makes them unpleasant to play from. - - -@c introduce illustrating aspects of engraving, font... -The images below illustrate the difference between traditional -engraving and typical computer output, and the third picture shows -how LilyPond mimics the traditional look. The left picture shows -a scan of a flat symbol from an edition published in 2000. The -center depicts a symbol from a hand-engraved Bärenreiter edition -of the same music. The left scan illustrates typical flaws of -computer print: the staff lines are thin, the weight of the flat -symbol matches the light lines and it has a straight layout with -sharp corners. By contrast, the Bärenreiter flat has a bold, -almost voluptuous rounded look. Our flat symbol is designed -after this one, among others. It is rounded, and its weight -harmonizes with the thickness of our staff lines, which are also -much thicker than lines in the computer edition. - -@multitable @columnfractions .125 .25 .25 .25 .125 -@item @tab -@ifnotinfo +The art of music typography is called @emph{(plate) engraving}. The term +derives from the traditional process of music printing. Just a few +decades ago, sheet music was made by cutting and stamping the music into +a zinc or pewter plate in mirror image. The plate would be inked, and +the depressions caused by the cutting and stamping would hold ink. An +image was formed by pressing paper to the plate. The stamping and +cutting was done completely by hand. Making a correction was cumbersome, +so the engraving had to be nearly perfect in one go. Engraving was a +highly specialized skill; a craftsman had to complete around five years +of training before earning the title of master engraver, and another +five years of experience were necessary to become truly skilled. + +@quotation @iftex -@image{pictures/henle-flat-gray,,4cm} +@image{pictures/hader-slaan,,7cm} @end iftex @ifnottex -@image{pictures/henle-flat-gray,,,png} +@sourceimage{hader-slaan,,,jpg} @end ifnottex +@end quotation -@tab +Nowadays, all newly printed music is produced with computers. This has +obvious advantages: prints are cheaper to make, editorial work can be +delivered by email, and the original data can be easily stored. +Unfortunately, computer-generated scores rarely match the quality of +hand-engraved scores. Instead, computer printouts have a bland, +mechanical look, which makes them unpleasant to play from. + +From the beginning, we designed LilyPond to mimic the beauty of +traditional music engraving. Along the way, we have learned a great deal +about the work that goes into a well-engraved score. Below we describe +several of those aspects that we have tried to imitate in LilyPond. + +@menu +* Music Fonts:: +* Optical Spacing:: +* Ledger Lines:: +* Slurs:: +* Why work so hard?:: +@end menu + +@node Music Fonts +@unnumberedsubsec Music Fonts + +The images below illustrate the difference between traditional engraving +and typical computer output. The left picture shows a scan of a flat +symbol from a hand-engraved Bärenreiter edition, while the right picture +depicts a symbol from an edition of the same music published in 2000. +Although both images are printed in the shame shade of ink, the earlier +version looks darker: the staff lines are heavier, and the Bärenreiter +flat has a bold, almost voluptuous rounded look. The right scan, on the +other hand, has thinner lines and a straight layout with sharp corners. + +@multitable @columnfractions .25 .25 .25 .25 +@item @tab +@ifnotinfo @iftex @image{pictures/baer-flat-gray,,4cm} @end iftex @@ -90,43 +98,80 @@ much thicker than lines in the computer edition. @tab @iftex -@image{pictures/lily-flat-bw,,4cm} +@image{pictures/henle-flat-gray,,4cm} @end iftex @ifnottex -@image{pictures/lily-flat-bw,,,png} +@image{pictures/henle-flat-gray,,,png} @end ifnottex + @end ifnotinfo @ifinfo -@image{lilypond/pictures/henle-flat-bw,,,,png} @image{lilypond/pictures/baer-flat-bw,,,,png} +@image{lilypond/pictures/henle-flat-bw,,,,png} +@image{lilypond/pictures/baer-flat-bw,,,,png} @image{lilypond/pictures/lily-flat-bw,,,,png} @end ifinfo + @item @tab -Henle (2000) -@tab Bärenreiter (1950) @tab -LilyPond Feta font (2003) +Henle (2000) @end multitable - @cindex musical symbols @cindex font @cindex blackness @cindex balance -@c introduce illustrating aspects of engraving, spacing... +When we wanted to write a computer program to create music typography, +there were no musical fonts freely available that could match the +elegance of our favorite scores. Not let down, we created a font of +musical symbols, relying on nice printouts of hand-engraved music. The +experience helped develop a typographical taste, and it made us +appreciate subtle design details. Without that experience, we would not +have realized how ugly the fonts were that we admired at first. + +Below is a sample of two music fonts: the upper set is the default font +in the Sibelius software (the @emph{Opus} font), and the lower set is +our own LilyPond font. + +@quotation +@iftex +@image{pictures/pdf/OpusAndFeta,,,} +@end iftex +@ifnottex +@sourceimage{OpusAndFeta,,,png} +@end ifnottex +@end quotation + +The LilyPond symbols are heavier and their weight is more consistent, +which makes them easier to read. Fine