2.1 Vocal music

This section explains how to typeset vocal music, and make sure that the lyrics will be aligned with the notes of their melody.

2.1.1 Common notation for vocal music

This section discusses issues common to most types of vocal music.

References for vocal music

This section indicates where to find details of notation issues that may arise in any type of vocal music.

• Most styles of vocal music use written text as lyrics. An introduction to this notation is to be found in (learning)Setting simple songs section ‘Setting simple songs’ in Learning Manual.
• Vocal music is likely to require the use of markup mode, either for lyrics or for other text elements (characters’ names, etc.). This syntax is described in Text markup introduction.
• Ambitus may be added at the beginning of vocal staves, as explained in Ambitus.
• Dynamic markings by default are placed below the staff, but in choral music they are usually placed above the staff in order to avoid the lyrics, as explained in Score layouts for choral.

See also

Music Glossary: (music-glossary)ambitus section ‘ambitus’ in Music Glossary.

Learning Manual: (learning)Setting simple songs section ‘Setting simple songs’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Text markup introduction, Ambitus, Score layouts for choral.

Snippets: (snippets)Vocal music section ‘Vocal music’ in Snippets.

Entering lyrics

Lyrics are entered in a special input mode, which can be introduced by the keyword \lyricmode, or by using \addlyrics or \lyricsto. In this special input mode, the input d is not parsed as the pitch D, but rather as a one-letter syllable of text. In other words, syllables are entered like notes but with pitches replaced by text.

For example:

\lyricmode { Three4 blind mice,2 three4 blind mice2 }

There are two main methods for specifying the horizontal placement of the syllables, either by specifying the duration of each syllable explicitly, as in the example above, or by leaving the lyrics to be aligned automatically to a melody or other voice of music, using \addlyrics or \lyricsto. The former method is described below in Manual syllable durations. The latter method is described in Automatic syllable durations.

A word or syllable of lyrics begins with an alphabetic character (plus some other characters, see below) and is terminated by any white space or a digit. Later characters in the syllable can be any character that is not a digit or white space.

Because any character that is not a digit or white space is regarded as part of the syllable, a word is valid even if it ends with }, which often leads to the following mistake:

\lyricmode { lah lah lah}

In this example, the } is included in the final syllable, so the opening brace is not balanced and the input file will probably not compile. Instead, braces should always be surrounded with white space:

\lyricmode { lah lah lah }

Punctuation, lyrics with accented characters, characters from non-English languages, or special characters (such as the heart symbol or slanted quotes), may simply be inserted directly into the input file, providing it is saved with UTF-8 encoding. For more information, see Special characters.

\relative { d''8 c16 a bes8 f ees' d c4 } \addlyrics { „Schad’ um das schö -- ne grü -- ne Band, }

Normal quotes may be used in lyrics, but they have to be preceded with a backslash character and the whole syllable has to be enclosed between additional quotes. For example,

\relative { \time 3/4 e'4 e4. e8 d4 e d c2. } \addlyrics { "\"I" am so lone -- "ly,\"" said she }

The full definition of a word start in lyrics mode is somewhat more complex. A word in lyrics mode is one that begins with an alphabetic character, _, ?, !, :, ', the control characters ^A through ^F, ^Q through ^W, ^Y, ^^, any 8-bit character with an ASCII code over 127, or a two-character combination of a backslash followed by one of `, ', ", or ^.

Great control over the appearance of lyrics comes from using \markup inside the lyrics themselves. For explanation of many options, see Formatting text.

Selected Snippets

Formatting lyrics syllables

Markup mode may be used to format individual syllables in lyrics.

mel = \relative c'' { c4 c c c } lyr = \lyricmode { Lyrics \markup { \italic can } \markup { \with-color #red contain } \markup { \fontsize #8 \bold Markup! } } << \new Voice = melody \mel \new Lyrics \lyricsto melody \lyr >>

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Songs section ‘Songs’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Automatic syllable durations, Fonts, Formatting text, Input modes, Manual syllable durations, Special characters.

Internals Reference: (internals)LyricText section ‘LyricText’ in Internals Reference.

Snippets: (snippets)Text section ‘Text’ in Snippets.

Aligning lyrics to a melody

Lyrics are interpreted in \lyricmode and printed in a Lyrics context, see Contexts explained.

\new Lyrics \lyricmode { … }

Two variants of \lyricmode additionally set an associated context used to synchronise the lyric syllables to music. The more convenient \addlyrics immediately follows the musical content of the Voice context with which it should be synchronised, implicitly creating a Lyrics context of its own. The more versatile \lyricsto requires both specifying the associated Voice context by name and explicitly creating a containing Lyrics context. For details see Automatic syllable durations.

Lyrics can be aligned with melodies in two main ways:

• Lyrics can be aligned automatically, with the durations of the syllables being taken from another voice of music or (in special circumstances) an associated melody, using \addlyrics, \lyricsto, or by setting the associatedVoice property. For more details, see Automatic syllable durations.

  << \new Staff << \time 2/4 \new Voice = "one" \relative { \voiceOne c''4 b8. a16 g4. r8 a4 ( b ) c2 } \new Voice = "two" \relative { \voiceTwo s2 s4. f'8 e4 d c2 } >> % takes durations and alignment from notes in "one" \new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" { Life is __ _ love, live __ life. } % takes durations and alignment from notes in "one" initially % then switches to "two" \new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" { No more let \set associatedVoice = "two" % must be set one syllable early sins and sor -- rows grow. } >>

  

  The first stanza shows the normal way of entering lyrics.

  The second stanza shows how the voice from which the lyric durations are taken can be changed. This is useful if the words to different stanzas fit the notes in different ways and all the durations are available in Voice contexts. For more details, see Stanzas.

• Lyrics can be aligned independently of the duration of any notes if the durations of the syllables are specified explicitly, and entered with \lyricmode.

  << \new Voice = "one" \relative { \time 2/4 c''4 b8. a16 g4. f8 e4 d c2 } % uses previous explicit duration of 2; \new Lyrics \lyricmode { Joy to the earth! } % explicit durations, set to a different rhythm \new Lyrics \lyricmode { Life4 is love,2. live4 life.2 } >>

  

  The first stanza is not aligned with the notes because the durations were not specified, and the previous value of 2 is used for each word.

  The second stanza shows how the words can be aligned quite independently from the notes. This is useful if the words to different stanzas fit the notes in different ways and the required durations are not available in a music context. For more details see Manual syllable durations. This technique is also useful when setting dialogue over music; for examples showing this, see Dialogue over music.

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Aligning lyrics to a melody section ‘Aligning lyrics to a melody’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Contexts explained, Automatic syllable durations, Stanzas, Manual syllable durations, Dialogue over music, Manual syllable durations.

Internals Reference: (internals)Lyrics section ‘Lyrics’ in Internals Reference.

Automatic syllable durations

Lyrics can be automatically aligned to the notes of a melody in three ways:

• by specifying the named Voice context containing the melody with \lyricsto,
• by introducing the lyrics with \addlyrics and placing them immediately after the Voice context containing the melody,
• by setting the associatedVoice property, the alignment of the lyrics may be switched to a different named Voice context at any musical moment.

In all three methods hyphens can be drawn between the syllables of a word and extender lines can be drawn beyond the end of a word. For details, see Extenders and hyphens.

The Voice context containing the melody to which the lyrics are being aligned must not have “died”, or the lyrics after that point will be lost. This can happen if there are periods when that voice has nothing to do. For methods of keeping contexts alive, see Keeping contexts alive.

Using \lyricsto

Lyrics can be aligned under a melody automatically by specifying the named Voice context containing the melody with \lyricsto:

<< \new Voice = "melody" \relative { a'1 a4. a8 a2 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { These are the words } >>

This aligns the lyrics to the notes of the named Voice context, which must already exist. Therefore normally the Voice context is specified first, followed by the Lyrics context. The lyrics themselves follow the \lyricsto command. The \lyricsto command invokes lyric mode automatically. By default, the lyrics are placed underneath the notes. For other placements, see Placing lyrics vertically.

Using \addlyrics

The \addlyrics command is just a convenient shortcut that can sometimes be used instead of having to set up the lyrics through a more complicated LilyPond structure.

{ MUSIC }
\addlyrics { LYRICS }

is the same as

\new Voice = "blah" { MUSIC }
\new Lyrics \lyricsto "blah" { LYRICS }

Here is an example,

{ \time 3/4 \relative { c'2 e4 g2. } \addlyrics { play the game } }

More stanzas can be added by adding more \addlyrics sections:

{ \time 3/4 \relative { c'2 e4 g2. } \addlyrics { play the game } \addlyrics { speel het spel } \addlyrics { joue le jeu } }

The command \addlyrics cannot handle polyphonic settings. Also, it cannot be used to associate lyrics to a TabVoice. For these cases one should use \lyricsto.

