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14 @chapter Tweaking output
16 This chapter discusses how to modify output. LilyPond is extremely
17 configurable; virtually every fragment of output may be changed.
22 * The Internals Reference manual::
23 * Appearance of objects::
24 * Placement of objects::
25 * Collisions of objects::
30 @section Tweaking basics
33 * Introduction to tweaks::
34 * Objects and interfaces::
35 * Naming conventions of objects and properties::
39 @node Introduction to tweaks
40 @subsection Introduction to tweaks
42 @q{Tweaking} is a LilyPond term for the various methods available
43 to the user for modifying the actions taken during interpretation
44 of the input file and modifying the appearance of the printed
45 output. Some tweaks are very easy to use; others are more
46 complex. But taken together the methods available for tweaking
47 permit almost any desired appearance of the printed music to be
50 In this section we cover the basic concepts required to understand
51 tweaking. Later we give a variety of ready-made commands which can
52 simply be copied to obtain the same effect in your own scores, and
53 at the same time we show how these commands may be constructed so
54 that you may learn how to develop your own tweaks.
56 Before starting on this Chapter you may wish to review the section
57 @ref{Contexts and engravers}, as Contexts, Engravers, and the
58 Properties contained within them are fundamental to understanding
59 and constructing Tweaks.
61 @node Objects and interfaces
62 @subsection Objects and interfaces
68 @cindex properties, object
69 @cindex object properties
71 @cindex object, layout
74 Tweaking involves modifying the internal operation and structures
75 of the LilyPond program, so we must first introduce some terms
76 which are used to describe those internal operations and
79 The term @q{Object} is a generic term used to refer to the
80 multitude of internal structures built by LilyPond during the
81 processing of an input file. So when a command like @code{\new
82 Staff} is encountered a new object of type @code{Staff} is
83 constructed. That @code{Staff} object then holds all the
84 properties associated with that particular staff, for example, its
85 name and its key signature, together with details of the engravers
86 which have been assigned to operate within that staff's context.
87 Similarly, there are objects to hold the properties of all other
88 contexts, such as @code{Voice} objects, @code{Score} objects,
89 @code{Lyrics} objects, as well as objects to represent all
90 notational elements such as bar lines,
91 note heads, ties, dynamics, etc. Every object has its own set of
94 Some types of object are given special names. Objects which represent
95 items of notation on the printed output such as note heads, stems,
96 slurs, ties, fingering, clefs, etc are called @q{Layout objects},
97 often known as @q{Graphical Objects}, or @q{Grobs} for short. These
98 are still objects in the generic sense above, and so they too all have
99 properties associated with them, such as their position, size, color,
102 Some layout objects are still more specialized. Phrasing slurs,
103 crescendo hairpins, ottava marks, and many other grobs are not
104 localized in a single place -- they have a starting point, an
105 ending point, and maybe other properties concerned with their
106 shape. Objects with an extended shape like these are called
109 It remains to explain what @q{Interfaces} are. Many objects, even
110 though they are quite different, share common features which need to
111 be processed in the same way. For example, all grobs have a color, a
112 size, a position, etc, and all these properties are processed in the
113 same way during LilyPond's interpretation of the input file. To
114 simplify these internal operations these common actions and properties
115 are grouped together in an object called a @code{grob-interface}.
116 There are many other groupings of common properties like this, each
117 one given a name ending in @code{interface}. In total there are over
118 100 such interfaces. We shall see later why this is of interest and
121 These, then, are the main terms relating to objects which we
122 shall use in this chapter.
124 @node Naming conventions of objects and properties
125 @subsection Naming conventions of objects and properties
127 @cindex naming conventions for objects
128 @cindex naming conventions for properties
129 @cindex objects, naming conventions
130 @cindex properties, naming conventions
132 We met some object naming conventions previously, in
133 @ref{Contexts and engravers}. Here for reference is a list
134 of the most common object and property types together with
135 the conventions for naming them and a couple of examples of
136 some real names. We have used @q{A} to stand for any capitalized
137 alphabetic character and @q{aaa} to stand for any number of
138 lower-case alphabetic characters. Other characters are used
141 @multitable @columnfractions .33 .33 .33
142 @headitem Object/property type
143 @tab Naming convention
146 @tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
147 @tab Staff, GrandStaff
149 @tab Aaaa or AaaaAaaaAaaa
152 @tab Aaaa_aaa_engraver
153 @tab Clef_engraver, Note_heads_engraver
155 @tab aaa-aaa-interface
156 @tab grob-interface, break-aligned-interface
157 @item Context Properties
158 @tab aaa or aaaAaaaAaaa
159 @tab alignAboveContext, skipBars
160 @item Layout Object Properties
161 @tab aaa or aaa-aaa-aaa
162 @tab direction, beam-thickness
165 As we shall see shortly, the properties of different types of
166 object are modified by different commands, so it is useful to
167 be able to recognize the type of object from the names of its
171 @node Tweaking methods
172 @subsection Tweaking methods
174 @cindex tweaking methods
176 @strong{\override command}
178 @cindex override command
179 @cindex override syntax
184 We have already met the commands @code{\set} and @code{\with}, used to
185 change the properties of @strong{contexts} and to remove and add
186 @strong{engravers}, in @ref{Modifying context properties}, and
187 @ref{Adding and removing engravers}. We must now introduce some more
190 The command to change the properties of @strong{layout objects} is
191 @code{\override}. Because this command has to modify
192 internal properties deep within LilyPond its syntax is not
193 as simple as the commands you have used so far. It needs to
194 know precisely which property of which object in which context
195 has to be modified, and what its new value is to be. Let's see
198 The general syntax of this command is:
201 \override @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject} #'@var{layout-property} =
206 This will set the property with the name @var{layout-property} of the
207 layout object with the name @var{LayoutObject}, which is a member of
208 the @var{Context} context, to the value @var{value}.
210 The @var{Context} can be omitted (and usually is) when the
211 required context is unambiguously implied and is one of lowest
212 level contexts, i.e., @code{Voice}, @code{ChordNames} or
213 @code{Lyrics}, and we shall omit it in many of the following
214 examples. We shall see later when it must be specified.
216 Later sections deal comprehensively with properties and their
217 values, but to illustrate the format and use of these commands
218 we shall use just a few simple properties and values which are
221 For now, don't worry about the @code{#'}, which must precede the
222 layout property, and the @code{#}, which must precede the value.
223 These must always be present in exactly this form. This is the
224 most common command used in tweaking, and most of the rest of
225 this chapter will be directed to presenting examples of how it is
226 used. Here is a simple example to change the color of the
229 @cindex color property, example
230 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
232 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
234 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
236 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
240 @strong{\revert command}
242 @cindex revert command
247 Once overridden, the property retains its new value until it is
248 overridden again or a @code{\revert} command is encountered.
249 The @code{\revert} command has the following syntax and causes
250 the value of the property to revert to its original default
251 value; note, not its previous value if several @code{\override}
252 commands have been issued.
255 \revert @var{Context}.@var{LayoutObject} #'@var{layout-property}
258 Again, just like @var{Context} in the @code{\override} command,
259 @var{Context} is often not needed. It will be omitted
260 in many of the following examples. Here we revert the color
261 of the note head to the default value for the final two notes:
263 @cindex color property, example
264 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
266 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
268 \override NoteHead #'color = #red
270 \override NoteHead #'color = #green
272 \revert NoteHead #'color
276 @strong{\once prefix}
281 Both the @code{\override} and the @code{\set} commands may be
282 prefixed by @code{\once}. This causes the following
283 @code{\override} or @code{\set} command to be effective only
284 during the current musical moment before the property reverts
285 back to its default value. Using the same example, we can
286 change the color of a single note like this:
288 @cindex color property, example
289 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
291 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
293 \once \override NoteHead #'color = #red
295 \once \override NoteHead #'color = #green
299 @strong{\overrideProperty command}
301 @cindex overrideProperty command
303 @funindex \overrideProperty
304 @funindex overrideProperty
306 There is another form of the override command,
307 @code{\overrideProperty}, which is occasionally required.
308 We mention it here for completeness, but for details see
309 @rextend{Difficult tweaks}.
310 @c Maybe explain in a later iteration -td
312 @strong{\tweak command}
314 @cindex tweak command
319 The final tweaking command which is available is @code{\tweak}.
320 This should be used to change the properties of objects which
321 occur at the same musical moment, such as the notes within a
322 chord. Using @code{\override} would affect all the notes
323 within a chord, whereas @code{\tweak} affects just the following
324 item in the input stream.
326 Here's an example. Suppose we wish to change the size of the
327 middle note head (the E) in a C major chord. Let's first see what
328 @code{\once \override} would do:
330 @cindex font-size property, example
331 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
333 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
335 \once \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-3
340 We see the override affects @emph{all} the note heads in the chord.
341 This is because all the notes of a chord occur at the same
342 @emph{musical moment}, and the action of @code{\once} is to
343 apply the override to all layout objects of the type specified
344 which occur at the same musical moment as the @code{\override}
347 The @code{\tweak} command operates in a different way. It acts
348 on the immediately following item in the input stream. However,
349 it is effective only on objects which are created directly from
350 the input stream, essentially note heads and articulations;
351 objects such as stems and accidentals are created later and
352 cannot be tweaked in this way. Furthermore, when it is applied
353 to note heads these @emph{must} be within a chord, i.e., within
354 single angle brackets, so to tweak a single note the @code{\tweak}
355 command must be placed inside single angle brackets with the
358 So to return to our example, the size of the middle note of
359 a chord would be changed in this way:
361 @cindex font-size property, example
362 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
364 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
366 <c \tweak #'font-size #-3 e g>4
369 Note that the syntax of @code{\tweak} is different from that
370 of the @code{\override} command. Neither the context nor the
371 layout object should be specified; in fact, it would generate
372 an error to do so. These are both implied by the following
373 item in the input stream. Note also that an equals sign should
374 not be present. So the general syntax of the
375 @code{\tweak} command is simply
378 \tweak #'@var{layout-property} #@var{value}
381 A @code{\tweak} command can also be used to modify just one in
382 a series of articulations, as shown here:
384 @cindex color property, example
385 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
387 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
389 -\tweak #'color #red ^"Red"
390 -\tweak #'color #green _"Green"
394 Note that the @code{\tweak} command must be preceded by an
395 articulation mark as if it were an articulation itself.
397 @cindex tuplets, nested
398 @cindex triplets, nested
399 @cindex bracket, tuplet
400 @cindex bracket, triplet
401 @cindex tuplet bracket
402 @cindex triplet bracket
404 @funindex TupletBracket
406 The @code{\tweak} command must also be used to change the
407 appearance of one of a set of nested tuplets which begin at the
408 same musical moment. In the following example, the long tuplet
409 bracket and the first of the three short brackets begin at the
410 same musical moment, so any @code{\override} command would apply
411 to both of them. In the example, @code{\tweak} is used to
412 distinguish between them. The first @code{\tweak} command
413 specifies that the long tuplet bracket is to be placed above the
414 notes and the second one specifies that the tuplet number is to be
415 printed in red on the first short tuplet bracket.
417 @cindex @code{\tweak}, example
418 @cindex direction property, example
419 @cindex color property, example
421 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=2]
422 \tweak #'direction #up
425 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
426 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
427 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
431 If nested tuplets do not begin at the same moment, their
432 appearance may be modified in the usual way with
433 @code{\override} commands:
435 @cindex text property, example
436 @cindex tuplet-number function, example
437 @cindex transparent property, example
438 @cindex TupletNumber, example of overriding
440 @c NOTE Tuplet brackets collide if notes are high on staff
442 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim,fragment,relative=1]
443 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
444 \once \override TupletNumber
445 #'text = #tuplet-number::calc-fraction-text
449 \once \override TupletNumber #'transparent = ##t
450 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
451 \times 2/3 { c8[ c c] }
458 @ruser{The tweak command}.
461 @node The Internals Reference manual
462 @section The Internals Reference manual
464 @cindex Internals Reference
467 * Properties of layout objects::
468 * Properties found in interfaces::
469 * Types of properties::
472 @node Properties of layout objects
473 @subsection Properties of layout objects
475 @cindex properties of layout objects
476 @cindex properties of grobs
477 @cindex grobs, properties of
478 @cindex layout objects, properties of
479 @cindex Internals Reference manual
481 Suppose you have a slur in a score which, to your mind,
482 appears too thin and you'd like to draw it a little heavier.
483 How do you go about doing this? You know from the statements
484 earlier about the flexibility of LilyPond that such a thing
485 should be possible, and you would probably guess that an
486 @code{\override} command would be needed. But is there a
487 heaviness property for a slur, and if there is, how might it
488 be modified? This is where the Internals Reference manual
489 comes in. It contains all the information you might need to
490 construct this and all other @code{\override} commands.
492 Before we look at the Internals Reference a word of warning.
493 This is a @strong{reference} document, which means there is
494 little or no explanation contained within it: its purpose is
495 to present information precisely and concisely. This
496 means it might look daunting at first sight. Don't worry!
