* Fixing overlapping notation::
* Common tweaks::
* Default files::
+* Fitting music onto fewer pages::
* Advanced tweaks with Scheme::
@end menu
@file{ly/declarations-init.ly} define all the common tweaks.
+@node Fitting music onto fewer pages
+@section 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 @ref{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 = #0.5
+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 ``stick out'' of
+a system.
+
+@lilypond[verbatim,quote,fragment]
+\relative c' {
+ e4 c g\f c
+ \override DynamicLineSpanner #'padding = #-1.8
+ \override DynamicText #'extra-offset = #'( -2.1 . 0)
+ e4 c g\f c
+}
+@end lilypond
+
+@item
+Alter the horizontal spacing via @code{SpacingSpanner}. See
+@ref{Changing horizontal spacing} for more details.
+
+@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
+\score {
+ \relative c'' {
+ g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 d e f | g4 g g2 |
+ g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
+ d4 d d d | d4 e f2 | e4 e e e | e4 f g2 |
+ g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
+ }
+ \layout {
+ \context {
+ \Score
+ \override SpacingSpanner
+ #'base-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 4)
+ }
+ }
+}
+@end lilypond
+
+@end itemize
+
+
@node Advanced tweaks with Scheme
@section Advanced tweaks with Scheme
@menu
* Suggestions for writing LilyPond files::
-* Typesetting existing music::
-* Updating old files::
-* Troubleshooting (taking it all apart)::
* Saving typing with identifiers and functions::
* Style sheets::
-* Fitting music onto fewer pages::
+* Updating old files::
+* Troubleshooting (taking it all apart)::
@end menu
little examples in the tutorial, but whole pieces. But how should you
go about doing it?
-The best answer is ``however you want to do it.'' As long as LilyPond
-can understand your files and produces the output that you want, it
-doesn't matter what your files look like. That said, sometimes we
-make mistakes when writing files. If LilyPond can't understand your
-files, or produces output that you don't like, how do you fix the
-problem?
+As long as LilyPond can understand your files and produces the output
+that you want, it doesn't matter what your files look like. However,
+there are a few other things to consider when writing lilypond files.
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item What if you make a mistake? The structure of a lilypond
+file can make certain errors easier (or harder) to find.
+
+@item What if you want to share your files with somebody
+else? In fact, what if you want to alter your own files in
+a few years? Some lilypond files are understandable at
+first glance; other files may leave you scratching your head
+for an hour.
+
+@item What if you want to upgrade your lilypond file for use
+with a later version of lilypond? The input syntax changes
+occasionally as lilypond improves. Most changes can be
+done automatically with @code{convert-ly}, but some changes
+might require manual assistance. Lilypond files can be
+structured in order to be easier (or header) to update.
+@end itemize
+
+@menu
+* General suggestions::
+* Typesetting existing music::
+* Large projects::
+@end menu
+
+
+@node General suggestions
+@subsection General suggestions
Here are a few suggestions that can help you to avoid or fix
problems:
phrase (instead of just @code{c d e}) you can save yourself some
problems if you rearrange your music later.
+@item @strong{Separate tweaks} from music definitions. See
+@ref{Saving typing with identifiers and functions} and
+@ref{Style sheets}.
+
@end itemize
@node Typesetting existing music
-@section Typesetting existing music
+@subsection Typesetting existing music
If you are entering music from an existing score (i.e., typesetting a
piece of existing sheet music),
@end itemize
-@node Updating old files
-@section Updating old files
-
-The LilyPond input syntax occasionally changes. As LilyPond itself
-improves, the syntax (input language) is modified accordingly. Sometimes
-these changes are made to make the input easier to read and write or
-sometimes the changes are made to accomodate new features of LilyPond.
-
-LilyPond comes with a file that makes this updating easier:
-@code{convert-ly}. For details about how to run this program, see
-@ref{Updating files with convert-ly}.
-
-Unforunately, @code{convert-ly} cannot handle all input changes. It
-takes care of simple search-and-replace changes (such as @code{raggedright}
-becoming @code{ragged-right}), but some changes are too
-complicated. The syntax changes that @code{convert-ly} cannot handle
-are listed in @ref{Updating files with convert-ly}.
-
-For example, in LilyPond 2.4 and earlier, accents and non-English
-letters were entered using LaTeX -- for example,
-"@code{No\"el}" (this would print the French word for
-`Christmas'). In LilyPond 2.6 and above, the special
-"@code{ë}" must be entered directly into the LilyPond file as an
-UTF-8 character. @code{convert-ly} cannot change all the LaTeX
-special characters into UTF-8 characters; you must manually update
-your old LilyPond files.
-
-
-@node Troubleshooting (taking it all apart)
-@section Troubleshooting (taking it all apart)
+@node Large projects
+@subsection Large projects
-Sooner or later, you will write a file that LilyPond cannot
-compile. The messages that LilyPond gives may help
-you find the error, but in many cases you need to do some
-investigation to determine the source of the problem.
+When working on a large project, having a clear structure to your
+lilypond files becomes vital.
-The most powerful tools for this purpose are the
-single line comment (indicated by @code{%}) and the block
-comment (indicated by @code{%@{ ... %@}}). If you don't
-know where a problem is, start commenting out huge portions
-of your input file. After you comment out a section, try
-compiling the file again. If it works, then the problem
-must exist in the portion you just commented. If it doesn't
-work, then keep on commenting out material until you have
-something that works.
