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1.5.2 Multiple voices
This section discusses simultaneous notes in multiple voices or multiple staves.
Single-staff polyphony | ||
Voice styles | ||
Collision resolution | ||
Automatic part combining | ||
Writing music in parallel |
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Single-staff polyphony
Explicitly instantiating voices
The basic structure needed to achieve multiple independent voices in a single staff is illustrated in the following example:
\new Staff << \new Voice = "first" { \voiceOne r8 r16 g e8. f16 g8[ c,] f e16 d } \new Voice= "second" { \voiceTwo d16 c d8~ d16 b c8~ c16 b c8~ c16 b8. } >>
Here, voices are instantiated explicitly and are given names. The
\voiceOne
... \voiceFour
commands set up the voices
so that first and third voices get stems up, second and fourth
voices get stems down, third and fourth voice note heads are
horizontally shifted, and rests in the respective voices are
automatically moved to avoid collisions. The \oneVoice
command returns all the voice settings to the neutral default
directions.
Temporary polyphonic passages
A temporary polyphonic passage can be created with the following construct:
<< { \voiceOne ... } \new Voice { \voiceTwo ... } >> \oneVoice
Here, the first expression within a temporary polyphonic passage is
placed into the Voice
context which was in use immediately
before the polyphonic passage, and that same Voice
context
continues after the temporary section. Other expressions within
the angle brackets are assigned to distinct temporary voices.
This allows lyrics to be assigned to one continuing voice before,
during and after a polyphonic section:
<< \new Voice = "melody" { a4 << { \voiceOne g f } \new Voice { \voiceTwo d2 } >> \oneVoice e4 } \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" { This is my song. } >>
Here, the \voiceOne
and \voiceTwo
commands are
required to define the settings of each voice.
The double backslash construct
The << {...} \\ {...} >>
construct, where the two (or
more) expressions are separated by double backslashes, behaves
differently to the similar construct without the double backslashes:
all the expressions within this construct are assigned
to new Voice
contexts. These new Voice
contexts
are created implicitly and are given the fixed names "1"
,
"2"
, etc.
The first example could be typeset as follows:
<< { r8 r16 g e8. f16 g8[ c,] f e16 d } \\ { d16 c d8~ d16 b c8~ c16 b c8~ c16 b8. } >>
This syntax can be used where it does not matter that temporary
voices are created and then discarded. These implicitly created
voices are given the settings equivalent to the effect of the
\voiceOne
... \voiceFour
commands, in the order in
which they appear in the code.
In the following example, the intermediate voice has stems up, therefore we enter it in the third place, so it becomes voice three, which has the stems up as desired. Spacer rests are used to avoid printing doubled rests.
<< { r8 g g g g f16 ees f8 d } \\ { ees,8 r ees r d r d r } \\ { d'8 s c s bes s a s } >>
In all but the simplest works it is advisable to create explicit
Voice
contexts as explained in
Contexts and engravers and
Explicitly instantiating voices.
Voice order
When entering multiple voices in the input file, use the following order:
Voice 1: highest Voice 2: lowest Voice 3: second highest Voice 4: second lowest Voice 5: third highest Voice 6: third lowest etc.
Though this may seem counterintuitive, it simplifies the automatic layout process. Note that the odd-numbered voices are given upstems, and the even-numbered voices are given downstems:
\new Staff << \time 2/4 { f''2 } % 1: highest \\ { c'2 } % 2: lowest \\ { d''2 } % 3: second-highest \\ { e'2 } % 4: second-lowest \\ { b'2 } % 5: third-highest \\ { g'2 } % 6: third-lowest >>
Identical rhythms
In the special case that we want to typeset parallel pieces of music
that have the same rhythm, we can combine them into a single
Voice
context, thus forming chords. To achieve this, enclose
them in a simple simultaneous music construct within an explicit voice:
\new Voice << { e4 f8 d e16 f g8 d4 } { c4 d8 b c16 d e8 b4 } >>
This method leads to strange beamings and warnings if the pieces of music do not have the same rhythm.
Predefined commands
\voiceOne
,
\voiceTwo
,
\voiceThree
,
\voiceFour
,
\oneVoice
.
See also
Learning Manual: Voices contain music, Explicitly instantiating voices.
Notation Reference: Percussion staves, Invisible rests, Stems.
Snippets: Simultaneous notes.
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Voice styles
Voices may be given distinct colors and shapes, allowing them to be easily identified:
<< { \voiceOneStyle d4 c2 b4 } \\ { \voiceTwoStyle e,2 e } \\ { \voiceThreeStyle b2. c4 } \\ { \voiceFourStyle g'2 g } >>
The \voiceNeutralStyle
command is used to revert to the
standard presentation.
