Re: An unusual feature request concerning FiguredBass

[Robert Blackstone]

Hi Kieren,

Your version  did help me enormously. Thank you very much.
The whole score is now what it should be.
I usually work with separate voices to be collected in the score, but with the 
extra BC-line I could not get it right.  I spent most of this day wondering 
what the hell the error messages told me.

Since I expect that more scores like this will be coming my way I have saved 
the skeleton as a template.

Thanks again.

Best regards,

Robert Blackstone


On 29 Apr 2018, at 19:06 , Kieren MacMillan <address@hidden> wrote:

> Hi Robert,
> 
>> Whatever I tried, it stubbornly kept "bass" for both staves. What am I doing 
>> wrong?
> 
> There’s a spurious instrument name setting. But given the structure of your 
> code, it’s very hard to spot.
> 
> Might I suggest putting all of your note code into variables, then building 
> them together in the score later, so that the code is easier [for a human] to 
> parse? Something like:
> 
> %%%   SNIPPET BEGINS
> \version "2.19.80"
> 
> #(define-markup-command (stack layout props args) (markup-list?)
>   (interpret-markup layout props
>     #{ \markup \tiny \raise #0.5 \general-align #Y #CENTER
>        \override #'(baseline-skip . 2) \right-column #args #}))
> 
> sha = \markup { \fontsize #-3 \sharp }
> natu = \markup { \fontsize #-3 \natural }
> fla = \markup {  \fontsize #-3 \flat }
> 
> theMelody = {
>  \clef "treble"
>  \key f \major
>  \time 4/2
>  \set Staff.instrumentName = #"Cantus"
>  \set Staff.timeSignatureFraction = 2/2
>  d''1 d''2 cis''2  | %P1V1-1
>  d''1 f''1 | %P1V1-2
>  cis''2 d''2 e''1 | %P1V1-3
>  d''2 \rest e''2 e''2 d''2 | %P1V1-4
> }
> 
> theLyrics = \lyricmode {
>  \set associatedVoice = "melody"
>  TO1 heare2 me,2 Lord,1 be1 thou2 in-2 cline'd;1 2
>  My2 thoughts2 O2
> }
> 
> theBass = {
>  \clef "bass"
>  \key f \major
>  \time 4/2
>  \set Staff.timeSignatureFraction = 2/2
>  d1 d2 a2| %P4V1-1
>  bes1 f1| %P4V1-2
>  a2 d2 a,1 | %P4V1-3
>  g,2 \rest a,2 c2 d2 | %P4V1-4
> }
> 
> figures_upper = \figuremode {
>  < Pretonal >2  < _ >2 < _ >2 < _ >2 | %BC-1
>  < 5 >2  < 6 >2 < 6 >2 < _ >2 | %BC-2
>  < _ >2  < _ >2 < \sha >2 < _ >2 | %BC-3
>  < _ >2  < 5 >2 < 5 >2 < 5 >2 | %BC-4
> }
> 
> figures_lower = \figuremode {
>  < Tonal >2  < _ >2 < _ >2 < _ >2     %1
>  < 6 >2  < _ >2 < _ >2 < _ >2 %2
>  < _ >2  < _ >2 < _ >2 < _ >2 %3
>  < _ >2  < 5 >2 < 6 >2 < 6 >2 %4
> }
> 
> \score {
>  \new StaffGroup
>  <<
>    \new Staff
>    <<
>      \new Voice = "melody" \theMelody
>      \new Lyrics \theLyrics
>>> 
>    \new Staff
>      \with {
>        instrumentName = "Bass"
>        \override VerticalAxisGroup.staff-staff-spacing.basic-distance = 5
>      }
>      \new Voice \theBass
>    \new FiguredBass
>      \with {
>        \override VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-unrelatedstaff-spacing =
>        #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 0) (padding . 0.5) 
> (stretchability . 10))
>      }
>      \figures_upper
>    \new RhythmicStaff s1*8
>    \new FiguredBass
>      \with {
>        \override VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing =
>          #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 0) (padding . 0.5) 
> (stretchability . 5))
>      }
>      \figures_lower
>>> 
>  \layout {
>    \context {
>      \RhythmicStaff
>      \omit TimeSignature
>      \omit BarLine
>    }
>  }
> }
> %%%  SNIPPET ENDS
> 
> I’ve done a couple of other things to simplify the \score block — such as 
> tweaking the \RhythmicStaff context in the layout block rather than inline — 
> and there are more things you could (and I would!) do to take this philosophy 
> even further.
> 
>> The vertical line at the beginning of the figured bass lines does not bother 
>> me, but I would like to be able to interrupt the horizontal line between the 
>> two BC-variants in sections whre ther is no second set of figures. Would 
>> that be possible at all?
> 
> No doubt! I just don’t have time to look at that right now.
> 
> Hope this helps!
> Kieren.
> ________________________________
> 
> Kieren MacMillan, composer
> ‣ website: www.kierenmacmillan.info
> ‣ email: address@hidden
>