497 The guidance and explanation presented here will enable you
498 to extract the information from the Internals Reference for
499 yourself with just a little practice.
501 @cindex override example
502 @cindex Internals Reference, example of using
503 @cindex @code{\addlyrics} example
505 Let's use a concrete example with a simple fragment of real
508 @c Mozart, Die Zauberflöte Nr.7 Duett
510 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
515 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
516 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
520 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
525 Suppose now that we decide we would like the slurs to be a
526 little heavier. Is this possible? The slur is certainly a
527 layout object, so the question is, @q{Is there a property
528 belonging to a slur which controls the heaviness?} To answer
529 this we must look in the Internals Reference, or IR for short.
531 The IR for the version of LilyPond you are using may be found
532 on the LilyPond website at @uref{http://lilypond.org}. Go to the
533 documentation page and click on the Internals Reference link.
534 For learning purposes you should use the standard HTML version,
535 not the @q{one big page} or the PDF. For the next few
536 paragraphs to make sense you will need to actually do this
539 Under the heading @strong{Top} you will see five links. Select
540 the link to the @emph{Backend}, which is where information about
541 layout objects is to be found. There, under the heading
542 @strong{Backend}, select the link to @emph{All layout objects}.
543 The page that appears lists all the layout objects used in your
544 version of LilyPond, in alphabetic order. Select the link to
545 Slur, and the properties of Slurs are listed.
547 An alternative way of finding this page is from the Notation
548 Reference. On one of the pages that deals with slurs you may find a
549 link to the Internals Reference. This link will take you directly to
550 this page, but if you have an idea about the name of the layout object
551 to be tweaked, it is easier to go straight to the IR and search there.
553 This Slur page in the IR tells us first that Slur objects are created
554 by the Slur_engraver. Then it lists the standard settings. Note
555 these are @strong{not} in alphabetic order. Browse down them looking
556 for a property that might control the heaviness of slurs, and you
560 @code{thickness} (number)
562 Line thickness, generally measured in @code{line-thickness}
565 This looks a good bet to change the heaviness. It tells us that
566 the value of @code{thickness} is a simple @emph{number},
567 that the default value is 1.2, and that the units are
568 in another property called @code{line-thickness}.
570 As we said earlier, there are few to no explanations in the IR,
571 but we already have enough information to try changing the
572 slur thickness. We see that the name of the layout object
573 is @code{Slur}, that the name of the property to change is
574 @code{thickness} and that the new value should be a number
575 somewhat larger than 1.2 if we are to make slurs thicker.
577 We can now construct the @code{\override} command by simply
578 substituting the values we have found for the names, omitting
579 the context. Let's use a very large value for the thickness
580 at first, so we can be sure the command is working. We get:
583 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
586 Don't forget the @code{#'} preceding the
587 property name and a @code{#} preceding the new value!
589 The final question is, @q{Where should this command be
590 placed?} While you are unsure and learning, the best
591 answer is, @q{Within the music, before the first slur and
592 close to it.} Let's do that:
594 @cindex Slur example of overriding
595 @cindex thickness property, example
597 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
602 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
603 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
604 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
605 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
609 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
615 and we see that the slur is indeed heavier.
617 So this is the basic way of constructing @code{\override}
618 commands. There are a few more complications that we
619 shall meet in later sections, but you now know all the
620 essentials required to make up your own -- but you will
621 still need some practice. This is provided in the examples
624 @subheading Finding the context
626 @cindex context, finding
627 @cindex context, identifying correct
629 But first, what if we had needed to specify the Context?
630 What should it be? We could guess that slurs are in
631 the Voice context, as they are clearly closely associated
632 with individual lines of music, but can we be sure? To
633 find out, go back to the top of the IR page describing the
634 Slur, where it says @q{Slur objects are created by: Slur
635 engraver}. So slurs will be created in whichever context
636 the @code{Slur_engraver} is in. Follow the link to the
637 @code{Slur_engraver} page. At the very bottom it tells
638 us that @code{Slur_engraver} is part of five Voice contexts,
639 including the standard voice context, @code{Voice}, so our
640 guess was correct. And because @code{Voice} is one of the
641 lowest level contexts which is implied unambiguously by
642 the fact that we are entering notes, we can omit it in this
645 @subheading Overriding once only
647 @cindex overriding once only
648 @cindex once override
653 As you can see, @emph{all} the slurs are thicker in the final example
654 above. But what if we wanted just the first slur to be thicker? This
655 is achieved with the @code{\once} command. Placed immediately before
656 the @code{\override} command it causes it to change only the slur
657 which begins on the @strong{immediately following} note. If the
658 immediately following note does not begin a slur the command has no
659 effect at all -- it is not remembered until a slur is encountered, it
660 is simply discarded. So the command with @code{\once} must be
661 repositioned as follows:
663 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
664 @cindex thickness property, example
666 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
672 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
673 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
675 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
679 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
685 Now only the first slur is made heavier.
687 The @code{\once} command can also be used before the @code{\set}
690 @subheading Reverting
693 @cindex default properties, reverting to
698 Finally, what if we wanted just the first two slurs to be
699 heavier? Well, we could use two commands, each preceded by
700 @code{\once} placed immediately before each of the notes where
703 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
704 @cindex thickness property, example
706 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
712 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
713 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
715 % Increase thickness of immediately following slur only
716 \once \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
717 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
721 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
727 or we could omit the @code{\once} command and use the @code{\revert}
728 command to return the @code{thickness} property to its default value
729 after the second slur:
731 @cindex Slur, example of overriding
732 @cindex thickness property, example
734 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
740 % Increase thickness of all following slurs from 1.2 to 5.0
741 \override Slur #'thickness = #5.0
744 % Revert thickness of all following slurs to default of 1.2
745 \revert Slur #'thickness
750 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
756 The @code{\revert} command can be used to return any property
757 changed with @code{\override} back to its default value.
758 You may use whichever method best suits what you want to do.
760 That concludes our introduction to the IR, and the basic
761 method of tweaking. Several examples follow in the later
762 sections of this Chapter, partly to introduce you to some of the
763 additional features of the IR, and partly to give you more
764 practice in extracting information from it. These examples will
765 contain progressively fewer words of guidance and explanation.
768 @node Properties found in interfaces
769 @subsection Properties found in interfaces
772 @cindex interface properties
773 @cindex properties in interfaces
775 Suppose now that we wish to print the lyrics in italics. What form of
776 @code{\override} command do we need to do this? We first look in the
777 IR page listing @q{All layout objects}, as before, and look for an
778 object that might control lyrics. We find @code{LyricText}, which
779 looks right. Clicking on this shows the settable properties for lyric
780 text. These include the @code{font-series} and @code{font-size}, but
781 nothing that might give an italic shape. This is because the shape
782 property is one that is common to all font objects, so, rather than
783 including it in every layout object, it is grouped together with other
784 similar common properties and placed in an @strong{Interface}, the
785 @code{font-interface}.
787 So now we need to learn how to find the properties of interfaces,
788 and to discover what objects use these interface properties.
790 Look again at the IR page which describes LyricText. At the bottom of
791 the page is a list of clickable interfaces which LyricText supports.
792 The list has several items, including @code{font-interface}. Clicking
793 on this brings up the properties associated with this interface, which
794 are also properties of all the objects which support it, including
797 Now we see all the user-settable properties which control fonts,
798 including @code{font-shape(symbol)}, where @code{symbol} can be
799 set to @code{upright}, @code{italics} or @code{caps}.
801 You will notice that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are also
802 listed there. This immediately raises the question: Why are the
803 common font properties @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} listed
804 under @code{LyricText} as well as under the interface
805 @code{font-interface} but @code{font-shape} is not? The answer is
806 that @code{font-series} and @code{font-size} are changed from their
807 global default values when a @code{LyricText} object is created, but
808 @code{font-shape} is not. The entries in @code{LyricText} then tell
809 you the values for those two properties which apply to
810 @code{LyricText}. Other objects which support @code{font-interface}
811 will set these properties differently when they are created.
813 Let's see if we can now construct the @code{\override} command
814 to change the lyrics to italics. The object is @code{LyricText},
815 the property is @code{font-shape} and the value is
816 @code{italic}. As before, we'll omit the context.
818 As an aside, although it is an important one, note that because the
819 values of @code{font-shape} are symbols they must be introduced with a
820 single apostrophe, @code{'}. That is why apostrophes are needed
821 before @code{thickness} in the earlier example and @code{font-shape}.
822 These are both symbols too. Symbols are then read internally by
823 LilyPond. Some of them are the names of properties, like
824 @code{thickness} or @code{font-shape}, others are used as values that
825 can be given to properties, like @code{italic}. Note the distinction
826 from arbitrary text strings, which would appear as @code{"a text
827 string"}; for more details about symbols and strings, see
828 @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
830 So we see that the @code{\override} command needed to print the lyrics
834 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
838 This should be placed just in front of the lyrics we wish to affect,
841 @cindex font-shape property, example
842 @cindex italic, example
843 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
844 @cindex @code{\addlyrics}, example
846 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
851 r4 bes8 bes[( g]) g |
852 g8[( es]) es d[( f]) as |
856 \override LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
857 The man who | feels love's sweet e -- | mo -- tion
863 and the lyrics are all printed in italics.
865 @subheading Specifying the context in lyric mode
867 @cindex context, specifying in lyric mode
868 @cindex lyric mode, specifying context
870 In the case of lyrics, if you try specifying the context in the
871 format given earlier the command will fail. A syllable
872 entered in lyricmode is terminated by either a space,
873 a newline or a digit. All other characters are included
874 as part of the syllable. For this reason a space or newline
875 must appear before the terminating @code{@}} to prevent it being
876 included as part of the final syllable. Similarly,
877 spaces must be inserted before and after the
878 period or dot, @q{.}, separating the context name from the
879 object name, as otherwise the two names are run together and
880 the interpreter cannot recognize them. So the command should be:
883 \override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
886 @warning{In lyrics always leave whitespace between the final
887 syllable and the terminating brace.}
889 @warning{In overrides in lyrics always place spaces around
890 the dot between the context name and the object name.}
894 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
897 @node Types of properties
898 @subsection Types of properties
900 @cindex property types
902 So far we have seen two types of property: @code{number} and
903 @code{symbol}. To be valid, the value given to a property
904 must be of the correct type and obey the rules for that type.
905 The type of property is always shown in brackets after the
906 property name in the IR. Here is a list of the types you may
907 need, together with the rules for that type, and some examples.
908 You must always add a hash symbol, @code{#}, of course,
909 to the front of these values when they are entered in the
910 @code{\override} command.
912 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .45 .35
913 @headitem Property type
917 @tab Either True or False, represented by #t or #f
918 @tab @code{#t}, @code{#f}
919 @item Dimension (in staff space)
920 @tab A positive decimal number (in units of staff space)
921 @tab @code{2.5}, @code{0.34}
923 @tab A valid direction constant or its numerical equivalent (decimal
924 values between -1 and 1 are allowed)
925 @tab @code{LEFT}, @code{CENTER}, @code{UP},
928 @tab A positive whole number
929 @tab @code{3}, @code{1}
931 @tab A set of values separated by spaces, enclosed in parentheses
932 and preceded by an apostrophe
933 @tab @code{'(left-edge staff-bar)}, @code{'(1)},
934 @code{'(1.0 0.25 0.5)}
936 @tab Any valid markup
937 @tab @code{\markup @{ \italic "cresc." @}}
939 @tab A fraction of a whole note constructed with the
941 @tab @code{(ly:make-moment 1 4)},
942 @code{(ly:make-moment 3 8)}
944 @tab Any positive or negative decimal value
945 @tab @code{3.5}, @code{-2.45}
946 @item Pair (of numbers)
947 @tab Two numbers separated by a @q{space . space} and enclosed
948 in brackets preceded by an apostrophe
949 @tab @code{'(2 . 3.5)}, @code{'(0.1 . -3.2)}
951 @tab Any of the set of permitted symbols for that property,
952 preceded by an apostrophe
953 @tab @code{'italic}, @code{'inside}
955 @tab A procedure, or @code{#f} to cause no action
956 @tab @code{bend::print}, @code{ly:text-interface::print},
959 @tab A list of three items enclosed in parentheses and preceded
960 by apostrophe-hash, @code{'#}.
961 @tab @code{'#(#t #t #f)}
966 Extending: @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
969 @node Appearance of objects
970 @section Appearance of objects
972 Let us now put what we have learned into practice with a few
973 examples which show how tweaks may be used to change the
974 appearance of the printed music.
977 * Visibility and color of objects::
979 * Length and thickness of objects::
982 @node Visibility and color of objects
983 @subsection Visibility and color of objects
985 In the educational use of music we might wish to print a score
986 with certain elements omitted as an exercise for the student,
987 who is required to supply them. As a simple example,
988 let us suppose the exercise is to supply the missing bar lines
989 in a piece of music. But the bar lines are normally inserted
990 automatically. How do we prevent them printing?