Using associatedVoice

The melody to which the lyrics are being aligned can be changed by setting the associatedVoice property,

\set associatedVoice = "lala"

The value of the property (here: "lala") should be the name of a Voice context. For technical reasons, the \set command must be placed one syllable before the one to which the change in voice is to apply.

Here is an example demonstrating its use:

<< \new Staff << \time 2/4 \new Voice = "one" \relative { \voiceOne c''4 b8. a16 g4. r8 a4 ( b ) c2 } \new Voice = "two" \relative { \voiceTwo s2 s4. f'8 e8 d4. c2 } >> % takes durations and alignment from notes in "one" initially % then switches to "two" \new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" { No more let \set associatedVoice = "two" % must be set one syllable early sins and sor -- rows grow. } >>

See also

Notation Reference: Extenders and hyphens, Keeping contexts alive, Placing lyrics vertically.

Manual syllable durations

In some complex vocal music, it may be desirable to place lyrics completely independently of notes. In this case do not use \lyricsto or \addlyrics and do not set associatedVoice. Syllables are entered like notes – but with pitches replaced by text – and the duration of each syllable is entered explicitly after the syllable.

Hyphenated lines may be drawn between syllables as usual, but extender lines cannot be drawn when there is no associated voice.

Here are two examples:

<< \new Voice = "melody" \relative { c''2 a f f e e } \new Lyrics \lyricmode { c4. -- a -- f -- f -- e2. -- e } >>

<< \new Staff { \relative { c''2 c2 d1 } } \new Lyrics { \lyricmode { I2 like4. my8 cat!1 } } \new Staff { \relative { c'8 c c c c c c c c8 c c c c c c c } } >>

This technique is useful when writing dialogue over music, see Dialogue over music.

To change syllable alignment, simply override the self-alignment-X property:

<< \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 c'2 e4 g2 f } \new Lyrics \lyricmode { \override LyricText.self-alignment-X = #LEFT play1 a4 game4 } >>

See also

Notation Reference: Dialogue over music.

Internals Reference: (internals)Lyrics section ‘Lyrics’ in Internals Reference, (internals)Voice section ‘Voice’ in Internals Reference.

Multiple syllables to one note

In order to assign more than one syllable to a single note with spaces between the syllables, you can surround the phrase with quotes or use a _ character. Alternatively, you can use the tilde symbol (~) to get a lyric tie.

{ \relative { \autoBeamOff r8 b' c fis, fis c' b e, } \addlyrics { \override LyricHyphen.minimum-distance = #1.0 % Ensure hyphens are visible Che_in ques -- ta_e_in quel -- l'al -- tr'on -- da } \addlyrics { "Che in" ques -- "ta e in" quel -- l'al -- tr'on -- da } \addlyrics { Che~in ques -- ta~e~in quel -- l'al -- tr'on -- da } }

See also

Internals Reference: (internals)LyricCombineMusic section ‘LyricCombineMusic’ in Internals Reference.

Multiple notes to one syllable

Sometimes, particularly in Medieval and baroque music, several notes are sung on one syllable; this is called melisma, see (music-glossary)melisma section ‘melisma’ in Music Glossary. The syllable to a melisma is usually left-aligned with the first note of the melisma.

When a melisma occurs on a syllable other than the last one in a word, that syllable is usually joined to the following one with a hyphenated line. This is indicated by placing a double hyphen, --, immediately after the syllable.

Alternatively, when a melisma occurs on the last or only syllable in a word an extender line is usually drawn from the end of the syllable to the last note of the melisma. This is indicated by placing a double underscore, __, immediately after the word.

There are five ways in which melismata can be indicated:

• Melismata are created automatically over notes which are tied together:

  << \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 f''4 g2 ~ | 4 e2 ~ | 8 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Ky -- ri -- e __ } >>

  

• Melismata can be created automatically from the music by placing slurs over the notes of each melisma. This is the usual way of entering lyrics:

  << \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 f''4 g8 ( f e f ) e8 ( d e2 ) } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Ky -- ri -- e __ } >>

  

  Note that phrasing slurs do not affect the creation of melismata.

• Notes are considered a melisma if they are manually beamed, providing automatic beaming is switched off. See Setting automatic beam behavior.

  << \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 \autoBeamOff f''4 g8[ f e f] e2. } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Ky -- ri -- e } >>

  

  Clearly this is not suited to melismata over notes which are longer than eighth notes.

• An unslurred group of notes will be treated as a melisma if they are bracketed between \melisma and \melismaEnd.

  << \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 f''4 g8 \melisma f e f \melismaEnd e2. } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Ky -- ri -- e } >>

  

• A melisma can be defined entirely in the lyrics by entering a single underscore character, _, for every extra note that has to be added to the melisma.

  << \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 f''4 g8 f e f e8 d e2 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Ky -- ri -- _ _ _ e __ _ _ } >>

  

It is possible to have ties, slurs and manual beams in the melody without their indicating melismata. To do this, set melismaBusyProperties:

<< \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 \set melismaBusyProperties = #'() c'4 d ( e ) g8 [ f ] f4 ~ 4 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Ky -- ri -- e e -- le -- i -- son } >>

Other settings for melismaBusyProperties can be used to selectively include or exclude ties, slurs, and beams from the automatic detection of melismata; see melismaBusyProperties in (internals)Tunable context properties section ‘Tunable context properties’ in Internals Reference.

Alternatively, if all melismata indications are to be ignored, ignoreMelismata may be set true; see Stanzas with different rhythms.

If a melisma is required during a passage in which melismaBusyProperties is active, it may be indicated by placing a single underscore in the lyrics for each note which should be included in the melisma:

<< \new Voice = "melody" \relative { \time 3/4 \set melismaBusyProperties = #'() c'4 d ( e ) g8 [ f ] ~ 4 ~ f } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Ky -- ri -- _ e __ _ _ _ } >>

Predefined commands

\autoBeamOff, \autoBeamOn, \melisma, \melismaEnd.

See also

Musical Glossary: (music-glossary)melisma section ‘melisma’ in Music Glossary.

Learning Manual: (learning)Aligning lyrics to a melody section ‘Aligning lyrics to a melody’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Aligning lyrics to a melody, Automatic syllable durations, Setting automatic beam behavior, Stanzas with different rhythms.

Internals Reference: (internals)Tunable context properties section ‘Tunable context properties’ in Internals Reference.

Known issues and warnings

Extender lines under melismata are not created automatically; they must be inserted manually with a double underscore.

Extenders and hyphens

In the last syllable of a word, melismata are sometimes indicated with a long horizontal line starting in the melisma syllable, and ending in the next one. Such a line is called an extender line, and it is entered as ‘ __ ’ (note the spaces before and after the two underscore characters).

Centered hyphens are entered as ‘ -- ’ between syllables of a same word (note the spaces before and after the two hyphen characters). The hyphen will be centered between the syllables, and its length will be adjusted depending on the space between the syllables.

In tightly engraved music, hyphens can be removed. Whether this happens can be controlled with the minimum-distance (minimum distance between two syllables) and the minimum-length (threshold below which hyphens are removed) properties of LyricHyphen.

By default a hyphen is not repeated after a system break when the next line begins with a new syllable. Setting the after-line-breaking property to #t allows hyphens to be drawn in such situations.

See also

Internals Reference: (internals)LyricExtender section ‘LyricExtender’ in Internals Reference, (internals)LyricHyphen section ‘LyricHyphen’ in Internals Reference.

Gradual changes of vowel

Vowel transitions (gradual changes of vowel or sustained consonant), which may be indicated by arrows between syllables, are entered with the command \vowelTransition (see Gould pp. 452–453). The arrow shows the length of the transition, and it is by default always drawn (space is added if necessary in tightly engraved music). Ties between notes of unchanged pitch or slurs show that there is no new articulation, despite a change of vowel. The minimum length of the arrows may be adjusted with the minimum-length property of VowelTransition.

{ c'2 c' \set melismaBusyProperties = #'() c'2 ~ c' \time 3/2 d'4( e' f' e' f'2 e'2.) } \addlyrics { Ah \vowelTransition oh, ah \vowelTransition oh, ah \vowelTransition _ _ _ _ oh. }

See also

Musical Glossary: (music-glossary)vowel transition section ‘vowel transition’ in Music Glossary.

Internals Reference: (internals)VowelTransition section ‘VowelTransition’ in Internals Reference.

