GNU LilyPond

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Node:Slurs, Next:Phrasing slurs, Up:Expressive marks

Slurs

A slur indicates that notes are to be played bound or legato. They are entered using parentheses:

  f'()g'()a' [a'8 b'(] a'4 g'2 )f'4

Slurs avoid crossing stems, and are generally attached to note heads. However, in some situations with beams, slurs may be attached to stem ends. If you want to override this layout you can do this through the Slur 's grob-property attachment. It's value is a pair of symbols, specifying the attachment type of the left and right end points.

  \property Voice.Slur \set #'direction = #1
  \property Voice.Stem \set #'length = #5.5
  g'8(g)g4
  \property Voice.Slur \set #'attachment = #'(stem . stem)
  g8(g)g4

If a slur would strike through a stem or beam, the slur will be moved away upward or downward. If this happens, attaching the slur to the stems might look better:

  \property Voice.Stem \set #'direction = #1
  \property Voice.Slur \set #'direction = #1
  d32( d'4 )d8..
  \property Voice.Slur \set #'attachment = #'(stem . stem)
  d,32( d'4 )d8..

Similarly, the curvature of a slur is adjusted to stay clear of note heads and stems. When that would increase the curvature too much, the slur is reverted to its default shape. The threshold for this decision is in Slur 's grob-property beautiful. It is loosely related to the enclosed area between the slur and the notes. Usually, the default setting works well, but in some cases you may prefer a curved slur when LilyPond decides for a vertically moved one. You can indicate this preference by increasing the beautiful value:

  \property Voice.Beam \override #'direction = #-1
  \property Voice.Slur \override #'direction = #1
  c16( a' f' a a f a, )c,
  c( a' f' a a f d, )c
  \property Voice.Slur \override #'beautiful = #5.0
  c( a' f' a a f d, )c

BUGS

beautiful is an arbitrary parameter in the slur formatter. Useful values can only be determined by trial and error.

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Copyright (c) 1997--2001 Han-Wen Nienhuys and Jan Nieuwenhuizen.

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