Predefined commands
\voiceOneStyle
,
\voiceTwoStyle
,
\voiceThreeStyle
,
\voiceFourStyle
,
\voiceNeutralStyle
.
See also
Learning Manual: I'm hearing Voices, Other sources of information.
Snippets: Simultaneous notes.
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[ < Voice styles ] | [ Up : Multiple voices ] | [ Automatic part combining > ] |
Collision resolution
The note heads of notes in different voices with the same pitch, same note head and opposite stem direction are automatically merged, but notes with different note heads or the same stem direction are not. Rests opposite a stem in a different voice are shifted vertically. The following example shows three different circumstances, on beats 1 and 3 in bar 1 and beat 1 in bar 2, where the automatic merging fails.
<< { c8 d e d c d c4 g'2 fis } \\ { c2 c8. b16 c4 e,2 r } \\ { \oneVoice s1 e8 a b c d2 } >>
Notes with different note heads may be merged, with the exception of half-note heads and quarter-note heads, as shown below. Here the note heads on beat 1 of bar 1 are now merged:
<< { \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn c8 d e d c d c4 g'2 fis } \\ { c2 c8. b16 c4 e,2 r } \\ { \oneVoice s1 e8 a b c d2 } >>
Note heads with different dots as shown in beat 3 of bar 1 may be also be merged:
<< { \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn c8 d e d c d c4 g'2 fis } \\ { c2 c8. b16 c4 e,2 r } \\ { \oneVoice s1 e8 a b c d2 } >>
The half note and eighth note at the start of the second measure
are incorrectly merged because the automatic merge cannot
successfully complete the merge when three or more notes line up in
the same note column, and in this case the merged note head is
incorrect. To allow the merge to select the correct note head
a \shift
must be applied to the note that should not be
merged. Here, \shiftOn
is applied to move the top
g out of the column, and \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
then works properly.
<< { \mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn \mergeDifferentlyDottedOn c8 d e d c d c4 \shiftOn g'2 fis } \\ { c2 c8. b16 c4 e,2 r } \\ { \oneVoice s1 e8 a b c d2 } >>
The \shiftOn
command allows (but does not force) the notes
in a voice to be shifted. When \shiftOn
is applied to a
voice, a note or chord in that voice is shifted only if its stem
would otherwise collide with a stem from another voice, and only
if the colliding stems point in the same direction. The
\shiftOff
command prevents this type of shifting from
occurring.
By default, the outer voices (normally voices one and two) have
\shiftOff
specified, while the inner voices (three and
above) have \shiftOn
specified. When a shift is applied,
voices with upstems (odd-numbered voices) are shifted to the
right, and voices with downstems (even-numbered voices) are
shifted to the left.
Here is an example to help you visualize how an abbreviated polyphonic expression would be expanded internally.
Note: Note that with three or more voices, the vertical order of voices in your input file should not be the same as the vertical order of voices on the staff!
\new Staff \relative c'' { %% abbreviated entry << { f2 } % 1: highest \\ { g,2 } % 2: lowest \\ { d'2 } % 3: upper middle \\ { b2 } % 4: lower middle >> %% internal expansion of the above << \new Voice = "1" { \voiceOne \shiftOff f'2 } \new Voice = "2" { \voiceTwo \shiftOff g,2 } \new Voice = "3" { \voiceThree \shiftOn d'2 } % shifts right \new Voice = "4" { \voiceFour \shiftOn b2 } % shifts left >> }
Two additional commands, \shiftOnn
and \shiftOnnn
provide further shift levels which may be specified temporarily to
resolve collisions in complex situations – see
Real music example.
Notes are only merged if they have opposing stem directions (as they have, for example, in voices one and two by default or when the stems are explicitly set in opposite directions).
Predefined commands
\mergeDifferentlyDottedOn
,
\mergeDifferentlyDottedOff
,
\mergeDifferentlyHeadedOn
,
\mergeDifferentlyHeadedOff
.
\shiftOn
,
\shiftOnn
,
\shiftOnnn
,
\shiftOff
.
