Lilypond INCIPIT codes

[JacopoTore]

I was trying to create some incipits and I realized that you can't create incipits with multiple lines. I couldn't find any guides or information on Petrucci.
Can anyone confirm?

[Pnorcks]

Typically incipits are never longer than one line, as far as I know... Usually they consist of the first few notes (or first phrase) of a piece.

Which works are you looking to create incipits for?

But to answer your question, I don't know if it's possible to create multi-line incipits. You can create one-line, multi-staff incipits, though you sometimes see those reduced to a single-staff to highlight the melodic line, with cue notes added to provide the larger context.

[Eric]

multiple lines as in length? whyever not?
multiple contrapuntal lines like a string quartet or duo sonata incipit, that can be and has been done (google search for it?)

[ClumsyPianist]

I'm pretty sure this is a misunderstanding. Lilypond has a command "incipit", but it's made for prefixing original clefs onto modernized scores of ancient music. Don't try to use it to (for example) add excerpts to a table of contents; Lilypond has no special name for those, they're just treated as another score. (into which you could copy and paste code from your main score).

[Eric]

Nope, no misunderstanding, I know what the OP is talking about.
There is a Lilypond command \break
that’s the only other thing I can think of here. See

https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.23/Document ... e-breaking.

[ClumsyPianist]

I'm confused by this. Is there an example of the thing that Lilypond ought to be able to do, that it won't do?

[Pnorcks]

I had the same assumption as Eric, that JacopoTore wanted to add incipits (i.e. short snippets from the beginning of a work) spread across multiple lines. To do that, \break is indeed the correct command to use.

When I replied originally, I had not tested it... After testing it just now (with "Preview" and not saving), \break does work. Personally, I would probably not ever use it though, since incipits are meant to be short enough to fit on one line.