Re: Inheritance of MIDI settings into embedded contexts?

[Aaron Hill]

On 2020-08-22 8:52 am, Dr. Thomas Tensi wrote:
> I am using lilypond as the frontend for audio production and now I have
> a problem where I do not understand lilypond's internal logic for
> transferring MIDI settings into embedded contexts.
>
> [ . . . ]
>
> This means that the embedded voices are in the MIDI default volume 
> while
> the surrounding notes are in fortissimo (as specified and expected).
>
> My naive assumption is that any setting (also the dynamics for MIDI) is
> inherited by embedded contexts. But this does not seem to be the case.

The Dynamic_performer is part of the Voice context; and the construct << 
... \\ ... >> implicitly creates new Voice contexts.  As such, dynamics 
of notes from different Voices would be expected to be distinct, 
regardless of whether they might occupy the same Staff.


> Personally I find this very impractical, because this leads to loudness
> jumps in the MIDI output when I have some multiple-voice context
> embedded in some macro with the dynamics specified on an outer section
> level. It is simply not modular.
>
> Any ideas on how to cope with that?

\consisting the Dynamic_performer to the Staff (and \removing it from 
the Voice) should apply the current logic to the wider scope:

%%%%
\version "2.19.82"

\score {
    <<
    \new Staff = piano \with { midiInstrument = "acoustic grand" } {
        { \key c \major \time 4/4
          \relative c' { c4\ff << {e f} \\ {c d}>> g } }
    }
    >>
    \layout {}
    \midi {
      \context {
        \Staff
        \consists "Dynamic_performer"
      }
      \context {
        \Voice
        \remove "Dynamic_performer"
      }
    }
}
%%%%

Whether there are any side effects, I do not know.


-- Aaron Hill