endings, such as the one on the +bottom of the quarter rest, should not end in sharp points, but rather +in rounded shapes. This is because sharp corners of the punching dies +are fragile and quickly wear out when stamping in metal. Taken together, +the blackness of the font must be carefully tuned together with the +thickness of lines, beams and slurs to give a strong yet balanced +overall impression. + +Also, notice that our half-notehead is not elliptic but slightly diamond +shaped. The vertical stem of a flat symbol is slightly brushed, becoming +wider at the top. The sharp and the natural are easier to distinguish +from a distance because their angled lines have different slopes and the +vertical strokes are heavier. + +@node Optical Spacing +@unnumberedsubsec Optical Spacing + In spacing, the distribution of space should reflect the durations between notes. However, many modern scores adhere to the durations with mathematical precision, which leads to poor -results. In the next example a motive is printed twice: once -using exact mathematical spacing, and once with corrections. Can -you spot which fragment is which? +results. In the next example a motive is printed twice: the first time +using exact mathematical spacing, and the second with corrections. +Which do you prefer? @cindex optical spacing -@c file spacing-optical. -@c need to include it here, because we want two images. + @lilypond \paper { ragged-right = ##t @@ -140,14 +185,15 @@ music = { \stemNeutral e'8[ e'8 e'8 e'8] } - \score { \music \layout { \context { \Staff - \override NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #0.6 + \override NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #0.0 + \override NoteSpacing #'same-direction-correction = #0.0 + \override StaffSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #0.0 } } } @@ -166,15 +212,14 @@ music = { \stemNeutral e'8[ e'8 e'8 e'8] } + \score { \music \layout { \context { \Staff - \override NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #0.0 - \override NoteSpacing #'same-direction-correction = #0.0 - \override StaffSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #0.0 + \override NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #0.6 } } } @@ -193,9 +238,54 @@ up-stem/@/down-stem combination should be put farther apart, and the notes of a down-stem/@/up-stem combination should be put closer together, all depending on the combined vertical positions of the notes. The upper two measures are printed with this -correction, the lower two measures, however, form -down-stem/@/up-stem clumps of notes. +correction, the lower two measures, however, form down-stem/@/up-stem +clumps of notes. A master engraver would adjust the spacing as needed to +please the eye. + +Another example of optical spacing is the visual interplay between the +stems and the bar lines. When an up-stem precedes the bar line, a little +more space is needed to keep it from feeling crowded: +@lilypond +\paper { + ragged-right = ##t +} + +\score { + { + c''8 c'' c'' c'' c'' c'' c'' c'' \break + a' a' a' a' a' a' a' a' + } + \layout { + \context { + \Staff + \remove "Time_signature_engraver" + \override NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #0.7 + } + } +} +@end lilypond + +@node Ledger Lines +@unnumberedsubsec Ledger Lines + +@ifnotinfo +@iftex +@image{pictures/baer-ledger,4cm} +@end iftex +@ifnottex +@image{pictures/baer-ledger,,,png} +@end ifnottex +@end ifnotinfo +@ifinfo +@image{lilypond/pictures/baer-ledger,,,,png} +@end ifinfo + +@node Slurs +@unnumberedsubsec Slurs + +@node Why work so hard? +@unnumberedsubsec Why work so hard? Musicians are usually more absorbed with performing than with studying the looks of a piece of music, so nitpicking @@ -238,6 +328,69 @@ to see and love to play from. @cindex engraving, automated @cindex automated engraving +@menu +* Beauty contests:: +* Notation benchmarking:: +* Flexible architecture:: +@end menu + +@node Beauty contests +@unnumberedsubsec Beauty contests + +@node Notation benchmarking +@unnumberedsubsec Notation benchmarking + +Bärenreiter: + +@ifnotinfo +@iftex +@image{pictures/baer-sarabande,16cm} +@end iftex +@ifnottex +@image{pictures/baer-sarabande,,,png} +@end ifnottex +@end ifnotinfo +@ifinfo +@image{lilypond/pictures/baer-sarabande,,,,png} +@end ifinfo + +LilyPond 1.4: + +@ifnotinfo +@iftex +@image{pictures/lily14-sarabande,16cm} +@end iftex +@ifnottex +@image{pictures/lily14-sarabande,,,png} +@end ifnottex +@end ifnotinfo +@ifinfo +@image{lilypond/pictures/lily14-sarabande,,,,png} +@end ifinfo + +LilyPond @version{}: + +@lilypond[relative=0,staffsize=19,line-width=16\cm] +{ + \clef "bass" + \key d \minor + \time 3/4 + \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn + << {d8. e16 e4. d16 e} \\ {d4 a2} >> + 4. e8 d c + bes g' f e16( f g a bes d,) + cis4. b8 a g + << {d'8. e16 e4. d16 e} \\ {4 a2} >> +} +@end lilypond + +[LilyPond snippet above not finished] + +[a few bars of LilyPond vs. Finale can go here] + +@node Flexible architecture +@unnumberedsubsec Flexible architecture + How do we go about implementing typography? If craftsmen need over ten years to become true masters, how could we simple hackers ever write a program to take over their jobs?