Re: Lyrics and centering

[Michael J Millett]

In regards to lyric placement, you now have me highly intrigued. So I 
surveyed a number of sources. Sorry about the length.

G Schirmer/AMP Manual of Style and Usage (pages 88 - 89)

There is no discussion of this topic. However, in most of the examples, 
the first note of a measure is aligned with the word such that the 
approximately the second letter of the word is directly underneath the 
note-head. This seems to be regardless of the presence of a slur or 
tie. This also includes a hyphenation that starts a measure; the hyphen 
precedes the first letter, as it would be two spaces to the left of the 
note-head. For all other notes, except those involving hyphens or 
extensions, the word is centered underneath the note-head. In the case 
of hyphenated words, page 82 shows an example where each part of the 
word except the first is aligned flush left. But, the example on page 
89 shows the last word of the hyphen as centered. I'm not sure if there 
is a convention here, or it is just "made to fit." I did not find an 
example of an extension that did not involve the beginning of a 
measure. In the case of ties, the word is not centered under the two 
notes; it is aligned only with the first note of the tie.

Gardner Read (pages 287 - 299)

There is no discussion of this topic. However, in every example except 
17-8, the first word of a measure is centered underneath the note-head. 
It looks to me like the first note of the measures have been moved to 
the right to accommodate the centering of the word. In the case of 
hyphens, the words are still centered. In the case of extensions, some 
examples show the first word centered, and some show alignment of the 
note-head with approximately the second letter (page 292). In the case 
of ties, the word is not centered under the two notes; it is aligned 
only with the first note of the tie.

FJ Haydn: Creation, Dover reprint from CF Peters edition

The usage is inconsistent. The word for the first note of measures 
sometimes aligns with the first, second, or even third letter of the 
word. Sometimes, the first word is centered. It just seems to be 
designed to fit. There are some interesting examples on pages 156 - 
157. In the case of hyphens and extensions, again, I am finding no 
great consistency. In the case of ties: same thing as said earlier:  
The word is not centered under the two notes; it is aligned only with 
the first note of the tie.

My current issue with LP is that it is centering words underneath both 
notes of the tie instead of just the first. Thank you for the 
suggestions on how to fix that.

Conclusion: I do not find any great consistencies. However, in a very 
general way:

First words of measures are often aligned with note-heads such that 
approximately the second letter is aligned with the note-head.

Hyphenated words are often aligned in the same way as above, but 
certainly not always. The first syllables, however, tend to be 
centered, unless it is the beginning of a measure.

The first syllable of melismas are often aligned with note-heads such 
that approximately the second letter is aligned with the note-head. 
But, are also often aligned flush left.

Words involving tied notes are aligned in some way to only the first 
note of the tie, and never to both notes of the tie.

In regards to the quoted comment: "
Another help in reading a melisma is the proper alignment of the lyric.
>     The word or syllable, instead of being centered under the note,
>     should be aligned flush left with the left edge of the note-head."

The only consistent example of flush left alignment in the Schirmer I 
can find involves hyphenation (page 82), and not a melisma. Melismas 
are not aligned flush left here. In the Haydn, the opposite seems to be 
true. Often the syllable that begins the melisma is aligned flush left, 
while the second syllable of hyphenated words is aligned to near the 
second letter.  See page 107 for some interesting comparisons between 
melismas and hyphenated words.

Overall, the words are just "made to fit" and "made to be easily read." 
I do not see how an ideal algorithm could ever be designed to 
accommodate all this.

Congratulations to the programmers of LP for doing so well with this!

Michael