I’m working on a file to post to CPDL, where beginner LilyPond users are likely to view it.
Please see the below snippet. I welcome feedback on (or edits to) my comments within the code — an effort to help explain self-alignment-X and parent-alignment-X to the reader. %%% BEGIN CODE %% Helper functions for lyrics % Adjust the horizontal alignment point on a lyric item: lyrSAX = \tweak LyricText.self-alignment-X \etc % See https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.25/Documentation/snippets/text-_002d-lyrics-alignment % Adjust the horizontal alignment point associated with a lyric item’s *parent* % (the note column to which the lyric is linked): lyrPAX = \tweak LyricText.parent-alignment-X \etc % The value #-1 means aligned in the X direction on the parent’s left edge, % #0 on the parent’s center, and #1 on the parent’s right edge. % Greater absolute values are possible. % For example, \lyrPAX #5 in the code below % aligns the "Gracious Mother …" lyric with a point that is 5 units % to the right of the center of the note column. % A unit is half the parent’s width; % therefore, the "Gracious Mother …" lyric appears even further to the right % than the note column’s right edge. % See https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.25/Documentation/internals/self_002dalignment_002dinterface %%% END CODE ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Gabriel Ellsworth Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2026 Subject: Re: Language in Documentation re: self-alignment-interface To: Lilypond-User Mailing List <[email protected]> My earlier suggestion, “associated with [the parent / an object],” reflects the fact that #28 [redacted for clarity] means 28 units to the right of the NoteColumn (thank you, Harm, for correcting my misunderstanding on that point!). That point on the page is associated with the parent but not of the parent in the sense of “contained within its horizontal walls.” Maybe “relative to an object” or “relative to its parent” would be better language than either “point of the parent” or “associated with its parent”?
