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The \textLengthOn command

By default, text produced by markup takes up no horizontal space as far as laying out the music is concerned. The \textLengthOn command changes this behavior, causing the notes to be spaced out as far as is necessary to accommodate the text:

\textLengthOn  % Cause notes to space out to accommodate text
c''2^"Text1"
c''2^"Text2" |
c''2^"Text3"
c''2^"Text4" |

The command to revert to the default behavior is \textLengthOff. Alternatively, \once may be used with \textLengthOn if the effect is to be limited to just a single musical moment. The corresponding spacing behavior for rehearsal marks and tempo indications is independently controlled with the commands \markLengthOn and \markLengthOff.

Markup text will also avoid notes which project above the staff. If this is not desired, the automatic displacement upwards may be turned off by setting the priority to #f. Here’s an example to show how markup text interacts with such notes.

\relative {
  % This markup is short enough to fit without collision
  c''2^"Tex" c'' |
  R1 |

  % This is too long to fit, so it is displaced upwards
  c,,2^"Text" c'' |
  R1 |

  % Turn off collision avoidance
  \once \override TextScript.outside-staff-priority = ##f
  c,,2^"Long Text   " c'' |
  R1 |

  % Turn off collision avoidance
  \once \override TextScript.outside-staff-priority = ##f
  \textLengthOn        % and turn on textLengthOn
  c,,2^"Long Text   "  % Spaces at end are honored
  c''2 |
}