Hi all, >> Is anyone using instrumentSwitch that can explain what the various >> variables in addInstrumentDefinition mean? > > Don't use instrumentSwitch. It is a pointless frustrating waste of time.
I agree. And I’m particularly irritated about that fact, since I was the one who sponsored (and *paid* Han-Wen) for a point-ful non-frustrating instrument-switching feature back in 2006. =( > This is a missing function of LilyPond. Agreed — there should be a far better way of switching instruments. One should be able to write (e.g.) \switchInstrument “piccolo” and the following things happen: 1. The clef changes, if necessary. 2. The key signature changes, if necessary (and force-reprints, if appropriate). 3. The transposition changes, if necessary. 4. The instrumentName and shortInstrumentName change, if necessary. 5. A [user-defined] markup (e.g., \box “to piccolo”) is printed, if appropriate. 6+. ?? > So LilyPond does not store a global key signature. No, but as you well know, many (most?) Lilypounders abstract the key signature (etc.) into their own global(s). > We could, I think, keep this organization, and write a variant of > "\tranposition bes" that looks up the old key-signature and old > transposition on the Staff, figures the concert key, applies the new > transposition, figures the new key-signature for the new transposition > and sets that new key signature. Why can that not be rolled into an improved instrumentSwitch? > I just write an explicit \key d\major at the instrument switch when needed This is one of the great banes of my current Lilypond existence — as a writer of musical theatre and band/orchestral music, I need to change instruments and keys all the time, very often in the middle of a section (w.r.t. key signature). Trying to remember to explicitly add key signatures etc. — and tag them as necessary — is quite frustrating, time-consuming, and error-prone. I offer again my help in designing, testing, and paying for a real instrument-switching mechanism that would Do The Right Thing™. Thanks, Kieren. _______________________ Kieren MacMillan, composer www: <http://www.kierenmacmillan.info> email: i...@kierenmacmillan.info _______________________________________________ lilypond-user mailing list lilypond-user@gnu.org https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-user