2.1.2 Techniques specific to lyrics

Working with lyrics and variables

Variables containing lyrics can be created, but the lyrics must be entered in lyric mode:

musicOne = \relative { c''4 b8. a16 g4. f8 e4 d c2 } verseOne = \lyricmode { Joy to the world, the Lord is come. } \score { << \new Voice = "one" { \time 2/4 \musicOne } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" { \verseOne } >> }

Durations do not need to be added if the variable is to be invoked with \addlyrics or \lyricsto.

For different or more complex orderings, the best way is to define the music and lyric variables first, then set up the hierarchy of staves and lyrics, omitting the lyrics themselves, and then add the lyrics using \context underneath. This ensures that the voices referenced by \lyricsto have always been defined earlier. For example:

sopranoMusic = \relative { c''4 c c c } contraltoMusic = \relative { a'4 a a a } sopranoWords = \lyricmode { Sop -- ra -- no words } contraltoWords = \lyricmode { Con -- tral -- to words } \score { \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff { \new Voice = "sopranos" { \sopranoMusic } } \new Lyrics = "sopranos" \new Lyrics = "contraltos" \new Staff { \new Voice = "contraltos" { \contraltoMusic } } \context Lyrics = "sopranos" { \lyricsto "sopranos" { \sopranoWords } } \context Lyrics = "contraltos" { \lyricsto "contraltos" { \contraltoWords } } >> }

See also

Notation Reference: Placing lyrics vertically.

Internals Reference: (internals)LyricCombineMusic section ‘LyricCombineMusic’ in Internals Reference, (internals)Lyrics section ‘Lyrics’ in Internals Reference.

Placing lyrics vertically

Depending on the type of music, lyrics may be positioned above the staff, below the staff, or between staves. Placing lyrics below the associated staff is the easiest, and can be achieved by simply defining the Lyrics context below the Staff context:

\score { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { c''4 c c c } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Here are the words } } >> }

Lyrics may be positioned above the staff using one of two methods. The simplest (and preferred) method is to use the same syntax as above and explicitly specify the position of the lyrics:

\score { << \new Staff = "staff" { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { c''4 c c c } } } \new Lyrics \with { alignAboveContext = "staff" } { \lyricsto "melody" { Here are the words } } >> }

Alternatively, a two-step process may be used. First the Lyrics context is declared (without any content) before the Staff and Voice contexts, then the \lyricsto command is placed after the Voice declaration it references by using \context, as follows:

\score { << \new Lyrics = "lyrics" \with { % lyrics above a staff should have this override \override VerticalAxisGroup.staff-affinity = #DOWN } \new Staff { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { c''4 c c c } } } \context Lyrics = "lyrics" { \lyricsto "melody" { Here are the words } } >> }

When there are two voices on separate staves the lyrics may be placed between the staves using either of these methods. Here is an example of the second method:

\score { \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff { \new Voice = "sopranos" { \relative { c''4 c c c } } } \new Lyrics = "sopranos" \new Lyrics = "contraltos" \with { % lyrics above a staff should have this override \override VerticalAxisGroup.staff-affinity = #DOWN } \new Staff { \new Voice = "contraltos" { \relative { a'4 a a a } } } \context Lyrics = "sopranos" { \lyricsto "sopranos" { Sop -- ra -- no words } } \context Lyrics = "contraltos" { \lyricsto "contraltos" { Con -- tral -- to words } } >> }

Other combinations of lyrics and staves may be generated by elaborating these examples, or by examining the templates in the Learning Manual, see (learning)Vocal ensembles templates section ‘Vocal ensembles templates’ in Learning Manual.

Selected Snippets

Obtaining 2.12 lyrics spacing in newer versions

The vertical spacing engine changed since version 2.14. This can cause lyrics to be spaced differently.

It is possible to set properties for Lyric and Staff contexts to get the spacing engine to behave as it did in version 2.12.

global = { \key d \major \time 3/4 } sopMusic = \relative c' { % VERSE ONE fis4 fis fis | \break fis4. e8 e4 } altoMusic = \relative c' { % VERSE ONE d4 d d | d4. b8 b4 | } tenorMusic = \relative c' { a4 a a | b4. g8 g4 | } bassMusic = \relative c { d4 d d | g,4. g8 g4 | } words = \lyricmode { Great is Thy faith -- ful -- ness, } \score { \new ChoirStaff << \new Lyrics = sopranos \new Staff = women << \new Voice = "sopranos" { \voiceOne \global \sopMusic } \new Voice = "altos" { \voiceTwo \global \altoMusic } >> \new Lyrics = "altos" \new Lyrics = "tenors" \new Staff = men << \clef bass \new Voice = "tenors" { \voiceOne \global \tenorMusic } \new Voice = "basses" { \voiceTwo \global \bassMusic } >> \new Lyrics = basses \context Lyrics = sopranos \lyricsto sopranos \words \context Lyrics = altos \lyricsto altos \words \context Lyrics = tenors \lyricsto tenors \words \context Lyrics = basses \lyricsto basses \words >> \layout { \context { \Lyrics \override VerticalAxisGroup.staff-affinity = ##f \override VerticalAxisGroup.staff-staff-spacing = #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 2) (padding . 2)) } \context { \Staff \override VerticalAxisGroup.staff-staff-spacing = #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 2) (padding . 2)) } } }

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Vocal ensembles templates section ‘Vocal ensembles templates’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Context layout order, Creating and referencing contexts.

Placing syllables horizontally

To increase the spacing between lyrics, set the minimum-distance property of LyricSpace.

\relative c' { c c c c \override Lyrics.LyricSpace.minimum-distance = #1.0 c c c c } \addlyrics { longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext }

To make this change for all lyrics in the score, set the property in the \layout block.

\score { \relative { c' c c c c c c c } \addlyrics { longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext longtext } \layout { \context { \Lyrics \override LyricSpace.minimum-distance = #1.0 } } }

Selected Snippets

Lyrics alignment

Horizontal alignment for lyrics can be set by overriding the self-alignment-X property of the LyricText object. #-1 is left, #0 is center and #1 is right; however, you can use #LEFT, #CENTER and #RIGHT as well.

\layout { ragged-right = ##f } \relative c'' { c1 c1 c1 } \addlyrics { \once \override LyricText.self-alignment-X = #LEFT "This is left-aligned" \once \override LyricText.self-alignment-X = #CENTER "This is centered" \once \override LyricText.self-alignment-X = #1 "This is right-aligned" }

Known issues and warnings

Checking to make sure that text scripts and lyrics are within the margins requires additional calculations. To speed up processing slightly, this feature can be disabled:

\override Score.PaperColumn.keep-inside-line = ##f

To make lyrics avoid bar lines as well, use

\layout {
  \context {
    \Lyrics
      \consists "Bar_engraver"
      \consists "Separating_line_group_engraver"
      \hide BarLine
  }
}

Lyrics and repeats

Simple repeats

Repeats in music are fully described elsewhere; see Repeats. This section explains how to add lyrics to repeated sections of music.

Lyrics to a section of music that is repeated should be surrounded by exactly the same repeat construct as the music, if the words are unchanged.

\score { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { a'4 a a a \repeat volta 2 { b4 b b b } } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Not re -- peat -- ed. \repeat volta 2 { Re -- peat -- ed twice. } } } >> }

The words will then be correctly expanded if the repeats are unfolded.

\score { \unfoldRepeats { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { a'4 a a a \repeat volta 2 { b4 b b b } } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Not re -- peat -- ed. \repeat volta 2 { Re -- peat -- ed twice. } } } >> } }

If the repeated section is to be unfolded and has different words, simply enter all the words:

\score { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { a'4 a a a \repeat unfold 2 { b4 b b b } } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Not re -- peat -- ed. The first time words. Sec -- ond time words. } } >> }

When the words to a repeated volta section are different, the words to each repeat must be entered in separate Lyrics contexts, correctly nested in parallel sections:

\score { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { a'4 a a a \repeat volta 2 { b4 b b b } } } } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { Not re -- peat -- ed. << { The first time words. } \new Lyrics { \set associatedVoice = "melody" Sec -- ond time words. } >> } >> }

More verses may be added in a similar way:

\score { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "singleVoice" { \relative { a'4 a a a \repeat volta 3 { b4 b b b } c4 c c c } } } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "singleVoice" { Not re -- peat -- ed. << { The first time words. } \new Lyrics { \set associatedVoice = "singleVoice" Sec -- ond time words. } \new Lyrics { \set associatedVoice = "singleVoice" The third time words. } >> The end sec -- tion. } >> }

However, if this construct is embedded within a multi-staff context such as a ChoirStaff the lyrics of the second and third verses will appear beneath the bottom staff.

