Partial measures - GNU LilyPond
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#### 6.4.4 Partial measures

Partial measures, such as an anacrusis or upbeat, are entered using the

>          \partial 16*5 c16 cis d dis e | a2. c,4 | b2

The syntax for this command is

    \partial duration

where `duration` is the rhythmic length to be added before the next bar.

This is internally translated into

    \set Timing.measurePosition = -length of duration

The property `measurePosition` contains a rational number indicating how much of the measure has passed at this point. Note that this is a negative number; `\partial 4` is internally translated to mean “there is a quarter note left in the bar”.

##### Bugs

This command does not take into account grace notes at the start of the music. When a piece starts with graces notes in the pickup, then the `\partial` should follow the grace notes

>          \grace f16
>          \partial 4
>          g4
>          a2 g2

`\partial` is only intended to be used at the beginning of a piece. If you use it after the beginning, some odd warnings may occur.

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