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Topic: note spacing vs syllable spacing (Read 4229 times) previous topic - next topic

note spacing vs syllable spacing

When I add extra note spacing, perversly enough the lyric syllable does not move with the note; it stays where it was, and consequently now appears to the left of the note. Two questions: 1. Will it also print to the left of the note, or is the displacement just in the screen display; and 2. how do I increase the spacing between lyric syllables (I have tried putting in a bunch of hyphens, and (again, perversely enough) if the syllable is under a slurred group of notes, it increases spacing within the group, not after it. How do I get spacing of notes and syllables to align?

Re: note spacing vs syllable spacing

Reply #1 –
A vexed question. Often my lyrics and notes don't align in the first place.

You can add space before a lyric syllable by using underscores (_). These are treated like letters for spacing purposes but print as blanks. So, for example, if you need to shift the second syllable to the right, you might try 'tra-_la-la' instead of 'tra-la-la'.

Re: note spacing vs syllable spacing

Reply #2 –
Actually I quite like this behaviour since it allows one to put the lyrics as centered as possible under the note, unfortunately this does extend the overall physical length of the piece.

But as a general thought, lyric placement does need to be rethought somewhat in NWC since:

1. I have never(?) seen printed lyrics left aligned with the notes. They should be centered on the note as far as possible.

2. With an accidental the lyric does move to the left which is tolerable in the main, but not when the accidental is on another staff! If you have say a G#7 chord notated with all its sharps on one staff then a short syllable on another staff becomes totally detached from its own note!

Re: note spacing vs syllable spacing

Reply #3 –
Thanks! Yes, it works. I find that if I move a note 1 degree to the right, the syllable under it needs four underlines to move an eqivalent distance.

It seems to me that usually a syllable is centered under a single note but left-aligned under a slurred group of notes--is it not?

Stephen R.

Re: note spacing vs syllable spacing

Reply #4 –
Thanks, too! I'd forgotten how to do that.