To position them correctly use alignBelowContext:

\score { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { a'4 a a a \repeat volta 3 { b4 b b b } c4 c c c } } } \new Lyrics = "firstVerse" \lyricsto "melody" { Not re -- peat -- ed. << { The first time words. } \new Lyrics = "secondVerse" \with { alignBelowContext = "firstVerse" } { \set associatedVoice = "melody" Sec -- ond time words. } \new Lyrics = "thirdVerse" \with { alignBelowContext = "secondVerse" } { \set associatedVoice = "melody" The third time words. } >> The end sec -- tion. } \new Voice = "harmony" { \relative { f'4 f f f \repeat volta 2 { g8 g g4 g2 } a4 a8. a16 a2 } } >> }

Repeats with alternative endings

If the words of the repeated section are the same, and none of the \alternative blocks start with a rest, exactly the same structure can be used for both the lyrics and music. This has the advantage that \unfoldRepeats will expand both music and lyrics correctly.

\score { << \new Staff { \time 2/4 \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { a'4 a a a \repeat volta 2 { b4 b } \alternative { { b b } { b c } } } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Not re -- peat -- ed. \repeat volta 2 { Re -- peat -- } \alternative { { ed twice. } { ed twice. } } } } >> }

But when the repeated section has different words, or when one of the \alternative blocks starts with a rest, a repeat construct cannot be used around the words and \skip commands have to be inserted manually to skip over the notes in the alternative sections which do not apply.

Note: do not use an underscore, _, to skip notes – an underscore indicates a melisma, causing the preceding syllable to be left-aligned.

\score { << \new Staff { \time 2/4 \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { \repeat volta 2 { b'4 b } \alternative { { b b } { b c } } c4 c } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { The first time words. \repeat unfold 2 { \skip 1 } End here. } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Sec -- ond \repeat unfold 2 { \skip 1 } time words. } } >> }

When a note is tied over into two or more alternative endings a tie is used to carry the note into the first alternative ending and a \repeatTie is used in the second and subsequent endings. This structure causes difficult alignment problems when lyrics are involved and increasing the length of the alternative sections so the tied notes are contained wholly within them may give a more acceptable result.

The tie creates a melisma into the first alternative, but not into the second and subsequent alternatives, so to align the lyrics correctly it is necessary to disable the automatic creation of melismata over the volta section and insert manual skips.

\score { << \new Staff { \time 2/4 \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { \set melismaBusyProperties = #'() \repeat volta 2 { b'4 b ~} \alternative { { b b } { b \repeatTie c } } \unset melismaBusyProperties c4 c } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { \repeat volta 2 { Here's a __ } \alternative { { \skip 1 verse } { \skip 1 sec } } ond one. } } >> }

Note that if \unfoldRepeats is used around a section containing \repeatTie, the \repeatTie should be removed to avoid both types of tie being printed.

When the repeated section has different words a \repeat cannot be used around the lyrics and \skip commands need to be inserted manually, as before.

\score { << \new Staff { \time 2/4 \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { \repeat volta 2 { b'4 b ~} \alternative { { b b } { b \repeatTie c } } c4 c } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Here's a __ verse. \repeat unfold 2 { \skip 1 } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Here's one \repeat unfold 2 { \skip 1 } more to sing. } } >> }

If you wish to show extenders and hyphens into and out of alternative sections these must be inserted manually.

\score { << \new Staff { \time 2/4 \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { \repeat volta 2 { b'4 b ~} \alternative { { b b } { b \repeatTie c } } c4 c } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Here's a __ verse. \repeat unfold 2 { \skip 1 } } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "melody" { Here's "a_" \skip 1 "_" sec -- ond one. } } >> }

See also

Notation Reference: Keeping contexts alive, Repeats.

Divisi lyrics

When just the words and rhythms of the two parts differ with the pitches remaining the same, temporarily turning off the automatic detection of melismata and indicating the melisma in the lyrics may be the appropriate method to use:

\score { << \new Voice = "melody" { \relative c' { \set melismaBusyProperties = #'() \slurDown \slurDashed e4 e8 ( e ) c4 c | \unset melismaBusyProperties c } } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { They shall not o -- ver -- come } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { We will _ } >> }

When both music and words differ it may be better to display the differing music and lyrics by naming voice contexts and attaching lyrics to those specific contexts:

\score { << \new Voice = "melody" { \relative { << { \voiceOne e'4 e8 e } \new Voice = "splitpart" { \voiceTwo c4 c } >> \oneVoice c4 c | c } } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { They shall not o -- ver -- come } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "splitpart" { We will } >> }

It is common in choral music to have a voice part split for several measures. The << {…} \\ {…} >> construct, where the two (or more) musical expressions are separated by double backslashes, might seem the proper way to set the split voices. This construct, however, will assign all the expressions within it to NEW Voice contexts which will result in no lyrics being set for them since the lyrics will be set to the original voice context – not, typically, what one wants. The temporary polyphonic passage is the proper construct to use, see section Temporary polyphonic passages in Single-staff polyphony.

Polyphony with shared lyrics

When two voices with different rhythms share the same lyrics, aligning the lyrics to one of the voices may lead to problems in the other voice. For example, the second lyric extender below is too short, since the lyrics are aligned only to the top voice:

soprano = \relative { b'8( c d c) d2 } alto = \relative { g'2 b8( a g a) } words = \lyricmode { la __ la __ } \new Staff << \new Voice = "sopranoVoice" { \voiceOne \soprano } \new Voice { \voiceTwo \alto } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "sopranoVoice" \words >>

To get the desired result, align the lyrics to a new NullVoice context containing a suitable combination of the two voices. The notes of the NullVoice context do not appear on the printed page, but can be used to align the lyrics appropriately:

soprano = \relative { b'8( c d c) d2 } alto = \relative { g'2 b8( a g a) } aligner = \relative { b'8( c d c) b( a g a) } words = \lyricmode { la __ la __ } \new Staff << \new Voice { \voiceOne \soprano } \new Voice { \voiceTwo \alto } \new NullVoice = "aligner" \aligner \new Lyrics \lyricsto "aligner" \words >>

This method also can be used with the \partCombine function, which does not allow lyrics on its own:

soprano = \relative { b'8( c d c) d2 } alto = \relative { g'2 b8( a g a) } aligner = \relative { b'8( c d c) b( a g a) } words = \lyricmode { la __ la __ } \new Staff << \new Voice \partCombine \soprano \alto \new NullVoice = "aligner" \aligner \new Lyrics \lyricsto "aligner" \words >>

Known issues and warnings

The \addlyrics function only works with Voice lyrics and so cannot be used with NullVoice.

The \partCombine function is described in Automatic part combining.

Lastly, this method can be used even when the voices are in different staves, and is not limited to only two voices:

soprano = \relative { b'8( c d c) d2 } altoOne = \relative { g'2 b8( a b4) } altoTwo = \relative { d'2 g4( fis8 g) } aligner = \relative { b'8( c d c) d( d d d) } words = \lyricmode { la __ la __ } \new ChoirStaff \with {\accepts NullVoice } << \new Staff \soprano \new NullVoice = "aligner" \aligner \new Lyrics \lyricsto "aligner" \words \new Staff \partCombine \altoOne \altoTwo >>

2.1.3 Stanzas

Adding stanza numbers

Stanza numbers can be added by setting stanza, e.g.,

\new Voice \relative { \time 3/4 g'2 e4 a2 f4 g2. } \addlyrics { \set stanza = "1. " Hi, my name is Bert. } \addlyrics { \set stanza = "2. " Oh, ché -- ri, je t'aime }

These numbers are put just before the start of the first syllable. Two lines of a stanza can also be grouped together, for example in case of a repeat with different lyrics:

leftbrace = \markup { \override #'(font-encoding . fetaBraces) \lookup "brace80" } stanzaOneOne = \lyricmode { \set stanza = \markup { \column { \vspace #.33 "1. "} \leftbrace } Child, you’re mine and I love you. Lend thine ear to what I say. } stanzaOneThree = \lyricmode { Child, I have no great -- er joy Than to have you walk in truth. } \new Voice { \repeat volta 2 { c'8 c' c' c' c' c' c'4 c'8 c' c' c' c' c' c'4 } } \addlyrics { \stanzaOneOne } \addlyrics { \stanzaOneThree }

Adding dynamics marks to stanzas

Stanzas differing in loudness may be indicated by putting a dynamics mark before each stanza. In LilyPond, everything coming in front of a stanza goes into the StanzaNumber object; dynamics marks are no different. For technical reasons, you have to set the stanza outside \lyricmode:

text = { \set stanza = \markup { \dynamic "ff" "1. " } \lyricmode { Big bang } } << \new Voice = "tune" { \time 3/4 g'4 c'2 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "tune" \text >>

Adding singers’ names to stanzas

Names of singers can also be added. They are printed at the start of the line, just like instrument names. They are created by setting vocalName. A short version may be entered as shortVocalName.