+@itemize @bullet
-In an extreme case, you might end up with only
+@item @strong{Use an identifier for each voice}, with a minimum of
+structure inside the definition. The structure of the
+@code{\score} section is the most likely thing to change;
+the @code{violin} definition is extremely unlikely to change
+in a new version of LilyPond.
@example
+violin = \relative c'' @{
+g4 c'8. e16
+@}
+...
\score @{
- <<
- % \melody
- % \harmony
- % \bass
- >>
- \layout@{@}
+ \new GrandStaff @{
+ \new Staff @{
+ \violin
+ @}
+ @}
@}
@end example
-@noindent
-(in other words, a file without any music)
-
-If that happens, don't give up. Uncomment a bit -- say,
-the bass part -- and see if it works. If it doesn't work,
-then comment out all of the bass music (but leave
-@code{\bass} in the @code{\score} uncommented.
+@item @strong{Separate tweaks from music definitions}. This
+point was made in @ref{General suggestions}, but for large
+projects it is absolutely vital. We might need to change
+the definition of @code{fthenp}, but then we only need
+to do this once, and we can still avoid touching anything
+inside @code{violin}.
@example
-bass = \relative c' @{
-%@{
- c4 c c c
- d d d d
-%@}
+fthenp = _\markup@{
+ \dynamic f \italic \small @{ 2nd @} \hspace #0.1 \dynamic p @}
+violin = \relative c'' @{
+g4\fthenp c'8. e16
@}
@end example
-Now start slowly uncommenting more and more of the
-@code{bass} part until you find the problem line.
+@end itemize
@node Saving typing with identifiers and functions
@end example
-@node Fitting music onto fewer pages
-@section Fitting music onto fewer pages
+@node Updating old files
+@section Updating old files
+
+The LilyPond input syntax occasionally changes. As LilyPond itself
+improves, the syntax (input language) is modified accordingly. Sometimes
+these changes are made to make the input easier to read and write or
+sometimes the changes are made to accomodate new features of LilyPond.
+
+LilyPond comes with a file that makes this updating easier:
+@code{convert-ly}. For details about how to run this program, see
+@ref{Updating files with convert-ly}.
+
+Unforunately, @code{convert-ly} cannot handle all input changes. It
+takes care of simple search-and-replace changes (such as @code{raggedright}
+becoming @code{ragged-right}), but some changes are too
+complicated. The syntax changes that @code{convert-ly} cannot handle
+are listed in @ref{Updating files with convert-ly}.
-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.
+For example, in LilyPond 2.4 and earlier, accents and non-English
+letters were entered using LaTeX -- for example,
+"@code{No\"el}" (this would print the French word for
+`Christmas'). In LilyPond 2.6 and above, the special
+"@code{ë}" must be entered directly into the LilyPond file as an
+UTF-8 character. @code{convert-ly} cannot change all the LaTeX
+special characters into UTF-8 characters; you must manually update
+your old LilyPond files.
-When investigating layout issues, @code{annotate-spacing} is
-an invaluable tool. This command prints the values of various
-layout spacing commands; see @ref{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:
+@node Troubleshooting (taking it all apart)
+@section Troubleshooting (taking it all apart)
-@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.
+Sooner or later, you will write a file that LilyPond cannot
+compile. The messages that LilyPond gives may help
+you find the error, but in many cases you need to do some
+investigation to determine the source of the problem.
+
+The most powerful tools for this purpose are the
+single line comment (indicated by @code{%}) and the block
+comment (indicated by @code{%@{ ... %@}}). If you don't
+know where a problem is, start commenting out huge portions
+of your input file. After you comment out a section, try
+compiling the file again. If it works, then the problem
+must exist in the portion you just commented. If it doesn't
+work, then keep on commenting out material until you have
+something that works.
+
+In an extreme case, you might end up with only
@example
-\paper @{
-between-system-padding = #0.5
-ragged-last-bottom = ##f
-ragged-bottom = ##f
+\score @{
+ <<
+ % \melody
+ % \harmony
+ % \bass
+ >>
+ \layout@{@}
@}
@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).
+@noindent
+(in other words, a file without any music)
+
+If that happens, don't give up. Uncomment a bit -- say,
+the bass part -- and see if it works. If it doesn't work,
+then comment out all of the bass music (but leave
+@code{\bass} in the @code{\score} uncommented.
@example
-\paper @{
-system-count = #10
+bass = \relative c' @{
+%@{
+ c4 c c c
+ d d d d
+%@}
@}
@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 ``stick out'' of
-a system.
-
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote,fragment]
-\relative c' {
- e4 c g\f c
- \override DynamicLineSpanner #'padding = #-1.8
- \override DynamicText #'extra-offset = #'( -2.1 . 0)
- e4 c g\f c
-}
-@end lilypond
-
-@item
-Alter the horizontal spacing via @code{SpacingSpanner}. See
-@ref{Changing horizontal spacing} for more details.
-
-@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
-\score {
- \relative c'' {
- g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 d e f | g4 g g2 |
- g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
- d4 d d d | d4 e f2 | e4 e e e | e4 f g2 |
- g4 e e2 | f4 d d2 | c4 e g g | c,1 |
- }
- \layout {
- \context {
- \Score
- \override SpacingSpanner
- #'base-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 4)
- }
- }
-}
-@end lilypond
+Now start slowly uncommenting more and more of the
+@code{bass} part until you find the problem line.
-@end itemize
projects / lilypond.git / commitdiff