3 @c A menu is needed before every deeper *section nesting of @node's; run
4 @c M-x texinfo-all-menus-update
5 @c to automagically fill in these menus before saving changes
7 @c FIXME: singular vs. plural: Beams/Beam
16 @c .{Reference Manual}
18 @node Reference Manual
19 @chapter Reference Manual
22 <!--- @@WEB-TITLE@@=Reference Manual --->
25 This document describes GNU LilyPond and its input format. The last
26 revision of this document was made for LilyPond 1.4.1. It supposes a
27 passing familiarity with how LilyPond input works. New users are
28 encouraged to study the tutorial first.
33 * Easier music entry::
52 @c FIXME: Note entry vs Music entry at top level menu is confusing.
58 The most basic forms of music are notes. Notes on their own don't
59 form valid input, but for the sake of brevity we omit @code{\score}
60 blocks and @code{\paper} declarations.
66 * Chromatic alterations::
71 * Automatic note splitting ::
73 * Easy Notation note heads ::
81 A note is printed by specifying its pitch, and then its duration.
82 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
91 @cindex Note specification
93 @cindex entering notes
95 The verbose syntax for pitch specification is
102 @var{scmpitch} is a pitch scheme object.
104 In Note and Chord mode, pitches may be designated by names. The default
105 names are the Dutch note names. The notes are specified by the letters
106 @code{a} through @code{g} (where the octave is formed by notes ranging
107 from @code{c} to @code{b}). The pitch @code{c} is an octave below
108 middle C and the letters span the octave above that C.
110 @cindex note names, Dutch
112 In Dutch, a sharp is formed by adding @code{-is} to the end of a pitch
113 name and a flat is formed by adding @code{-es}. Double sharps and double
114 flats are obtained by adding @code{-isis} or @code{-eses}. @code{aes}
115 and @code{ees} are contracted to @code{as} and @code{es} in Dutch, but
116 both forms are accepted.
118 LilyPond has predefined sets of note names for various other languages.
119 To use them, simply include the language specific init file. For
120 example: @code{\include "english.ly"}. The available language files and
121 the names they define are:
124 Note Names sharp flat
125 nederlands.ly c d e f g a bes b -is -es
126 english.ly c d e f g a bf b -s/-sharp -f/-flat
127 deutsch.ly c d e f g a b h -is -es
128 norsk.ly c d e f g a b h -iss/-is -ess/-es
129 svenska.ly c d e f g a b h -iss -ess
130 italiano.ly do re mi fa sol la sib si -d -b
131 catalan.ly do re mi fa sol la sib si -d/-s -b
132 espanol.ly do re mi fa sol la sib si -s -b
141 The optional octave specification takes the form of a series of
142 single quote (`@code{'}') characters or a series of comma
143 (`@code{,}') characters. Each @code{'} raises the pitch by one
144 octave; each @code{,} lowers the pitch by an octave.
146 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
147 c' c'' es' g' as' gisis' ais'
150 @node Chromatic alterations
151 @subsection Chromatic alterations
153 Normally, accidentals are printed automatically, but you may force
154 accidentals in the following ways: A reminder accidental
155 @cindex reminder accidental
157 can be forced by adding an exclamation mark @code{!} after the pitch. A
158 cautionary accidental,
159 @cindex cautionary accidental
160 @cindex parenthesized accidental
161 i.e., an accidental within parentheses can be obtained by adding the
162 question mark `@code{?}' after the pitch.
164 The automatic production of accidentals can be tuned in many
165 ways. Refer to @ref{Accidentals} for more information.
172 A rest is entered like a note, with note name `@code{r}':
174 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
178 Whole bar rests centered in the bar are specified using @code{R}, see
179 @ref{Multi measure rests}. See also @seeinternals{Rest}.
181 For polyphonic music, it can be convenient to specify the rest position
182 directly. You can do that by entering a note, with the keyword
183 @code{\rest} appended, e.g. Rest collisions will leave these rests alone.
185 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
195 @cindex Invisible rest
198 An invisible rest, or skip, can be entered like a note with note name
199 @code{s}, or with @code{\skip @var{duration}}:
201 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
205 The @code{s} syntax is only available in Note mode and Chord mode.
206 In other situations, you should use the @code{\skip} command, and it is
207 only available in Note mode and Chord mode.
209 @c FIXME: in lyrics mode, we have " " and _
211 In Lyrics mode, you can use `@code{" "}' and `@code{_}':
212 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
214 \context Lyrics \lyrics { lah2 di4 " " dah2 _4 di }
215 \notes\relative c'' { a2 a4 a a2 a4 a }
219 The unabbreviated `@code{\skip} @var{duration}' also works outside of
222 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
225 { \time 4/8 \skip 2 \time 4/4 }
226 \notes\relative c'' { a2 a1 }
231 The skip command is merely a empty musical placeholder. It does not
232 produce any output, not even transparent output.
237 @subsection Durations
241 @cindex @code{\duration}
244 In Note, Chord, and Lyrics mode, durations may be designated by numbers
245 and dots: durations are entered as their reciprocal values. For notes
246 longer than a whole you must use identifiers.
250 c'1 c'2 c'4 c'8 c'16 c'32 c'64 c'64
252 r1 r2 r4 r8 r16 r32 r64 r64
258 \notes \relative c'' {
260 a1 a2 a4 a8 a16 a32 a64 a64
262 r1 r2 r4 r8 r16 r32 r64 r64
267 \remove "Clef_engraver"
268 \remove "Staff_symbol_engraver"
269 \remove "Time_signature_engraver"
270 \consists "Pitch_squash_engraver"
277 If the duration is omitted then it is set to the previous duration
278 entered. At the start of parsing a quarter note is assumed. The
279 duration can be followed by dots (`@code{.}') to obtain dotted note
283 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
289 You can alter the length of duration by a fraction @var{N/M} by
290 appending `@code{*}@var{N/M}' (or `@code{*}@var{N}' if @var{M=1}). This
291 will not affect the appearance of the notes or rests produced.
293 Durations can also be produced through GUILE extension mechanism.
294 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment]
295 c\duration #(make-duration 2 1)
301 Dot placement for chords is not perfect. In some cases, dots overlap:
303 \context Voice { <f,4. c'' d e f> }
314 A tie connects two adjacent note heads of the same pitch. The tie in
315 effect extends the length of a note. A tie is entered with @code{~}.
317 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
318 e' ~ e' <c' e' g'> ~ <c' e' g'>
321 When ties are used with chords, all note heads whose pitches match are
322 connected. Ties are indicated using the tilde symbol `@code{~}'. If
323 you try to tie together chords which have no common pitches then no
324 ties will be created.
326 If you want less ties created for a chord, you can set
327 @code{Voice.sparseTies} to true. In this case, a single tie is used
328 for every tied chord.
329 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
330 \property Voice.sparseTies = ##t
331 <c' e' g'> ~ <c' e' g'>
334 In its meaning a tie is just a way of extending a note duration, similar
335 to the augmentation dot: the following example are two ways of notating
336 exactly the same concept.
338 @lilypond[fragment, singleline]
339 \time 3/4 c'2. c'2 ~ c'4
341 Ties should not be confused with slurs, which indicate articulation,
342 and phrasing slurs, which indicate musical phrasing.
344 See also @seeinternals{Tie}.
349 At present, the tie is represented as a separate event, temporally
350 located in between the notes. Tieing only a subset of the note heads
351 of a chord is not supported in a simple way. It can be achieved by
352 moving the tie-engraver into the Thread context and turning on and off
355 Switching staffs when a tie is active will not work.
357 @node Automatic note splitting
358 @subsection Automatic note splitting
359 @c FIXME: This subsection doesn't belong in @ref{Note entry}.
361 There is a facility for automatically converting long notes to tied
362 notes. This is done by replacing the @code{Note_heads_engraver} by the
363 @code{Completion_heads_engraver}.
365 @lilypond[verbatim,center]
367 \notes\relative c'{ \time 2/4
368 c2. c8 d4 e f g a b c8 c2 b4 a g16 f4 e d c8. c2
372 \remove "Note_heads_engraver"
373 \consists "Completion_heads_engraver"
377 This engraver splits all running notes at the bar line, and inserts
378 ties. One of its uses is to debug complex scores: if the measures are
379 not entirely filled, then the ties exactly show how much each measure
384 Not all durations (especially those containing tuplets) can be
385 represented exactly; the engraver will not insert tuplets.
392 @cindex @code{\times}
394 Tuplets are made out of a music expression by multiplying all duration
397 @cindex @code{\times}
399 \times @var{fraction} @var{musicexpr}
402 The duration of @var{musicexpr} will be multiplied by the fraction.
403 In print, the fraction's denominator will be printed over the notes,
404 optionally with a bracket. The most common tuplet is the triplet in
405 which 3 notes have the length of 2, so the notes are 2/3 of
406 their written length:
408 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
409 g'4 \times 2/3 {c'4 c' c'} d'4 d'4
412 The property @code{tupletSpannerDuration} specifies how long each bracket
413 should last. With this, you can make lots of tuplets while typing
414 @code{\times} only once, thus saving typing work.
416 @lilypond[fragment, relative, singleline, verbatim]
417 \property Voice.tupletSpannerDuration = #(make-moment 1 4)
418 \times 2/3 { c'8 c c c c c }
421 The format of the number is determined by the property
422 @code{tupletNumberFormatFunction}. The default prints only the
423 denominator, but if you set it to the Scheme function
424 @code{fraction-tuplet-formatter}, Lilypond will print @var{num}:@var{den}
428 @cindex @code{tupletNumberFormatFunction}
429 @cindex tuplet formatting
431 See also @seeinternals{TupletBracket}.
435 Nested tuplets are not formatted automatically. In this case, outer
436 tuplet brackets should be moved automatically.
438 @node Easy Notation note heads
439 @subsection Easy Notation note heads
441 @cindex easy notation
444 A entirely different type of note head is the "easyplay" note head: a
445 note head that includes a note name. It is used in some publications by
446 Hal-Leonard Inc. music publishers.
448 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim,26pt]
450 \notes { c'2 e'4 f' | g'1 }
451 \paper { \translator { \EasyNotation } }
455 Note that @code{EasyNotation} overrides a @internalsref{Score} context. You
456 probably will want to print it with magnification or a large font size to make it more
463 If you view the result with Xdvi, then staff lines will show through
464 the letters. Printing the PostScript file obtained with ly2dvi does
465 produce the correct result.