\new Voice \relative { \time 3/4 g'2 e4 a2 f4 g2. } \addlyrics { \set vocalName = "Bert " Hi, my name is Bert. } \addlyrics { \set vocalName = "Ernie " Oh, ché -- ri, je t'aime }

Stanzas with different rhythms

Often, different stanzas of one song are put to one melody in slightly differing ways. Such variations can still be captured with \lyricsto.

Ignoring melismata

One possibility is that the text has a melisma in one stanza, but multiple syllables in another. One solution is to make the faster voice ignore the melisma. This is done by setting ignoreMelismata in the Lyrics context.

<< \relative \new Voice = "lahlah" { \set Staff.autoBeaming = ##f c'4 \slurDotted f8.[( g16]) a4 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "lahlah" { more slow -- ly } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "lahlah" { go \set ignoreMelismata = ##t fas -- ter \unset ignoreMelismata still } >>

Known issues and warnings

Unlike most \set commands, \set ignoreMelismata does not work if prefixed with \once. It is necessary to use \set and \unset to bracket the lyrics where melismata are to be ignored.

Adding syllables to grace notes

By default, grace notes (e.g., via \grace) do not get assigned syllables when using \lyricsto, but this behavior can be changed:

<< \new Voice = melody \relative { f'4 \appoggiatura a32 b4 \grace { f16 a16 } b2 \afterGrace b2 { f16[ a16] } \appoggiatura a32 b4 \acciaccatura a8 b4 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto melody { normal \set includeGraceNotes = ##t case, gra -- ce case, after -- grace case, \set ignoreMelismata = ##t app. case, acc. case. } >>

Known issues and warnings

Like associatedVoice, includeGraceNotes needs to be set at latest one syllable before the one which is to be put under a grace note. In the case of a grace note at the very beginning of a piece of music, using a \with, or a \context block within \layout, is recommended:

<< \new Voice = melody \relative c' { \grace { c16( d e f } g1) f } \new Lyrics \with { includeGraceNotes = ##t } \lyricsto melody { Ah __ fa } >>

Switching to an alternative melody

More complex variations in setting lyrics to music are possible. The melody to which the lyrics are being set can be changed from within the lyrics by setting the associatedVoice property:

<< \relative \new Voice = "lahlah" { \set Staff.autoBeaming = ##f c'4 << \new Voice = "alternative" { \voiceOne \tuplet 3/2 { % show associations clearly. \override NoteColumn.force-hshift = #-3 f8 f g } } { \voiceTwo f8.[ g16] \oneVoice } >> a8( b) c } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "lahlah" { Ju -- ras -- sic Park } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "lahlah" { % Tricky: need to set associatedVoice % one syllable too soon! \set associatedVoice = "alternative" % applies to "ran" Ty -- ran -- no -- \set associatedVoice = "lahlah" % applies to "rus" sau -- rus Rex } >>

The text for the first stanza is set to the melody called ‘lahlah’ in the usual way, but the second stanza is set initally to the lahlah context and is then switched to the alternative melody for the syllables ‘ran’ to ‘sau’ by the lines:

\set associatedVoice = "alternative" % applies to "ran"
Ty --
ran --
no --
\set associatedVoice = "lahlah" % applies to "rus"
sau -- rus Rex

Here, alternative is the name of the Voice context containing the triplet.

Note the placement of the \set associatedVoice command – it appears to be one syllable too early, but this is correct.

Printing stanzas at the end

Sometimes it is appropriate to have one stanza set to the music, and the rest added in verse form at the end of the piece. This can be accomplished by adding the extra verses into a \markup section outside of the main score block. Notice that there are two different ways to force linebreaks when using \markup.

melody = \relative { e' d c d | e e e e | d d e d | c1 | } text = \lyricmode { \set stanza = "1." Ma- ry had a lit- tle lamb, its fleece was white as snow. } \score { << \new Voice = "one" { \melody } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" \text >> \layout { } } \markup { \column { \line { Verse 2. } \line { All the children laughed and played } \line { To see a lamb at school. } } } \markup { \wordwrap-string " Verse 3. Mary took it home again, It was against the rule." }

Printing stanzas at the end in multiple columns

When a piece of music has many verses, they are often printed in multiple columns across the page. An outdented verse number often introduces each verse. The following example shows how to produce such output in LilyPond.

melody = \relative { c'4 c c c | d d d d } text = \lyricmode { \set stanza = "1." This is verse one. It has two lines. } \score { << \new Voice = "one" { \melody } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" \text >> \layout { } } \markup { \fill-line { \hspace #0.1 % moves the column off the left margin; % can be removed if space on the page is tight \column { \line { \bold "2." \column { "This is verse two." "It has two lines." } } \combine \null \vspace #0.1 % adds vertical spacing between verses \line { \bold "3." \column { "This is verse three." "It has two lines." } } } \hspace #0.1 % adds horizontal spacing between columns; \column { \line { \bold "4." \column { "This is verse four." "It has two lines." } } \combine \null \vspace #0.1 % adds vertical spacing between verses \line { \bold "5." \column { "This is verse five." "It has two lines." } } } \hspace #0.1 % gives some extra space on the right margin; % can be removed if page space is tight } }

See also

Internals Reference: (internals)LyricText section ‘LyricText’ in Internals Reference, (internals)StanzaNumber section ‘StanzaNumber’ in Internals Reference.

2.1.4 Songs

References for songs

Songs are usually written on three staves with the melody for the singer on the top staff and two staves of piano accompaniment at the bottom. The lyrics of the first stanza are printed immediately underneath the top staff. If there are just a small number of further stanzas these can be printed immediately under the first one, but if there are more stanzas than can be easily accommodated there the second and subsequent stanzas are printed after the music as stand-alone text.

All the notational elements needed to write songs are fully described elsewhere:

• For constructing the staff layout, see Displaying staves.
• For writing piano music, see Keyboard and other multi-staff instruments.
• For writing the lyrics to a melody line, see Common notation for vocal music.
• For placing the lyrics, see Placing lyrics vertically.
• For entering stanzas, see Stanzas.
• Songs are frequently printed with the chording indicated by chord names above the staves. This is described in Displaying chords.
• To print fret diagrams of the chords for guitar accompaniment or accompaniment by other fretted instruments, see “Fret diagram markups” in Common notation for fretted strings.

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Songs section ‘Songs’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Common notation for vocal music, Displaying chords, Displaying staves, Keyboard and other multi-staff instruments, Placing lyrics vertically, Stanzas.

Snippets: (snippets)Vocal music section ‘Vocal music’ in Snippets.

Lead sheets

Lead sheets may be printed by combining vocal parts and ‘chord mode’; this syntax is explained in Chord notation.

Selected Snippets

Simple lead sheet

When put together, chord names, a melody, and lyrics form a lead sheet:

<< \chords { c2 g:sus4 f e } \new Staff \relative c'' { a4 e c8 e r4 b2 c4( d) } \addlyrics { One day this shall be free __ } >>

See also

Notation Reference: Chord notation.

2.1.5 Choral

This section discusses notation issues that relate most directly to choral music. This includes anthems, part songs, oratorio, etc.

References for choral

Choral music is usually notated on two, three or four staves within a ChoirStaff group. Accompaniment, if required, is placed beneath in a PianoStaff group, which is usually reduced in size for rehearsal of a cappella choral works. The notes for each vocal part are placed in a Voice context, with each staff being given either a single vocal part (i.e., one Voice) or a pair of vocal parts (i.e., two Voices).

Words are placed in Lyrics contexts, either underneath each corresponding music staff, or one above and one below the music staff if this contains the music for two parts.

Several common topics in choral music are described fully elsewhere:

• An introduction to creating an SATB vocal score can be found in the Learning Manual, see (learning)Four-part SATB vocal score section ‘Four-part SATB vocal score’ in Learning Manual. There is also a built-in template which simplifies the entry of SATB vocal music, see (learning)Built-in templates section ‘Built-in templates’ in Learning Manual.
• Several templates suitable for various styles of choral music can also be found in the Learning Manual, see (learning)Vocal ensembles templates section ‘Vocal ensembles templates’ in Learning Manual.
• For information about ChoirStaff and PianoStaff see Grouping staves.
• Shape note heads, as used in Sacred Harp and similar notation, are described in Shape note heads.
• When two vocal parts share a staff the stems, ties, slurs, etc., of the higher part will be directed up and those of the lower part down. To do this, use \voiceOne and \voiceTwo. See Single-staff polyphony.
• When a vocal part temporarily splits, you should use Temporary polyphonic passages (see Single-staff polyphony).

