LilyPond, ties and voices
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LilyPond: ties and voices
In the default LilyPond configuration, it is not possible to tie a note in a single-voice with the same note but belonging to a contextual multi-voices environment.
I recently had to resolve an author’s passage involving just such a problem and asked for help to the amazing LilyPond community.
So I learned a new “trick” that I would like to share with everyone: you can change the context in which ties operate.
More in particular: it is possible to make ties work from the voices context to the scores context.
In this way, ties can also be engraved switching from single voice to a multiple voice.
An easy example: tie from a single voice to multiple voices not engraved
In the following example I report a very simple code fragment with an “unterminated tie” warning:
\version "2.22.1"
\relative c'
{\key c \major
\time 4/4
c d e f~ % implicit oneVoice
% start multiple voices
<< { f g8 a b4 c } % implicit voiceOne
\\
{ c,2 d4 e } % implicit voiceTwo
>>
}
Here’s the log:
Starting lilypond 2.22.1 [easy-example1.ly]...
Processing `/home/franco/Documents/easy-example1.ly'
Parsing...
Interpreting music...
/home/franco/Documents/easy-example1.ly:6:12: warning: unterminated tie
c d e f
~ % implicit oneVoice
Preprocessing graphical objects...
Finding the ideal number of pages...
Fitting music on 1 page...
Drawing systems...
Success: compilation successfully completed
Completed successfully in 1.2".
Here’s the score:
Highlighted in red: the tie has not been engraved.
Another easy example: tie from a single voice to multiple voices engraved
The same code fragment without the “unterminated tie” warning:
\version "2.22.1"
\layout {
\context {
\Voice
\remove Tie_engraver
}
\context {
\Staff
\consists Tie_engraver
}
}
\relative c'
{\key c \major
\time 4/4
c d e f~ % implicit oneVoice
% start multiple voices
<< { f g8 a b4 c } % implicit voiceOne
\\
{ c,2 d4 e } % implicit voiceTwo
>>
}
Here’s the new log file:
Starting lilypond 2.22.1 [easy-example1.ly]...
Processing `/tmp/frescobaldi-jz_pyunm/tmpg8nfdn1r/easy-example1.ly'
Parsing...
Interpreting music...
Preprocessing graphical objects...
Finding the ideal number of pages...
Fitting music on 1 page...
Drawing systems...
Converting to `easy-example1.pdf'...
Success: compilation successfully completed
Completed successfully in 1.3".
Here’s the score:
Highlighted in green: now tie has been regularly engraved.
Thank you for your attention.