468 @node Easier music entry
469 @section Easier music entry
472 * Graphical interfaces::
476 * Skipping corrected music::
479 When entering music with LilyPond, it is easy to introduce errors. This
480 section deals with tricks and features that help you enter music, and
481 find and correct mistakes.
483 @node Graphical interfaces
484 @subsection Graphical interfaces
487 @cindex graphical interface
494 One way to avoid entering notes using the keyboard is to use a
495 graphical user interface. The following programs are known to have
496 a lilypond export option:
500 Denemo was once intended as
501 a LilyPond graphical user interface. It run on Gnome/GTK.
504 @uref{http://denemo.sourceforge.net/}
508 Noteedit, a graphical score editor that runs under KDE/Qt.
510 @uref{http://rnvs.informatik.tu-chemnitz.de/~jan/noteedit/noteedit.html,}
514 RoseGarden was once the inspiration for naming LilyPond. Nowadays it
515 has been rewritten from scratch and supports LilyPond export as of
519 @uref{http://rosegarden.sf.net/}
523 Another option is to enter the music using your favorite MIDI
524 sequencer, and then import it using midi2ly. midi2ly is described in
525 @ref{Invoking midi2ly}.
529 @node Relative octaves
530 @subsection Relative octaves
532 @cindex relative octave specification
534 Octaves are specified by adding @code{'} and @code{,} to pitch names.
535 When you copy existing music, it is easy to accidentally put a pitch in
536 the wrong octave and hard to find such an error. To prevent these
537 errors, LilyPond features octave entry.
539 @cindex @code{\relative}
541 \relative @var{startpitch} @var{musicexpr}
544 The octave of notes that appear in @var{musicexpr} are calculated as
545 follows: If no octave changing marks are used, the basic interval
546 between this and the last note is always taken to be a fourth or less
547 (This distance is determined without regarding alterations; a
548 @code{fisis} following a @code{ceses} will be put above the
551 The octave changing marks @code{'} and @code{,} can be added to raise or
552 lower the pitch by an extra octave. Upon entering relative mode, an
553 absolute starting pitch must be specified that will act as the
554 predecessor of the first note of @var{musicexpr}.
556 Entering music that changes octave frequently is easy in relative mode.
557 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim,center]
563 And octave changing marks are used for intervals greater than a fourth.
564 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
569 If the preceding item is a chord, the first note of the chord is used
570 to determine the first note of the next chord. However, other notes
571 within the second chord are determined by looking at the immediately
574 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
581 @cindex @code{\notes}
583 The pitch after the @code{\relative} contains a note name. To parse
584 the pitch as a note name, you have to be in note mode, so there must
585 be a surrounding @code{\notes} keyword (which is not
588 The relative conversion will not affect @code{\transpose},
589 @code{\chords} or @code{\relative} sections in its argument. If you
590 want to use relative within transposed music, you must place an
591 additional @code{\relative} inside the @code{\transpose}.
596 @subsection Bar check
600 @cindex @code{barCheckSynchronize}
604 Whenever a bar check is encountered during interpretation, a warning
605 message is issued if it doesn't fall at a measure boundary. This can
606 help you find errors in the input. Depending on the value of
607 @code{barCheckSynchronize}, the beginning of the measure will be
608 relocated, so this can also be used to shorten measures.
610 A bar check is entered using the bar symbol, @code{|}:
612 \time 3/4 c2 e4 | g2.
617 @cindex skipTypesetting
619 Failed bar checks are most often caused by entering incorrect
620 durations. Incorrect durations often completely garble up the score,
621 especially if it is polyphonic, so you should start correcting the score
622 by scanning for failed bar checks and incorrect durations. To speed up
623 this process, you can use @code{skipTypesetting} (See @ref{Skipping
626 @c . {Point and click}
627 @node Point and click
628 @subsection Point and click
629 @cindex poind and click
631 Point and click lets you find notes in the input by clicking on them in
632 the Xdvi window. This makes it very easy to find input that causes some
633 error in the sheet music.
635 To use it, you need the following software
637 @item A dvi viewer that supports src specials.
639 @item Xdvi, version 22.36 or newer. Available from
640 @uref{ftp://ftp.math.berkeley.edu/pub/Software/TeX/xdvi.tar.gz,ftp.math.berkeley.edu}.
642 Note that most @TeX{} distributions ship with xdvik, which is always
643 a few versions behind the official Xdvi. To find out which xdvi you
644 are running, try @code{xdvi -version} or @code{xdvi.bin -version}.
645 @item KDVI. A dvi viewer for KDE. You need KDVI from KDE 3.0 or
646 newer. Enable option @emph{Inverse search} in the menu @emph{Settings}.
655 @item An editor with a client/server interface (or a lightweight GUI
661 @item Emacs. Emacs is an extensible text-editor. It is available from
662 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/}. You need version 21 to use
665 @c move this elsewhere?
667 LilyPond also comes with support files for emacs: lilypond-mode for
668 emacs provides indentation, syntax coloring and handy compile
669 short-cuts. If lilypond-mode is not installed on your platform, then
670 refer to the installation instructions for more information
674 @cindex lilypond-mode for emacs
675 @cindex syntax coloring
677 @item XEmacs. Xemacs is very similar to emacs.
681 @item NEdit. NEdit runs under Windows, and Unix.
682 It is available from @uref{http://www.nedit.org}.
686 @item GVim. GVim is a GUI variant of VIM, the popular VI
687 clone. It is available from @uref{http://www.vim.org}.
696 Xdvi must be configured to find the @TeX{} fonts and music
697 fonts. Refer to the Xdvi documentation for more information.
699 To use point-and-click, add one of these lines to the top of your .ly
702 #(set-point-and-click! 'line)
704 @cindex line-location
706 When viewing, Control-Mousebutton 1 will take you to the originating
707 spot in the @file{.ly} file. Control-Mousebutton 2 will show all
710 If you correct large files with point-and-click, be sure to start
711 correcting at the end of the file. When you start at the top, and
712 insert one line, all following locations will be off by a line.
715 For using point-and-click with emacs, add the following
716 In your emacs startup file (usually @file{~/.emacs}),
721 Make sure that the environment variable @var{XEDITOR} is set to
723 emacsclient --no-wait +%l %f
725 @cindex @var{XEDITOR}
726 If you use xemacs instead of emacs, you use @code{(gnuserve-start)} in
727 your @file{.emacs}, and set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{gnuclient -q +%l %f}
729 For using Vim, set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{gvim --remote +%l %f}, or use this
730 argument with xdvi's @code{-editor} option.
732 For using NEdit, set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{nc -noask +%l %f}, or
733 use this argument with xdvi's @code{-editor} option.
735 If can also make your editor jump to the exact location of the note
736 you clicked. This is only supported on Emacs. Users of version 20 must
737 apply the patch @file{emacsclient.patch}. Users of version 21 must
738 apply @file{server.el.patch} (version 21.2 and earlier). At the top
739 of the @code{ly} file, replace the @code{set!} line with the following
742 #(set-point-and-click! 'line-column)
744 @cindex line-colomn-location
745 and set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{emacsclient --no-wait +%l:%c %f}.
749 When you convert the @TeX{} file to PostScript using @code{dvips}, it
750 will complain about not finding @code{src:X:Y} files. These complaints
751 are harmless, and can be ignored.
753 @node Skipping corrected music
754 @subsection Skipping corrected music
756 The property @code{Score.skipTypesetting} can be used to switch on and
757 off typesetting completely during the interpretation phase. When
758 typesetting is switched off, the music is processed much more quickly.
759 You can use this to skip over the parts of a score that you have already
762 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim]
764 \property Score.skipTypesetting = ##t
766 \property Score.skipTypesetting = ##f
774 @section Staff notation
776 This section deals with music notation that occurs on staff level,
777 such as keys, clefs and time signatures.
779 @cindex Staff notation
791 @subsection Staff symbol
794 @cindex adjusting staff symbol
795 @cindex StaffSymbol, using \property
796 @cindex staff lines, setting number of
799 The lines of the staff symbol are formed by the
800 @internalsref{StaffSymbol} grob. This grob is created at the moment
801 that their context is created. You can not change the appearance of
802 the staff symbol by using @code{\override} or @code{\set}. At the
803 moment that @code{\property Staff} is interpreted, a Staff context is
804 made, and the StaffSymbol is created before any @code{\override} is
805 effective. You can deal with this either overriding properties in a
806 @code{\translator} definition, or by using @code{\outputproperty}.
811 If you end a staff half way a piece, the staff symbol may not end
812 exactly on the barline.
817 @subsection Key signature
822 Setting or changing the key signature is done with the @code{\key}
825 @code{\key} @var{pitch} @var{type}
828 @cindex @code{\minor}
829 @cindex @code{\major}
830 @cindex @code{\minor}
831 @cindex @code{\ionian}
832 @cindex @code{\locrian}
833 @cindex @code{\aeolian}
834 @cindex @code{\mixolydian}
835 @cindex @code{\lydian}
836 @cindex @code{\phrygian}
837 @cindex @code{\dorian}
839 Here, @var{type} should be @code{\major} or @code{\minor} to get
840 @var{pitch}-major or @var{pitch}-minor, respectively.
841 The standard mode names @code{\ionian},
842 @code{\locrian}, @code{\aeolian}, @code{\mixolydian}, @code{\lydian},
843 @code{\phrygian}, and @code{\dorian} are also defined.
845 This command sets the context property @code{Staff.keySignature}.
846 Non-standard key signatures can be specified by setting this property
849 The printed signature is a @internalsref{KeySignature} grob, typically
850 created in @internalsref{Staff} context.
852 @cindex @code{keySignature}
859 The clef can be set or changed with the @code{\clef} command:
860 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
861 \key f\major c''2 \clef alto g'2
864 Supported clef-names include
865 @c Moved standard clefs to the top /MB
867 @item treble, violin, G, G2
876 G clef on 1st line, so-called French violin clef
891 By adding @code{_8} or @code{^8} to the clef name, the clef is
892 transposed one octave down or up, respectively. Note that you have to
893 enclose @var{clefname} in quotes if you use underscores or digits in the
899 The grob for this symbol is @internalsref{Clef}.
902 This command is equivalent to setting @code{clefGlyph},
903 @code{clefPosition} (which controls the Y position of the clef),
904 @code{centralCPosition} and @code{clefOctavation}. A clef is created
905 when any of these properties are changed.
