Custom clef and incipit spacing for Gregorian chant
In LilyPond 2.24.4, you may want to reduce the horizontal space after [https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.24/Documentation/notation/typesetting-gregorian-chant#gregorian-clefs a Gregorian clef]. You can do this with <code>\override Staff.Clef.space-alist.first-note = #'(minimum-fixed-space . [insert your preferred spacing])</code>. Note: LilyPond 2.25 [https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.25/Documentation/changes/major-changes-in-lilypond features improved spacing for extra-slim clefs].
And if your incipit has four lines, but your music uses a modern five-line staff, you may want to add some white space between the incipit and the modern staff. You can do this with <code>\stopStaff</code> and <code>\hideNotes</code>.
<lilypond version="2.24.4">
incipitMusic = \relative c {
\sourcefileline 1783
\override Staff.StaffSymbol.line-count = #4
\clef "vaticana-do3"
\override NoteHead.style = #'vaticana.punctum
c1
% The following line helps with spacing between the first two neumes:
\hideNotes c \unHideNotes
e
% The following line helps with spacing between the second neume and the end of the visible four-line staff:
\hideNotes e \unHideNotes
% The following line effectively prints white space between the incipit and the modern five-line staff:
\stopStaff \hideNotes g a
}
ictus = #(make-articulation 'ictus)
chant = \relative c' {
\cadenzaOn
c4 e g\ictus a g2
}
verba = \lyricmode {
Sál -- ve, Re -- gí -- na,
}
\score {
\new Staff \with {
\incipit
\incipitMusic instrumentName = ""
}
<<
\new Voice = "melody" \chant
\new Lyrics = "text" \lyricsto melody \verba
>>
\layout {
\context {
\MensuralStaff
\remove Time_signature_engraver
% The following line reduces the horizontal space between the "vaticana-do3" clef and the first neume (c1):
\override Clef.space-alist.first-note = #'(minimum-fixed-space . 1.0)
}
\context {
\Staff
\remove Time_signature_engraver
}
\context {
\Voice
\remove Stem_engraver
}
}
}
</lilypond>