Hi Trevor,
I'm not sure I understand the need for this.
I would not normally use a lyric extender
unless the syllable had an extended duration
over several notes or was sung to a long note.
This occurs far less frequently than a 2-note melisma.
Do you attach lyric extenders unconditionally
to every syllable sung to a melisma?
Yes:
1. According to the engraving histories/guides I've read, there
should be an extender after *every* [final] melisma syllable
regardless of how short (including negative) that extender line would
end up being.
2. One can't possibly know in advance how wide the final engraved
note spacing will be relative to the length of the lyric syllable —
hence one should *always* include extenders so that Lilypond can DTRT
depending on the spacing requirements [of different editions,
alternative system breaks, etc.].
this seems to be the standard practice in the vocal scores I'm
familiar with.
Recently, I've seen a lot of scores that don't use extenders
*ever*... but I think this is a horrible practice which makes sight-
singing more difficult.
Cheers,
Kieren.
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