908 @c . {Time signature}
910 @subsection Time signature
911 @cindex Time signature
915 The time signature is set or changed by the @code{\time}
917 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
918 \time 2/4 c'2 \time 3/4 c'2.
921 The actual symbol that's printed can be customized with the @code{style}
922 property. Setting it to @code{#'()} uses fraction style for 4/4 and
926 The grob for this symbol is @internalsref{TimeSignature}. There are
927 many more options for its layout. They are selected through the
928 @code{style} grob property. See @file{input/test/time.ly} for more
931 This command sets the property @code{timeSignatureFraction},
932 @code{beatLength} and @code{measureLength}. The property
933 @code{timeSignatureFraction} determine where bar lines should be
934 inserted, and how automatic beams should be generated. Changing the
935 value of @code{timeSignatureFraction} also causes a time signature
936 symbol to be printed.
943 @cindex partial measure
944 @cindex measure, partial
945 @cindex shorten measures
946 @cindex @code{\partial}
948 Partial measures, for example in upbeats, are entered using the
949 @code{\partial} command:
950 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
951 \partial 4* 5/16 c'16 c4 f16 a'2. ~ a'8. a'16 | g'1
954 The syntax for this command is
956 \partial @var{duration}
958 This is internally translated into
960 \property Score.measurePosition = -@var{length of duration}
963 The property @code{measurePosition} contains a rational number
964 indicating how much of the measure has passed at this point.
967 @node Unmetered music
968 @subsection Unmetered music
970 Bar lines and bar numbers are calculated automatically. For unmetered
971 music (e.g. cadenzas), this is not desirable. The commands
972 @code{\cadenzaOn} and @code{\cadenzaOff} can be used to switch off the
975 @lilypond[fragment,relative,singleline,verbatim]
983 The property @code{Score.timing} can be used to switch off this
988 @subsection Bar lines
992 @cindex measure lines
995 Bar lines are inserted automatically, but if you need a special type
996 of barline, you can force one using the @code{\bar} command:
997 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim] c4 \bar "|:" c4
1000 The following bar types are available
1001 @lilypond[fragment, relative, singleline, verbatim]
1013 You are encouraged to use @code{\repeat} for repetitions. See
1016 In scores with many staffs, the barlines are automatically placed at
1017 top level, and they are connected between different staffs of a
1018 @internalsref{StaffGroup}:
1019 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim]
1020 < \context StaffGroup <
1021 \context Staff = up { e'4 d'
1024 \context Staff = down { \clef bass c4 g e g } >
1025 \context Staff = pedal { \clef bass c2 c2 } >
1028 The grobs that are created at @internalsref{Staff} level. The name is
1029 @internalsref{BarLine}.
1031 The command @code{\bar @var{bartype}} is a short cut for
1032 doing @code{\property Score.whichBar = @var{bartype}}
1033 Whenever @code{whichBar} is set to a string, a bar line of that type is
1034 created. @code{whichBar} is usually set automatically: at the start of
1035 a measure it is set to @code{defaultBarType}. The contents of
1036 @code{repeatCommands} is used to override default measure bars.
1038 @code{whichBar} can also be set directly, using @code{\property} or
1039 @code{\bar }. These settings take precedence over the automatic
1040 @code{whichBar} settings.
1043 @cindex Bar_line_engraver
1045 @cindex repeatCommands
1046 @cindex defaultBarType
1055 The easiest way to enter such fragments with more than one voice on a
1056 staff is to split chords using the separator @code{\\}. You can use
1057 it for small, short-lived voices (make a chord of voices) or for
1060 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment]
1061 \context Voice = VA \relative c'' {
1062 c4 < { f d e } \\ { b c2 } > c4 < g' \\ b, \\ f \\ d >
1066 The separator causes @internalsref{Voice} contexts to be instantiated,
1067 bearing the names @code{"1"}, @code{"2"}, etc.
1069 Sometimes, it is necessary to instantiate these contexts by hand: For
1070 Instantiate a separate Voice context for each part, and use
1071 @code{\voiceOne}, up to @code{\voiceFour} to assign a stem directions
1072 and horizontal shift for each part.
1075 @lilypond[singleline, verbatim]
1077 \context Staff < \context Voice = VA { \voiceOne cis2 b }
1078 \context Voice = VB { \voiceThree b4 ais ~ ais4 gis4 }
1079 \context Voice = VC { \voiceTwo fis4~ fis4 f ~ f } >
1082 The identifiers @code{\voiceOne} to @code{\voiceFour} set directions
1083 ties, slurs and stems, and set shift directions.
1085 If you want more than four voices, you can also manually set
1086 horizontal shifts and stem directions, as is shown in the following example:
1087 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim]
1088 \context Staff \notes\relative c''<
1089 \context Voice=one {
1090 \shiftOff \stemUp e4
1092 \context Voice=two {
1093 \shiftOn \stemUp cis
1095 \context Voice=three {
1096 \shiftOnn \stemUp ais
1098 \context Voice=four {
1099 \shiftOnnn \stemUp fis
1105 Normally, note heads with a different number of dots are not merged, but
1106 if you set the grob property @code{merge-differently-dotted}, they are:
1107 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment,singleline]
1110 \property Staff.NoteCollision \override
1111 #'merge-differently-dotted = ##t
1113 } \\ { [g'8. f16] [g'8. f'16] }
1117 Similarly, you can merge half note heads with eighth notes, by setting
1118 @code{merge-differently-headed}:
1119 @lilypond[fragment, relative=2,verbatim]
1122 \property Staff.NoteCollision
1123 \override #'merge-differently-headed = ##t
1124 c8 c4. } \\ { c2 c2 } >
1127 LilyPond also vertically shifts rests that are opposite of a stem.
1129 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1130 \context Voice < c''4 \\ r4 >
1133 See also @internalsref{NoteCollision} and @internalsref{RestCollision}
1137 Resolving collisions is a very intricate subject, and LilyPond only
1138 handles a few situations. When it can not cope, you are advised to use
1139 @code{force-hshift} of the @internalsref{NoteColumn} grob and pitched
1140 rests to override typesetting decisions.
1145 Beams are used to group short notes into chunks that are aligned with
1146 the metrum. They are inserted automatically in most cases.
1148 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim, relative=2]
1149 \time 2/4 c8 c c c \time 6/8 c c c c8. c16 c8
1152 If you're not satisfied with the automatic beaming, you can enter the
1153 beams explicitly. If you have beaming patterns that differ from the
1154 defaults, you can also set the patterns for automatic beamer.
1156 See also @internalsref{Beam}.
1159 @cindex Automatic beams
1160 @subsection Manual beams
1161 @cindex beams, manual
1165 In some cases it may be necessary to override LilyPond's automatic
1166 beaming algorithm. For example, the auto beamer will not beam over
1167 rests or bar lines, If you want that, specify the begin and end point
1168 manually using a @code{[} before the first beamed note and a @code{]}
1169 after the last note:
1171 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1173 r4 [r8 g' a r8] r8 [g | a] r8
1177 @cindex @code{stemLeftBeamCount}
1179 Normally, beaming patterns within a beam are determined automatically.
1180 When this mechanism fouls up, the properties
1181 @code{Voice.stemLeftBeamCount} and @code{Voice.stemRightBeamCount} can
1182 be used to control the beam subdivision on a stem. If you set either
1183 property, its value will be used only once, and then it is erased.
1185 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1188 [f8 r16 \property Voice.stemLeftBeamCount = #1 f g a]
1191 @cindex @code{stemRightBeamCount}
1194 The property @code{subdivideBeams} can be set in order to subdivide
1195 all 16th or shorter beams at beat positions. This accomplishes the
1196 same effect as twiddling with @code{stemLeftBeamCount} and
1197 @code{stemRightBeamCount}, but it take less typing.
1202 \property Voice.subdivideBeams = ##t
1204 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1205 \property Score.beatLength = #(make-moment 1 8)
1206 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1210 \notes \relative c' {
1212 \property Voice.subdivideBeams = ##t
1214 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1215 \property Score.beatLength = #(make-moment 1 8)
1216 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1220 @cindex subdivideBeams
1222 Kneed beams are inserted automatically, when a large gap between two
1223 adjacent beamed notes is detected. This behavior can be tuned through
1224 the grob property @code{auto-knee-gap}.
1226 @cindex beams, kneed
1228 @cindex auto-knee-gap
1232 @c TODO -> why this ref? Document?
1233 @cindex @code{neutral-direction}
1237 Auto knee beams can not be used together with hara kiri staffs.
1241 The Automatic beamer does not put @strong{unfinished} beams on the
1242 last notes of a score.
1244 Formatting of ties is a difficult subject. LilyPond often does not
1245 give optimal results.
1248 * Setting automatic beam behavior ::
1252 @no de Beam typography
1253 @sub section Beam typography
1255 One of the strong points of LilyPond is how beams are formatted. Beams
1256 are quantized, meaning that the left and right endpoints beams start
1257 exactly on staff lines. Without quantization, small wedges of white
1258 space appear between the beam and staff line, and this looks untidy.
1260 Beams are also slope-damped: melodies that go up or down should also
1261 have beams that go up or down, but the slope of the beams should be
1262 less than the slope of the notes themselves.
1264 Some beams should be horizontal. These are so-called concave beams.
1266 [TODO: some pictures.]
1269 @c . {Automatic beams}
1270 @node Setting automatic beam behavior
1271 @subsection Setting automatic beam behavior
1273 @cindex @code{autoBeamSettings}
1274 @cindex @code{(end * * * *)}
1275 @cindex @code{(begin * * * *)}
1276 @cindex automatic beams, tuning
1277 @cindex tuning automatic beaming
1279 In normal time signatures, automatic beams can start on any note but can
1280 only end in a few positions within the measure: beams can end on a beat,
1281 or at durations specified by the properties in
1282 @code{Voice.autoBeamSettings}. The defaults for @code{autoBeamSettings}
1283 are defined in @file{scm/auto-beam.scm}.
