Re: \context foo = "bar" vs. \new foo

[Han-Wen Nienhuys]

Graham Percival wrote:
> > > Would it make sense to permit \new Foo = "bar", but have it be an error
> > > if a "bar" context already existed?
>
>
> That's exactly what I'm hoping for.  :)

I haven't done this because it's extra work, but

  \new Foo = "bar"

will always create new context, and will name it "bar", so you can refer 
to it later with

  \context Foo=bar

I'm not sure if \addto is a right substitute for \context, as it looks 
confusingly similar to \addlyrics and \lyricsto, which are mostly 
unrelated to \context.

> > > I'm not proposing that \context Foo = "bar" *couldn't* create a new
> > > context, though, as I don't think there's any error-checking benefit to
> > > that and it would break all the old files.

I'm all for it, but we should postpone this change for lilypond 3.0, 
where we will have ample opportunity to break old files :-)

> How much do beginners need to use \context, though?  (if we allow \new 
> Voice="alto")

Almost none.

--
 Han-Wen Nienhuys - address@hidden - http://www.xs4all.nl/~hanwen