Predefined commands

\oneVoice, \voiceOne, \voiceTwo.

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Four-part SATB vocal score section ‘Four-part SATB vocal score’ in Learning Manual, (learning)Vocal ensembles templates section ‘Vocal ensembles templates’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Context layout order, Grouping staves, Shape note heads, Single-staff polyphony.

Snippets: (snippets)Vocal music section ‘Vocal music’ in Snippets.

Internals Reference: (internals)ChoirStaff section ‘ChoirStaff’ in Internals Reference, (internals)Lyrics section ‘Lyrics’ in Internals Reference, (internals)PianoStaff section ‘PianoStaff’ in Internals Reference.

Score layouts for choral

Choral music containing four staves, with or without piano accompaniment, is usually laid out with two systems per page. Depending on the page size, achieving this may require changes to several default settings. The following settings should be considered:

• The global staff size can be modified to change the overall size of the elements of the score. See Setting the staff size.
• The distances between the systems, the staves and the lyrics can all be adjusted independently. See Vertical spacing.
• The dimensions of the vertical layout variables can be displayed as an aid to adjusting the vertical spacing. This and other possibilities for fitting the music onto fewer pages are described in Fitting music onto fewer pages.
• If the number of systems per page changes from one to two it is customary to indicate this with a system separator mark between the two systems. See Separating systems.
• For details of other page formatting properties, see Page layout.

Dynamic markings by default are placed below the staff, but in choral music they are usually placed above the staff in order to avoid the lyrics. The predefined command \dynamicUp does this for the dynamic markings in a single Voice context. If there are many Voice contexts this predefined command would have to be placed in every one. Alternatively its expanded form can be used to place all dynamic markings in the entire score above their respective staves, as shown here:

\score { \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff { \new Voice { \relative { g'4\f g g g } } } \new Staff { \new Voice { \relative { d'4 d d\p d } } } >> \layout { \context { \Score \override DynamicText.direction = #UP \override DynamicLineSpanner.direction = #UP } } }

Predefined commands

\dynamicUp, \dynamicDown, \dynamicNeutral.

See also

Notation Reference: Changing spacing, Displaying spacing, Fitting music onto fewer pages, Page layout, Score layout, Separating systems, Setting the staff size, Breaks, Vertical spacing.

Internals Reference: (internals)VerticalAxisGroup section ‘VerticalAxisGroup’ in Internals Reference, (internals)StaffGrouper section ‘StaffGrouper’ in Internals Reference.

Selected Snippets

Using arpeggioBracket to make divisi more visible

The arpeggioBracket can be used to indicate the division of voices where there are no stems to provide the information. This is often seen in choral music.

\include "english.ly" \score { \relative c'' { \key a \major \time 2/2 << \new Voice = "upper" << { \voiceOne \arpeggioBracket a2( b2 <b d>1\arpeggio) <cs e>\arpeggio ~ <cs e>4 } \addlyrics { \lyricmode { A -- men. } } >> \new Voice = "lower" { \voiceTwo a1 ~ a a ~ a4 \bar "|." } >> } \layout { ragged-right = ##t } }

See also

Notation Reference: Expressive marks as lines.

2.1.6 Opera and stage musicals

The music, lyrics and dialogue to opera and stage musicals are usually set out in one or more of the following forms:

• A Conductors’ Score containing the full orchestral and vocal parts, together with libretto cues if there are spoken passages.
• Orchestral Parts containing the music for the individual instruments of the orchestra or band.
• A Vocal Score containing all vocal parts with piano accompaniment. The accompaniment is usually an orchestral reduction, and if so the name of the original orchestral instrument is often indicated. Vocal scores sometimes includes stage directions and libretto cues.
• A Vocal Book containing just the vocal parts (no accompaniment), sometimes combined with the libretto.
• A Libretto containing the extended passages of spoken dialogue usually found in musicals, together with the words to the sung parts. Stage directions are usually included. LilyPond can be used to typeset libretti but as they contain no music alternative methods may be preferable.

The sections in the LilyPond documentation which cover the topics needed to create scores in the styles commonly found in opera and musicals are indicated in the References below. This is followed by sections covering those techniques which are peculiar to typesetting opera and musical scores.

References for opera and stage musicals

In addition to vocal and stage ensembles, most of the following notions may apply to nearly any orchestral and ensemble music:

• A conductors’ score contains many grouped staves and lyrics. Ways of grouping staves is shown in Grouping staves. To nest groups of staves see Nested staff groups.
• The printing of empty staves in conductors’ scores and vocal scores is often suppressed. To create such a “Frenched score” see Hiding staves.
• Writing orchestral parts is covered in Writing parts. Other sections in the Specialist notation chapter may be relevant, depending on the orchestration used. Many instruments are transposing instruments, see Instrument transpositions.
• If the number of systems per page changes from page to page it is customary to separate the systems with a system separator mark. See Separating systems.
• For details of other page formatting properties, see Page layout.
• Dialogue cues, stage directions and footnotes can be inserted, see Creating footnotes and Text. Extensive stage directions can also be added with a section of stand-alone markups between two \score blocks, see Separate text.

See also

Musical Glossary: (music-glossary)Frenched score section ‘Frenched score’ in Music Glossary, (music-glossary)Frenched staves section ‘Frenched staves’ in Music Glossary, (music-glossary)transposing instrument section ‘transposing instrument’ in Music Glossary.

Notation Reference: Creating footnotes, Grouping staves, Hiding staves, Instrument transpositions, Nested staff groups, Page layout, Separating systems, Transpose, Writing parts, Writing text.

Snippets: (snippets)Vocal music section ‘Vocal music’ in Snippets.

Character names

Character names are usually shown to the left of the staff when the staff is dedicated to that character alone:

\score { << \new Staff { \set Staff.vocalName = \markup \smallCaps Kaspar \set Staff.shortVocalName = \markup \smallCaps Kas. \relative { \clef "G_8" c'4 c c c \break c4 c c c } } \new Staff { \set Staff.vocalName = \markup \smallCaps Melchior \set Staff.shortVocalName = \markup \smallCaps Mel \clef "bass" \relative { a4 a a a a4 a a a } } >> }

When two or more characters share a staff the character’s name is usually printed above the staff at the start of every section applying to that character. This can be done with markup. Often a specific font is used for this purpose.

\relative c' { \clef "G_8" c4^\markup \fontsize #1 \smallCaps Kaspar c c c \clef "bass" a4^\markup \fontsize #1 \smallCaps Melchior a a a \clef "G_8" c4^\markup \fontsize #1 \smallCaps Kaspar c c c }

Alternatively, if there are many character changes, it may be easier to set up variables to hold the definitions for each character so that the switch of characters can be indicated easily and concisely.

kaspar = { \clef "G_8" \set Staff.shortVocalName = "Kas." \set Staff.midiInstrument = "voice oohs" <>^\markup \smallCaps "Kaspar" } melchior = { \clef "bass" \set Staff.shortVocalName = "Mel." \set Staff.midiInstrument = "choir aahs" <>^\markup \smallCaps "Melchior" } \relative c' { \kaspar c4 c c c \melchior a4 a a a \kaspar c4 c c c }

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Organizing pieces with variables section ‘Organizing pieces with variables’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Text, Text markup commands.

Musical cues

Musical cues can be inserted in Vocal Scores, Vocal Books and Orchestral Parts to indicate what music in another part immediately precedes an entry. Also, cues are often inserted in the piano reduction in Vocal Scores to indicate what each orchestral instrument is playing. This aids the conductor when a full Conductors’ Score is not available.