1285 The value of @code{autoBeamSettings} is changed using
1286 @code{\override} and unset using @code{\revert}:
1288 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override #'(@var{BE} @var{P} @var{Q} @var{N} @var{M}) = @var{dur}
1289 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \revert #'(@var{BE} @var{P} @var{Q} @var{N} @var{M})
1291 Here, @var{BE} is the symbol @code{begin} or @code{end}. It determines
1292 whether the rule applies to begin or end-points. The quantity
1293 @var{P}/@var{Q} refers to the length of the beamed notes (and `@code{*
1294 *}' designates notes of any length), @var{N}/@var{M} refers to a time
1295 signature (wildcards, `@code{* *}' may be entered to designate all time
1298 For example, if you want automatic beams to end on every quarter note,
1299 you can use the following:
1301 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override
1302 #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 1 4)
1304 Since the duration of a quarter note is 1/4 of a whole note, it is
1305 entered as @code{(make-moment 1 4)}.
1307 The same syntax can be used to specify beam starting points. In this
1308 example, automatic beams can only end on a dotted quarter note.
1310 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override
1311 #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 3 8)
1313 In 4/4 time signature, this means that automatic beams could end only on
1314 3/8 and on the fourth beat of the measure (after 3/4, that is 2 times
1315 3/8 has passed within the measure).
1317 You can also restrict rules to specific time signatures. A rule that
1318 should only be applied in @var{N}/@var{M} time signature is formed by
1319 replacing the second asterisks by @var{N} and @var{M}. For example, a
1320 rule for 6/8 time exclusively looks like
1322 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override
1323 #'(begin * * 6 8) = ...
1326 If you want a rule to apply to certain types of beams, you can use the
1327 first pair of asterisks. Beams are classified according to the shortest
1328 note they contain. For a beam ending rule that only applies to beams
1329 with 32nd notes (and no shorter notes), you would use @code{(end 1
1333 @c Automatic beams can not be put on the last note in a score.
1335 If a score ends while an automatic beam has not been ended and is still
1336 accepting notes, this last beam will not be typeset at all.
1338 @cindex automatic beam generation
1340 @cindex @code{Voice.autoBeaming}
1343 For melodies that have lyrics, you may want to switch off
1344 automatic beaming. This is done by setting @code{Voice.autoBeaming} to
1350 It is not possible to specify beaming parameters for beams with mixed
1351 durations, that differ from the beaming parameters of all separate
1352 durations, i.e., you'll have to specify manual beams to get:
1354 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,relative,noverbatim]
1355 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings
1356 \override #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 3 8)
1357 \time 12/8 c'8 c c c16 c c c c c [c c c c] c8 c c4
1359 It is not possible to specify beaming parameters that act differently in
1360 different parts of a measure. This means that it is not possible to use
1361 automatic beaming in irregular meters such as @code{5/8}.
1364 @section Accidentals
1366 This section describes how to change the way that LilyPond automatically
1367 inserts accidentals before the running notes.
1370 * Using the predefined accidental macros::
1371 * Defining your own accidental typesettings::
1374 @node Using the predefined accidental macros
1375 @subsection Using the predefined accidental macros
1376 The constructs for describing the accidental typesetting rules are
1377 quite hairy, so non-experts should stick to the macros defined in
1378 @file{ly/property-init.ly}.
1379 @cindex @file{property-init.ly}
1381 The macros operate on the ``Current'' context (see @ref{Context properties}). This
1382 means that the macros shuold normally be invoked right after the
1383 creation of the context in which the accidental typesetting described
1384 by the macro is to take effect. I.e. if you want to use
1385 piano-accidentals in a pianostaff then you issue
1386 @code{\pianoAccidentals} first thing after the creation of the piano
1390 \notes \relative c'' <
1391 \context Staff = sa @{ cis4 d e2 @}
1392 \context GrandStaff <
1394 \context Staff = sb @{ cis4 d e2 @}
1395 \context Staff = sc @{ es2 c @}
1397 \context Staff = sd @{ es2 c @}
1401 @lilypond[singleline]
1403 \notes \relative c'' <
1404 \context Staff = sa { cis4 d e2 }
1405 \context GrandStaff <
1407 \context Staff = sb { cis4 d e2 }
1408 \context Staff = sc { es2 c }
1410 \context Staff = sd { es2 c }
1415 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-4.0 . 4.0)
1423 @item \defaultAccidentals
1424 @cindex @code{\defaultAccidentals}
1425 This is the default typesetting behaviour. It should correspond
1426 to 18th century common practice: Accidentals are
1427 remembered to the end of the measure in which they occur and
1428 only on their own octave.
1430 @item \voiceAccidentals
1431 @cindex @code{\voiceAccidentals}
1432 The normal behaviour is to remember the accidentals on
1434 This macro, however, typesets accidentals individually for each
1436 Apart from that the rule is similar to
1437 @code{\defaultAccidentals}.
1439 Warning: This leads to some weird and often unwanted results
1440 because accidentals from one voice DO NOT get cancelled in other
1442 @lilypond[singleline,relative,fragment,verbatim]
1445 \context Voice=va { \voiceOne es g }
1446 \context Voice=vb { \voiceTwo c, e }
1449 Hence you should only use @code{\voiceAccidentals}
1450 if the voices are to be read solely by
1451 individual musicians. if the staff should be readable also
1452 by one musician/conductor then you should use
1453 @code{\modernVoiceAccidentals} or @code{\modernVoiceCautionaries}
1456 @item \modernAccidentals
1457 @cindex @code{\modernAccidentals}
1458 This rule should correspond to the common practice in the 20th
1460 The rule is a bit more complex than @code{\defaultAccidentals}:
1461 You get all the same accidentals, but temporary
1462 accidentals also get cancelled in other octaves. Further more,
1463 in the same octave, they also get cancelled in the following measure:
1464 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1466 cis' c'' cis'2 | c'' c'
1469 @item \modernCautionaries
1470 @cindex @code{\modernCautionaries}
1471 This rule is similar to @code{\modernAccidentals}, but the
1472 ``extra'' accidentals (the ones not typeset by
1473 @code{\defaultAccidentals}) are typeset as cautionary accidentals
1474 (i.e. in reduced size):
1475 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1477 cis' c'' cis'2 | c'' c'
1480 @item \modernVoiceAccidentals
1481 @cindex @code{\modernVoiceAccidentals}
1482 Multivoice accidentals to be read both by musicians playing one voice
1483 and musicians playing all voices.
1485 Accidentals are typeset for each voice, but they ARE cancelled
1486 across voices in the same @internalsref{Staff}.
1488 @item \modernVoiceCautionaries
1489 @cindex @code{\modernVoiceCautionaries}
1490 The same as @code{\modernVoiceAccidentals}, but with the
1491 extra accidentals (the ones not typeset by
1492 @code{\voiceAccidentals}) typeset as cautionaries.
1493 Notice that even though all accidentals typeset by
1494 @code{\defaultAccidentals} ARE typeset by this macro then some
1495 of them are typeset as cautionaries.
1497 @item \pianoAccidentals
1498 @cindex @code{\pianoAccidentals}
1499 20th century practice for piano notation. Very similar to
1500 @code{\modernAccidentals} but accidentals also get cancelled
1501 across the staves in the same @internalsref{GrandStaff} or
1502 @internalsref{PianoStaff}.
1504 @item \pianoCautionaries
1505 @cindex @code{\pianoCautionaries}
1506 As @code{\pianoAccidentals} but with the extra accidentals
1507 typeset as cationaries.
1510 @cindex @code{\noResetKey}
1511 Same as @code{\defaultAccidentals} but with accidentals lasting
1512 ``forever'' and not only until the next measure:
1513 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim,relative]
1518 @item \forgetAccidentals
1519 @cindex @code{\forgetAccidentals}
1520 This is sort of the opposite of @code{\noResetKey}: Accidentals
1521 are not remembered at all - and hence all accidentals are
1522 typeset relative to the key signature, regardless of what was
1523 before in the music:
1524 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim,relative]
1526 \key d\major c4 c cis cis d d dis dis
1530 @node Defining your own accidental typesettings
1531 @subsection Defining your own accidental typesettings
1533 This section must be considered gurus-only, and hence it must be
1534 sufficient with a short description of the system and a reference to
1535 the internal documentation.
1537 The idea of the algorithm is to try several different rules and then
1538 use the rule that gives the highest number of accidentals.
1539 Each rule cosists of
1542 In which context is the rule applied. I.e. if context is
1543 @internalsref{Score} then all staves share accidentals, and if
1544 context is @internalsref{Staff} then all voices in the same
1545 staff share accidentals, but staves don't - like normally.
1547 Whether the accidental changes all octaves or only the current
1550 Over how many barlines the accidental lasts.
1551 If lazyness is @code{-1} then the accidental is forget
1552 immidiately, and if lazyness is @code{#t} then the accidental
1556 As described in the internal documentation of
1557 @reng{Accidental_engraver}, the properties @code{autoAccidentals} and
1558 @code{autoCautionaries} contain lists of rule descriptions. Notice
1559 that the contexts must be listed from in to out - that is
1560 @internalsref{Thread} before @internalsref{Voice},
1561 @internalsref{Voice} before @internalsref{Staff}, etc.
1562 see the macros in @file{ly/property-init.ly} for examples of how the
1567 Currently the simultaneous notes are considered to be entered in
1568 sequential mode. This means that in a chord the accidentals are
1569 typeset as if the notes in the chord happened one at a time - in the
1570 order in which they appear in the input file.
1572 Of course this is only a problem when you have simultainous notes
1573 which accidentals should depend on each other.
1574 Notice that the problem only occurs when using non-default accidentals
1575 - as the default accidentals only depend on other accidentals on the
1576 same staff and same pitch and hence cannot depend on other
1579 This example shows two examples of the same music giving different
1580 accidentals depending on the order in which the notes occur in the
1583 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1584 \property Staff.autoAccidentals = #'( Staff (any-octave . 0) )
1585 cis'4 <c'' c'> r2 | cis'4 <c' c''> r2 | <cis' c''> r | <c'' cis'> r |
1588 The only solution is to manually insert the problematic
1589 accidentals using @code{!} and @code{?}.
1591 @node Expressive marks
1592 @section Expressive marks
1607 A slur indicates that notes are to be played bound or @emph{legato}.
1608 They are entered using parentheses:
1609 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
1610 f'()g'()a' [a'8 b'(] a'4 g'2 )f'4
1613 See also @seeinternals{Slur}.
1615 Slurs avoid crossing stems, and are generally attached to note heads.
1616 However, in some situations with beams, slurs may be attached to stem
1617 ends. If you want to override this layout you can do this through the
1618 grob-property @code{attachment} of @internalsref{Slur} in
1619 @internalsref{Voice} context It's value is a pair of symbols, specifying
1620 the attachment type of the left and right end points.
