Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [engraving]

For questions about the engraving of scores and how to achieve intended notational effects. Questions regarding the meaning of specific notation are best served with the notation tag. For questions discussing a particular engraving software, the software should also be tagged.

See also the discussion at What is the relationship between the notation and engraving tags?

132 questions
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2 answers

How do I notate a staccato on a unison note?

If there is a stem on either side of a note, or the stems are DOWN below ledger lines, where does the dot indicating staccato go?
Wendy
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16
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4 answers

How to notate time signature switching consistently every measure

It seems my musical journey's always pushing me into left field territory when it comes to notation ... So this time I'd like to know what would be a good way to notate a consistent switching of time signature every measure. The piece I'm writing…
Creynders
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16
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5 answers

How to notate this two-voice syncopation in 12/8 time?

Currently working on this composition which is in 12/8 time. I want the rhythm in the left hand to be like this: But the notation looks difficult to read. Also tried this: But the C octave chord is a bit too short (I want it to be sustained the…
Pineapple
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15
votes
2 answers

LilyPond - how to write a basic makefile

During the last years I tought myself to write scores using LilyPond and furthermore to make file handling easier by using Bash scripts. Recently I started a project a little bigger than only one or two pages and once again I came across the article…
nath
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12
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1 answer

Which note goes on which side of the stem?

When writing music in sheet music form, I know that when writing harmonic intervals of a second, one of the two notes is on the opposite side of the notehead. My trouble is determining which note to put on the opposite side of the stem. What are the…
user45266
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12
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3 answers

Arbitrary length full-measure rests in Lilypond

In Lilypond one can make long full-measure rests with: \compressFullBarRests R1*12 which outputs: Is there an engraver I can turn off, or some other way to remove the number from above the rest (for a multi-measure rest of arbitrary…
Sam Whited
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11
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3 answers

How to increase LilyPond horizontal spacing?

I'm trying to create some very simple music note worksheets with LilyPond. I'm afraid I'm still not familiar with the language itself, but here is what I'm looking for: \version "2.20.0" \relative c' { c d e f g a b c } This generates: I'd…
pominom
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10
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7 answers

Writing music by hand?

How do you write music by hand -- without using a ruler -- and not make it look like ugly chickenscratch? Are there exercises for writing note heads, stems and beams while making them look relatively consistent and nice but still relatively…
luser droog
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10
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3 answers

Multiple staccato dots on minim with tremolo repeat in Lilypond

I'm writing a piano reduction of Gustav Mahler's 4th Symphony (to help study the score and practice music notation, but mainly just for kicks 'n' grins) using GNU LilyPond. (Yes, I know, I'm totally a Mahler Fanboy. So sue me.) ;-) I'm trying to…
pr1268
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10
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1 answer

How do I write hairpins and dynamics between staves in LilyPond?

Here's a minimal example of the sort of result I want to produce in LilyPond. (This was produced in Finale.) Notice that the crescendo-stop, f, and decrescendo-start align with a note in the bottom staff only and the decrescendo-stop and last p…
Victor
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10
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2 answers

When should the last ending bracket(volta) be closed and when should it be open?

I have a question about the last volta(ultima volta, last ending bracket). When should it be closed and when should it be open? I have found a document about that topic, which can be found here on page 20:…
Schnotzer
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9
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7 answers

Anacruses, Bar Lines, and Line Breaks

I am an amateur composer. Page layout is important to me; I like the line breaks to be significant punctuation to the score. i.e. the end of: sections, parts, phrases, lines of verse/lyrics, are all good places for a line break. When composing a…
Elements in Space
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9
votes
5 answers

slur options in sheet music

In sheet music, composers use a slur to put together consecutive notes. There seem to be two kinds of slurs: one with a solid line and the other broken. My question is: when does a composer use a solid line slur, when do they use a broken line…
Nachmen
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9
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2 answers

Notating a note sustained over clef change

I found this very interesting notation in Wiklund's first piano concerto, final bars of movement 1 (the transcription for two pianos): See the final left-hand bars: the low E is sustained over a clef change, then into the next bar where the two…
KeizerHarm
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9
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2 answers

Partially-optimized orchestra scores?

There are two different conventions I have seen for orchestra scores. In one, the full orchestra is shown on every page. Even if the flutes don't play a single note, (for example) their staff appears filled with rests. I find this kind of score…
nuggethead
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