Re: Lyric line's vertical position is shifting from one staff system to the next.

[dfro]

I am still trying to work out why the lyric lines are shifting from one 
staff system to the next in my manuscripts.

In studying the documentation and experimenting with code snippets, I 
have noticed some curious lyric line behavior when using the 
VerticalAxisGroup spacing properties. I took the code for the four verse 
hymn from the Learning Manual 3.2.3 and tried playing with it to 
manipulate the vertical position of the lyric lines using 
VerticalAxisGroup overrides.

I think that I have set the correct propertyName's  - 
nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing vs. nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing - going with 
each lyric line.

When I put verse1 and verse2 above the treble staff using the command - 
alignAboveContext = "Upper" - then I can change their vertical position 
with each other and the staff using the padding variable. I can make 
them collide with the staff and each other, if I want to. Setting staff 
affinity DOWN does not seem to be necessary.

I have left Verse3 and Verse4 lyric lines below the staff. If I try to 
change the position of verse3 with the padding variable, it works. I can 
move the lyric line up into the staff, if I want. But, verse4 does not 
respond to any changes (+ or -) in its padding variable. Why is this so?

If I use the command - alignBelowContext = "Upper" - on the Lyrics to 
verse3 and verse4, then the texts switch place. (Uncomment these lines 
in the code to see this behavior.) Also,  the third lyric line (which 
now has VerseFour text in it) does not respond to padding changes, and 
the fourth lyric line (which now has VerseThree text in it) responds to 
the padding variable down and up (to the limit of the third lyric line's 
position). Why is this happening?

Thank you for any help in understanding this.

Peace,
David


%Start of code

\version "2.18.2"

keyTime = { \key c \major \time 4/4 \partial 4 }

SopMusic   = \relative c' { c4 | e4. e8 g4  g    | a4   a   g  }
AltoMusic  = \relative c' { c4 | c4. c8 e4  e    | f4   f   e  }
TenorMusic = \relative c  { e4 | g4. g8 c4.   b8 | a8 b c d e4 }
BassMusic  = \relative c  { c4 | c4. c8 c4  c    | f8 g a b c4 }

VerseOne =
\lyricmode { E -- | ter -- nal fa -- ther, | strong to save, }
VerseTwo   =
\lyricmode { O | Christ, whose voice the | wa -- ters heard, }
VerseThree =
\lyricmode { O | Ho -- ly Spi -- rit, | who didst brood }
VerseFour  =
\lyricmode { O | Tri -- ni -- ty of | love and pow'r }

\score {
      \new ChoirStaff <<
            \new Staff = "Upper" <<
                  \clef "treble"
                  \new Voice = "Sop"  { \voiceOne \keyTime \SopMusic }
                  \new Voice = "Alto" { \voiceTwo \AltoMusic }
                  \new Lyrics \with {
                        \override 
VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing =
                        #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 0) 
(padding . 2) (stretchability . 0))
                        alignAboveContext = "Upper"
                  } \lyricsto "Sop" { \VerseOne   }

                  \new Lyrics \with {
                        \override 
VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing =
                        #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 0) 
(padding . 2) (stretchability . 0))
                        alignAboveContext = "Upper"
                  } \lyricsto "Sop" { \VerseTwo   }

                  \new Lyrics \with {
                        \override 
VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-relatedstaff-spacing =
                        #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 0) 
(padding . 2) (stretchability . 0))
                        %alignBelowContext = "Upper"
                  } \lyricsto "Sop" { \VerseThree }

                  \new Lyrics \with {
                        \override 
VerticalAxisGroup.nonstaff-nonstaff-spacing =
                        #'((basic-distance . 0) (minimum-distance . 0) 
(padding . 2) (stretchability . 0))
                        %alignBelowContext = "Upper"
                  } \lyricsto "Sop" { \VerseFour  }

            >>
            \new Staff = "Lower" <<
                  \clef "bass"
                  \new Voice = "Tenor" { \voiceOne \keyTime \TenorMusic }
                  \new Voice = "Bass"  { \voiceTwo \BassMusic }
            >>
      >>
}

%End of code