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In shape note head notation, the shape of the note head corresponds to the harmonic function of a note in the scale. This notation was popular in nineteenth-century American song books. Shape note heads can be produced:
\aikenHeads c, d e f g a b c \sacredHarpHeads c, d e f g a b c
Shapes are typeset according to the step in the scale, where the
base of the scale is determined by the \key
command.
Applying note head styles depending on the step of the scale
The shapeNoteStyles
property can be used to define various note
head styles for each step of the scale (as set by the key signature or
the "tonic" property). This property requires a set of symbols, which
can be purely arbitrary (geometrical expressions such as
triangle
, cross
, and xcircle
are allowed) or based
on old American engraving tradition (some latin note names are also
allowed).
That said, to imitate old American song books, there are several
predefined note head styles available through shortcut commands such as
\aikenHeads
or \sacredHarpHeads
.
This example shows different ways to obtain shape note heads, and demonstrates the ability to transpose a melody without losing the correspondence between harmonic functions and note head styles.
fragment = { \key c \major c2 d e2 f g2 a b2 c } \score { \new Staff { \transpose c d \relative c' { \set shapeNoteStyles = #'#(do re mi fa #f la ti) \fragment } \relative c' { \set shapeNoteStyles = #'#(cross triangle fa #f mensural xcircle diamond) \fragment } } }
To see all note head styles, see Note head styles.
Snippets: Pitches.
Notation Reference: Note head styles.
Internals Reference: note-event, Note_heads_engraver, NoteHead, note-head-interface.
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