The basic mechanism for inserting cues is fully explained in the main text, see Quoting other voices and Formatting cue notes. But when many cues have to be inserted, for example, as an aid to a conductor in a vocal score, the instrument name must be positioned carefully just before and close to the start of the cue notes. The following example shows how this is done.

flute = \relative { s4 s4 e'' g } \addQuote "flute" { \flute } pianoRH = \relative { c''4. g8 % position name of cue-ing instrument just before the cue notes, % and above the staff <>^\markup { \right-align { \tiny "Flute" } } \cueDuring "flute" #UP { g4 bes4 } } pianoLH = \relative { c4 <c' e> e, <g c> } \score { \new PianoStaff << \new Staff { \pianoRH } \new Staff { \clef "bass" \pianoLH } >> }

If a transposing instrument is being quoted the instrument part should specify its key so the conversion of its cue notes will be done automatically. The example below shows this transposition for a B-flat clarinet. The notes in this example are low on the staff so DOWN is specified in \cueDuring (so the stems are down) and the instrument name is positioned below the staff.

clarinet = \relative c' { \transposition bes fis4 d d c } \addQuote "clarinet" { \clarinet } pianoRH = \relative c'' { \transposition c' % position name of cue-ing instrument below the staff <>_\markup { \right-align { \tiny "Clar." } } \cueDuring "clarinet" #DOWN { c4. g8 } g4 bes4 } pianoLH = \relative { c4 <c' e> e, <g c> } \score { << \new PianoStaff << \new Staff { \new Voice { \pianoRH } } \new Staff { \clef "bass" \pianoLH } >> >> }

From these two examples it is clear that inserting many cues in a Vocal Score would be tedious, and the notes of the piano part would become obscured. However, as the following snippet shows, it is possible to define a music function to reduce the amount of typing and to make the piano notes clearer.

Selected Snippets

Adding orchestral cues to a vocal score

This shows one approach to simplify adding many orchestral cues to the piano reduction in a vocal score. The music function \cueWhile takes four arguments: the music from which the cue is to be taken, as defined by \addQuote, the name to be inserted before the cue notes, then either #UP or #DOWN to specify either \voiceOne with the name above the staff or \voiceTwo with the name below the staff, and finally the piano music in parallel with which the cue notes are to appear. The name of the cued instrument is positioned to the left of the cued notes. Many passages can be cued, but they cannot overlap each other in time.

cueWhile = #(define-music-function (instrument name dir music) (string? string? ly:dir? ly:music?) #{ \cueDuring $instrument #dir { \once \override TextScript.self-alignment-X = #RIGHT \once \override TextScript.direction = $dir <>-\markup { \tiny #name } $music } #}) flute = \relative c'' { \transposition c' s4 s4 e g } \addQuote "flute" { \flute } clarinet = \relative c' { \transposition bes fis4 d d c } \addQuote "clarinet" { \clarinet } singer = \relative c'' { c4. g8 g4 bes4 } words = \lyricmode { here's the lyr -- ics } pianoRH = \relative c'' { \transposition c' \cueWhile "clarinet" "Clar." #DOWN { c4. g8 } \cueWhile "flute" "Flute" #UP { g4 bes4 } } pianoLH = \relative c { c4 <c' e> e, <g c> } \score { << \new Staff { \new Voice = "singer" { \singer } } \new Lyrics { \lyricsto "singer" \words } \new PianoStaff << \new Staff { \new Voice { \pianoRH } } \new Staff { \clef "bass" \pianoLH } >> >> }

See also

Musical Glossary: (music-glossary)cue-notes section ‘cue-notes’ in Music Glossary.

Notation Reference: Aligning objects, Direction and placement, Formatting cue notes, Quoting other voices, Using music functions.

Snippets: (snippets)Vocal music section ‘Vocal music’ in Snippets.

Internals Reference: (internals)CueVoice section ‘CueVoice’ in Internals Reference.

Known issues and warnings

\cueDuring automatically inserts a CueVoice context and all cue notes are placed in that context. This means it is not possible to have two overlapping sequences of cue notes by this technique. Overlapping sequences could be entered by explicitly declaring separate CueVoice contexts and using \quoteDuring to extract and insert the cue notes.

Spoken music

Such effects as ‘parlato’ or ‘Sprechgesang’ require performers to speak without pitch but still with rhythm; these are notated by cross note heads, as demonstrated in Special note heads.

Dialogue over music

Dialogue over music is usually printed over the staves in an italic font, with the start of each phrase keyed in to a particular music moment.

For short interjections a simple markup suffices.

\relative { a'4^\markup { \smallCaps { Alex - } \italic { He's gone } } a a a a4 a a^\markup { \smallCaps { Bethan - } \italic Where? } a a4 a a a }

For longer phrases it may be necessary to expand the music to make the words fit neatly. There is no provision in LilyPond to do this fully automatically, and some manual intervention to layout the page will be necessary.

For long phrases or for passages with a lot of closely packed dialogue, using a Lyrics context will give better results. The Lyrics context should not be associated with a music Voice; instead each section of dialogue should be given an explicit duration. If there is a gap in the dialogue, the final word should be separated from the rest and the duration split between them so that the underlying music spaces out smoothly.

If the dialogue extends for more than one line it will be necessary to manually insert \breaks and adjust the placing of the dialogue to avoid running into the right margin. The final word of the last measure on a line should also be separated out, as above.

Here is an example illustrating how this might be done.

music = \relative { \repeat unfold 3 { a'4 a a a } } dialogue = \lyricmode { \markup { \fontsize #1 \upright \smallCaps Abe: "Say this over measures one and" }4*7 "two"4 | \break "and this over measure"4*3 "three"4 | } \score { << \new Lyrics \with { \override LyricText.font-shape = #'italic \override LyricText.self-alignment-X = #LEFT } { \dialogue } \new Staff { \new Voice { \music } } >> }

See also

Notation Reference: Manual syllable durations, Text.

Internal Reference: (internals)LyricText section ‘LyricText’ in Internals Reference.

2.1.7 Chants psalms and hymns

The music and words for chants, psalms and hymns usually follow a well-established format in any particular church. Although the formats may differ from church to church the type-setting problems which arise are broadly similar, and are covered in this section.

References for chants and psalms

Typesetting Gregorian chant in various styles of ancient notation is described in Ancient notation.

See also

Notation reference: Ancient notation.

Snippets: (snippets)Vocal music section ‘Vocal music’ in Snippets.

Setting a chant

Modern chant settings use modern notation with varying numbers of elements taken from ancient notation. Some of the elements and methods to consider are shown here.

Chants often use quarter notes without stems to indicate the pitch, with the rhythm being taken from the spoken rhythm of the words.

stemOff = { \hide Staff.Stem } \relative c' { \stemOff a'4 b c2 | }

Chants often omit the bar lines or use shortened or dotted bar lines to indicate pauses in the music. To omit all bar lines from all staves remove the bar line engraver completely:

\score { \new StaffGroup << \new Staff { \relative { a'4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | } } \new Staff { \relative { a'4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | } } >> \layout { \context { \Staff \remove "Bar_engraver" } } }

Bar lines can also be removed on a staff-by-staff basis:

\score { \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff \with { \remove "Bar_engraver" } { \relative { a'4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | } } \new Staff { \relative { a'4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | } } >> }

To remove bar lines from just a section of music treat it as a cadenza. If the section is long you may need to insert dummy bar lines with \bar "" to show where the line should break.

\relative a' { a4 b c2 | \cadenzaOn a4 b c2 a4 b c2 \bar "" a4 b c2 a4 b c2 \cadenzaOff a4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | }

Rests or pauses in chants can be indicated by modified bar lines.

\relative a' { a4 \cadenzaOn b c2 a4 b c2 \bar "'" a4 b c2 a4 b c2 \bar ";" a4 b c2 \bar "!" a4 b c2 \bar "||" }

Alternatively, the notation used in Gregorian chant for pauses or rests is sometimes used even though the rest of the notation is modern. This uses a modified \breathe mark:

divisioMinima = { \once \override BreathingSign.stencil = #ly:breathing-sign::divisio-minima \once \override BreathingSign.Y-offset = #0 \breathe } divisioMaior = { \once \override BreathingSign.stencil = #ly:breathing-sign::divisio-maior \once \override BreathingSign.Y-offset = #0 \breathe } divisioMaxima = { \once \override BreathingSign.stencil = #ly:breathing-sign::divisio-maxima \once \override BreathingSign.Y-offset = #0 \breathe } finalis = { \once \override BreathingSign.stencil = #ly:breathing-sign::finalis \once \override BreathingSign.Y-offset = #0 \breathe } \score { \relative { g'2 a4 g \divisioMinima g2 a4 g \divisioMaior g2 a4 g \divisioMaxima g2 a4 g \finalis } \layout { \context { \Staff \remove "Bar_engraver" } } }

Chants usually omit the time signature and often omit the clef too.

\score { \new Staff { \relative { a'4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | a4 b c2 | } } \layout { \context { \Staff \remove "Bar_engraver" \remove "Time_signature_engraver" \remove "Clef_engraver" } } }

Chants for psalms in the Anglican tradition are usually either single, with 7 bars of music, or double, with two lots of 7 bars. Each group of 7 bars is divided into two halves, corresponding to the two halves of each verse, usually separated by a double bar line. Only whole and half notes are used. The 1st bar in each half always contains a single chord of whole notes. This is the “reciting note”. Chants are usually centered on the page.

