Re: beginner stanza help

[Abraham Lee]

On Tue, Sep 9, 2014 at 10:01 PM, Steven Arntson <address@hidden> wrote:

Thanks for this, it helps. I'm struggling to understand this program with very little background, and it is like spelunking without a headlamp. Consequently, I fear asking questions that are not worth answering. I thought I could get the entire "text" of the lyric entered as a single variable, to keep my \score simple. Is it typical to break up a lyric into several variables, and then reassemble them all in the \score block? Part of my confusion stems from uncertainty regarding large form---how to break things into variables and reassemble them in \score. I have no sense of what the best practices are ... and, I admit, I have not read the entire manual. best, steven arntson _______________________________________________ lilypond-user mailing list address@hidden https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-user

Steven,

The worst thing you can do is to NOT ask! That's why this list is here. LilyPond can be difficult at first, but once you go through a few scores, you realize just how convenient the syntax is and things come a lot quicker the next time you do one.

As for what kinds of things are "standard practice", I have found that putting things in their own variables to be most helpful when I'm structuring the score itself. That doesn't mean that everything has to be in one, but it can be helpful for organizing the actual score structure, at least it is for me.

In relation to the online manual, there is a WEALTH of information there. I have read through nearly all of them (which really helps) and I can say that they are generously and meticulously created in a way to cover more situations than you'll likely ever experience or need. 

That being said, I have to echo what others have mentioned, do your best to find the solution in the manuals. If you can't, don't worry! Give us a "small example" of what you are trying to do and those of us with a little more experience (and some with a LOT more experience) will do our best to help you out. Never be afraid to ask and please be patient with our responses as we try to understand what you need.

Welcome to the LilyPond community, my friend! My hope is that you will enjoy using LilyPond as much as I have.

Happy Engraving,

Abraham