Re: Dynamics not correctly aligned

[Hwaen Ch'uqi]

Greetings David,

On 1/26/14, David Sumbler <address@hidden> wrote:
> I am a new user of Lilypond, using v. 2.14.2 on Ubuntu 12.04.  I have
> read the Learning Manual and Notation Reference twice each, and most of
> the other documentation at least once.
>
First of all, welcome to LilyPond! Second, I would advise moving to
the latest stable version of LilyPond, version 2.18.0. This is
especially because certain basic ways of writing overrides, for
example, have changed, and it will likely be easier to communicate
solutions with an updated version. Third, the manuals are tightly
written, and pieces of relevant information may yet be found strewn
the manuals in sometimes unlikely places.

> Having set two pieces (one for solo marimba, and one for flute and
> piano), I hoped that I had reached the stage of being able to fine tune
> the appearance, but stumbled at almost the first hurdle!
>
> My first problem concerns the second piece.  If I include the piano
> dynamics separately from the notes, as suggested in section A.2.4 (Piano
> Centred Dynamics) of the Learning Manual, they do not line up correctly
> with the dynamics in the flute part, which I have attached to the notes.
>
> For instance, with:
>
> \version "2.14.2"
>
> <<
>   \new Staff = "flute" \relative c''' { c1\p c\f }
>   \new PianoStaff <<
>     \new Staff \relative c'' { c1 c }
>     \new Dynamics { s1\p s\f }
>     \new Staff \relative c { \clef bass c1 c }
>     >>
>>>
>
> the dynamics in the piano part appear slightly further to the left than
> those in the flute part do.  I get the same result (disregarding the
> change in vertical alignment) with:
>
> \version "2.14.2"
>
> dynamics = { s1\p s\f }
>
> <<
>   \new Staff = "flute" \relative c''' { c1\p c\f }
>   \new PianoStaff <<
>     \new Staff << \relative c'' { c1 c } \dynamics >>
>     \new Staff \relative c { \clef bass c1 c }
>     >>
>>>
>
> In the actual piece I have set, the misplaced piano dynamics actually
> collide with the preceding bar-lines, although that does not happen in
> the above brief examples.
>
> What am I doing wrong here?  Thanks in advance for any help you can
> offer.
>
>
> David
>
Try placing this command at the beginning of your Dynamics context:

\override Dynamics.DynamicText.self-alignment-X = #-1

This will left-align your dynamics. If you wish to move them more to
the right, you may change the number after the hash sign. #0
center-aligns the dynamics, and #1 right-aligns them. You can use
other numbers between those given.

I hope this helps.
Hwaen Ch'uqi