992 Before we tackle this, let us remember that object properties are
993 grouped in what are called @emph{interfaces} -- see @ref{Properties
994 found in interfaces}. This is simply to group together those
995 properties that may be used together to tweak a graphical object -- if
996 one of them is allowed for an object, so are the others. Some objects
997 then use the properties in some interfaces, others use them from other
998 interfaces. The interfaces which contain the properties used by a
999 particular grob are listed in the IR at the bottom of the page
1000 describing that grob, and those properties may be viewed by looking at
1003 We explained how to find information about grobs in @ref{Properties of
1004 layout objects}. Using the same approach, we go to the IR to find the
1005 layout object which prints bar lines. Going via @emph{Backend} and
1006 @emph{All layout objects} we find there is a layout object called
1007 @code{BarLine}. Its properties include two that control its
1008 visibility: @code{break-visibility} and @code{stencil}. Barline also
1009 supports a number of interfaces, including the @code{grob-interface},
1010 where we find the @code{transparent} and the @code{color} properties.
1011 All of these can affect the visibility of bar lines (and, of course,
1012 by extension, many other layout objects too.) Let's consider each of
1017 @cindex stencil property
1019 This property controls the appearance of the bar lines by specifying
1020 the symbol (glyph) which should be printed. In common
1021 with many other properties, it can be set to print nothing by
1022 setting its value to @code{#f}. Let's try it, as before, omitting
1023 the implied Context, @code{Voice}:
1025 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1026 @cindex stencil property, example
1028 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1031 \override BarLine #'stencil = ##f
1033 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1038 The bar lines are still printed. What is wrong? Go back to the IR
1039 and look again at the page giving the properties of BarLine. At the
1040 top of the page it says @qq{Barline objects are created by:
1041 Bar_engraver}. Go to the @code{Bar_engraver} page. At the bottom it
1042 gives a list of Contexts in which the bar engraver operates. All of
1043 them are of the type @code{Staff}, so the reason the @code{\override}
1044 command failed to work as expected is because @code{Barline} is not in
1045 the default @code{Voice} context. If the context is specified
1046 incorrectly, the command simply does not work. No error message is
1047 produced, and nothing is logged in the log file. Let's try correcting
1048 it by adding the correct context:
1050 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1051 @cindex stencil property, example
1053 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1056 \override Staff.BarLine #'stencil = ##f
1058 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1063 Now the bar lines have vanished.
1065 Note, though, that setting the @code{stencil} property to @code{#f}
1066 will cause errors when the dimensions of the object are required for
1067 correct processing. For example, errors will be generated if the
1068 @code{stencil} property of the @code{NoteHead} object is set to
1069 @code{#f}. If this is the case, you can instead use the
1070 @code{point-stencil} function, which sets the stencil to a object
1073 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1076 \once \override NoteHead #'stencil = #point-stencil
1081 @subheading break-visibility
1083 @cindex break-visibility property
1085 We see from the @code{BarLine} properties in the IR that the
1086 @code{break-visibility} property requires a vector of three booleans.
1087 These control respectively whether bar lines are printed at the end of
1088 a line, in the middle of lines, and at the beginning of lines. For
1089 our example we want all bar lines to be suppressed, so the value we
1090 need is @code{'#(#f #f #f)}. Let's try that, remembering to include
1091 the @code{Staff} context. Note also that in writing this value we
1092 have @code{#'#} before the opening bracket. The @code{'#} is required
1093 as part of the value to introduce a vector, and the first @code{#} is
1094 required, as always, to precede the value itself in the
1095 @code{\override} command.
1097 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1098 @cindex break-visibility property, example
1100 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1103 \override Staff.BarLine #'break-visibility = #'#(#f #f #f)
1105 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1110 And we see this too removes all the bar lines.
1112 @subheading transparent
1114 @cindex transparent property
1115 @cindex transparency
1117 We see from the properties specified in the @code{grob-interface} page
1118 in the IR that the @code{transparent} property is a boolean. This
1119 should be set to @code{#t} to make the grob transparent. In this next
1120 example let us make the time signature invisible rather than the bar
1121 lines. To do this we need to find the grob name for the time
1122 signature. Back to the @q{All layout objects} page in the IR to find
1123 the properties of the @code{TimeSignature} layout object. This is
1124 produced by the @code{Time_signature_engraver} which you can check
1125 also lives in the @code{Staff} context and also supports the
1126 @code{grob-interface}. So the command to make the time signature
1129 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1130 @cindex transparent property, example
1132 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1135 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'transparent = ##t
1137 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1143 The time signature is gone, but this command leaves a gap where
1144 the time signature should be. Maybe this is what is wanted for
1145 an exercise for the student to fill it in, but in other
1146 circumstances a gap might be undesirable. To remove it, the
1147 stencil for the time signature should be set to @code{#f}
1150 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1151 @cindex stencil property, example
1153 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1156 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1158 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1164 and the difference is obvious: setting the stencil to @code{#f}
1165 removes the object entirely; making the object @code{transparent}
1166 leaves it where it is, but makes it invisible.
1170 @cindex color property
1172 Finally let us try making the bar lines invisible by coloring
1173 them white. (There is a difficulty with this in that the
1174 white bar line may or may not blank out the staff lines where
1175 they cross. You may see in some of the examples below that this
1176 happens unpredictably. The details of why this is so and how to
1177 control it are covered in @ruser{Painting objects white}. But at
1178 the moment we are learning about color, so please just accept this
1179 limitation for now.)
1181 The @code{grob-interface} specifies that the
1182 color property value is a list, but there is no
1183 explanation of what that list should be. The list it
1184 requires is actually a list of values in internal units,
1185 but, to avoid having to know what these are, several ways
1186 are provided to specify colors. The first way is to use one
1187 of the @q{normal} colors listed in the first table in
1188 @ruser{List of colors}. To set the bar lines to white
1191 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1192 @cindex color property, example
1194 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1197 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #white
1199 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1205 and again, we see the bar lines are not visible. Note that
1206 @emph{white} is not preceded by an apostrophe -- it is not
1207 a symbol, but a @emph{function}. When called, it provides
1208 the list of internal values required to set the color to
1209 white. The other colors in the normal list are functions
1210 too. To convince yourself this is working you might like
1211 to change the color to one of the other functions in the
1219 The second way of changing the color is to use the list of
1220 X11 color names in the second list in @ruser{List of colors}.
1221 However, these must be preceded by another function, which
1222 converts X11 color names into the list of internal values,
1223 @code{x11-color}, like this:
1225 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1226 @cindex color property, example
1228 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1231 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'white)
1233 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1239 Note that in this case the function @code{x11-color} takes
1240 a symbol as an argument, so the symbol must be preceded by
1241 an apostrophe and the two enclosed in brackets.
1248 There is yet a third function, one which converts RGB values into
1249 internal colors -- the @code{rgb-color} function. This takes
1250 three arguments giving the intensities of the red, green and
1251 blue colors. These take values in the range 0 to 1. So to
1252 set the color to red the value should be @code{(rgb-color 1 0 0)}
1253 and to white it should be @code{(rgb-color 1 1 1)}:
1255 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1256 @cindex color property, example
1258 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1261 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(rgb-color 1 1 1)
1263 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1268 Finally, there is also a grey scale available as part of the
1269 X11 set of colors. These range from black, @code{'grey0'},
1270 to white, @code{'grey100}, in steps of 1. Let's illustrate
1271 this by setting all the layout objects in our example to
1272 various shades of grey:
1274 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1275 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1276 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1277 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
1278 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1279 @cindex BarLine, example of overriding
1280 @cindex color property, example
1281 @cindex x11-color, example of using
1283 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1286 \override Staff.StaffSymbol #'color = #(x11-color 'grey30)
1287 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1288 \override Staff.Clef #'color = #(x11-color 'grey60)
1289 \override Voice.NoteHead #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1290 \override Voice.Stem #'color = #(x11-color 'grey85)
1291 \override Staff.BarLine #'color = #(x11-color 'grey10)
1293 g,8 a16 b8 c d4 e16 |
1299 Note the contexts associated with each of the layout objects.
1300 It is important to get these right, or the commands will not
1301 work! Remember, the context is the one in which the appropriate
1302 engraver is placed. The default context for engravers can be
1303 found by starting from the layout object, going from there to
1304 the engraver which produces it, and on the engraver page in the
1305 IR it tells you in which context the engraver will normally be
1309 @node Size of objects
1310 @subsection Size of objects
1312 @cindex changing size of objects
1313 @cindex size of objects
1314 @cindex objects, size of
1315 @cindex objects, changing size of
1317 Let us begin by looking again at the earlier example
1318 see @ref{Nesting music expressions}) which showed
1319 how to introduce a new temporary staff, as in an @rglos{ossia}.
1321 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1322 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1324 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1325 \new Staff ="main" {
1332 alignAboveContext = #"main" }
1340 Ossia are normally written without clef and time signature, and
1341 are usually printed slightly smaller than the main staff. We
1342 already know now how to remove the clef and time signature --
1343 we simply set the stencil of each to @code{#f}, as follows:
1345 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1346 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1347 @cindex stencil property, example
1348 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1349 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1351 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1352 \new Staff ="main" {
1359 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1362 \override Staff.Clef #'stencil = ##f
1363 \override Staff.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1373 where the extra pair of braces after the @code{\with} clause are
1374 required to ensure the enclosed overrides and music are applied
1377 But what is the difference between modifying the staff context by
1378 using @code{\with} and modifying the stencils of the clef and the
1379 time signature with \override? The main difference is that
1380 changes made in a @code{\with} clause are made at the time the
1381 context is created, and remain in force as the @strong{default}
1382 values for the duration of that context, whereas
1383 @code{\set} or @code{\override} commands embedded in the
1384 music are dynamic -- they make changes synchronized with
1385 a particular point in the music. If changes are unset or
1386 reverted using @code{\unset} or @code{\revert} they return to
1387 their default values, which will be the ones set in the
1388 @code{\with} clause, or if none have been set there, the normal
1391 Some context properties can be modified only in @code{\with} clauses.
1392 These are those properties which cannot sensibly be changed after the
1393 context has been created. @code{alignAboveContext} and its partner,
1394 @code{alignBelowContext}, are two such properties -- once the staff
1395 has been created its alignment is decided and it would make no sense
1396 to try to change it later.
1398 The default values of layout object properties can also be set
1399 in @code{\with} clauses. Simply use the normal @code{\override}
1400 command leaving out the context name, since this is unambiguously
1401 defined as the context which the @code{\with} clause is modifying.
1402 If fact, an error will be generated if a context is specified
1405 So we could replace the example above with
1407 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1408 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1409 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1410 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1412 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1413 \new Staff ="main" {
1420 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1421 % Don't print clefs in this staff
1422 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1423 % Don't print time signatures in this staff
1424 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1433 Finally we come to changing the size of layout objects.
1435 Some layout objects are created as glyphs selected from a typeface
1436 font. These include note heads, accidentals, markup, clefs, time
1437 signatures, dynamics and lyrics. Their size is changed by modifying
1438 the @code{font-size} property, as we shall shortly see. Other layout
1439 objects such as slurs and ties -- in general, spanner objects -- are
1440 drawn individually, so there is no @code{font-size} associated with
1441 them. These objects generally derive their size from the objects to
1442 which they are attached, so usually there is no need to change their
1443 size manually. Still other properties such as the length of stems and
1444 bar lines, thickness of beams and other lines, and the separation of
1445 staff lines all need to be modified in special ways.
1447 Returning to the ossia example, let us first change the font-size.
1448 We can do this in two ways. We can either change the size of the
1449 fonts of each object type, like @code{NoteHead}s with commands
1453 \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-2
1456 or we can change the size of all fonts by setting a special
1457 property, @code{fontSize}, using @code{\set}, or by including
1458 it in a @code{\with} clause (but without the @code{\set}).
1464 Both of these statements would cause the font size to be reduced
1465 by 2 steps from its previous value, where each
1466 step reduces or increases the size by approximately 12%.
1468 Let's try it in our ossia example:
1470 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1471 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1472 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1473 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1474 @cindex fontSize property, example
1476 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1477 \new Staff ="main" {
1484 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1485 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1486 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1487 % Reduce all font sizes by ~24%
1497 This is still not quite right. The note heads and flags are
1498 smaller, but the stems are too long in proportion and the
1499 staff lines are spaced too widely apart. These need to be
1500 scaled down in proportion to the font reduction. The next
1501 sub-section discusses how this is done.
1503 @node Length and thickness of objects
1504 @subsection Length and thickness of objects
1510 @cindex size, changing
1511 @cindex stem length, changing
1512 @cindex staff line spacing, changing
1514 Distances and lengths in LilyPond are generally measured in
1515 staff-spaces, the distance between adjacent lines in the staff,
1516 (or occasionally half staff spaces) while most @code{thickness}
1517 properties are measured in units of an internal property called
1518 @code{line-thickness.} For example, by default, the lines of
1519 hairpins are given a thickness of 1 unit of @code{line-thickness},
1520 while the @code{thickness} of a note stem is 1.3. Note, though,
1521 that some thickness properties are different; for example, the
1522 thickness of beams is controlled by the value of the
1523 @code{beam-thickness} property, which is measured in staff-spaces.
