Re: More Figured Bass Improvements... (potential sponsorship)

[Trent Johnston]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Han-Wen Nienhuys" <address@hidden>
To: "Trent Johnston" <address@hidden>
Cc: <address@hidden>
Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 3:30 AM
Subject: Re: More Figured Bass Improvements... (potential sponsorship)


| Trent Johnston schreef:
| > Hi Han-Wen and Lilyponders,
| >
| > I am looking at the potential to sponsor more changes to the figured
bass
| > system. While the figured bass system is comphrehensive and looks good
it's
| > placement within a score that needs adjusting. There is often a wide a
gap
| > between the staff and the figures when using the current system (the
case
| > whether the figures are placed below or above the staff). I guess this
is
| > the mixture of both the minimum-Y-extent of the bass staff and the
figured
| > bass line.
| >
| > What I'm looking at sponsoring is changing the figured bass system so
that
| > the figures are closer to the notes. That instead of placing the figures
in
| > one line aligned above the highest note or lowest note that the figures
will
| > change height according to the notes in the score. i.e. figures are
placed
| > closer to the bass part and their heights change on a note by note
basis. I
| > know Nicholas Sceaux has an alternative figured-bass scheme that
positions a
| > figure in relation to the note that it is associated with. While this is
a
| > good alternative it doesn't have the extender lines of the new system.
| >
| > Could the two system be possibly put together?
| >
| > Or maybe way where the figures are placed close to the top line or
bottom
| > line depending on which way there user wants and the user can define
padding
| > for the individual or groups of figures that need to changed?
| >
| > Ideally the second option would be good as this would give the user more
| > control over the system.
|
| Hello,
|
| I think I know a good solution to this: I can make another engraver,
| which positions a consecutive range of figured bass numbers (created by
| the current engraver) above or below a staff.  By putting it in the
| Staff context, the vertical alignment can react to individual notes.
|
| The syntax for this would be similar to
|
|
|    theFigures = \figuremode { .... }
|    \new Staff \with {
|      \consists Figured_bass_side_engraver
|    } <<
|       \new Voice \with {
|          \consists Figured_bass_engraver
|       } <<
|           \theBassMelody
|           \theFigures
|       >>
|    >>
|
| where theFigures and theBassMelody contain the figures and the bass line
| respectively.
|
| I can do this for 130 EUR.
|
| > Also I was looking at making the numbers 10 / 11 / 12  as one symbol.
This
| > would make the numbers as in:
|
|  > 10
| > 5
| > 3
| >
| > centred in the group rather than left aligned.
|
| I can add a property which specifies the alignment of individual
| figures, I can do this for 20 EUR.  For completeness, I need to know how
| you want those numbers aligned when there are alterations.
|
| (Or, if you're clever with markups and Scheme, you can have a try
| yourself, see  format-bass-figure in translation-functions.scm)
|
| -- 
|
| Han-Wen Nienhuys - address@hidden - http://www.xs4all.nl/~hanwen
|
| LilyPond Software Design
|   -- Code for Music Notation
| http://www.lilypond-design.com
|

Hi Han-Wen,

That sounds great. I would love to sponsor both features: the figured bass
as well as the alignment of individual figures.

I'm assuming that the figures 10 / 11 / 12 etc would be centered instead of
left alined like the other figures.

Could we also put a blank figure in... this would be good to help with using
extenders etc.

I've included two diagrams one "01Figures" shows a possibility if there is
no blank figure. The figure is just above the line because the bass note is
within the staff but when the continuation lines end there is a f above the
line which could possibily mean that the lines would run through the f.

"02Figure" shows the ideal is that the figures are raised because the
continuation line ends on the f.

so a coding of <__ 5 6>  <__ 5 6> 'double underscore' as a blank figure or
possibly <__ __ 5 6> <__ __ 5 6> so raise the figures higher.

Or could this be done automatically?

Anyway I leave it up to you as to what is easier and more effective.

Thanks,

Trent

02Figures.PNG
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01Figures.PNG
Description: PNG image