1622 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1624 \property Voice.Stem \set #'length = #5.5
1626 \property Voice.Slur \set #'attachment = #'(stem . stem)
1630 If a slur would strike through a stem or beam, the slur will be moved
1631 away upward or downward. If this happens, attaching the slur to the
1632 stems might look better:
1634 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1637 \property Voice.Slur \set #'attachment = #'(stem . stem)
1642 Similarly, the curvature of a slur is adjusted to stay clear of note
1643 heads and stems. When that would increase the curvature too much, the
1644 slur is reverted to its default shape. The threshold for this
1645 decision is in @internalsref{Slur}'s grob-property @code{beautiful}.
1646 It is loosely related to the enclosed area between the slur and the
1647 notes. Usually, the default setting works well, but in some cases you
1648 may prefer a curved slur when LilyPond decides for a vertically moved
1649 one. You can indicate this preference by increasing the
1650 @code{beautiful} value:
1652 @lilyp ond[verbatim,singleline,relative]
1654 c16( a' f' a a f a, )c,
1655 c( a' f' a a f d, )c
1656 \property Voice.Slur \override #'beautiful = #5.0
1657 c( a' f' a a f d, )c
1663 Producing nice slurs is a difficult problem, and LilyPond currently
1664 uses a simple, empiric method to produce slurs. In some cases, the
1665 results of this method are ugly.
1668 This is reflected by the
1669 @code{beautiful} property, which it is an arbitrary parameter in the
1670 slur formatter. Useful values can only be determined by trial and
1674 @cindex Adjusting slurs
1676 @node Phrasing slurs
1677 @subsection Phrasing slurs
1679 @cindex phrasing slurs
1680 @cindex phrasing marks
1682 A phrasing slur (or phrasing mark) connects chords and is used to
1683 indicate a musical sentence. It is started using @code{\(} and @code{\)}
1686 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center,relative]
1687 \time 6/4 c' \( d () e f () e \) d
1690 Typographically, the phrasing slur behaves almost exactly like a normal
1691 slur. See also @seeinternals{PhrasingSlur}.
1695 @subsection Breath marks
1697 Breath marks are entered using @code{\breathe}. See also
1698 @seeinternals{BreathingSign}.
1700 @lilypond[fragment,relative]
1709 @cindex beats per minute
1710 @cindex metronome marking
1712 Metronome settings can be entered as follows:
1714 @cindex @code{\tempo}
1716 \tempo @var{duration} = @var{perminute}
1719 For example, @code{\tempo 4 = 76} requests output with 76 quarter notes
1724 The tempo setting is not printed, but is only used in the MIDI
1725 output. You can trick lily into producing a metronome mark,
1726 though. Details are in @ref{Text markup}.
1731 @subsection Text spanners
1732 @cindex Text spanners
1734 Some textual indications, e.g. rallentando or accelerando, often extend
1735 over many measures. This is indicated by following the text with a
1736 dotted line. You can create such texts using text spanners. The syntax
1739 \spanrequest \start "text"
1740 \spanrequest \stop "text"
1742 LilyPond will respond by creating a @internalsref{TextSpanner} grob (typically
1743 in @internalsref{Voice} context). The string to be printed, as well as the
1744 style is set through grob properties.
1746 An application---or rather, a hack---is to fake octavation indications.
1747 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1748 \relative c' { a''' b c a
1749 \property Voice.TextSpanner \set #'type = #'dotted-line
1750 \property Voice.TextSpanner \set #'edge-height = #'(0 . 1.5)
1751 \property Voice.TextSpanner \set #'edge-text = #'("8va " . "")
1752 \property Staff.centralCPosition = #-13
1753 a\spanrequest \start "text" b c a \spanrequest \stop "text" }
1771 @subsection Articulations
1772 @cindex Articulations
1774 @cindex articulations
1778 A variety of symbols can appear above and below notes to indicate
1779 different characteristics of the performance. They are added to a note
1780 by adding a dash and the the character signifying the
1781 articulation. They are demonstrated here.
1782 @lilypond[singleline]
1784 \notes \context Voice {
1785 \property Voice.TextScript \set #'font-family = #'typewriter
1786 \property Voice.TextScript \set #'font-shape = #'upright
1792 c''4-^_"c-\\^{ }" s4
1798 The script is automatically placed, but if you need to force
1799 directions, you can use @code{_} to force them down, or @code{^} to
1801 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim]
1806 Other symbols can be added using the syntax
1807 @var{note}@code{-\}@var{name}. Again, they can be forced up or down
1808 using @code{^} and @code{_}.
1812 @cindex staccatissimo
1821 @cindex organ pedal marks
1830 @cindex prallmordent
1834 @cindex thumb marking
1841 \property Score.LyricText \override #'font-family =#'typewriter
1842 \property Score.LyricText \override #'font-shape = #'upright
1843 \context Staff \notes {
1844 c''-\accent c''-\marcato c''-\staccatissimo c''^\fermata
1845 c''-\stopped c''-\staccato c''-\tenuto c''-\portato
1847 c''-\downbow c''^\lheel c''-\rheel c''^\ltoe
1848 c''-\rtoe c''-\turn c''-\open c''-\flageolet
1849 c''-\reverseturn c''-\trill c''-\prall c''-\mordent
1850 c''-\prallprall c''-\prallmordent c''-\upprall c''-\downprall
1851 c''-\upmordent c''-\downmordent c''-\pralldown c''-\prallup
1852 c''-\lineprall c''-\thumb c''-\segno c''-\coda
1854 \context Lyrics \lyrics {
1855 accent__ marcato__ staccatissimo__ fermata
1856 stopped__ staccato__ tenuto__ portato
1858 downbow__ lheel__ rheel__ ltoe
1859 rtoe__ turn__ open__ flageolet
1860 reverseturn__ trill__ prall__ mordent
1861 prallprall__ prallmordent__ uprall__ downprall
1862 upmordent__ downmordent__ pralldown__ prallup__
1863 lineprall__ thumb__ segno__ coda
1867 linewidth = 5.875\in
1876 Fingering instructions can also be entered in this shorthand. For
1877 finger changes, use markup texts:
1879 @lilypond[verbatim, singleline, fragment]
1880 c'4-1 c'4-2 c'4-3 c'4-4
1885 @cindex @code{\script}
1890 See also @seeinternals{Script} and @seeinternals{Fingering}.
1894 All of these note ornaments appear in the printed output but have no
1895 effect on the MIDI rendering of the music.
1897 Unfortunately, there is no support for adding fingering instructions or
1898 ornaments to individual note heads. Some hacks exist, though. See
1899 @file{input/test/script-horizontal.ly}.
1904 @subsection Text scripts
1905 @cindex Text scripts
1907 In addition, it is possible to place arbitrary strings of text or markup
1908 text (see @ref{Text markup}) above or below notes by using a string:
1911 By default, these indications do not influence the note spacing, but
1912 by using the command @code{\fatText}, the widths will be taken into
1915 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim] \relative c' {
1916 c4^"longtext" \fatText c4_"longlongtext" c4 }
1919 It is possible to use @TeX{} commands in the strings, but this should be
1920 avoided because it makes it impossible for LilyPond to compute the
1921 exact length of the string, which may lead to collisions. Also, @TeX{}
1922 commands won't work with direct PostScript output.
1923 @c (see @ref{PostScript output}).
1925 Text scripts are created in form of @internalsref{TextScript} grobs, in
1926 @internalsref{Voice} context.
1928 @ref{Text markup} describes how to change the font or access
1929 special symbols in text scripts.
1934 @subsection Grace notes
1938 @cindex @code{\grace}
1942 Grace notes are ornaments that are written out
1943 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,ifragment] c4 \grace c16 c4 \grace {
1947 In normal notation, grace notes are supposed to take up no logical
1948 time in a measure. Such an idea is practical for normal notation, but
1949 is not strict enough to put it into a program. The model that LilyPond
1950 uses for grace notes internally is that all timing is done in two
1953 Every point in musical time consists of two rational numbers: one
1954 denotes the logical time, one denotes the grace timing. The above
1955 example is shown here with timing tuples.
1958 \score { \notes \relative c''{
1959 c4^"(0,0)" \grace c16_" "_"(1/4,-1/16)" c4^"(1/4,0)" \grace {
1960 [c16_"(2/4,-1/8)" d16^"(2/4,-1/16)" ] } c4_" "_"(2/4,0)"
1962 \paper { linewidth = 8.\cm }
1966 The advantage of this approach is that you can use almost any lilypond
1967 construction together with grace notes, for example slurs and clef
1968 changes may appear halfway in between grace notes:
1970 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,fragment]
1971 c4 \grace { [ c16 c, \clef bass c, b(] } )c4
1974 The placement of these grace notes is synchronized between different
1975 staffs, using this grace timing.
1977 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,fragment]
1978 < \context Staff = SA { e4 \grace { c16 d e f } e4 }
1979 \context Staff = SB { c4 \grace { g8 b } c4 } >
1983 Unbeamed eighth notes and shorter by default have a slash through the
1984 stem. This can be controlled with grob property @code{flag-style} of
1985 @internalsref{Stem}. The change in formatting is accomplished by
1986 inserting @code{\startGraceMusic} before handling the grace notes, and
1987 @code{\stopGraceMusic} after finishing the grace notes. You can add to
1988 these definitions to globally change grace note formatting. The
1989 standard definitions are in @file{ly/grace-init.ly}.
1991 Notice how the @code{\override} is carefully matched with a @code{\revert}.
1996 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
1997 \relative c'' \context Voice {
1998 \grace c8 c4 \grace { [c16 c16] } c4
2000 \property Voice.Stem \override #'flag-style = #'()
2002 \property Voice.Stem \revert #'flag-style
2009 If you want to end a note with a grace note, then the standard trick
2010 is to put the grace notes before a phantom ``space note'', e.g.
2011 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim, relative=2]
2014 { s2 \grace { [c16 d] } } >
2022 Grace notes can not be used in the smallest size (@file{paper11.ly}).
2024 Grace note synchronization can also lead to surprises. Staff notation,
2025 such as key signatures, barlines, etc. are also synchronized. Take
2026 care when you mix staffs with grace notes and staffs without.