1525 So how are lengths to be scaled in proportion to the font size?
1526 This can be done with the help of a special function called
1527 @code{magstep} provided for exactly this purpose. It takes
1528 one argument, the change in font size (#-2 in the example above)
1529 and returns a scaling factor suitable for reducing other
1530 objects in proportion. It is used like this:
1532 @cindex alignAboveContext property, example
1533 @cindex @code{\with}, example
1534 @cindex Clef, example of overriding
1535 @cindex TimeSignature, example of overriding
1536 @cindex fontSize property, example
1537 @cindex StaffSymbol, example of overriding
1538 @cindex magstep function, example of using
1539 @cindex staff-space property, example
1540 @cindex stencil property, example
1542 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1543 \new Staff ="main" {
1550 alignAboveContext = #"main"
1551 \override Clef #'stencil = ##f
1552 \override TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
1554 % Reduce stem length and line spacing to match
1555 \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #(magstep -2)
1565 Since the length of stems and many other length-related properties are
1566 always calculated relative to the value of the @code{staff-space}
1567 property these are automatically scaled down in length too. Note that
1568 this affects only the vertical scale of the ossia -- the horizontal
1569 scale is determined by the layout of the main music in order to remain
1570 synchronized with it, so it is not affected by any of these changes in
1571 size. Of course, if the scale of all the main music were changed in
1572 this way then the horizontal spacing would be affected. This is
1573 discussed later in the layout section.
1575 This, then, completes the creation of an ossia. The sizes and
1576 lengths of all other objects may be modified in analogous ways.
1578 For small changes in scale, as in the example above, the
1579 thickness of the various drawn lines such as bar lines,
1580 beams, hairpins, slurs, etc does not usually require global
1581 adjustment. If the thickness of any particular layout object
1582 needs to be adjusted this can be best achieved by overriding its
1583 @code{thickness} property. An example of changing the thickness
1584 of slurs was shown above in @ref{Properties of layout objects}.
1585 The thickness of all drawn objects (i.e., those not produced
1586 from a font) may be changed in the same way.
1589 @node Placement of objects
1590 @section Placement of objects
1593 * Automatic behavior::
1594 * Within-staff objects::
1595 * Outside-staff objects::
1599 @node Automatic behavior
1600 @subsection Automatic behavior
1602 @cindex within-staff objects
1603 @cindex outside-staff objects
1604 @cindex objects, within-staff
1605 @cindex objects, outside-staff
1607 There are some objects in musical notation that belong to
1608 the staff and there are other objects that should be
1609 placed outside the staff. These are called within-staff
1610 objects and outside-staff objects respectively.
1612 Within-staff objects are those that are located on the staff
1613 -- note heads, stems, accidentals, etc. The positions of
1614 these are usually fixed by the music itself -- they are
1615 vertically positioned on specific lines of the staff or are
1616 tied to other objects that are so positioned. Collisions of
1617 note heads, stems and accidentals in closely set chords are
1618 normally avoided automatically. There are commands and
1619 overrides which can modify this automatic behavior, as we
1622 Objects belonging outside the staff include things such as
1623 rehearsal marks, text and dynamic markings. LilyPond's rule for
1624 the vertical placement of outside-staff objects is to place them
1625 as close to the staff as possible but not so close that they
1626 collide with any other object. LilyPond uses the
1627 @code{outside-staff-priority} property to determine the order in
1628 which the objects should be placed, as follows.
1630 First, LilyPond places all the within-staff objects.
1631 Then it sorts the outside-staff objects according to their
1632 @code{outside-staff-priority}. The outside-staff objects are
1633 taken one by one, beginning with the object with the lowest
1634 @code{outside-staff-priority}, and placed so that they do not
1635 collide with any objects that have already been placed. That is,
1636 if two outside-staff grobs are competing for the same space, the
1637 one with the lower @code{outside-staff-priority} will be placed
1638 closer to the staff. If two objects have the same
1639 @code{outside-staff-priority} the one encountered first will be
1640 placed closer to the staff.
1642 In the following example all the markup texts have the same
1643 priority (since it is not explicitly set). Note that @q{Text3}
1644 is automatically positioned close to the staff again, nestling
1647 @cindex markup example
1649 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1656 Staves are also positioned, by default, as closely together as
1657 possible (subject to a minimum separation). If notes project
1658 a long way towards an adjacent staff they will force the
1659 staves further apart only if an overlap of the notation
1660 would otherwise occur. The following example demonstrates
1661 this @q{nestling} of the notes on adjacent staves:
1663 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
1666 \relative c' { c4 a, }
1669 \relative c'''' { c4 a, }
1675 @node Within-staff objects
1676 @subsection Within-staff objects
1678 We have already seen how the commands @code{\voiceXXX} affect
1679 the direction of slurs, ties, fingering and
1680 everything else which depends on the direction of the stems.
1681 These commands are essential when writing polyphonic music to
1682 permit interweaving melodic lines to be distinguished.
1683 But occasionally it may be necessary to override this automatic
1684 behavior. This can be done for whole sections of music or even
1685 for an individual note. The property which controls this
1686 behavior is the @code{direction} property of each layout object.
1687 We first explain what this does, and then introduce a number of
1688 ready-made commands which avoid your having to code explicit
1689 overrides for the more common modifications.
1691 Some layout objects like slurs and ties curve, bend or point
1692 either up or down; others like stems and flags also move to
1693 right or left when they point up or down. This is controlled
1694 automatically when @code{direction} is set.
1701 The following example shows in bar 1 the default behavior of stems,
1702 with those on high notes pointing down and those on low notes pointing
1703 up, followed by four notes with all stems forced down, four notes with
1704 all stems forced up, and finally four notes reverted back to the
1707 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
1708 @cindex direction property, example
1710 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
1712 \override Stem #'direction = #DOWN
1714 \override Stem #'direction = #UP
1716 \revert Stem #'direction
1720 Here we use the constants @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}.
1721 These have the values @code{-1} and @code{+1} respectively, and
1722 these numerical values may be used instead. The value @code{0}
1723 may also be used in some cases. It is simply treated as meaning
1724 @code{UP} for stems, but for some objects it means @q{center}.
1725 There is a constant, @code{CENTER} which has the value @code{0}.
1727 However, these explicit overrides are not usually used, as there are
1728 simpler equivalent predefined commands available. Here is a table of
1729 the commonest. The meaning of each is stated where it is not obvious.
1731 @multitable @columnfractions .2 .2 .25 .35
1736 @item @code{\arpeggioArrowDown}
1737 @tab @code{\arpeggioArrowUp}
1738 @tab @code{\arpeggioNormal}
1739 @tab Arrow is at bottom, at top, or no arrow
1740 @item @code{\dotsDown}
1742 @tab @code{\dotsNeutral}
1743 @tab Direction of movement to avoid staff lines
1744 @item @code{\dynamicDown}
1745 @tab @code{\dynamicUp}
1746 @tab @code{\dynamicNeutral}
1748 @item @code{\phrasingSlurDown}
1749 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurUp}
1750 @tab @code{\phrasingSlurNeutral}
1751 @tab Note: distinct from slur commands
1752 @item @code{\slurDown}
1754 @tab @code{\slurNeutral}
1756 @item @code{\stemDown}
1758 @tab @code{\stemNeutral}
1760 @item @code{\textSpannerDown}
1761 @tab @code{\textSpannerUp}
1762 @tab @code{\textSpannerNeutral}
1763 @tab Text entered as spanner is below/above staff
1764 @item @code{\tieDown}
1766 @tab @code{\tieNeutral}
1768 @item @code{\tupletDown}
1769 @tab @code{\tupletUp}
1770 @tab @code{\tupletNeutral}
1771 @tab Tuplets are below/above notes
1774 Note that these predefined commands may @strong{not} be
1775 preceded by @code{\once}. If you wish to limit the
1776 effect to a single note you must either use the equivalent
1777 @code{\once \override} command or use the predefined command
1778 followed after the affected note by the corresponding
1779 @code{\xxxNeutral} command.
1781 @unnumberedsubsubsec Fingering
1783 @cindex fingering, placement
1784 @cindex fingering, chords
1786 The placement of fingering on single notes can also be controlled
1787 by the @code{direction} property, but changing @code{direction}
1788 has no effect on chords. As we shall see, there are special
1789 commands which allow the fingering of individual notes
1790 of chords to be controlled, with the fingering being placed
1791 above, below, to the left or to the right of each note.
1793 First, here's the effect of @code{direction} on the fingering
1794 attached to single notes. The first bar shows the default
1795 behaviour, and the following two bars shows the effect of
1796 specifying @code{DOWN} and @code{UP}:
1798 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
1799 @cindex direction property, example
1801 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1803 \override Fingering #'direction = #DOWN
1805 \override Fingering #'direction = #UP
1809 However, overriding the @code{direction} property is not the
1810 easiest way of manually setting the fingering above or below
1811 the notes; using @code{_} or @code{^} instead of @code{-} before
1812 the fingering number is usually preferable. Here is the previous
1813 example using this method:
1815 @cindex fingering example
1817 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1823 The @code{direction} property is ignored for chords, but the
1824 directional prefixes, @code{_} and @code{^} do work. By default,
1825 the fingering is automatically placed both above and below the
1826 notes of a chord, as shown:
1828 @cindex fingering example
1830 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1837 but this may be overridden to manually force all or any of the
1838 individual fingering numbers above or below:
1840 @cindex fingering example
1842 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
1848 Even greater control over the placement of fingering of the
1849 individual notes in a chord is possible by using the
1850 @code{\set fingeringOrientations} command. The format of this
1854 @code{\set fingeringOrientations = #'([up] [left/right] [down])}
1858 @code{\set} is used because @code{fingeringOrientations} is a
1859 property of the @code{Voice} context, created and used by the
1860 @code{New_fingering_engraver}.
1862 The property may be set to a list of one to three values.
1863 It controls whether fingerings may be placed above (if
1864 @code{up} appears in the list), below (if @code{down} appears),
1865 to the left (if @code{left} appears, or to the right
1866 (if @code{right} appears). Conversely, if a location is not
1867 listed, no fingering is placed there. LilyPond takes these
1868 constraints and works out the best placement for the fingering
1869 of the notes of the following chords. Note that @code{left} and
1870 @code{right} are mutually exclusive -- fingering may be placed
1871 only on one side or the other, not both.
1873 @warning{To control the placement of the fingering of a single
1874 note using this command it is necessary to write it as a single
1875 note chord by placing angle brackets round it.}
1877 Here are a few examples:
1879 @cindex fingering example
1880 @cindex @code{\set}, example of using
1881 @cindex fingeringOrientations property, example
1883 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1884 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1887 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1889 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1890 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1893 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1895 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1896 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1902 If the fingering seems a little crowded the @code{font-size}
1903 could be reduced. The default value can be seen from the
1904 @code{Fingering} object in the IR to be @code{-5}, so let's
1907 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1908 \override Fingering #'font-size = #-7
1909 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1912 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(left)
1914 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1915 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left down)
1918 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(up left)
1920 <c-1 e-2 g-3 b-5>4 |
1921 \set fingeringOrientations = #'(right)
1926 @node Outside-staff objects
1927 @subsection Outside-staff objects
1929 Outside-staff objects are automatically placed to avoid collisions.
1930 Objects with the lower value of the @code{outside-staff-priority}
1931 property are placed nearer to the staff, and other outside-staff
1932 objects are then raised as far as necessary to avoid collisions.
1933 The @code{outside-staff-priority} is defined in the
1934 @code{grob-interface} and so is a property of all layout objects.
1935 By default it is set to @code{#f} for all within-staff objects,
1936 and to a numerical value appropriate to each outside-staff object
1937 when the object is created. The following table shows the default
1938 numerical values for some of the commonest outside-staff objects
1939 which are, by default, placed in the @code{Staff} or @code{Voice}
1944 Note the unusual names for some of the objects: spanner objects
1945 are automatically created to control the vertical positioning of
1946 grobs which (might) start and end at different musical moments, so
1947 changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the underlying grob
1948 will have no effect. For example, changing
1949 @code{outside-staff-priority} of the @code{Hairpin} object will
1950 have no effect on the vertical positioning of hairpins -- you must
1951 change @code{outside-staff-priority} of the associated
1952 @code{DynamicLineSpanner} object instead. This override must be
1953 placed at the start of the spanner, which might include several
1954 linked hairpins and dynamics.
