Mensural notation - some questions and a patch

[Benkõ Pál]

ChangeLog:
2005-02-15  Pal Benko  <address@hidden>

        * lily/mensural-ligature-engraver.cc:
        * lily/mensural-ligature.cc:
        * lily/include/mensural-ligature.hh: new algorithm implemented

        * scm/define-grob-properties.scm: join-left killed
        (add-join may be used); join-left-amount changed to join-right-amount

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,

I'm singing renaissance music from mensural notation;
if I can't have a facsimile of an old print/manuscript,
I make the notes for myself.
So long I used pen and paper, but now I thought using lilypond.
I have some problems, some of them critical,
but perhaps thay can be overcome easily (the patch is for pr 3)


Critical (I can't choose an alternative notation):

1. punctus divisionis
I need a dot (just like an augmentation dot)
without a notehead or rest, which I can place at any pitch I want.
Is there something like an invisible (zero-duration) notehead with visible dot?

2. coloratio
filled noteheads are needed (longae, breves, semibreves also).
Can I request somehow either "fill the head of this note"
or "from now on fill each notehead" and "from now on don't fill noteheads"?


Noncritical problems:

2a. a half-note in a coloratio section looks like a quarter-note.
To avoid this, sometimes quarter-notes are written as half-notes with a flag.
Is there a command (bunch of commands)
so that such quarter-notes are used throughout?

3. Current ligature handling doesn't conform to medieval-renaissance usage;
I implemented a new algorithm within the old framework.
This is in the attached patch (some comments later).

4. How can I achieve a text-like output, i.e.
- smallest possible spacing (as between letters)
- last line (before a \break) not streching the whole page-width?


Unimportant, but would be pleasant:

5. Can I request all custodes facing up?

6. Automatic placement of rests (near to previous/next noteheads)

7. Bigger note heads (in 15th century manuscripts a semibrevis head
is almost two staff-space wide)


The Great Dream, i.e. I have no idea where to look, may need
lots of work, including redefining the input language:

8. Have a system where from the same sources I can print mensural parts
and a modern score (and listen to MIDI).



Some notes about the patch:
this is my first submission to free software,
there must be a lot of issues with it.
E.g. I've written a description of the algorithm and a test file
(also attached), but don't know where to place them and how;
Known problems:
I get a warning for all flexae in some Stem function, but I don't
really know how to prevent them
spacing after a brevis or flexa as last note is different from those
with maxima or longa as last note


Pal Benko
(sorry for the .signature; it's from my mail provider.
I don't know how I can remove it, but I doubt I can at all.)
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patch
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ligature-description.txt
Description: Text document

ligature-test.ly
Description: Binary data