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Score layouts for choral

Choral music containing four staves, with or without piano accompaniment, is usually laid out with two systems per page. Depending on the page size, achieving this may require changes to several default settings. The following settings should be considered:

• The global staff size can be modified to change the overall size of the elements of the score. See Setting the staff size.
• The distances between the systems, the staves and the lyrics can all be adjusted independently. See Vertical spacing.
• The dimensions of the vertical layout variables can be displayed as an aid to adjusting the vertical spacing. This and other possibilities for fitting the music onto fewer pages are described in Fitting music onto fewer pages.
• If the number of systems per page changes from one to two it is customary to indicate this with a system separator mark between the two systems. See Separating systems.
• For details of other page formatting properties, see Page layout.

Dynamic markings by default are placed below the staff, but in choral music they are usually placed above the staff in order to avoid the lyrics. The predefined command \dynamicUp does this for the dynamic markings in a single Voice context. If there are many Voice contexts this predefined command would have to be placed in every one. Alternatively its expanded form can be used to place all dynamic markings in the entire score above their respective staves, as shown here:

\score {
  \new ChoirStaff <<
    \new Staff {
      \new Voice {
        \relative { g'4\f g g g }
      }
    }
    \new Staff {
      \new Voice {
        \relative { d'4 d d\p d }
      }
    }
  >>
  \layout {
    \context {
      \Score
      \override DynamicText.direction = #UP
      \override DynamicLineSpanner.direction = #UP
    }
  }
}

Predefined commands

\dynamicUp, \dynamicDown, \dynamicNeutral.

See also

Notation Reference: Changing spacing, Displaying spacing, Fitting music onto fewer pages, Page layout, Score layout, Separating systems, Setting the staff size, Breaks, Vertical spacing.

Internals Reference: VerticalAxisGroup, StaffGrouper.

Selected Snippets

Using arpeggioBracket to make divisi more visible

The arpeggioBracket can be used to indicate the division of voices where there are no stems to provide the information. This is often seen in choral music.

\include "english.ly"

\score {
  \relative c'' {
    \key a \major
    \time 2/2
    <<
      \new Voice = "upper"
      <<
        { \voiceOne \arpeggioBracket
          a2( b2
          <b d>1\arpeggio)
          <cs e>\arpeggio ~
          <cs e>4
        }
        \addlyrics { \lyricmode { A -- men. } }
      >>
      \new Voice = "lower"
      { \voiceTwo
        a1 ~
        a
        a ~
        a4 \bar "|."
      }
    >>
  }
  \layout { ragged-right = ##t }
}

See also

Notation Reference: Expressive marks as lines.