1956 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .3 .3
1957 @headitem Layout Object
1959 @tab Controls position of:
1960 @item @code{MultiMeasureRestText}
1962 @tab Text over full-bar rests
1963 @item @code{TextScript}
1966 @item @code{OttavaBracket}
1968 @tab Ottava brackets
1969 @item @code{TextSpanner}
1972 @item @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
1974 @tab All dynamic markings
1975 @item @code{VoltaBracketSpanner}
1978 @item @code{TrillSpanner}
1980 @tab Spanning trills
1983 Here is an example showing the default placement of some of
1986 @cindex text spanner
1987 @cindex ottava bracket
1989 @funindex \startTextSpan
1990 @funindex startTextSpan
1991 @funindex \stopTextSpan
1992 @funindex stopTextSpan
1994 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
1995 @cindex bound-details property, example
1997 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
1998 % Set details for later Text Spanner
1999 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text)
2000 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2001 % Place dynamics above staff
2003 % Start Ottava Bracket
2006 % Add Dynamic Text and hairpin
2012 % Add Dynamic Text and terminate hairpin
2013 c4\ff c \stopTextSpan |
2014 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2019 This example also shows how to create Text Spanners --
2020 text with extender lines above a section of music. The
2021 spanner extends from the @code{\startTextSpan} command to
2022 the @code{\stopTextSpan} command, and the format of the
2023 text is defined by the @code{\override TextSpanner} command.
2024 For more details see @ruser{Text spanners}.
2026 It also shows how ottava brackets are created.
2028 @cindex tweaking bar number placement
2029 @cindex bar numbers, tweaking placement
2030 @cindex tweaking metronome mark placement
2031 @cindex metronome mark, tweaking placement
2032 @cindex tweaking rehearsal mark placement
2033 @cindex rehearsal marks, tweaking placement
2035 Note that bar numbers, metronome marks and rehearsal marks are not
2036 shown. By default these are created in the @code{Score} context and
2037 their @code{outside-staff-priority} is ignored relative to the layout
2038 objects which are created in the @code{Staff} context. If you wish to
2039 place bar numbers, metronome marks or rehearsal marks in accordance
2040 with the value of their @code{outside-staff-priority} the
2041 @code{Bar_number_engraver}, @code{Metronome_mark_engraver} or
2042 @code{Mark_engraver} respectively should be removed from the
2043 @code{Score} context and placed in the top @code{Staff} context. If
2044 this is done, these marks will be given the following default
2045 @code{outside-staff-priority} values:
2047 @multitable @columnfractions .3 .3
2048 @headitem Layout Object @tab Priority
2049 @item @code{RehearsalMark} @tab @code{1500}
2050 @item @code{MetronomeMark} @tab @code{1000}
2051 @item @code{BarNumber} @tab @code{ 100}
2054 If the default values of @code{outside-staff-priority} do not give you
2055 the placing you want, the priority of any of the objects may be
2056 overridden. Suppose we would like the ottava bracket to be placed
2057 below the text spanner in the example above. All we need to do is to
2058 look up the priority of @code{OttavaBracket} in the IR or in the
2059 tables above, and reduce it to a value lower than that of a
2060 @code{TextSpanner}, remembering that @code{OttavaBracket} is created
2061 in the @code{Staff} context:
2063 @cindex TextSpanner, example of overriding
2064 @cindex bound-details property, example
2066 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2067 % Set details for later Text Spanner
2068 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text)
2069 = \markup { \small \bold Slower }
2070 % Place dynamics above staff
2072 % Place following Ottava Bracket below Text Spanners
2073 \once \override Staff.OttavaBracket #'outside-staff-priority = #340
2074 % Start Ottava Bracket
2079 % Add Dynamic Line Spanner
2085 c4\ff c \stopTextSpan |
2086 % Stop Ottava Bracket
2091 @cindex slurs and outside-staff-priority
2092 @cindex slurs and articulations
2093 @cindex articulations and slurs
2095 Slurs by default are classed as within-staff objects, but
2096 they often appear above the staff if the notes to
2097 which they are attached are high on the staff. This can push
2098 outside-staff objects such as articulations too high, as the slur
2099 will be placed first. The @code{avoid-slur} property of the
2100 articulation can be set to @code{'inside} to bring the articulation
2101 inside the slur, but the @code{avoid-slur} property is effective
2102 only if the @code{outside-staff-priority} is also set to @code{#f}.
2103 Alternatively, the @code{outside-staff-priority} of the slur
2104 can be set to a numerical value to cause it to be placed along with
2105 other outside-staff objects according to that value. Here's an
2106 example showing the effect of the two methods:
2108 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,relative=2]
2109 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2111 \once \override TextScript #'avoid-slur = #'inside
2112 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2113 c4^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2114 \once \override Slur #'outside-staff-priority = #500
2115 c4( c^\markup { \tiny \sharp } d4.) c8 |
2118 Changing the @code{outside-staff-priority} can also be used to
2119 control the vertical placement of individual objects, although
2120 the results may not always be desirable. Suppose we would
2121 like @qq{Text3} to be placed above @qq{Text4} in the example
2122 under Automatic behavior, above (see @ref{Automatic behavior}).
2123 All we need to do is to look up the priority of @code{TextScript}
2124 in the IR or in the tables above, and increase the priority of
2125 @qq{Text3} to a higher value:
2127 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2128 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2130 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2133 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = #500
2138 This certainly lifts @qq{Text3} above @qq{Text4} but it also lifts it
2139 above @qq{Text2}, and @qq{Text4} now drops down. Perhaps this is not
2140 so good. What we would really like to do is to position all the
2141 annotation at the same distance above the staff. To do this, we
2142 clearly will need to space the notes out horizontally to make more
2143 room for the text. This is done using the @code{textLengthOn}
2146 @subheading \textLengthOn
2148 @cindex notes, spreading out with text
2150 @funindex \textLengthOn
2151 @funindex textLengthOn
2152 @funindex \textLengthOff
2153 @funindex textLengthOff
2155 By default, text produced by markup takes up no horizontal space
2156 as far as laying out the music is concerned. The @code{\textLengthOn}
2157 command reverses this behavior, causing the notes to be spaced
2158 out as far as is necessary to accommodate the text:
2160 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2161 \textLengthOn % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
2168 The command to revert to the default behavior is
2169 @code{\textLengthOff}. Remember @code{\once} only works with
2170 @code{\override}, @code{\set}, @code{\revert} or @code{unset},
2171 so cannot be used with @code{\textLengthOn}.
2173 @cindex markup text, allowing collisions
2175 Markup text will also avoid notes which project above the staff.
2176 If this is not desired, the automatic displacement upwards may
2177 be turned off by setting the priority to @code{#f}. Here's an
2178 example to show how markup text interacts with such notes.
2180 @cindex TextScript, example of overriding
2181 @cindex outside-staff-priority property, example
2183 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2184 % This markup is short enough to fit without collision
2188 % This is too long to fit, so it is displaced upwards
2192 % Turn off collision avoidance
2193 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2194 c,,2^"Long Text " c'' |
2197 % Turn off collision avoidance
2198 \once \override TextScript #'outside-staff-priority = ##f
2199 \textLengthOn % and turn on textLengthOn
2200 c,,2^"Long Text " % Spaces at end are honored
2205 @subheading Dynamics
2207 @cindex tweaking dynamics placement
2208 @cindex dynamics, tweaking placement
2210 Dynamic markings will normally be positioned beneath the
2211 staff, but may be positioned above with the @code{dynamicUp}
2212 command. They will be positioned vertically relative to the
2213 note to which they are attached, and will float below (or above)
2214 all within-staff objects such as phrasing slurs and bar numbers.
2215 This can give quite acceptable results, as this example
2218 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=1]
2223 bes4.~\f\< \( bes4 bes8 des4\ff\> c16 bes\! |
2224 ees,2.~\)\mf ees4 r8 |
2227 However, if the notes and attached dynamics are close
2228 together the automatic placement will avoid collisions
2229 by displacing later dynamic markings further away, but this may
2230 not be the optimum placement, as this rather artificial example
2233 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2239 Should a similar situation arise in @q{real} music, it may be
2240 preferable to space out the notes a little further, so the dynamic
2241 markings can all fit at the same vertical distance from the staff. We
2242 were able to do this for markup text by using the @code{\textLengthOn}
2243 command, but there is no equivalent command for dynamic marks. So we
2244 shall have to work out how to do this using @code{\override} commands.
2246 @subheading Grob sizing
2249 @cindex sizing grobs
2251 First we must learn how grobs are sized. All grobs have a
2252 reference point defined within them which is used to position
2253 them relative to their parent object. This point in the grob
2254 is then positioned at a horizontal distance, @code{X-offset},
2255 and at a vertical distance, @code{Y-offset}, from its parent.
2256 The horizontal extent of the object is given by a pair of
2257 numbers, @code{X-extent}, which say where the left and right
2258 edges are relative to the reference point. The vertical extent
2259 is similarly defined by a pair of numbers, @code{Y-extent}.
2260 These are properties of all grobs which support the
2261 @code{grob-interface}.
2263 @cindex @code{extra-spacing-width}
2265 By default, outside-staff objects are given a width of zero so
2266 that they may overlap in the horizontal direction. This is done
2267 by the trick of adding infinity to the leftmost extent and
2268 minus infinity to the rightmost extent by setting the
2269 @code{extra-spacing-width} to @code{'(+inf.0 . -inf.0)}. So
2270 to ensure they do not overlap in the horizontal direction we
2271 must override this value of @code{extra-spacing-width} to
2272 @code{'(0 . 0)} so the true width shines through. This is
2273 the command to do this for dynamic text:
2276 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2280 Let's see if this works in our previous example:
2282 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2283 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2285 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2287 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(0 . 0)
2288 a4\f b\mf c\mp b\p |
2292 Well, it has certainly stopped the dynamic marks being
2293 displaced, but two problems remain. The marks should be
2294 spaced a little further apart and it would be better
2295 if they were all the same distance from the staff.
2296 We can solve the first problem easily. Instead of making
2297 the @code{extra-spacing-width} zero we could add a little
2298 more to it. The units are the space between two staff
2299 lines, so moving the left edge half a unit to the left and the
2300 right edge half a unit to the right should do it:
2302 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2303 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2305 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2307 % Extend width by 1 staff space
2308 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2313 This looks better, but maybe we would prefer the dynamic marks
2314 to be aligned along the same baseline rather than going up and
2315 down with the notes. The property to do this is
2316 @code{staff-padding} which is covered in the following section.
2319 @node Collisions of objects
2320 @section Collisions of objects
2324 * Fixing overlapping notation::
2325 * Real music example::
2328 @node Moving objects
2329 @subsection Moving objects
2331 @cindex moving overlapping objects
2332 @cindex moving colliding objects
2333 @cindex moving colliding grobs
2334 @cindex objects, moving colliding
2335 @cindex grobs, moving colliding
2337 This may come as a surprise, but LilyPond is not perfect. Some
2338 notation elements can overlap. This is unfortunate, but in fact
2339 rather rare. Usually the need to move objects is for clarity or
2340 aesthetic reasons -- they would look better with a little more
2341 or a little less space around them.
2343 There are three main approaches to resolving overlapping
2344 notation. They should be considered in the following order:
2348 The @strong{direction} of one of the overlapping objects may
2349 be changed using the predefined commands listed above for
2350 within-staff objects (see @ref{Within-staff objects}).
2351 Stems, slurs, beams, ties, dynamics, text and tuplets may be
2352 repositioned easily in this way. The limitation is that you
2353 have a choice of only two positions, and neither may be
2357 The @strong{object properties}, which LilyPond uses when positioning
2358 layout objects, may be modified using @code{\override}. The
2359 advantages of making changes to this type of property are (a) that
2360 some other objects will be moved automatically if necessary to make
2361 room and (b) the single override can apply to all instances of the
2362 same type of object. Such properties include:
2369 This has already been covered in some detail -- see
2370 @ref{Within-staff objects}.
2373 @code{padding}, @code{right-padding}, @code{staff-padding}
2376 @cindex padding property
2377 @cindex right-padding property
2378 @cindex staff-padding property
2380 As an object is being positioned the value of its @code{padding}
2381 property specifies the gap that must be left between itself and the
2382 nearest edge of the object against which it is being positioned. Note
2383 that it is the @code{padding} value of the object @strong{being
2384 placed} that is used; the @code{padding} value of the object which is
2385 already placed is ignored. Gaps specified by @code{padding} can be
2386 applied to all objects which support the
2387 @code{side-position-interface}.
2389 Instead of @code{padding}, the placement of groups of accidentals
2390 is controlled by @code{right-padding}. This property is to be found
2391 in the @code{AccidentalPlacement} object which, note, lives in the
2392 @strong{Staff} context. In the typesetting process the note heads
2393 are typeset first and then the accidentals, if any, are added to the
2394 left of the note heads using the @code{right-padding} property to determine
2395 the separation from the note heads and between individual accidentals.
2396 So only the @code{right-padding} property of the @code{AccidentalPlacement}
2397 object has any effect on the placement of the accidentals.