2028 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,fragment]
2029 < \context Staff = SA { e4 \bar "|:" \grace c16 d4 }
2030 \context Staff = SB { c4 \bar "|:" d4 } >
2033 Grace sections should only be used within sequential music
2034 expressions. Nesting, juxtaposing, or ending sequential music with a
2035 grace section is not supported, and might produce crashes or other
2040 @subsection Glissando
2043 @cindex @code{\glissando}
2045 A glissando line can be requested by attaching a @code{\glissando} to
2048 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2054 Printing of an additional text (such as @emph{gliss.}) must be done
2055 manually. See also @seeinternals{Glissando}.
2061 @subsection Dynamics
2074 @cindex @code{\ffff}
2084 Absolute dynamic marks are specified using an identifier after a
2085 note: @code{c4-\ff}. The available dynamic marks are: @code{\ppp},
2086 @code{\pp}, @code{\p}, @code{\mp}, @code{\mf}, @code{\f}, @code{\ff},
2087 @code{\fff}, @code{\fff}, @code{\fp}, @code{\sf}, @code{\sff},
2088 @code{\sp}, @code{\spp}, @code{\sfz}, and @code{\rfz}.
2090 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline,fragment,relative]
2091 c'\ppp c\pp c \p c\mp c\mf c\f c\ff c\fff
2097 @cindex @code{\decr}
2098 @cindex @code{\rced}
2104 A crescendo mark is started with @code{\cr} and terminated with
2105 @code{\rc} (the textual reverse of @code{cr}). A decrescendo mark is
2106 started with @code{\decr} and terminated with @code{\rced}. There are
2107 also shorthands for these marks. A crescendo can be started with
2108 @code{\<} and a decrescendo can be started with @code{\>}. Either one
2109 can be terminated with @code{\!}. Note that @code{\!} must go before
2110 the last note of the dynamic mark whereas @code{\rc} and @code{\rced} go
2111 after the last note. Because these marks are bound to notes, if you
2112 want several marks during one note, you have to use spacer notes.
2114 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
2115 c'' \< \! c'' d'' \decr e'' \rced
2116 < f''1 { s4 s4 \< \! s4 \> \! s4 } >
2119 You can also use a text saying @emph{cresc.} instead of hairpins. Here
2120 is an example how to do it:
2122 @lilypond[fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
2123 c4 \cresc c4 \endcresc c4
2130 You can also supply your own texts:
2131 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2133 \property Voice.crescendoText = "cresc. poco"
2134 \property Voice.crescendoSpanner = #'dashed-line
2141 Dynamics are grobs of @internalsref{DynamicText} and
2142 @internalsref{Hairpin}. Vertical positioning of these symbols is
2143 handled by the @internalsref{DynamicLineSpanner} grob. If you want to
2144 adjust padding or vertical direction of the dynamics, you must set
2145 properties for the @internalsref{DynamicLineSpanner} grob. Predefined
2146 identifiers to set the vertical direction are \dynamicUp and
2149 @cindex direction, of dynamics
2150 @cindex @code{\dynamicDown}
2151 @cindex @code{\dynamicUp}
2159 @cindex @code{\repeat}
2161 To specify repeats, use the @code{\repeat} keyword. Since repeats
2162 should work differently when played or printed, there are a few
2163 different variants of repeats.
2167 Repeated music is fully written (played) out. Useful for MIDI
2168 output, and entering repetitive music.
2171 This is the normal notation: Repeats are not written out, but
2172 alternative endings (voltas) are printed, left to right.
2175 Alternative endings are written stacked. This has limited use but may be
2176 used to typeset two lines of lyrics in songs with repeats, see
2177 @file{input/star-spangled-banner.ly}.
2183 Make beat or measure repeats. These look like percent signs.
2189 * Repeats and MIDI::
2190 * Manual repeat commands::
2192 * Tremolo subdivisions::
2197 @subsection Repeat syntax
2199 The syntax for repeats is
2202 \repeat @var{variant} @var{repeatcount} @var{repeatbody}
2205 If you have alternative endings, you may add
2206 @cindex @code{\alternative}
2208 \alternative @code{@{} @var{alternative1}
2210 @var{alternative3} @dots{} @code{@}}
2212 where each @var{alternative} is a music expression.
2214 Normal notation repeats are used like this:
2215 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2217 \repeat volta 2 { c'4 d' e' f' }
2218 \repeat volta 2 { f' e' d' c' }
2221 With alternative endings:
2222 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2224 \repeat volta 2 {c'4 d' e' f'}
2225 \alternative { {d'2 d'} {f' f} }
2228 Folded repeats look like this:
2231 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2233 \repeat fold 2 {c'4 d' e' f'}
2234 \alternative { {d'2 d'} {f' f} }
2238 If you don't give enough alternatives for all of the repeats, then
2239 the first alternative is assumed to be repeated often enough to equal
2240 the specified number of repeats.
2242 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2246 \repeat volta 4 { e | c2 d2 | e2 f2 | }
2247 \alternative { { g4 g g } { a | a a a a | b2. } }
2252 @node Repeats and MIDI
2253 @subsection Repeats and MIDI
2255 @cindex expanding repeats
2257 For instructions on how to unfoldi repeats for MIDI output, see
2258 the example file @file{input/test/unfold-all-repeats.ly}.
2263 Notice that timing information is not remembered at the start of an
2264 alternative, so you have to reset timing information after a repeat,
2265 e.g. using a bar-check (See @ref{Bar check}), setting
2266 @code{Score.measurePosition} or entering @code{\partial}. Slurs or ties
2267 are also not repeated.
2269 It is possible to nest @code{\repeat}s, although this probably is only
2270 meaningful for unfolded repeats.
2272 Folded repeats offer little more over simultaneous music.
2274 @node Manual repeat commands
2275 @subsection Manual repeat commands
2277 @cindex @code{repeatCommands}
2279 The property @code{repeatCommands} can be used to control the layout of
2280 repeats. Its value is a Scheme list of repeat commands, where each repeat
2288 @item (volta . @var{text})
2289 Print a volta bracket saying @var{text}.
2291 Stop a running volta bracket
2294 @lilypond[verbatim, fragment]
2296 \property Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta "93") end-repeat)
2298 \property Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta #f))
2303 Repeats brackets are @internalsref{VoltaBracket} grobs.
2305 @node Tremolo repeats
2306 @subsection Tremolo repeats
2307 @cindex tremolo beams
2309 To place tremolo marks between notes, use @code{\repeat} with tremolo
2311 @lilypond[verbatim,center,singleline]
2313 \context Voice \notes\relative c' {
2314 \repeat "tremolo" 8 { c16 d16 }
2315 \repeat "tremolo" 4 { c16 d16 }
2316 \repeat "tremolo" 2 { c16 d16 }
2317 \repeat "tremolo" 4 c16
2322 Tremolo beams are @internalsref{Beam} grobs. Single stem tremolos are
2323 @internalsref{StemTremolo}. The single stem tremolo @emph{must} be
2324 entered without @code{@{} and @code{@}}.
2328 Only powers of two and undotted notes are supported repeat counts.
2330 @node Tremolo subdivisions
2331 @subsection Tremolo subdivisions
2332 @cindex tremolo marks
2333 @cindex @code{tremoloFlags}
2335 Tremolo marks can be printed on a single note by adding
2336 `@code{:}[@var{length}]' after the note. The length must be at least 8.
2337 A @var{length} value of 8 gives one line across the note stem. If the
2338 length is omitted, then then the last value (stored in
2339 @code{Voice.tremoloFlags}) is used.
2341 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment,center]
2342 c'2:8 c':32 | c': c': |
2348 Tremolos in this style do not carry over into the MIDI output.
2351 @node Measure repeats
2352 @subsection Measure repeats
2354 @cindex percent repeats
2355 @cindex measure repeats
2357 In the @code{percent} style, a note pattern can be repeated. It is
2358 printed once, and then the pattern is replaced with a special sign.
2359 Patterns of a one and two measures are replaced by percent-like signs,
2360 patterns that divide the measure length are replaced by slashes.
2362 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
2363 \context Voice { \repeat "percent" 4 { c'4 }
2364 \repeat "percent" 2 { c'2 es'2 f'4 fis'4 g'4 c''4 }
2368 The signs are represented by these grobs: @internalsref{RepeatSlash} and
2369 @internalsref{PercentRepeat} and @internalsref{DoublePercentRepeat}.
2373 You can not nest percent repeats, e.g. by filling in the first measure
2374 with slashes, and repeating that measure with percents.
2376 @node Rhythmic music
2377 @section Rhythmic music
2379 Sometimes you might want to show only the rhythm of a melody. This can
2380 be done with the rhythmic staff. All pitches of notes on such a staff
2381 are squashed, and the staff itself looks has a single staff line:
2383 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2384 \context RhythmicStaff {
2386 c4 e8 f g2 | r4 g r2 | g1:32 | r1 |
2391 * Percussion staves::
2394 @node Percussion staves
2395 @subsection Percussion staves
2398 To typeset more than one piece of percussion to be played by the same
2399 musician one typically uses a multiline staff where each staff
2400 position refers to a specific piece of percussion.
2402 LilyPond is shipped with a bunch of scheme functions which allows you
2403 to do this fairly easily.
2405 The system is based on the general midi drum-pitches.
2406 In order to use the drum pitches you include
2407 @file{ly/drumpitch-init.ly}. This file defines the pitches from the scheme
2408 variable @code{drum-pitch-names} - which definition can be read in
2409 @file{scm/drums.scm}. You see that each piece of percussion has a full
2410 name and an abbreviated name - and you may freely select whether to
2411 refer to the full name or the abbreviation in your music definition.
