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1.1.4 Note heads
This section suggests ways of altering note heads.
Special note heads | ||
Easy notation note heads | ||
Shape note heads | ||
Improvisation |
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Special note heads
Note heads may be altered:
c4 b a b \override NoteHead #'style = #'cross c4 b a b \revert NoteHead #'style c4 d e f
There is a shorthand for diamond shapes which can only be used inside chords:
<c f\harmonic>2 <d a'\harmonic>4 <c g'\harmonic>
To see all note head styles, see Note head styles.
See also
Snippets: Pitches.
Notation Reference: Note head styles, Chorded notes.
Internals Reference: note-event, Note_heads_engraver, Ledger_line_engraver, NoteHead, LedgerLineSpanner, note-head-interface, ledger-line-spanner-interface.
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Easy notation note heads
The ‘easy play’ note head includes a note name inside the head. It is used in music for beginners. To make the letters readable, it should be printed in a large font size. To print with a larger font, see Setting the staff size.
#(set-global-staff-size 26) \relative c' { \easyHeadsOn c2 e4 f g1 \easyHeadsOff c,1 }
Predefined commands
\easyHeadsOn
,
\easyHeadsOff
.
See also
Notation Reference: Setting the staff size.
Snippets: Pitches.
Internals Reference: note-event, Note_heads_engraver, NoteHead, note-head-interface.
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Shape note heads
In shape note head notation, the shape of the note head corresponds to the harmonic function of a note in the scale. This notation was popular in nineteenth-century American song books. Shape note heads can be produced:
\aikenHeads c, d e f g a b c \sacredHarpHeads c, d e f g a b c
Shapes are typeset according to the step in the scale, where the
base of the scale is determined by the \key
command.
Predefined commands
\aikenHeads
,
\sacredHarpHeads
.
Selected Snippets
Applying note head styles depending on the step of the scale
The shapeNoteStyles
property can be used to define various note
head styles for each step of the scale (as set by the key signature or
the "tonic" property). This property requires a set of symbols, which
can be purely arbitrary (geometrical expressions such as
triangle
, cross
, and xcircle
are allowed) or based
on old American engraving tradition (some latin note names are also
allowed).
That said, to imitate old American song books, there are several
predefined note head styles available through shortcut commands such as
\aikenHeads
or \sacredHarpHeads
.
This example shows different ways to obtain shape note heads, and demonstrates the ability to transpose a melody without losing the correspondence between harmonic functions and note head styles.
fragment = { \key c \major c2 d e2 f g2 a b2 c } \score { \new Staff { \transpose c d \relative c' { \set shapeNoteStyles = #'#(do re mi fa #f la ti) \fragment } \break \relative c' { \set shapeNoteStyles = #'#(cross triangle fa #f mensural xcircle diamond) \fragment } } \layout { ragged-right = ##t } }
To see all note head styles, see Note head styles.
See also
Snippets: Pitches.
Notation Reference: Note head styles.
Internals Reference: note-event, Note_heads_engraver, NoteHead, note-head-interface.
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Improvisation
Improvisation is sometimes denoted with slashed note heads, where the performer may choose any pitch but should play the specified rhythm. Such note heads can be created:
\new Voice \with { \consists "Pitch_squash_engraver" } { e8 e g a a16( bes) a8 g \improvisationOn e8 ~ e2 ~ e8 f4 f8 ~ f2 \improvisationOff a16( bes) a8 g e }
Predefined commands
\improvisationOn
,
\improvisationOff
.
See also
Snippets: Pitches.
Internals Reference: Pitch_squash_engraver, Voice, RhythmicStaff.
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