2399 The @code{staff-padding} property is closely related to the
2400 @code{padding} property: @code{padding} controls the minimum amount of
2401 space between any object which supports the
2402 @code{side-position-interface} and the nearest other object (generally
2403 the note or the staff lines); @code{staff-padding} applies only to
2404 those objects which are always set outside the staff -- it controls
2405 the minimum amount of space that should be inserted between that
2406 object and the staff. Note that @code{staff-padding} has no effect on
2407 objects which are positioned relative to the note rather than the
2408 staff, even though it may be overridden without error for such objects
2409 -- it is simply ignored.
2411 To discover which padding property is required for the object you wish
2412 to reposition, you need to return to the IR and look up the object's
2413 properties. Be aware that the padding properties might not be located
2414 in the obvious object, so look in objects that appear to be related.
2416 All padding values are measured in staff spaces. For most
2417 objects, this value is set by default to be around 1.0 or less
2418 (it varies with each object). It may be overridden if a larger
2419 (or smaller) gap is required.
2422 @code{self-alignment-X}
2424 @cindex self-alignment-X property
2426 This property can be used to align the object to the left, to
2427 the right, or to center it with respect to the parent object's
2428 reference point. It may be used with all objects which support
2429 the @code{self-alignment-interface}. In general these are objects
2430 that contain text. The values are @code{LEFT}, @code{RIGHT}
2431 or @code{CENTER}. Alternatively, a numerical value between
2432 @code{-1} and @code{+1} may be specified, where @code{-1} is
2433 left-aligned, @code{+1} is right-aligned, and numbers in between
2434 move the text progressively from left-aligned to right-aligned.
2435 Numerical values greater than @code{1} may be specified to move
2436 the text even further to the left, or less than @code{-1} to
2437 move the text even further to the right. A change of @code{1}
2438 in the value corresponds to a movement of half the text's length.
2441 @code{extra-spacing-width}
2443 @cindex extra-spacing-width property
2445 This property is available for all objects which support the
2446 @code{item-interface}. It takes two numbers, the first is added
2447 to the leftmost extent and the second is added to the rightmost
2448 extent. Negative numbers move the edge to the left, positive to
2449 the right, so to widen an object the first number must be negative,
2450 the second positive. Note that not all objects honor both
2451 numbers. For example, the @code{Accidental} object only takes
2452 notice of the first (left edge) number.
2455 @code{staff-position}
2457 @cindex staff-position property
2459 @code{staff-position} is a property of the
2460 @code{staff-symbol-referencer-interface}, which is supported by
2461 objects which are positioned relative to the staff. It specifies
2462 the vertical position of the object relative to the center line
2463 of the staff in half staff-spaces. It is useful in resolving
2464 collisions between layout objects like multi-measure rests, ties
2465 and notes in different voices.
2470 @cindex force-hshift property
2472 Closely spaced notes in a chord, or notes occurring at the same
2473 time in different voices, are arranged in two, occasionally more,
2474 columns to prevent the note heads overlapping. These are called
2475 note columns, and an object called @code{NoteColumn} is created
2476 to lay out the notes in that column.
2478 The @code{force-hshift} property is a property of a @code{NoteColumn}
2479 (actually of the @code{note-column-interface}). Changing it permits a
2480 note column to be moved in units appropriate to a note column,
2481 viz. the note head width of the first voice note. It should be used
2482 in complex situations where the normal @code{\shiftOn} commands (see
2483 @ref{Explicitly instantiating voices}) do not resolve the note
2484 conflict. It is preferable to the @code{extra-offset} property for
2485 this purpose as there is no need to work out the distance in
2486 staff-spaces, and moving the notes into or out of a @code{NoteColumn}
2487 affects other actions such as merging note heads.
2492 Finally, when all else fails, objects may be manually repositioned
2493 relative to the staff center line vertically, or by displacing them by
2494 any distance to a new position. The disadvantages are that the
2495 correct values for the repositioning have to be worked out, often by
2496 trial and error, for every object individually, and, because the
2497 movement is done after LilyPond has placed all other objects, the user
2498 is responsible for avoiding any collisions that might ensue. But the
2499 main difficulty with this approach is that the repositioning values
2500 may need to be reworked if the music is later modified. The
2501 properties that can be used for this type of manual repositioning are:
2506 @cindex extra-offset property
2508 This property applies to any layout object supporting the
2509 @code{grob-interface}. It takes a pair of numbers which specify the
2510 extra displacement in the horizontal and vertical directions.
2511 Negative numbers move the object to the left or down. The units are
2512 staff-spaces. The extra displacement is made after the typesetting of
2513 objects is finished, so an object may be repositioned anywhere without
2514 affecting anything else.
2518 @cindex positions property
2520 This is most useful for manually adjusting the slope and height
2521 of beams, slurs, and tuplets. It takes a pair of numbers
2522 giving the position of the left and right ends of the beam, slur,
2523 etc. relative to the center line of the staff. Units are
2524 staff-spaces. Note, though, that slurs and phrasing slurs cannot
2525 be repositioned by arbitrarily large amounts. LilyPond first
2526 generates a list of possible positions for the slur and by default
2527 finds the slur that @qq{looks best}. If the @code{positions}
2528 property has been overridden the slur that is closest to the
2529 requested positions is selected from the list.
2534 A particular object may not have all of these properties.
2535 It is necessary to go to the IR to look up which properties
2536 are available for the object in question.
2538 Here is a list of the objects which are most likely to be
2539 involved in collisions, together with the name of the object which
2540 should be looked up in the IR in order to discover which properties
2541 should be used to move them.
2543 @multitable @columnfractions .5 .5
2544 @headitem Object type @tab Object name
2545 @item Articulations @tab @code{Script}
2546 @item Beams @tab @code{Beam}
2547 @item Dynamics (vertically) @tab @code{DynamicLineSpanner}
2548 @item Dynamics (horizontally) @tab @code{DynamicText}
2549 @item Fingerings @tab @code{Fingering}
2550 @item Rehearsal / Text marks @tab @code{RehearsalMark}
2551 @item Slurs @tab @code{Slur}
2552 @item Text e.g. @code{^"text"} @tab @code{TextScript}
2553 @item Ties @tab @code{Tie}
2554 @item Tuplets @tab @code{TupletBracket}
2558 @node Fixing overlapping notation
2559 @subsection Fixing overlapping notation
2561 Let's now see how the properties in the previous section can
2562 help to resolve overlapping notation.
2564 @subheading padding property
2567 @cindex fixing overlapping notation
2568 @cindex overlapping notation
2570 The @code{padding} property can be set to increase
2571 (or decrease) the distance between symbols that are printed
2572 above or below notes.
2574 @cindex Script, example of overriding
2575 @cindex padding property, example
2577 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2579 \override Script #'padding = #3
2583 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
2584 @cindex padding property, example
2586 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2587 % This will not work, see below
2588 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2592 \override Score.MetronomeMark #'padding = #3
2597 Note in the second example how important it is to figure out what
2598 context handles a certain object. Since the @code{MetronomeMark}
2599 object is handled in the @code{Score} context, property changes in the
2600 @code{Voice} context will not be noticed. For more details, see
2601 @ruser{Modifying properties}.
2603 If the @code{padding} property of an object is increased when that
2604 object is in a stack of objects being positioned according to
2605 their @code{outside-staff-priority}, then that object and all
2606 objects outside it are moved.
2609 @subheading right-padding
2611 @cindex right-padding property
2613 The @code{right-padding} property affects the spacing between the
2614 accidental and the note to which it applies. It is not often
2615 required, but the default spacing may be wrong for certain special
2616 accidental glyphs or combination of glyphs used in some microtonal
2617 music. These have to be entered by overriding the accidental
2618 stencil with a markup containing the desired symbol(s), like this:
2620 @cindex Accidental, example of overriding
2621 @cindex text property, example
2622 @cindex stencil property, example
2623 @cindex AccidentalPlacement, example of overriding
2624 @cindex right-padding property, example
2626 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,verbatim]
2627 sesquisharp = \markup { \sesquisharp }
2630 % This prints a sesquisharp but the spacing is too small
2631 \once \override Accidental
2632 #'stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2633 \once \override Accidental #'text = #sesquisharp
2635 % This improves the spacing
2636 \once \override Score.AccidentalPlacement #'right-padding = #0.6
2637 \once \override Accidental
2638 #'stencil = #ly:text-interface::print
2639 \once \override Accidental #'text = #sesquisharp
2645 This necessarily uses an override for the accidental stencil which
2646 will not be covered until later. The stencil type must be a
2647 procedure, here changed to print the contents of the @code{text}
2648 property of @code{Accidental}, which itself is set to be a
2649 sesquisharp sign. This sign is then moved further away from the
2650 note head by overriding @code{right-padding}.
2654 @subheading staff-padding property
2656 @cindex aligning objects on a baseline
2657 @cindex objects, aligning on a baseline
2659 @code{staff-padding} can be used to align objects such as dynamics
2660 along a baseline at a fixed height above the staff, rather than at a
2661 height dependent on the position of the note to which they are
2662 attached. It is not a property of @code{DynamicText} but of
2663 @code{DynamicLineSpanner}. This is because the baseline should apply
2664 equally to @strong{all} dynamics, including those created as extended
2665 spanners. So this is the way to align the dynamic marks in the
2666 example taken from the previous section:
2668 @cindex DynamicText, example of overriding
2669 @cindex extra-spacing-width property, example
2670 @cindex DynamicLineSpanner, example of overriding
2671 @cindex staff-padding property, example
2673 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=2]
2675 % Extend width by 1 unit
2676 \override DynamicText #'extra-spacing-width = #'(-0.5 . 0.5)
2677 % Align dynamics to a base line 2 units above staff
2678 \override DynamicLineSpanner #'staff-padding = #2
2683 @subheading self-alignment-X property
2685 The following example shows how this can resolve the collision
2686 of a string fingering object with a note's stem by aligning the
2687 right edge with the reference point of the parent note:
2689 @cindex StringNumber, example of overriding
2690 @cindex self-alignment-X property, example
2692 @lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim,relative=3]
2695 \once \override StringNumber #'self-alignment-X = #RIGHT
2699 @subheading staff-position property
2701 @cindex object collision within a staff
2703 Multimeasure rests in one voice can collide with notes in another.
2704 Since these rests are typeset centered between the bar lines, it
2705 would require significant effort for LilyPond to figure out which
2706 other notes might collide with it, since all the current collision
2707 handling between notes and between notes and rests is done only
2708 for notes and rests that occur at the same time. Here's an
2709 example of a collision of this type:
2711 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2712 << { c4 c c c } \\ { R1 } >>
2715 The best solution here is to move the multimeasure rest down, since
2716 the rest is in voice two. The default in @code{\voiceTwo} (i.e. in
2717 the second voice of a @code{<<@{...@} \\ @{...@}>>} construct) is that
2718 @code{staff-position} is set to -4 for MultiMeasureRest, so we need to
2719 move it, say, four half-staff spaces down to @code{-8}.
2721 @cindex MultiMeasureRest, example of overriding
2722 @cindex staff-position property, example
2724 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right, relative=1]
2728 \override MultiMeasureRest #'staff-position = #-8
2733 This is better than using, for example, @code{extra-offset},
2734 because the ledger line above the rest is inserted automatically.
2736 @subheading extra-offset property
2738 @cindex positioning objects
2739 @cindex positioning grobs
2740 @cindex objects, positioning
2741 @cindex grobs, positioning
2743 The @code{extra-offset} property provides complete control over the
2744 positioning of an object both horizontally and vertically.
2746 In the following example, the second fingering is moved a little to
2747 the left, and 1.8 staff space downwards:
2749 @cindex Fingering, example of overriding
2750 @cindex extra-offset property, example
2752 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
2755 \once \override Fingering #'extra-offset = #'(-0.3 . -1.8)
2760 @subheading positions property
2762 @cindex controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams manually
2763 @cindex manually controlling tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs, and beams
2764 @cindex tuplet beams, controlling manually
2765 @cindex slurs, controlling manually
2766 @cindex phrasing slurs, controlling manually
2767 @cindex beams, controlling manually
2769 The @code{positions} property allows the position and slope of
2770 tuplets, slurs, phrasing slurs and beams to be controlled manually.
2771 Here's an example which has an ugly phrasing slur due to its trying to
2772 avoid the slur on the acciaccatura.
2774 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2775 r4 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2779 We could simply move the phrasing slur above the notes, and this
2780 would be the preferred solution:
2782 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2785 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2789 But if there were some reason why this could not be done the
2790 other alternative would be to move the left end of the phrasing
2791 slur down a little using the @code{positions} property. This
2792 also resolves the rather nasty shape.
