Re: question about multi measure rests from a blind user

[David Kastrup]

Daniel Contreras <address@hidden> writes:

> I was just curious as to what the difference is between the commands
> \compressFullBarRests and \set Score.skipBars = ##t ?

skipBars prints nothing and gives no indication about what was left.

> I arranged some salsa charts that were performed over the weekend, My
> friend who played trumpet mentioned that I had a rest that was 32 bars
> long. He told me that the rests were not written in compressed
> form.

Only full bar rests are compressed.  Full bar rests are printed in the
middle of the bar (rather than at its beginning) and look like
semi-breve rests (duration 1) for most meters (exceptions are meters
like 2/1 or 4/2).  Compressed rests show various forms, with the largest
ones being a large vertically centered horizontal bar with the number of
measures above.

Full-bar rests are entered with a capital R.  For full-bar rests to be
compressed, they have to be entered as a _single_ rest, like R2.*16 for
16 measures of rest in a 3/4 meter.  That makes it possible to have,
say, 16 measures of rest followed by 3 by writing something like

    R1*16 R1*3

and have them compressed in logical sections.  But it means you have to
compress your rests manually.

\compressFullBarRests is probably named a bit confusingly: LilyPond
merely refrains from uncompressing the rests then, but it does not
actively compress them.

-- 
David Kastrup