rest merging (willing to sponsor)

[Arvid Grøtting]

Hi,

in the category for "Coding better typography automation", my choir is willing
to sponsor (within reason) the coding of automatic rest merging within a staff.

Background:

In staffs with multiple voices, common typesetting practice is to merge
simultaneous rests of equal duration that are common to all voices.

Lilypond doesn't do this automatically, and the workarounds I've seen are
impractical (to me), mostly in that they tie me to choosing a particular staff
layout when inputting the music.

Proposal:

Add a Rest_merge_engraver (or something) to the Staff context.

Example:

<< { c4 d r c | R1 | r2 r8 f f4 } \\
   { c4 c r b | R1 | r2 r4   c4 } >>

...should be typeset like this:

<< { c4 d } \\ { c4 c } >> r << c \\ b >> |
R1 |
r2 << { r8 f f4 } \\ { r4 c4 } >>

Is sponsorship of this possible, and at what price?

Cheers,

-- 

Arvid