Re: [Denemo-devel] Denemo-Lyrics

[Joe Wilkinson]

I know that most users won't want to learn Lilypond. It is just that the options that they will need are much easier typed than prescribed with buttons!
And at the moment we have a mismatch between what I would advise a new user and what Lilypond and Denemo provides

As far as I can understand there are 3 requirements

One Syllable to many notes: technical term Melisma (plural Melismata or Melismas) when one syllable is sung to more than one note
example: "I will always love you" Whitney Houston.

this can be typeset by

1 Manual Beaming

2 Adding a slur

3 adding, say, <space><dash>  for each extra syllable which is OK if the singer understands

4 Following the syllable to be extended by <space><underscore><underscore><space>
followed by <dash><underscore> for every extra note to be included.  Denemo's Melismata ExtendWord does the first part of this!
This extends the underline from the printed syllable underneath all the notes included as a continuous line

One Syllable Per Note (i.e. normal usage) Technically "Syllabic" according to Wikipedia.

This can be done by

1 separating the syllables with spaces which is fine for monosyllabic words but gives problems with words like onion or Putin
2 Lilypond accepts on<space><hyphen><hyphen><space>ion and prints as on - ion with "on" under first note, "ion" under the following note and the - between them.
Denemo's Melismata(!!) Split Word does this

Many Syllables/Words per note
used in chanted music, or music where the performer has freedom with word stresses for which

1 "Word1 word2 word3 etc." is easiest, i.e. the quotes create a single item and internal spaces are ignored.

Lilypond accepts also:

2 word1-word2, so hyphenated words are treated as one item (and a space has to be included after the hyphen to separate them)

3 word1_word2_word3_etc which Lilypond typesets identically to the quotes version above

4 word1~word2~word3~etc which Lilypond typesets as word1ˬword2ˬword3ˬetc

Denemo's Lyric Tie Printing does 4, Non-Printing does 3

Personally I would use

Many notes for one syllable : Use Slur, or dashes for subsequent notes as far as needed

(move to __ _ _ etc when needed)

One word/syllable per note: spaces separate words, syllables with either dash added to each syllable in poly- syll- ab- ic words.
(move to --  when necessary)

Many words per note: use quotes.

Joe