polyphony voices sharing stems? (hymnody feature)

[Ted Walther]

I'm now working on entering my third hymn.  I am finding it a bit
unnatural.

I finally figured out what it is.

Most hymns are sung in four part harmony.  Or three part.  However, they
are entered as piano music. because they are almost always accompanied
by a piano because we moderns don't spend much time memorizing complex
melodies.

In the piano score, the parts are often mingled and confused, by
lilypond standards.  By which I mean, whenever possible, the parts
sharing a stave, also share the same stem.

Is there a mode for entering music this way?

To get the lyrics to match up, I have to use polyphony mode.  But I
don't really want all that polyphony mode entails; I want notes of the
same starting position and duration to share the same stem, unless I
explicity say otherwise.

Failing such a mode, is there a way to get notes on the same stave, but
in different voices to use the same stem?

This is definitely an American hymn music convention.  It generally
leads to more compact representations of the music.

Ted

--
           It's not true unless it makes you laugh,                           
      but you don't understand it until it makes you weep.

Eukleia: Ted Walther
Address: 2459 E 41 Ave, Vancouver, BC  V5R2W2 (Canada)
Contact: 604-435-5787