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1.1.4 Note heads
This section suggests ways of altering note heads.
Special note heads | ||
Easy notation note heads | ||
Shape note heads | ||
Improvisation |
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Special note heads
The appearance of note heads may be altered:
\relative c'' { c4 b \override NoteHead.style = #'cross c4 b \revert NoteHead.style a b \override NoteHead.style = #'harmonic a b \revert NoteHead.style c4 d e f }
To see all note head styles, see Note head styles.
The cross
style is used to represent a variety of musical
intentions. The following generic predefined commands modify the
note head in both staff and tablature contexts and can be used to
represent any musical meaning:
\relative { c''4 b \xNotesOn a b c4 b \xNotesOff c4 d }
The music function form of this predefined command may be used inside and outside chords to generate crossed note heads in both staff and tablature contexts:
\relative { c''4 b \xNote { e f } c b < g \xNote c f > b }
As synonyms for \xNote
, \xNotesOn
and \xNotesOff
,
\deadNote
, \deadNotesOn
and \deadNotesOff
can
be used. The term dead note is commonly used by guitarists.
There is also a similar shorthand for diamond shapes:
\relative c'' { <c f\harmonic>2 <d a'\harmonic>4 <c g'\harmonic> f\harmonic }
Predefined commands
\harmonic
,
\xNotesOn
,
\xNotesOff
,
\xNote
.
See also
Snippets: Pitches.
Notation Reference: Note head styles, Chorded notes, Indicating harmonics and dampened notes.
Internals Reference: note-event, Note_heads_engraver, Ledger_line_engraver, NoteHead, LedgerLineSpanner, note-head-interface, ledger-line-spanner-interface.
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Easy notation note heads
The ‘easy play’ note head includes a note name inside the head. It is used in music for beginners. To make the letters readable, it should be printed in a large font size. To print with a larger font, see Setting the staff size.
#(set-global-staff-size 26) \relative c' { \easyHeadsOn c2 e4 f g1 \easyHeadsOff c,1 }
Predefined commands
\easyHeadsOn
,
\easyHeadsOff
.
Selected Snippets
Numbers as easy note heads
Easy notation note heads use the note-names
property of the
NoteHead
object to determine what appears inside the note head.
By overriding this property, it is possible to print numbers
representing the scale-degree.
A simple engraver can be created to do this for every note head object it sees.
#(define Ez_numbers_engraver (make-engraver (acknowledgers ((note-head-interface engraver grob source-engraver) (let* ((context (ly:translator-context engraver)) (tonic-pitch (ly:context-property context 'tonic)) (tonic-name (ly:pitch-notename tonic-pitch)) (grob-pitch (ly:event-property (event-cause grob) 'pitch)) (grob-name (ly:pitch-notename grob-pitch)) (delta (modulo (- grob-name tonic-name) 7)) (note-names (make-vector 7 (number->string (1+ delta))))) (ly:grob-set-property! grob 'note-names note-names)))))) #(set-global-staff-size 26) \layout { ragged-right = ##t \context { \Voice \consists \Ez_numbers_engraver } } \relative c' { \easyHeadsOn c4 d e f g4 a b c \break \key a \major a,4 b cis d e4 fis gis a \break \key d \dorian d,4 e f g a4 b c d }
See also
Notation Reference: Setting the staff size.
Snippets: Pitches.
Internals Reference: note-event, Note_heads_engraver, NoteHead, note-head-interface.
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Shape note heads
In shape note head notation, the shape of the note head corresponds to the harmonic function of a note in the scale. This notation was popular in nineteenth-century American song books. Shape note heads can be produced in Sacred Harp, Southern Harmony, Funk (Harmonia Sacra), Walker, and Aiken (Christian Harmony) styles:
\relative c'' { \aikenHeads c, d e f g2 a b1 c \break \aikenThinHeads c,4 d e f g2 a b1 c \break \sacredHarpHeads c,4 d e f g2 a b1 c \break \southernHarmonyHeads c,4 d e f g2 a b1 c \break \funkHeads c,4 d e f g2 a b1 c \break \walkerHeads c,4 d e f g2 a b1 c \break }
Shapes are typeset according to the step in the scale, where the base
of the scale is determined by the \key
command. When writing
in a minor key, the scale step can be determined from the relative
major:
\relative c'' { \key a \minor \aikenHeads a b c d e2 f g1 a \break \aikenHeadsMinor a,4 b c d e2 f g1 a \break \aikenThinHeadsMinor a,4 b c d e2 f g1 a \break \sacredHarpHeadsMinor a,2 b c d \break \southernHarmonyHeadsMinor a2 b c d \break \funkHeadsMinor a2 b c d \break \walkerHeadsMinor a2 b c d \break }
Predefined commands
\aikenHeads
,
\aikenHeadsMinor
,
\aikenThinHeads
,
\aikenThinHeadsMinor
,
\funkHeads
,
\funkHeadsMinor
,
\sacredHarpHeads
,
\sacredHarpHeadsMinor
,
\southernHarmonyHeads
,
\southernHarmonyHeadsMinor
,
\walkerHeads
,
\walkerHeadsMinor
.
Selected Snippets
Aiken head thin variant noteheads
Aiken head white notes get harder to read at smaller staff sizes, especially with ledger lines. Losing interior white space makes them appear as quarter notes.
} % END EXAMPLE
Applying note head styles depending on the step of the scale
The shapeNoteStyles
property can be used to define various note
head styles for each step of the scale (as set by the key signature or
the tonic
property). This property requires a set of symbols,
which can be purely arbitrary (geometrical expressions such as
triangle
, cross
, and xcircle
are allowed) or based
on old American engraving tradition (some latin note names are also
allowed).
That said, to imitate old American song books, there are several
predefined note head styles available through shortcut commands such as
\aikenHeads
or \sacredHarpHeads
.
This example shows different ways to obtain shape note heads, and demonstrates the ability to transpose a melody without losing the correspondence between harmonic functions and note head styles.
fragment = { \key c \major c2 d e2 f g2 a b2 c } \new Staff { \transpose c d \relative c' { \set shapeNoteStyles = ##(do re mi fa #f la ti) \fragment } \break \relative c' { \set shapeNoteStyles = ##(cross triangle fa #f mensural xcircle diamond) \fragment } }
To see all note head styles, see Note head styles.
See also
Snippets: Pitches.
Notation Reference: Note head styles.
Internals Reference: note-event, Note_heads_engraver, NoteHead, note-head-interface.
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Improvisation
Improvisation is sometimes denoted with slashed note heads, where the performer may choose any pitch but should play the specified rhythm. Such note heads can be created:
\new Voice \with { \consists "Pitch_squash_engraver" } \relative { e''8 e g a a16( bes) a8 g \improvisationOn e8 ~ 2 ~ 8 f4 f8 ~ 2 \improvisationOff a16( bes) a8 g e }
Predefined commands
\improvisationOn
,
\improvisationOff
.
See also
Snippets: Pitches.
Internals Reference: Pitch_squash_engraver, Voice, RhythmicStaff.
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