2413 To typeset the music on a staff you apply the scheme function
2414 @code{drums->paper} to the percussion music. This function takes a
2415 list of percussion instrument names, notehead scripts and staff
2416 positions (that is: pitches relative to the C-clef) and uses this to
2417 transform the input music by moving the pitch, changing the notehead
2418 and (optionally) adding a script:
2419 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
2420 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2421 up = \notes { crashcymbal4 hihat8 halfopenhihat hh hh hh openhihat }
2422 down = \notes { bassdrum4 snare8 bd r bd sn4 }
2424 \apply #(drums->paper 'drums) \context Staff <
2426 \context Voice = up { \voiceOne \up }
2427 \context Voice = down { \voiceTwo \down }
2432 In the above example the music was transformed using the list @code{'drums}.
2433 Currently the following lists are defined in @file{scm/drums.scm}:
2436 To typeset a typical drum kit on a five line staff.
2438 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2439 nam = \lyrics { cymc cyms cymr hh hhc hho hhho hhp cb hc
2440 bd sn ss tomh tommh tomml toml tomfh tomfl }
2441 mus = \notes { cymc cyms cymr hh hhc hho hhho hhp cb hc
2442 bd sn ss tomh tommh tomml toml tomfh tomfl s16 }
2445 \apply #(drums->paper 'drums) \context Staff <
2449 \context Lyrics \nam
2454 \remove Bar_engraver
2455 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2456 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-4.0 . 5.0)
2460 \remove Stem_engraver
2465 Notice that the scheme supports six different toms.
2466 If you are using fewer toms then you simply select the toms that produce
2467 the desired result - i.e. to get toms on the three middle lines you
2468 use @code{tommh}, @code{tomml} and @code{tomfh}.
2470 Because the general midi contain no rimshots we use the sidestick for
2471 this purpose instead.
2473 To typeset timbales on a two line staff.
2474 @lilypond[singleline]
2475 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2476 nam = \lyrics { timh ssh timl ssl cb }
2477 mus = \notes { timh ssh timl ssl cb s16 }
2480 \apply #(drums->paper 'timbales) \context Staff <
2484 \context Lyrics \nam
2489 \remove Bar_engraver
2490 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2491 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #2
2492 StaffSymbol \override #'staff-space = #2
2493 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3.0 . 4.0)
2497 \remove Stem_engraver
2504 To typeset congas on a two line staff.
2505 @lilypond[singleline]
2506 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2507 nam = \lyrics { cgh cgho cghm ssh cgl cglo cglm ssl }
2508 mus = \notes { cgh cgho cghm ssh cgl cglo cglm ssl s16 }
2511 \apply #(drums->paper 'congas) \context Staff <
2515 \context Lyrics \nam
2520 \remove Bar_engraver
2521 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2522 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #2
2523 StaffSymbol \override #'staff-space = #2
2524 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3.0 . 4.0)
2528 \remove Stem_engraver
2534 To typeset bongos on a two line staff.
2535 @lilypond[singleline]
2536 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2537 nam = \lyrics { boh boho bohm ssh bol bolo bolm ssl }
2538 mus = \notes { boh boho bohm ssh bol bolo bolm ssl s16 }
2541 \apply #(drums->paper 'bongos) \context Staff <
2545 \context Lyrics \nam
2550 \remove Bar_engraver
2551 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2552 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #2
2553 StaffSymbol \override #'staff-space = #2
2554 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3.0 . 4.0)
2558 \remove Stem_engraver
2564 To typeset all kinds of simple percussion on one line staves.
2565 @lilypond[singleline]
2566 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2567 nam = \lyrics { tri trio trim gui guis guil cb cl tamb cab mar hc }
2568 mus = \notes { tri trio trim gui guis guil cb cl tamb cab mar hc s16 }
2571 \apply #(drums->paper 'percussion) \context Staff <
2575 \context Lyrics \nam
2580 \remove Bar_engraver
2581 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2582 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #1
2583 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-2.0 . 3.0)
2587 \remove Stem_engraver
2594 If you don't like any of the predefined lists you can define your own
2595 list at the top of your file:
2597 @lilypond[singleline, verbatim]
2599 (bassdrum default #f ,(make-pitch -1 2 0))
2600 (snare default #f ,(make-pitch 0 1 0))
2601 (hihat cross #f ,(make-pitch 0 5 0))
2602 (pedalhihat xcircle "stopped" ,(make-pitch 0 5 0))
2603 (lowtom diamond #f ,(make-pitch -1 6 0))
2605 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2606 up = \notes { hh8 hh hh hh hhp4 hhp }
2607 down = \notes { bd4 sn bd toml8 toml }
2609 \apply #(drums->paper 'mydrums) \context Staff <
2611 \context Voice = up { \voiceOne \up }
2612 \context Voice = down { \voiceTwo \down }
2617 To use a modified existing list instead of building your own from
2618 scratch you can append your modifications to the start of the existing
2622 #(define mydrums (append `(
2623 (bassdrum default #f ,(make-pitch -1 2 0))
2624 (lowtom diamond #f ,(make-pitch -1 6 0))
2628 @c FIXME: Too many levels of headers when using subsubsections.
2629 @c Perhaps junk subsection ``Percussion staves''
2630 @subsubsection Percussion staves with normal staves
2631 When you include @file{drumpitch-init.ly} then the default pitches
2632 are overridden so that you after the inclusion cannot use the common
2633 dutch pitch names anymore. Hence you might wan't to reinclude
2634 @file{nederlands.ly} after the drum-pattern-definitions:
2635 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
2636 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2637 up = \notes { crashcymbal4 hihat8 halfopenhihat hh hh hh openhihat }
2638 down = \notes { bassdrum4 snare8 bd r bd sn4 }
2639 \include "nederlands.ly"
2640 bass = \notes \transpose c, { a4. e8 r e g e }
2643 \apply #(drums->paper 'drums) \context Staff = drums <
2645 \context Voice = up { \voiceOne \up }
2646 \context Voice = down { \voiceTwo \down }
2648 \context Staff = bass { \clef "F_8" \bass }
2653 @subsubsection Percussion midi output
2654 In order to produce correct midi output you need to produce two score
2655 blocks - one for the paper and one for the midi.
2656 To use the percussion channel you set the property @code{instrument}
2657 to @code{'drums}. Because the drum-pitches themself are similar to the
2658 general midi pitches all you have to do is to insert the voices with
2659 none of the scheme functions to get the correct midi output:
2663 \apply #(drums->paper 'mydrums) \context Staff <
2665 \context Voice = up @{ \voiceOne \up @}
2666 \context Voice = down @{ \voiceTwo \down @}
2672 \property Staff.instrument = #'drums
2681 This scheme is to be considered a temporary implementation. Even
2682 though the scheme will probably keep on working then the future might
2683 bring some other way of typesetting drums, and probably
2684 there will be made no great efforts in keeping things downwards
2689 @section Piano music
2691 Piano music is an odd type of notation. Piano staves are two normal
2692 staves coupled with a brace. The staves are largely independent, but
2693 sometimes voices can cross between the two staves. The
2694 @internalsref{PianoStaff} is especially built to handle this cross-staffing
2695 behavior. In this section we discuss the @internalsref{PianoStaff} and some
2696 other pianistic peculiarities.
2699 * Automatic staff changes::
2700 * Manual staff switches::
2703 * Voice follower lines::
2707 @c . {Automatic staff changes}
2708 @node Automatic staff changes
2709 @subsection Automatic staff changes
2710 @cindex Automatic staff changes
2712 Voices can switch automatically between the top and the bottom
2713 staff. The syntax for this is
2715 \autochange Staff \context Voice @{ @dots{}@var{music}@dots{} @}
2717 The autochanger switches on basis of pitch (central C is the turning
2718 point), and it looks ahead skipping over rests to switch rests in
2719 advance. Here is a practical example:
2721 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
2722 \score { \notes \context PianoStaff <
2723 \context Staff = "up" {
2724 \autochange Staff \context Voice = VA < \relative c' {
2725 g4 a b c d r4 a g } > }
2726 \context Staff = "down" {
2731 Spacer rests are used to prevent the bottom staff from
2732 terminating too soon.
2735 @node Manual staff switches
2736 @subsection Manual staff switches
2738 @cindex manual staff switches
2739 @cindex staff switch, manual
2741 Voices can be switched between staves manually, using the following command:
2743 \translator Staff = @var{staffname} @var{music}
2745 The string @var{staffname} is the name of the staff. It switches the
2746 current voice from its current staff to the Staff called
2747 @var{staffname}. Typically @var{staffname} is @code{"up"} or
2755 Piano pedal instruction can be expressed using
2756 @code{\sustainDown}, @code{\sustainUp}, @code{\unaCorda},
2757 @code{\treCorde}, @code{\sostenutoDown} and @code{\sostenutoUp}.
2759 These identifiers are shorthands for spanner commands of the types
2760 @internalsref{Sustain}, @internalsref{UnaCorda} and @internalsref{Sostenuto}:
2762 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2763 c''4 \spanrequest \start "Sustain" c''4
2764 c''4 \spanrequest \stop "Sustain"
2767 The symbols that are printed can be modified by setting
2768 @code{pedal@var{X}Strings}, where @var{X} is one of the pedal types:
2769 Sustain, Sostenuto or UnaCorda. Refer to the generated documentation of
2770 @rgrob{SustainPedal}, for example, for more information.
2772 Pedals can also be indicated by a sequence of brackets, by setting the
2773 @code{pedal-type} property of SustainPedal grobs:
2775 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2776 \property Staff.SustainPedal \override #'pedal-type = #'bracket
2777 c''4 \sustainDown d''4 e''4 a'4
2778 \sustainUp \sustainDown
2779 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sustainUp
2782 A third style of pedal notation is a mixture of text and brackets,
2783 obtained by setting @code{pedal-type} to @code{mixed}:
2785 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2786 \property Staff.SustainPedal \override #'pedal-type = #'mixed
2787 c''4 \sustainDown d''4 e''4 c'4
2788 \sustainUp \sustainDown
2789 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sustainUp
2792 The default '*Ped' style for sustain and damper pedals corresponds to
2793 @code{\pedal-type = #'text}. However, @code{mixed} is the default style
2794 for a sostenuto pedal:
2796 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2797 c''4 \sostenutoDown d''4 e''4 c'4 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sostenutoUp
2800 For fine-tuning of the appearance of a pedal bracket, the properties
2801 @code{edge-width}, @code{edge-height}, and @code{shorten-pair} of
2802 @code{PianoPedalBracket} grobs (see the detailed documentation of
2803 @rgrob{PianoPedalBracket}) can be modified. For example, the bracket
2804 may be extended to the end of the note head.
