Re: Interpreter Reports: "Programming Error: Moment Not Increasting"

[Valentin Villenave]

2007/8/5, Andy Cowan <address@hidden>:

> So, looking at what you sent me, it looks like I can \addlyrics to the
> repeated music, but not to the alternative(s).  Is that right?

As you can see in the Documentation (7.3.3.1), the \addlyric command
is just a shortcut. The real syntax is
\new Lyrics \lyricsto "yourvoice" \lyricmode { your ly -- rics }

So when you use \addlyrics, lilypond has to guess which is the right
voice to align lyrics with. When it comes to more complex (e.g.
polyphonic, or repeat/alternatives) music, you have to help LilyPond
(what I did here).

> Also, can you explain exactly what the << >> grouping symbols do?  I've
> tried to use them similarly to how the examples in the documentation do, but
> I haven't found a good explanation to indicate when and how they _should_ be
> used.

the << >> construction indicates simultaneous events (see 2.3.1 in the manual).
these events can be music expressions, or lyrics as well. that being
said, they're not required here, as the \addlyrics or \lyricsto
commands already imply simultaneity.

This construction will be much more useful if you add a second Voice,
a second Staff or a piano accompaniment to your song.

> And one final question: the first \addlyrics in this file is commented out
> because when I tried to add lyrics for the pickup notes at the beginning of
> the son, lilypond put them on the first two notes of the first full bar
> instead.  I tried putting in an \addlyrics immediately after the \partial,
> but that generated a syntax error.  What is the proper method for adding
> lyrics to the pickup notes at the beginning of a song?

Oh yes, I should have removed your commented \addlyrics. The point is:
pickup notes are like any other note. So you do not have to do
anything special, the lyrics will be aligned from the beginning of
your voice -- which doesn't start at the double barline but at the
very first note of the partial measure.

In fact, what I did here is to put, like you did, a second lyrics line
for the second verse; since pickup notes, in LilyPond, are no
different from the others, this line would have started under the
pickup notes as well just like in the first verse, so I had to add two
_ _ signs (before "rained") so the lyrics skip the first two notes.

You're welcome to read more about it in the user manual, particularly
the 7.3 ("Vocal music") section, which has just been rewritten to make
all these things easier to understand.

Regards,
Valentin