2794 @cindex PhrasingSlur, example of overriding
2795 @cindex positions property, example
2797 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right,relative=1]
2799 \once \override PhrasingSlur #'positions = #'(-4 . -3)
2800 \acciaccatura e8\( d8 c~ c d c d\)
2803 Here's a further example taken from the opening of the left-hand
2804 staff of Chopin's Prelude Op 28 No. 2. We see that the beam
2805 collides with the upper notes:
2807 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2810 << { b,8 ais, b, g, } \\ { e,8 g e, g } >>
2811 << { b,8 ais, b, g, } \\ { e,8 g e, g } >>
2816 This can be resolved by manually moving both ends of the beam
2817 up from their position at 2 staff-spaces above the center line to,
2820 @cindex Beam, example of overriding
2821 @cindex positions property, example
2823 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2827 \override Beam #'positions = #'(3 . 3)
2832 << { b,8 ais, b, g, } \\ { e,8 g e, g } >>
2837 Note that the override continues to apply in the first voice of
2838 the second block of quavers, but not to any of the beams in the
2841 @subheading force-hshift property
2843 We can now see how to apply the final corrections to the Chopin
2844 example introduced at the end of @ref{I'm hearing Voices}, which
2845 was left looking like this:
2847 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2848 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2865 The lower two notes of the first chord (i.e, those in the third voice)
2866 should not be shifted away from the note column of the higher two
2867 notes. To correct this we set @code{force-hshift}, which is a
2868 property of @code{NoteColumn}, of these notes to zero. The lower note
2869 of the second chord is best placed just to the right of the higher
2870 notes. We achieve this by setting @code{force-hshift} of this note to
2871 0.5, ie half a note head's width to the right of the note column of
2874 Here's the final result:
2876 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
2877 @cindex force-hshift property, example
2879 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,fragment,ragged-right]
2880 \new Staff \relative c'' {
2889 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0
2891 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #0.5
2900 @node Real music example
2901 @subsection Real music example
2903 We end this section on Tweaks by showing the steps to be taken to
2904 deal with a tricky example which needs several tweaks to produce
2905 the desired output. The example has been deliberately chosen to
2906 illustrate the use of the Notation Reference to resolve unusual
2907 problems with notation. It is not representative of the more usual
2908 engraving process, so please do not let these difficulties put
2909 you off! Fortunately, difficulties like these are not very common!
2911 The example is from Chopin's Première Ballade, Op. 23, bars 6 to
2912 9, the transition from the opening Lento to Moderato.
2913 Here, first, is what we want the output to look like, but to avoid
2914 over-complicating the example too much we have left out the
2915 dynamics, fingering and pedalling.
2917 @c The following should appear as music without code
2918 @c This example should not be indexed
2919 @c line-width ensures no break
2920 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
2921 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
2924 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
2928 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
2929 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
2930 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
2936 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
2937 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
2938 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
2945 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
2947 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
2948 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
2956 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
2957 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
2962 lhMusic = \relative c' {
2964 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
2971 \new Staff = "RH" <<
2975 \new Staff = "LH" <<
2984 We note first that the right hand part in the third bar
2985 requires four voices. These are the five beamed eighth notes,
2986 the tied C, the half-note D which is merged with the eighth note
2987 D, and the dotted quarter note F-sharp, which is also merged with
2988 the eighth note at the same pitch. Everything else is in a single
2989 voice, so the easiest way is to introduce these extra three voices
2990 temporarily at the time they are needed. If you have forgotten
2991 how to do this, look at @ref{I'm hearing Voices} and @ref{Explicitly
2992 instantiating voices}. Here we choose to use explicitly instantiated
2993 voices for the polyphonic passage, as LilyPond is better able to
2994 avoid collisions if all voices are instantiated explicitly in this
2997 So let us begin by entering the notes as two variables, setting up
2998 the staff structure in a score block, and seeing what LilyPond
2999 produces by default:
3001 @c line-width ensures no break
3002 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3003 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3009 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3011 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3025 g2. % continuation of main voice
3029 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3038 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3042 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3051 All the notes are right, but the appearance is far from
3052 satisfactory. The tie collides with the change in time signature,
3053 some notes are not merged together, and several notation elements
3054 are missing. Let's first deal with the easier things. We can
3055 easily add the left hand slur and the right hand phrasing slur,
3056 since these were all covered in the Tutorial. Doing this gives:
3058 @c line-width ensures no break
3059 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3060 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3066 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3068 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3082 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3086 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3095 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3099 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3108 The first bar is now correct. The second bar contains an arpeggio and
3109 is terminated by a double bar line. How do we do these, as they have
3110 not been mentioned in this Learning Manual? This is where we need to
3111 turn to the Notation Reference. Looking up @q{arpeggio} and @q{bar
3112 line} in the index quickly shows us that an arpeggio is produced by
3113 appending @code{\arpeggio} to a chord, and a double bar line is
3114 produced by the @code{\bar "||"} command. That's easily done. We
3115 next need to correct the collision of the tie with the time signature.
3116 This is best done by moving the tie upwards. Moving objects was
3117 covered earlier in @ref{Moving objects}, which says that objects
3118 positioned relative to the staff can be moved vertically by overriding
3119 their @code{staff-position} property, which is specified in half staff
3120 spaces relative to the center line of the staff. So the following
3121 override placed just before the first tied note would move the tie up
3122 to 3.5 half staff spaces above the center line:
3124 @code{\once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5}
3126 This completes bar two, giving:
3128 @c line-width ensures no break
3129 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3130 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3133 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3138 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3140 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3154 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3158 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3160 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3167 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3171 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3180 On to bar three and the start of the Moderato section. The tutorial
3181 showed how to add embolded text with the @code{\markup} command, so
3182 adding @qq{Moderato} in bold is easy. But how do we merge notes in
3183 different voices together? This is where we need to turn again to
3184 the Notation Reference for help. A search for @qq{merge} in the
3185 Notation Reference index quickly leads us to the commands for merging
3186 differently headed and differently dotted notes in
3187 @ruser{Collision resolution}. In our example we need to merge both
3188 types of note for the duration of the polyphonic section in bar 3,
3189 so using the information we find in the Notation Reference we add
3192 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3193 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3197 to the start of that section and
3200 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3201 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3207 @c line-width ensures no break
3208 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3209 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3212 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3216 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3217 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3218 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3219 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3221 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3235 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3236 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3237 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3241 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3243 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3250 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3254 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3263 These overrides have merged the two F-sharp notes, but not the two
3264 on D. Why not? The answer is there in the same section in the
3265 Notation Reference -- notes being merged must have stems in
3266 opposite directions and two notes cannot be merged successfully if
3267 there is a third note in the same note column. Here the two D's
3268 both have upward stems and there is a third note -- the C. We know
3269 how to change the stem direction using @code{\stemDown}, and
3270 the Notation Reference also says how to move the C -- apply a shift
3271 using one of the @code{\shift} commands. But which one?
3272 The C is in voice two which has shift off, and the two D's are in
3273 voices one and three, which have shift off and shift on,
3274 respectively. So we have to shift the C a further level still
3275 using @code{\shiftOnn} to avoid it interfering with the two D's.
3276 Applying these changes gives:
3278 @cindex Tie, example of overriding
3279 @cindex staff-position property, example
3281 @c line-width ensures no break
3282 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3283 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3286 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3290 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3291 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3292 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3293 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3295 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3298 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
3303 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3311 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3312 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3313 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3317 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3319 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3326 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3330 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3339 Nearly there. Only two problems remain: The downward stem on the
3340 merged D should not be there, and the C would be better positioned
3341 to the right of the D's. We know how to do both of these from the
3342 earlier tweaks: we make the stem transparent, and move the C with
3343 the @code{force-hshift} property. Here's the final result:
3345 @cindex NoteColumn, example of overriding
3346 @cindex force-hshift property, example
3347 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3348 @cindex transparent property, example
3350 @c line-width ensures no break
3351 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right,line-width=6\in]
3352 rhMusic = \relative c'' {
3355 \once \override Tie #'staff-position = #3.5
3359 bes2.^\markup { \bold "Moderato" } r8
3360 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
3361 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
3362 % Start polyphonic section of four voices
3364 { c,8 d fis bes a } % continuation of main voice
3368 % Reposition the c2 to the right of the merged note
3369 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.0
3370 % Move the c2 out of the main note column so the merge will work
3377 % Stem on the d2 must be down to permit merging
3379 % Stem on the d2 should be invisible
3380 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3388 \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
3389 \mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
3390 g2.\) % continuation of main voice
3394 lhMusic = \relative c' {
3396 <d g, d>1)\arpeggio |
3403 \new Staff = "RH" <<
3407 \new Staff = "LH" <<
3417 @node Further tweaking
3418 @section Further tweaking
3421 * Other uses for tweaks::
3422 * Using variables for tweaks::
3424 * Other sources of information::
3425 * Avoiding tweaks with slower processing::
3426 * Advanced tweaks with Scheme::
3429 @node Other uses for tweaks
3430 @subsection Other uses for tweaks
3432 @cindex transparent property, use of
3433 @cindex objects, making invisible
3434 @cindex removing objects
3435 @cindex objects, removing
3436 @cindex hiding objects
3437 @cindex objects, hiding
3438 @cindex invisible objects
3439 @cindex objects, invisible
3440 @cindex tying notes across voices
3442 @subheading Tying notes across voices
3444 The following example demonstrates how to connect notes in
3445 different voices using ties. Normally, only two notes in the
3446 same voice can be connected with ties. By using two voices,
3447 with the tied notes in one of them
3449 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2]
3450 << { b8~ b\noBeam } \\ { b8[ g] } >>
3454 and blanking the first up-stem in that voice, the tie appears to
3457 @cindex Stem, example of overriding
3458 @cindex transparent property, example
3460 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3463 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3471 To make sure that the just-blanked stem doesn't squeeze the tie
3472 too much, we can lengthen the stem by setting the
3473 @code{length} to @code{8},
3475 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
3478 \once \override Stem #'transparent = ##t
3479 \once \override Stem #'length = #8
3487 @subheading Simulating a fermata in MIDI
3489 @cindex stencil property, use of
3490 @cindex fermata, implementing in MIDI
3492 For outside-staff objects it is usually better to override the
3493 object's @code{stencil} property rather than its @code{transparent}
3494 property when you wish to remove it from the printed output.
3495 Setting the @code{stencil} property of an object to @code{#f} will
3496 remove that object entirely from the printed output. This means it
3497 has no effect on the placement of other objects placed relative to
3500 For example, if we wished to change the metronome setting in order
3501 to simulate a fermata in the MIDI output we would not want the
3502 metronome markings to appear in the printed output, and we would
3503 not want it to influence the spacing between the two systems or
3504 the positions of adjacent annotations on the staff. So setting
3505 its @code{stencil} property to @code{#f} would be the best way.
3506 We show here the effect of the two methods:
3508 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3509 @cindex transparent property, example
3511 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3514 % Visible tempo marking
3517 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'transparent = ##t
3518 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3521 % New tempo for next section
3530 @cindex MetronomeMark, example of overriding
3531 @cindex stencil property, example
3533 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3536 % Visible tempo marking
3539 \once \override Score.MetronomeMark #'stencil = ##f
3540 % Invisible tempo marking to lengthen fermata in MIDI
3543 % New tempo for next section
3553 Both methods remove the metronome mark which lengthens the fermata
3554 from the printed output, and both affect the MIDI timing as
3555 required, but the transparent metronome mark in the first line
3556 forces the following tempo indication too high while the
3557 second (with the stencil removed) does not.
3559 @node Using variables for tweaks
3560 @subsection Using variables for tweaks
3562 @cindex variables, using for tweaks
3563 @cindex using variables for tweaks
3564 @cindex tweaks, using variables for
3566 Override commands are often long and tedious to type, and they
3567 have to be absolutely correct. If the same overrides are to be
3568 used many times it may be worth defining variables to hold them.
3570 Suppose we wish to emphasize certain words in lyrics by printing
3571 them in bold italics. The @code{\italic} and @code{\bold}
3572 commands only work within lyrics if they are embedded, together with
3573 the word or words to be modified, within a @code{\markup} block,
3574 which makes them tedious to enter. The need to embed the words
3575 themselves prevents their use in simple variables. As an
3576 alternative can we use @code{\override} and @code{\revert} commands?
3579 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic}
3580 @code{\override Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series = #'bold}
3582 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-shape}
3583 @code{\revert Lyrics . LyricText #'font-series}
3586 These would also be extremely tedious to enter if there were many
3587 words requiring emphasis. But we @emph{can} define these as two
3588 variables and use those to bracket the words to be emphasized.
