Hi all, It is difficult to put into words how happy I am using Lilypond. I had to use Sibelius for a project last year, and it was pure torture. As the old saying [almost] goes: “They’ll have to pry Lilypond out of my cold, dead hands!”
Exhibit A: I’m in data-entry mode (i.e., not concerned about visuals/tweaking *at all*), and the screenshot attached is what the top half of the page of my octavo score looks like at this moment. Incredible! There are zero [!!] manual tweaks on that page — what you see is what comes out “automagically”, based solely on Lilypond’s amazing layout engine and my stylesheets. So obviously what follows is a “first world problem” of the highest order… If you look at the first measure of the third system, you can see that the note spacing is distorted by various things (lyrics, accidentals, etc.). But clearly there’s more than enough horizontal room to make those eighth notes absolutely even — in fact, that kind of thing is what the majority of my post-data-entry tweak time is dedicated to. [Again: When I used Finale <shudder>, it took hours or even days to get from “the data is all in” to looking like this already looks… so I’m not complaining!] I would love to be able to say “Dear Specialized Scheme Engraver: Please take measure 7, even out the note-spacing, and make the ‘obvious’ necessary adjustments so that everything looks amazing.” How difficult would such a function/engraver be to design? Thanks, Kieren. ______________________________________________ My work day may look different than your work day. Please do not feel obligated to read or respond to this email outside of your normal working hours.
