Re: Control of spacing between left edge and first note

[Thomas Liggett]

Hello all,

Bumping this in the hope that someone might be able to help me continue my 
gradual ascent of the LIlyPond learning curve!

Thanks,
Thomas

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Thomas Liggett <address@hidden>
> Subject: Re: Control of spacing between left edge and first note
> Date: 27 March 2017 at 1:56:04 PM NZDT
> To: Andrew Bernard <address@hidden>
> Cc: "address@hidden" <address@hidden>
> 
> Hi Andrew,
> 
> With your help I've got the desired result – many thanks! (BTW I was
> able to set the "key-signature extra-space" without including that
> whole alist.) But I'd like to better understand the logic behind
> what's happening in my code below.
> 
> To produce a staff with no clef, key signature, time signature, or
> barlines, and to be able to specify the spacing between the left edge
> of the staff and the first note (i.e. to be able to produce diagrams
> comprising only staves with note-groups as in the example below):
> 
> * just making the clef a point-stencil, omitting the bar-engraver, and
> using \override LeftEdge.space-alist.clef = #'(extra-space . xxx)
> achieves this for the first system, but NOT for any subsequent systems
> (hence my original query)
> 
> To control the first system AND subsequent systems:
> 
> * a (semantically irrelevant) key signature is required (set to a
> point-stencil, otherwise extra space is introduced) – C major will
> suffice. Why? (What's the difference to Lilypond between "no key
> signature" and "a specified key signature of no sharps or flats"?!?)
> 
> * barlines, made transparent, are required to "reference off" as you
> say. (Transparent barlines, naturally, include space either side, so
> in order to have an arbitrary number of notes spaced evenly across a
> system – i.e. in this example, to avoid an extra space between the two
> groups of 8 notes – a time signature equal to the length of the system
> must be specified. But the nice thing about omitting the bar engraver
> in my original was that it avoided the need to specify a semantically
> irrelevant time signature.) But how are barlines even involved in
> controlling the space between the left edge of the staff and the first
> note?
> 
> Is it related to the issue Urs is dealing with in this thread?
> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-user/2017-03/msg00627.html
> 
> Thanks again,
> Thomas
> 
> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> 
> \version "2.19.41"
> 
> \paper { indent = 0 }
> 
> \layout {
>  \context {
>    \Score
>    \override LeftEdge.space-alist.clef = #'(extra-space . 2) % space
> between left edge and invisible clef
>    \remove Bar_number_engraver
>  }
>  \context {
>    \Staff
>    \remove Time_signature_engraver
> %    \remove Bar_engraver
>    \override Clef.stencil = #point-stencil % make clef effectively invisible
>    \override Clef.space-alist.key-signature = #'(extra-space . 0) %
> space between invisible clef and invisible key sig
>    \override KeySignature.stencil = #point-stencil
>    \override BarLine.transparent = ##t
>  }
> }
> \score {
>  \relative c'' {
>    \clef "treble"
>    \key c \major % comment out this line and see what happens!
>    \time 4/2 % comment out this line and there's extra space added
> where default (4/4) barlines would be
>    \stemUp
>    b8 b c c d d e e f f g g a a b b \break
>    b,, b c c d d e e f f g g a a b b
>  }
> }
> 
> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> 
> 
> On Sat, Mar 11, 2017 at 6:01 PM Andrew Bernard <address@hidden> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Thomas,
>> 
>> Try this perhaps.
>> 
>> [You have to retain clefs and barlines and render them transparent, so that 
>> they exist to reference off. One ought to be able to just set the value 
>> (key-signature extra-space . 8) say, but I am not sure why we need the whole 
>> shebang alist.]
>> 
>> 
>> Andrew
>> 
>> == snip
>> 
>> \version "2.19.56"
>> 
>> \paper { indent = 0 }
>> 
>> \score {
>>  \relative c'' {
>> 
>>    \override Staff.KeySignature.stencil = #point-stencil
>>    \override Staff.Clef.stencil = #point-stencil
>>    \override Staff.BarLine.transparent = ##t
>> 
>>    \key a \major
>>    \stemUp
>>    %
>> 
>>    b8 b c c d d e e f f g g a a b b
>>    \break
>>    b,, b c c d d e e f f g g a a b b
>>  }
>> 
>>  \layout {
>>    \context {
>>      \Score
>>      \remove Bar_number_engraver
>>    }
>>    \context {
>>      \Staff
>>      \remove Time_signature_engraver
>> 
>>      \override Clef.space-alist =
>>      #'((ambitus extra-space . 2.0)
>>         (breathing-sign minimum-space . 0.0)
>>         (cue-end-clef extra-space . 0.8)
>>         (clef extra-space . 0.8)
>>         (cue-clef extra-space . 0.8)
>>         (staff-bar extra-space . 0.0)
>>         (key-cancellation extra-space . 0.0)
>>         (key-signature extra-space . 8)
>>         (time-signature extra-space . 1.0)
>>         (custos extra-space . 0.0)
>>         (first-note fixed-space . 0.0)
>>         (right-edge extra-space . 0.0))
>> 
>>    }
>>  }
>> }
>> 
>> == snip
>>