3589 Another advantage of using variables for these overrides is that
3590 the spaces around the dot are not necessary, since they are not
3591 being interpreted in @code{\lyricmode} directly. Here's an example
3592 of this, although in practice we would choose shorter names
3593 for the variables to make them quicker to type:
3595 @cindex LyricText, example of overriding
3596 @cindex font-shape property, example
3597 @cindex font-series property, example
3599 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
3601 \override Lyrics.LyricText #'font-shape = #'italic
3602 \override Lyrics.LyricText #'font-series = #'bold
3606 \revert Lyrics.LyricText #'font-shape
3607 \revert Lyrics.LyricText #'font-series
3610 global = { \key c \major \time 4/4 \partial 4 }
3612 SopranoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | e4. e8 g4 g | a4 a g }
3613 AltoMusic = \relative c' { c4 | c4. c8 e4 e | f4 f e }
3614 TenorMusic = \relative c { e4 | g4. g8 c4. b8 | a8 b c d e4 }
3615 BassMusic = \relative c { c4 | c4. c8 c4 c | f8 g a b c4 }
3617 VerseOne = \lyrics {
3618 E -- | ter -- nal \emphasize Fa -- ther, | \normal strong to save,
3621 VerseTwo = \lyricmode {
3622 O | \emphasize Christ, \normal whose voice the | wa -- ters heard,
3625 VerseThree = \lyricmode {
3626 O | \emphasize Ho -- ly Spi -- rit, | \normal who didst brood
3629 VerseFour = \lyricmode {
3630 O | \emphasize Tri -- ni -- ty \normal of | love and pow'r
3637 \new Voice = "Soprano" { \voiceOne \global \SopranoMusic }
3638 \new Voice = "Alto" { \voiceTwo \AltoMusic }
3639 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseOne }
3640 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseTwo }
3641 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseThree }
3642 \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \VerseFour }
3646 \new Voice = "Tenor" { \voiceOne \TenorMusic }
3647 \new Voice = "Bass" { \voiceTwo \BassMusic }
3655 @subsection Style sheets
3657 The output that LilyPond produces can be heavily modified; see
3658 @ref{Tweaking output}, for details. But what if you have many
3659 input files that you want to apply your tweaks to? Or what if you
3660 simply want to separate your tweaks from the actual music? This
3661 is quite easy to do.
3663 Let's look at an example. Don't worry if you don't understand
3664 the parts with all the @code{#()}. This is explained in
3665 @ref{Advanced tweaks with Scheme}.
3667 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
3669 #(make-dynamic-script
3671 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3672 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3673 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3676 #(define-music-function
3677 (parser location string)
3682 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3686 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3690 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3694 There are some problems with overlapping output; we'll fix those using
3695 the techniques in @ref{Moving objects}. But let's also
3696 do something about the @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst}
3697 definitions. They produce the output we desire, but we might want
3698 to use them in another piece. We could simply copy-and-paste them
3699 at the top of every file, but that's an annoyance. It also leaves
3700 those definitions in our input files, and I personally find all
3701 the @code{#()} somewhat ugly. Let's hide them in another file:
3704 %%% save this to a file called "definitions.ily"
3706 #(make-dynamic-script
3708 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3709 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3710 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3713 #(define-music-function
3714 (parser location string)
3719 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3722 We will refer to this file using the @code{\include} command near
3723 the top of the music file. (The extension @code{.ily} is used to
3724 distinguish this included file, which is not meant to be compiled
3725 on its own, from the main file.)
3726 Now let's modify our music (let's save this file as @file{"music.ly"}).
3728 @c We have to do this awkward example/lilypond-non-verbatim
3729 @c because we can't do the \include stuff in the manual.
3732 \include "definitions.ily"
3736 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3740 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3744 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3746 #(make-dynamic-script
3748 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3749 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3750 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3753 #(define-music-function
3754 (parser location string)
3759 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3763 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3767 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3771 That looks better, but let's make a few changes. The glissando is hard
3772 to see, so let's make it thicker and closer to the note heads. Let's
3773 put the metronome marking above the clef, instead of over the first
3774 note. And finally, my composition professor hates @q{C} time signatures,
3775 so we'd better make that @q{4/4} instead.
3777 Don't change @file{music.ly}, though. Replace our @file{definitions.ily}
3783 #(make-dynamic-script
3785 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3786 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3787 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3790 #(define-music-function
3791 (parser location string)
3796 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3801 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3802 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3806 \override TimeSignature #'style = #'numbered
3810 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3811 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3816 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3818 #(make-dynamic-script
3820 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3821 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3822 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3825 #(define-music-function
3826 (parser location string)
3831 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3836 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3837 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3841 \override TimeSignature #'style = #'numbered
3845 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3846 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3852 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3856 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3860 That looks nicer! But now suppose that I want to publish this
3861 piece. My composition professor doesn't like @q{C} time
3862 signatures, but I'm somewhat fond of them. Let's copy the
3863 current @file{definitions.ily} to @file{web-publish.ily} and
3864 modify that. Since this music is aimed at producing a pdf which
3865 will be displayed on the screen, we'll also increase the
3866 overall size of the output.
3871 #(make-dynamic-script
3873 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3874 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3875 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3878 #(define-music-function
3879 (parser location string)
3884 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3886 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
3891 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3892 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3899 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3900 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3905 @lilypond[quote,ragged-right]
3907 #(make-dynamic-script
3909 #:translate '(5 . 0)
3910 #:line (#:dynamic "mp"
3911 #:text #:italic "dolce")))
3914 #(define-music-function
3915 (parser location string)
3920 'text (markup #:bold (#:box string))))
3922 #(set-global-staff-size 23)
3926 \override MetronomeMark #'extra-offset = #'(-9 . 0)
3927 \override MetronomeMark #'padding = #'3
3930 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
3931 \override Glissando #'gap = #0.1
3937 a4.\mpdolce d8 cis4--\glissando a |
3941 g8(\! fis)-. e( d)-. cis2 |
3945 Now in our music, I simply replace
3946 @code{\include "definitions.ily"} with
3947 @code{\include "web-publish.ily"}. Of course, we could make this
3948 even more convenient. We could make a @file{definitions.ily} file which
3949 contains only the definitions of @code{mpdolce} and @code{inst}, a
3950 @file{web-publish.ily} file which contains only the @code{\layout}
3951 section listed above, and a @file{university.ily} file which
3952 contains only the tweaks to produce the output that my professor
3953 prefers. The top of @file{music.ly} would then look like this:
3956 \include "definitions.ily"
3958 %%% Only uncomment one of these two lines!
3959 \include "web-publish.ily"
3960 %\include "university.ily"
3963 This approach can be useful even if you are only producing
3964 one set of parts. I use half a dozen different
3965 @q{style sheet} files for my projects. I begin every music
3966 file with @code{\include "../global.ily"}, which contains
3970 \version @w{"@version{}"}
3972 #(ly:set-option 'point-and-click #f)
3974 \include "../init/init-defs.ly"
3975 \include "../init/init-layout.ly"
3976 \include "../init/init-headers.ly"
3977 \include "../init/init-paper.ly"
3981 @node Other sources of information
3982 @subsection Other sources of information
3984 The Internals Reference documentation contains a lot of information
3985 about LilyPond, but even more information can be gathered by
3986 looking at the internal LilyPond files. To explore these, you must
3987 first find the directory appropriate to your system. The location
3988 of this directory depends (a) on whether you obtained LilyPond
3989 by downloading a precompiled binary from lilypond.org
3990 or whether you installed it from a package manager (i.e.
3991 distributed with Linux, or installed under fink or cygwin) or
3992 compiled it from source, and (b) on which operating system it is
3995 @strong{Downloaded from lilypond.org}
4001 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/lilypond/usr/share/lilypond/current/}
4006 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond.app/Contents/Resources/share/lilypond/current/}
4007 by either @code{cd}-ing into this directory from the
4008 Terminal, or control-clicking on the LilyPond application and
4009 selecting @q{Show Package Contents}.
4013 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to
4014 @file{@var{INSTALLDIR}/LilyPond/usr/share/lilypond/current/}
4018 @strong{Installed from a package manager or compiled from source}
4021 @file{@var{PREFIX}/share/lilypond/@var{X.Y.Z}/}, where
4022 @var{PREFIX} is set by your package manager or @code{configure}
4023 script, and @var{X.Y.Z} is the LilyPond version number.
4027 Within this directory the two interesting subdirectories are
4030 @item @file{ly/} - contains files in LilyPond format
4031 @item @file{scm/} - contains files in Scheme format
4034 Let's begin by looking at some files in @file{ly/}.
4035 Open @file{ly/property-init.ly} in a text editor. The one
4036 you normally use for @code{.ly} files will be fine. This file
4037 contains the definitions of all the standard LilyPond predefined
4038 commands, such as @code{\stemUp} and @code{\slurDotted}. You will
4039 see that these are nothing more than definitions of variables
4040 containing one or a group of @code{\override} commands. For
4041 example, @code{/tieDotted} is defined to be:
4045 \override Tie #'dash-period = #0.75
4046 \override Tie #'dash-fraction = #0.1
4050 If you do not like the default values these predefined commands can
4051 be redefined easily, just like any other variable, at the
4052 head of your input file.
4054 The following are the most useful files to be found in
4057 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4060 @item @file{ly/engraver-init.ly}
4061 @tab Definitions of engraver Contexts
4062 @item @file{ly/paper-defaults-init.ly}
4063 @tab Specifications of paper-related defaults
4064 @item @file{ly/performer-init.ly}
4065 @tab Definitions of performer Contexts
4066 @item @file{ly/property-init.ly}
4067 @tab Definitions of all common predefined commands
4068 @item @file{ly/spanner-init.ly}
4069 @tab Definitions of spanner-related predefined commands
4072 Other settings (such as the definitions of markup commands) are
4073 stored as @code{.scm} (Scheme) files. The Scheme programming
4074 language is used to provide a programmable interface into
4075 LilyPond internal operation. Further explanation of these files
4076 is currently outside the scope of this manual, as a knowledge of
4077 the Scheme language is required. Users should be warned that
4078 a substantial amount of technical knowledge or time is required
4079 to understand Scheme and these files (see @rextend{Scheme tutorial}).
4081 If you have this knowledge, the Scheme files which may be of
4084 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
4087 @item @file{scm/auto-beam.scm}
4088 @tab Sub-beaming defaults
4089 @item @file{scm/define-grobs.scm}
4090 @tab Default settings for grob properties
4091 @item @file{scm/define-markup-commands.scm}
4092 @tab Specify all markup commands
4093 @item @file{scm/midi.scm}
4094 @tab Default settings for MIDI output
4095 @item @file{scm/output-lib.scm}
4096 @tab Settings that affect appearance of frets, colors,
4097 accidentals, bar lines, etc
4098 @item @file{scm/parser-clef.scm}
4099 @tab Definitions of supported clefs
4100 @item @file{scm/script.scm}
4101 @tab Default settings for articulations
4106 @node Avoiding tweaks with slower processing
4107 @subsection Avoiding tweaks with slower processing
4109 LilyPond can perform extra checks while it processes input files.
4110 These checks will take extra time to perform, but fewer manual tweaks
4111 may be required to obtain an acceptable result. If a text script
4112 or part of the lyrics extends over the margins these checks will
4113 compress that line of the score just enough to fit within the
4116 To be effective under all circumstances these checks must be enabled
4117 by placing the overrides in a Score @code{\with} block, rather than
4118 in-line in music, as follows:
4122 % Makes sure text scripts and lyrics are within the paper margins
4123 \override PaperColumn #'keep-inside-line = ##t
4124 \override NonMusicalPaperColumn #'keep-inside-line = ##t
4130 However, @code{keep-inside-line} is expensive and the recommendation
4131 is to not enable it, to allow for faster processing, until creating
4132 a final version. This way you do not need to manually add @code{\break}
4133 commands to avoid text running off the right-hand side of the page.
4135 @node Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4136 @subsection Advanced tweaks with Scheme
4138 Although many things are possible with the @code{\override} and
4139 @code{\tweak} commands, an even more powerful way of modifying
4140 the action of LilyPond is available through a programmable
4141 interface to the LilyPond internal operation. Code written in
4142 the Scheme programming language can be incorporated directly in
4143 the internal operation of LilyPond. Of course, at least a basic
4144 knowledge of programming in Scheme is required to do this, and an
4145 introduction is provided in the @rextend{Scheme tutorial}.
4147 As an illustration of one of the many possibilities, instead of
4148 setting a property to a constant it can be set to a Scheme
4149 procedure which is then called whenever that property is accessed
4150 by LilyPond. The property can then be set dynamically to a value
4151 determined by the procedure at the time it is called. In this
4152 example we color the note head in accordance with its position on
4155 @cindex x11-color function, example of using
4156 @cindex NoteHead, example of overriding
4157 @cindex color property, setting to Scheme procedure
4159 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
4160 #(define (color-notehead grob)
4161 "Color the notehead according to its position on the staff."
4162 (let ((mod-position (modulo (ly:grob-property grob 'staff-position)
4165 ;; Return rainbow colors
4166 ((1) (x11-color 'red )) ; for C
4167 ((2) (x11-color 'orange )) ; for D
4168 ((3) (x11-color 'yellow )) ; for E
4169 ((4) (x11-color 'green )) ; for F
4170 ((5) (x11-color 'blue )) ; for G
4171 ((6) (x11-color 'purple )) ; for A
4172 ((0) (x11-color 'violet )) ; for B
4176 % Arrange to obtain color from color-notehead procedure
4177 \override NoteHead #'color = #color-notehead
4178 a2 b | c2 d | e2 f | g2 a |
4182 Further examples showing the use of these programmable interfaces
4183 can be found in @rextend{Callback functions}.