Re: Again: Alignment of bars

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hi Boris,

> I've read about the workarounds, like proportional mode

Can proportional spacing be applied only to one Voice or Staff  
context, instead of to the whole Score?
If so, you might be able to set up an invisible "spacer" context  
(which forces the measure width to be equal), and then lay the music  
notes out in a separate (non-proportional) voice.

> Wouldn't this be a nice add-on feature for the next version?

Maybe… but, for the record:

1. I don't have a copy of Ross's engraving book (which goes into much  
more detail than my little handbook), but my "Essential Dictionary of  
Music Notation" says "The size of the measure within the staff is  
determined according to a compromise between two extremes: 1) equal  
space for each measure, 2) measure size based on note density only",  
followed by an example highlighted as "WRONG: spaced according to  
equal measure size".

2. I know of no examples of traditionally-engraved scores which  
contain equal measure sizes. Quite the opposite, I have many scores  
where the engravers have specifically avoided equal measure widths —  
for example, in the band parts from the jazz musical "City of  
Angels", there are generally 4 measures per line, and in at least one  
spot, there are 4 *identical* measures of music on 2 consecutive  
lines [!!], and the engraver has *clearly* nudged the barlines so  
that they don't line up precisely. [From my engraving classes way  
back when, I seem to recall that it's harder for musicians to read  
systems that are aligned precisely, since the eye gets confused about  
which line to be following.]

If this feature is super-easy to add, I could imagine it being in an  
upcoming version — however, since the stated goal of Lilypond is to  
output great looking music based on established engraving practices,  
I can't imagine it being very high on the priority list.  =)

Best regards,
Kieren.