Hello Alasdair,
Sooner or later you should grapple with doing these gamba signs
properly. There's some articles by Nicolas Sceaux on the lilypond blog
on how to go about it.
http://lilypondblog.org
I could give a hand if you so require.
Andrew
On 23/08/2020 5:31 pm, Alasdair McAndrew wrote:
I have created a small markup command for an ornament, which appears
in engraved music of its time as a small "x", meaning a lower
mordent. Another common ornament would be written as a sort of large
comma, and this meant a trill, starting on the upper note, and
increasing in speed. This is for late 17th and early 18th century
French music for the viola da gamba.
The point is that these ornaments should go next to the notes to which
they refer, and not necessarily above or below the staff. This
little example of a few bars indicate some of the difficulties, taken
from the 4th book of "Pièces de Violes" by Marin Marais, published in
Paris in 1717:
