Joe
Lyrics Documentation RShann/ASchneider ed JKWilkinson
Introduction
To add lyrics to a staff move the cursor onto the staff and choose
Lyrics >> Add Lyric Verse. This normally turns on the Lyrics View and
creates a Lyrics pane below the music.
Each verse has a separate tab, with the current verse for the current
staff being visible at any one time. Verses cannot be re-ordered at
present – but you can cut and paste between verses if verses must be
inserted later.
Lyrics are attached to a Staff/Voice. This means that
* you will see the lyrics for the current staff disappear from
the Display Window when you switch staffs, which can be
disconcerting, but saves space in the display
* lyrics are deleted if the staff is deleted, of course.
The Lyric pane shows only a few lines initially, but you can drag it
upwards if you need to see more. Lyrics are entered as a syllables
separated by spaces or new lines (which have no other meaning but
allow you to preseve the lines of a stanza).
You can switch to the lyrics pane with the mouse or using Ctrl-l,
Ctrl-l, and you can switch back from editing the lyrics to editing the
music with the Ctrl-l (or Esc or Tab keys). You can change verses with
Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn keys, change staffs with Ctrl-up/down, and save with
Ctrl-s.
Editing text
Lyrics in Denemo are handled as blocks of text that can be freely
edited in text editor panels that appear as the tabs of a notebook.
The syllables are not attached to the notes, so you can edit the notes
freely without affecting the lyrics. While simply typing or
copy&pasting the text in will be enough for simple pieces, special
syntax is available for more complex tasks (see below)
Visibility
Note that the lyrics for a staff are only shown when the cursor is in
the staff concerned - this saves space in the display, but can be
disconcerting when they vanish from the display as you move to another
staff! It is also possible to toggle the Lyrics panes on and off if
needed, using View Lyrics.
Aligning Notes and Lyrics
Denemo uses Lilypond Typesetter syntax which may be typed direct if
known; some complex expressions can be input using Lyrics Menu items.
Each word or syllable separated by spaces is treated as a single item,
and is put under one or group of notes.
Grouping several words under one note:
* Easiest – enclose the words in double quotes, e.g. .“word1
word2 word3”
Lyrics>>Lyrics Tie will join words in the Lyric Pane with
single underscore or tilde
(typeset as <space> and ˬ respectively). You can type the _
and ~ yourself!
Dividing a word into syllables is best done using
<space><hyphen><hyphen><space>
* Lyrics>> DivideSyllables will put a spaced double hyphen,
typeset as a hyphen halfway between the syllables each aligned
below adjacent notes.
N.B. The obvious alternative, just using a space, may make for
ambiguities,
e.g. “on ion” or “on - ion”, “Put in”, or “Put – in”.
Extending a syllable over several notes (Melisma) e.g in the Gloria of
carol “Ding, dong, Merrily on high” over grouped notes is best done
using
* a slur over the music notes if appropriate,
(for afficionados only!. Manually barring
quavers/eighth-notes, with automatic barring turned off – this
is good practice for choral music anyway – has the same
effect)
Then
* Lyrics>> Melismata>> During Word, with Slur creates
typescript hyphen(s) showing continuation to the end
of the slur
* Lyrics>> Melismata>> Word End , with Slur creates a
typescript Underscore to the end of the slur.
* if notes are not slurred, e.g. Staccato Minims/HalfNotes use:
* Lyrics>> Melismata>> During Word, no Slur spreads the
syllable over two notes inserting hyphen(s) showing
continuation
* Lyrics>> Melismata>> Word End , no Slur spreads the
syllable over two notes inserting Underscore joining
them
* Lyrics>> Melismata>> ExtendMelisma, will add add a spaced
Underscore into the Lyric pane, extending the Melisma by one
note or group of notes.
Notes Without Words, i.e. gaps in the text, may be produced
* with a spaced symbol (if one is required) or by a spaced
undescore or “” or “ “ for each wordless note.
Other Lyrics Menu items
The full possible syntax is given in the LilyPond documentation, but
Denemo provides you with menu items for inserting the most useful
extras such as stanza numbers, font selection and skips.
Insert Highlighted Lyric puts the necessary syntax
e.g. {\bold \italic very}
around a word to embolden and/or italicise it (here the word “
very”).
Insert Stanza Number puts your choice of number at the cursor,
highlighted if necessary. Normally the cursor should be at the
stanza/verse start!
Syllable Alignment allows the text to be aligned with its start or end
below the note (rather than the default Centre). This may be useful
for chanted text.
Skip Syllables in Selection is useful if you have a musical
introduction or interlude in a song. It is probably a preferable
alternative to a series of pairs of double-quotes, one for each
skipped note. Once the text is in the verse, it may be easily edited,
if you have miscounted.
Insert Mirrored Verse permits a mirrored copy of a verse from another
stave to be included, for example when the words for two parts are the
same but on separate staffs. Then if the words need editing, just the
first copy needs to be changed.
Typeset Verses at End allows multiple verse tunes to be laid out with
just some under the music. You are given a choice as to at which verse
to start.
Once you have carried out the process the words are copied to the Page
End text. They also appear in the normal place. On repeating the
command you get a choice of replacing the previously copied text or
adding to it. Assuming you have finished editing the verses theLyric
panes containing them may be safely deleted.
You can also edit the Page End text from this button; For example:
Denemo is a bit generous with vertical spacing – you may like to
reduce it.
Dynamic allows you to put ff, f, p, or pp directly in the music (as a
performance hint)
Change Font allows you to change the font used for a particular (part
of a?) verse from the default to any that are avaiable. You do need to
know the name of the font you wish to use. If you want all your verses
in the same font it may be preferable to change Preferences.
Larger/Smaller Font Size allows you to highlight verses or parts of
them with larger/smaller text.
Typeset On/Off should allow the music to be typeset with or without
the text, when required.