Selected Snippets
Additional voices to avoid collisions
In some instances of complex polyphonic music, additional voices are
necessary to prevent collisions between notes. If more than four
parallel voices are needed, additional voices can be added by defining
a variable using the Scheme function context-spec-music
.
voiceFive = #(context-spec-music (make-voice-props-set 4) 'Voice) \relative c'' { \time 3/4 \key d \minor \partial 2 << { \voiceOne a4. a8 e'4 e4. e8 f4 d4. c8 } \\ { \voiceThree f,2 bes4 a2 a4 s2 } \\ { \voiceFive s2 g4 g2 f4 f2 } \\ \bar "||"{ \voiceTwo d2 d4 cis2 d4 bes2 } >> }
Forcing horizontal shift of notes
When the typesetting engine cannot cope, the following syntax can be used to override typesetting decisions. The units of measure used here are staff spaces.
\relative c' << { <d g>2 <d g> } \\ { <b f'>2 \once \override NoteColumn #'force-hshift = #1.7 <b f'>2 } >>
See also
Music Glossary: polyphony.
Learning Manual: Multiple notes at once, Voices contain music, Real music example.
Snippets: Simultaneous notes.
Internals Reference: NoteColumn, NoteCollision, RestCollision.
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Automatic part combining
Automatic part combining is used to merge two parts of music onto a staff. It is aimed at typesetting orchestral scores. When the two parts are identical for a period of time, only one is shown. In places where the two parts differ, they are typeset as separate voices, and stem directions are set automatically. Also, solo and a due parts are identified and marked by default.
The syntax for part combining is:
\partcombine musicexpr1 musicexpr2
The following example demonstrates the basic functionality of the part combiner: putting parts on one staff and setting stem directions and polyphony. The same variables are used for the independent parts and the combined staff.
instrumentOne = \relative c' { c4 d e f R1 d'4 c b a b4 g2 f4 e1 } instrumentTwo = \relative g' { R1 g4 a b c d c b a g f( e) d e1 } << \new Staff \instrumentOne \new Staff \instrumentTwo \new Staff \partcombine \instrumentOne \instrumentTwo >>
The notes in the third measure appear only once, although they were
specified in both parts. Stem, slur, and tie directions are set
automatically, depending whether there is a solo or unison. When
needed in polyphony situations, the first part (with context called
one
) always gets up stems, while the second (called two
)
always gets down stems. In solo situations, the first and second
parts get marked with “Solo” and “Solo II”, respectively. The
unison (a due) parts are marked by default with the text
“a2”.
Both arguments to \partcombine
will be interpreted as
Voice
contexts. If using relative octaves,
\relative
should be specified for both music expressions,
i.e.,
\partcombine \relative … musicexpr1 \relative … musicexpr2
A \relative
section that is outside of \partcombine
has no effect on the pitches of musicexpr1
and
musicexpr2
.
In professional scores, voices are often kept apart for long periods,
even if one or two notes actually coincide and could easily be printed
as unison. Combining notes into a chord, or showing one voice as solo
is therefore not ideal as the \partcombine
function considers
each note separately. For this reason, the \partcombine
function
can be overriden with the following commands:
-
\partcombineApart
,\partcombineApartOnce
: Keep the notes as two separate voices, even if they can be combined to a chord or unison. -
\partcombineChords
,\partcombineChordsOnce
: Combine the notes to a chord. -
\partcombineUnisono
,\partcombineUnisonoOnce
: The two voices are unison. -
\partcombineSoloI
,\partcombineSoloIOnce
: Show only voice one and mark it as solo. -
\partcombineSoloII
,\partcombineSoloIIOnce
: Show only voice two and mark it as solo. -
\partcombineAutomatic
,\partcombineAutomaticOnce
: Ends the effect of the special commands above, and returns to the default part combining mechanism.
All commands ending in ...Once
apply only to the following note.
instrumentOne = \relative c' { \partcombineApart c2^"apart" e | \partcombineAutomatic e^"auto" e | \partcombineChords e'^"chord" e | \partcombineAutomatic c^"auto" c | \partcombineApart c^"apart" \partcombineChordsOnce e^"chord once" | c c | } instrumentTwo = \relative c' { c2 c | e2 e | a,2 c | c2 c' | c2 c | c2 c | } << \new Staff { \instrumentOne } \new Staff { \instrumentTwo } \new Staff { \partcombine \instrumentOne \instrumentTwo } >>
Selected Snippets
Combining two parts on the same staff
The part combiner tool ( \partcombine
command ) allows the
combination of several different parts on the same staff. Text
directions such as “solo” or “a2” are added by default; to remove
them, simply set the property printPartCombineTexts
to f
.
For vocal scores (hymns), there is no need to add “solo/a2” texts,
so they should be switched off. However, it might be better not to use
it if there are any solos, as they won’t be indicated. In such cases,
standard polyphonic notation may be preferable.
