7.3.7.1 Lyrics to multiple notes of a melisma

One possibility is that the text has a melisma in one stanza, but multiple syllables in another one. One solution is to make the faster voice ignore the melisma. This is done by setting ignoreMelismata in the Lyrics context.

There is one tricky aspect: the setting for ignoreMelismata must be set one syllable before the non-melismatic syllable in the text, as shown here,

     
     <<
       \relative \new Voice = "lahlah" {
         \set Staff.autoBeaming = ##f
         c4
         \slurDotted
         f8.[( g16])
         a4
       }
       \new Lyrics \lyricsto "lahlah" {
         more slow -- ly
       }
       \new Lyrics \lyricsto "lahlah" {
         \set ignoreMelismata = ##t % applies to "fas"
         go fas -- ter
         \unset ignoreMelismata
         still
       }
     >>

The ignoreMelismata applies to the syllable “fas”, so it should be entered before “go”.

The reverse is also possible: making a lyric line slower than the standard. This can be achieved by insert \skips into the lyrics. For every \skip, the text will be delayed another note. For example,

     
     \relative { c c g' }
     \addlyrics {
       twin -- \skip 4
       kle
     }