8.4.8 Selecting notation font size

The easiest method of setting the font size of any context is by setting the fontSize property.

     
     c8
     \set fontSize = #-4
     c f
     \set fontSize = #3
     g

It does not change the size of variable symbols, such as beams or slurs.

Internally, the fontSize context property will cause the font-size property to be set in all layout objects. The value of font-size is a number indicating the size relative to the standard size for the current staff height. Each step up is an increase of approximately 12% of the font size. Six steps is exactly a factor two. The Scheme function magstep converts a font-size number to a scaling factor. The font-size property can also be set directly, so that only certain layout objects are affected.

     
     c8
     \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-4
     c f
     \override NoteHead #'font-size = #3
     g

Font size changes are achieved by scaling the design size that is closest to the desired size. The standard font size (for font-size equals 0), depends on the standard staff height. For a 20pt staff, a 10pt font is selected.

The font-size property can only be set on layout objects that use fonts. These are the ones supporting the font-interface layout interface.

Predefined commands

The following commands set fontSize for the current voice:

\tiny, \small, \normalsize.