This snippet presents the three ways two parts can be printed on a same
staff: standard polyphony, \partcombine
without texts, and
\partcombine
with texts.
musicUp = \relative c'' { \time 4/4 a4 c4.( g8) a4 | g4 e' g,( a8 b) | c b a2. } musicDown = \relative c'' { g4 e4.( d8) c4 | r2 g'4( f8 e) | d2 \stemDown a } \score { << << \new Staff { \set Staff.instrumentName = #"Standard polyphony" << \musicUp \\ \musicDown >> } \new Staff \with { printPartCombineTexts = ##f } { \set Staff.instrumentName = #"PartCombine without texts" \partcombine \musicUp \musicDown } \new Staff { \set Staff.instrumentName = #"PartCombine with texts" \partcombine \musicUp \musicDown } >> >> \layout { indent = 6.0\cm \context { \Score \override SystemStartBar #'collapse-height = #30 } } }
Changing partcombine texts
When using the automatic part combining feature, the printed text for the solo and unison sections may be changed:
\new Staff << \set Staff.soloText = #"girl" \set Staff.soloIIText = #"boy" \set Staff.aDueText = #"together" \partcombine \relative c'' { g4 g r r a2 g } \relative c'' { r4 r a( b) a2 g } >>
See also
Notation Reference: Writing parts.
Snippets: Simultaneous notes.
Internals Reference: PartCombineMusic, Voice.
Known issues and warnings
\partcombine
can only accept two voices.
When printPartCombineTexts
is set, if the two voices play
the same notes on and off, the part combiner may typeset a2
more than once in a measure.
\partcombine
cannot be inside \times
.
\partcombine
cannot be inside \relative
.
Internally, the \partcombine
interprets both arguments as
Voice
s and decides when the parts can be combined. When they have
different durations they cannot be combined and are given the names
one
and two
. Consequently, if the arguments switch to
differently named
Voice contexts, the events in those will
be ignored. Likewise, partcombining isn’t designed to work with lyrics;
when one of the voices is explicitly named in order to attach lyrics to
it, the partcombining stops working.
\partcombine
only observes onset times of notes. It cannot
determine whether a previously started note is playing or not, leading
to various problems.
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Writing music in parallel
Music for multiple parts can be interleaved in input code. The
function \parallelMusic
accepts a list with the names of a
number of variables to be created, and a musical expression. The
content of alternate measures from the expression become the value
of the respective variables, so you can use them afterwards to
print the music.
Note: Bar checks |
must be used, and the measures must
be of the same length.
\parallelMusic #'(voiceA voiceB voiceC) { % Bar 1 r8 g'16 c'' e'' g' c'' e'' r8 g'16 c'' e'' g' c'' e'' | r16 e'8.~ e'4 r16 e'8.~ e'4 | c'2 c'2 | % Bar 2 r8 a'16 d'' f'' a' d'' f'' r8 a'16 d'' f'' a' d'' f'' | r16 d'8.~ d'4 r16 d'8.~ d'4 | c'2 c'2 | } \new StaffGroup << \new Staff << \voiceA \\ \voiceB >> \new Staff { \clef bass \voiceC } >>
Relative mode may be used. Note that the \relative
command
is not used inside \parallelMusic
itself. The notes are
relative to the preceding note in the voice, not to the previous
note in the input – in other words, relative notes for
voiceA
ignore the notes in voiceB
.
\parallelMusic #'(voiceA voiceB voiceC) { % Bar 1 r8 g16 c e g, c e r8 g,16 c e g, c e | r16 e8.~ e4 r16 e8.~ e4 | c2 c | % Bar 2 r8 a,16 d f a, d f r8 a,16 d f a, d f | r16 d8.~ d4 r16 d8.~ d4 | c2 c | } \new StaffGroup << \new Staff << \relative c'' \voiceA \\ \relative c' \voiceB >> \new Staff \relative c' { \clef bass \voiceC } >>
This works quite well for piano music. This example maps four consecutive measures to four variables:
global = { \key g \major \time 2/4 } \parallelMusic #'(voiceA voiceB voiceC voiceD) { % Bar 1 a8 b c d | d4 e | c16 d e fis d e fis g | a4 a | % Bar 2 e8 fis g a | fis4 g | e16 fis g a fis g a b | a4 a | % Bar 3 ... } \score { \new PianoStaff << \new Staff { \global << \relative c'' \voiceA \\ \relative c' \voiceB >> } \new Staff { \global \clef bass << \relative c \voiceC \\ \relative c \voiceD >> } >> }
See also
Learning Manual: Organizing pieces with variables.
Snippets: Simultaneous notes.
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