SopranoMusic = \relative { g'1 | c2 b | a1 | \bar "||" a1 | d2 c | c b | c1 | \bar "||" } AltoMusic = \relative { e'1 | g2 g | f1 | f1 | f2 e | d d | e1 | } TenorMusic = \relative { c'1 | c2 c | c1 | d1 | g,2 g | g g | g1 | } BassMusic = \relative { c1 | e2 e | f1 | d1 | b2 c | g' g | c,1 | } global = { \time 2/2 } % Use markup to center the chant on the page \markup { \fill-line { \score { % centered << \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff << \global \clef "treble" \new Voice = "Soprano" << \voiceOne \SopranoMusic >> \new Voice = "Alto" << \voiceTwo \AltoMusic >> >> \new Staff << \clef "bass" \global \new Voice = "Tenor" << \voiceOne \TenorMusic >> \new Voice = "Bass" << \voiceTwo \BassMusic >> >> >> >> \layout { \context { \Score \override SpacingSpanner.base-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1/2) } \context { \Staff \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } } } % End score } } % End markup

Some other approaches to setting such a chant are shown in the first of the following snippets.

Selected Snippets

Chant or psalms notation

This form of notation is used for Psalm chant, where verses aren’t always the same length.

stemOff = \hide Staff.Stem stemOn = \undo \stemOff \score { \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } { \key g \minor \cadenzaOn \stemOff a'\breve bes'4 g'4 \stemOn a'2 \bar "||" \stemOff a'\breve g'4 a'4 \stemOn f'2 \bar "||" \stemOff a'\breve^\markup { \italic flexe } \stemOn g'2 \bar "||" } }

Canticles and other liturgical texts may be set more freely, and may use notational elements from ancient music. Often the words are shown underneath and aligned with the notes. If so, the notes are spaced in accordance with the syllables rather than the notes’ durations.

Ancient notation template – modern transcription of gregorian music

This example demonstrates how to do modern transcription of Gregorian music. Gregorian music has no measure, no stems; it uses only half and quarter note heads, and special marks, indicating rests of different length.

\include "gregorian.ly" chant = \relative c' { \set Score.timing = ##f f4 a2 \divisioMinima g4 b a2 f2 \divisioMaior g4( f) f( g) a2 \finalis } verba = \lyricmode { Lo -- rem ip -- sum do -- lor sit a -- met } \score { \new Staff << \new Voice = "melody" \chant \new Lyrics = "one" \lyricsto melody \verba >> \layout { \context { \Staff \remove "Time_signature_engraver" \remove "Bar_engraver" \hide Stem } \context { \Voice \override Stem.length = #0 } \context { \Score barAlways = ##t } } }

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Visibility and color of objects section ‘Visibility and color of objects’ in Learning Manual, (learning)Vocal ensembles templates section ‘Vocal ensembles templates’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Ancient notation, Bar lines, Modifying context plug-ins, Typesetting Gregorian chant, Unmetered music, Visibility of objects.

Pointing a psalm

The words to an Anglican psalm are usually printed in separate verses centered underneath the chant.

Single chants (with 7 bars) are repeated for every verse. Double chants (with 14 bars) are repeated for every pair of verses. Marks are inserted in the words to show how they should be fitted to the chant. Each verse is divided into two halves. A colon is usually used to indicate this division. This corresponds to the double bar line in the music. The words before the colon are sung to the first three bars of music; the words after the colon are sung to the last four bars.

Single bar lines (or in some psalters an inverted comma or similar symbol) are inserted between words to indicate where the bar lines in the music fall. In markup mode a single bar line can be entered with the bar check symbol, |.

\markup { \fill-line { \column { \left-align { \line { O come let us sing | unto the | Lord : let } \line { us heartily rejoice in the | strength of | our } \line { sal- | -vation. } } } } }

Other symbols may require glyphs from the fetaMusic fonts. For details, see Fonts.

tick = \markup { \raise #1 \fontsize #-5 \musicglyph "scripts.rvarcomma" } \markup { \fill-line { \column { \left-align { \line { O come let us sing \tick unto the \tick Lord : let } \line { us heartily rejoice in the \tick strength of \tick our } \line { sal \tick vation. } } } } }

Where there is one whole note in a bar all the words corresponding to that bar are recited on that one note in speech rhythm. Where there are two notes in a bar there will usually be only one or two corresponding syllables. If there are more that two syllables a dot is usually inserted to indicate where the change in note occurs.

dot = \markup { \raise #0.7 \musicglyph "dots.dot" } tick = \markup { \raise #1 \fontsize #-5 \musicglyph "scripts.rvarcomma" } \markup { \fill-line { \column { \left-align { \line { O come let us sing \tick unto \dot the \tick Lord : let } \line { us heartily rejoice in the \tick strength of \tick our } \line { sal \tick vation. } } } } }

In some psalters an asterisk is used to indicate a break in a recited section instead of a comma, and stressed or slightly lengthened syllables are indicated in bold text.

dot = \markup { \raise #0.7 \musicglyph "dots.dot" } tick = \markup { \raise #1 \fontsize #-5 \musicglyph "scripts.rvarcomma" } \markup { \fill-line { \column { \left-align { \line { Today if ye will hear his voice * } \line { \concat { \bold hard en } | not your | hearts : as in the pro- } \line { vocation * and as in the \bold day of tempt- | } \line { -ation | in the | wilderness. } } } } }

In other psalters an accent is placed over the syllable to indicate stress.

tick = \markup { \raise #2 \fontsize #-5 \musicglyph "scripts.rvarcomma" } \markup { \fill-line { \column { \left-align { \line { O come let us \concat { si \combine \tick ng } | unto the | Lord : let } \line { us heartily \concat { rejo \combine \tick ice } in the | strength of | our } \line { sal- | -vation. } } } } }

The use of markup to center text, and arrange lines in columns is described in Formatting text.

Most of these elements are shown in one or other of the two verses in the template, see (learning)Psalms section ‘Psalms’ in Learning Manual.

See also

Learning Manual: (learning)Psalms section ‘Psalms’ in Learning Manual, (learning)Vocal ensembles templates section ‘Vocal ensembles templates’ in Learning Manual.

Notation Reference: Fonts, Formatting text.

Partial measures in hymn tunes

Hymn tunes frequently start and end every line of music with partial measures so that each line of music corresponds exactly with a line of text. This requires a \partial command at the start of the music and \bar "|" or \bar "||" commands at the end of each line.

Hymn template

This code shows one way of setting out a hymn tune when each line starts and ends with a partial measure. It also shows how to add the verses as stand-alone text under the music.

Timeline = { \time 4/4 \tempo 4=96 \partial 2 s2 | s1 | s2 \breathe s2 | s1 | s2 \bar "||" \break s2 | s1 | s2 \breathe s2 | s1 | s2 \bar "||" } SopranoMusic = \relative g' { g4 g | g g g g | g g g g | g g g g | g2 g4 g | g g g g | g g g g | g g g g | g2 } AltoMusic = \relative c' { d4 d | d d d d | d d d d | d d d d | d2 d4 d | d d d d | d d d d | d d d d | d2 } TenorMusic = \relative a { b4 b | b b b b | b b b b | b b b b | b2 b4 b | b b b b | b b b b | b b b b | b2 } BassMusic = \relative g { g4 g | g g g g | g g g g | g g g g | g2 g4 g | g g g g | g g g g | g g g g | g2 } global = { \key g \major } \score { % Start score << \new PianoStaff << % Start pianostaff \new Staff << % Start Staff = RH \global \clef "treble" \new Voice = "Soprano" << % Start Voice = "Soprano" \Timeline \voiceOne \SopranoMusic >> % End Voice = "Soprano" \new Voice = "Alto" << % Start Voice = "Alto" \Timeline \voiceTwo \AltoMusic >> % End Voice = "Alto" >> % End Staff = RH \new Staff << % Start Staff = LH \global \clef "bass" \new Voice = "Tenor" << % Start Voice = "Tenor" \Timeline \voiceOne \TenorMusic >> % End Voice = "Tenor" \new Voice = "Bass" << % Start Voice = "Bass" \Timeline \voiceTwo \BassMusic >> % End Voice = "Bass" >> % End Staff = LH >> % End pianostaff >> } % End score \markup { \fill-line { "" { \column { \left-align { "This is line one of the first verse" "This is line two of the same" "And here's line three of the first verse" "And the last line of the same" } } } "" } } \paper { % Start paper block indent = 0 % don't indent first system line-width = 130 % shorten line length to suit music } % End paper block

2.1.8 Ancient vocal music

Ancient vocal music is supported, as explained in Ancient notation.

See also

Notation Reference: Ancient notation.

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