2806 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2807 \property Staff.PianoPedalBracket \override
2808 #'shorten-pair = #'(0 . -1.0)
2809 c''4 \sostenutoDown d''4 e''4 c'4
2810 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sostenutoUp
2817 @subsection Arpeggio
2820 @cindex broken arpeggio
2821 @cindex @code{\arpeggio}
2823 You can specify an arpeggio sign on a chord by attaching an
2824 @code{\arpeggio} to a note of the chord.
2827 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2828 \context Voice <c\arpeggio e g c>
2831 When an arpeggio crosses staves in piano music, you attach an arpeggio
2832 to the chords in both staves, and set
2833 @code{PianoStaff.connectArpeggios}.
2835 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2836 \context PianoStaff <
2837 \property PianoStaff.connectArpeggios = ##t
2838 \context Voice = one { <c'\arpeggio e g c> }
2839 \context Voice = other { \clef bass <c,,\arpeggio e g>}
2843 This command creates @internalsref{Arpeggio} grobs. Cross staff arpeggios
2844 are @code{PianoStaff.Arpeggio}.
2846 To add an arrow head to explicitly specify the direction of the
2847 arpeggio, you should set the arpeggio grob property
2848 @code{arpeggio-direction}.
2850 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2852 \property Voice.Arpeggio \set #'arpeggio-direction = #1
2854 \property Voice.Arpeggio \set #'arpeggio-direction = #-1
2859 A square bracket on the left indicates that the player should not
2860 arpeggiate the chord. To draw these brackets, set the
2861 @code{molecule-callback} property of @code{Arpeggio} or
2862 @code{PianoStaff.Arpeggio} grobs to @code{\arpeggioBracket}, and use
2863 @code{\arpeggio} statements within the chords as before.
2865 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2866 \context PianoStaff <
2867 \property PianoStaff.connectArpeggios = ##t
2868 \property PianoStaff.Arpeggio \override
2869 #'molecule-callback = \arpeggioBracket
2870 \context Voice = one { <c'\arpeggio e g c> }
2871 \context Voice = other { \clef bass <c,,\arpeggio e g>}
2878 It is not possible to mix connected arpeggios and unconnected
2879 arpeggios in one PianoStaff at the same time.
2883 @node Voice follower lines
2884 @subsection Voice follower lines
2886 @cindex follow voice
2887 @cindex staff switching
2890 @cindex @code{followVoice}
2892 Whenever a voice switches to another staff a line connecting the notes
2893 can be printed automatically. This is enabled if the property
2894 @code{PianoStaff.followVoice} is set to true:
2896 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2897 \context PianoStaff <
2898 \property PianoStaff.followVoice = ##t
2899 \context Staff \context Voice {
2901 \translator Staff=two
2904 \context Staff=two {\clef bass \skip 1*2 }
2908 The associated grob is @internalsref{VoiceFollower}.
2914 Tablature notation is used for notating music for plucked string
2915 instruments. It notates pitches not by using note heads, but by
2916 indicating on which string and fret a note must be played. LilyPond
2917 offers limited support for tablature by abusing the fingering system.
2920 * Tablatures basic::
2921 * Non-guitar tablatures::
2922 * Tablature in addition to normal staff::
2925 @node Tablatures basic
2926 @subsection Tablatures basic
2927 @cindex Tablatures basic
2929 Tablature can be typeset with Lilypond by using the
2930 @internalsref{TabStaff} and @internalsref{TabVoice} contexts. As
2931 tablature is a recent feature in Lilypond, most of the guitar special
2932 effects such as hammer, pull, bend are not yet supported.
2934 With the @internalsref{TabStaff}, the string number associated to a note
2935 is given though the fingering mechanism, e.g. @code{c4-3} for a C
2936 quarter on the third string. The string 1 is the lowest one, and the
2937 tuning defaults to the standard guitar tuning (with 6 strings).
2939 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2942 \property Staff.Stem \override #'direction = #1
2950 @node Non-guitar tablatures
2951 @subsection Non-guitar tablatures
2952 @cindex Non-guitar tablatures
2954 There are many ways to customize Lilypond tablatures.
2956 First you can change the number of strings, by setting the number of
2957 lines in the @internalsref{TabStaff}. You can change the strings
2958 tuning. A string tuning is given as a Scheme list with one integer
2959 number for each string, the number being the pitch of an open string.
2961 Finally, it is possible to change the Scheme function to format the
2962 tablature note text. The default is @var{fret-number-tablature-format},
2963 which uses the fret number, but for some instruments that may not use
2964 this notation, just create your own tablature-format function. This
2965 function takes three argument: the string number, the string tuning and
2969 @node Tablature in addition to normal staff
2970 @subsection Tablature in addition to normal staff
2971 @cindex Tablature in addition to normal staff
2973 It is possible to typeset both tablature and a "normal" staff, as
2974 commonly done in many parts.
2976 A common trick for that is to put the notes in a variables, and to hide
2977 the fingering information (which correspond to the string number) for
2981 @c @lily pond[verbatim]
2988 \context StaffGroup <
2990 % Hide fingering number
2991 \property Staff.Fingering \override #'transparent = ##t
2996 \property Staff.Stem \override #'direction = #1
3010 LilyPond has support for both entering and printing chords.
3011 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3012 twoWays = \notes \transpose c'' {
3022 < \context ChordNames \twoWays
3023 \context Voice \twoWays > }
3026 This example also shows that the chord printing routines do not try to
3027 be intelligent. If you enter @code{f bes d}, it does not interpret
3028 this as an inversion.
3030 As you can see chords really are a set of pitches. They are internally
3031 stored as simultaneous music expressions. This means you can enter
3032 chords by name and print them as notes, enter them as notes and print
3033 them as chord names, or (the most common case) enter them by name, and
3038 * Printing named chords::
3043 @subsection Chords mode
3046 Chord mode is a mode where you can input sets of pitches using common
3047 names. It is introduced by the keyword @code{\chords}. It is similar
3048 to note mode, but words are also looked up in a chord modifier table
3049 (containing @code{maj}, @code{dim}, etc). Dashes and carets are used
3050 to indicate chord additions and subtractions, so articulation scripts
3051 can not be entered in Chord mode.
3053 Throughout these examples, chords have been shifted around the staff
3054 using @code{\transpose}.
3056 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3060 c:9 c:9-.5+.7+ c:3-.5-
3070 The second type of modifier that may appear after the @code{:} is a
3071 named modifier. Named modifiers are listed in the file
3072 @file{chord-modifiers.ly}. The available modifiers are @code{m} and
3073 @code{min} which lower the 3rd half a step, `@code{aug}' which
3074 raises the 5th, `@code{dim}' which lowers the 5th,
3075 `@code{maj}' which adds a raised 7th, and `@code{sus}'
3076 which replaces the 5th with a 4th.
3078 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3081 c1:m c:min7 c:maj c:aug c:dim c:sus
3087 Chord subtractions are used to eliminate notes from a chord. The
3088 notes to be subtracted are listed after a @code{^} character,
3091 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
3100 Chord inversions can be specified by appending `@code{/}' and the name
3101 of a single note to a chord. In a chord inversion, the inverted note is
3102 transposed down until it is the lowest note in the chord. If the note
3103 is not in the chord, a warning will be printed.
3105 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
3115 Bass notes can be added by `@code{/+}' and
3116 the name of a single note to a chord. This has the effect of
3117 adding the specified note to the chord, lowered by an octave,
3118 so it becomes the lowest note in the chord.
3120 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
3129 The formal syntax for named chords is as follows:
3131 @var{tonic}[@var{duration}][@code{-}@var{modifiers}][@code{^}@var{subtractions}][@code{/}@var{inversion}][@code{/+}@var{bass}].
3134 @var{tonic} should be the tonic note of the chord, and @var{duration} is
3135 the chord duration in the usual notation. There are two kinds of
3136 modifiers. One type is formed by @emph{chord additions}. Additions are
3137 obtained by listing intervals separated by dots. An interval is written
3138 by its number with an optional @code{+} or @code{-} to indicate raising
3139 or lowering by half a step. Chord additions have two effects: they adds
3140 the specified interval and all lower odd numbered intervals to the
3141 chord, and they may lower or raise the specified interval.
3146 Implementation details are gory. For example @code{c:4} not only adds
3147 a fourth, but also removes the third.
3150 @c . {Printing named chords}
3151 @node Printing named chords
3152 @subsection Printing named chords
3154 @cindex printing chord names
3158 For displaying printed chord names, use the @internalsref{ChordNames} context.
3159 The chords may be entered either using the notation described above, or
3160 directly using simultaneous music.
3162 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3164 \chords {a1 b c} <d f g> <e g b>
3168 \context ChordNames \scheme
3169 \context Staff \transpose c'' \scheme
3174 You can make the chord changes stand out by setting
3175 @code{ChordNames.chordChanges} to true. This will only display chord
3176 names when there's a change in the chords scheme and at the start of a
3181 c1:m c:m \break c:m c:m d
3185 \context ChordNames {
3186 \property ChordNames.chordChanges = ##t
3188 \context Staff \transpose c'' \scheme
3190 \paper{linewidth= 9.\cm}
3194 LilyPond examines chords specified as lists of notes to determine a name
3195 to give the chord. LilyPond will not try to identify chord inversions or
3196 an added bass note, which may result in strange chord names when chords
3197 are entered as a list of pitches:
3199 @lilypond[verbatim,center,singleline]
3208 \context ChordNames \scheme
3209 \context Staff \scheme
3215 By default, a chord name system proposed by Harald Banter (See
3216 @ref{Literature}) is used. The system is very regular and predictable.
3217 Typical American style chord names may be selected by setting the
3218 @code{style} property of the @code{ChordNames.ChordName} grob to
3219 @code{'american}. Similarly @code{'jazz} selects Jazz chordnames.
3221 Routines that determine the names to be printed are written in Scheme,
3222 and may be customized by the user. The code can be found in
3223 @file{scm/chord-name.scm}. Here's an example showing the differences in
3227 @c maybe just junk verbatim option?
3228 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3238 \context ChordNames = banter \scheme
3239 \context ChordNames = american {
3240 \property ChordNames.ChordName \override
3241 #'style = #'american \scheme }
3242 \context ChordNames = jazz {
3243 \property ChordNames.ChordName \override
3244 #'style = #'jazz \scheme }
3245 \context Staff \transpose c'' \scheme
3252 @section Writing parts
3254 Orchestral music involves some special notation, both in the full score,
3255 as in the individual parts. This section explains how to tackle common
3256 problems in orchestral music.
3263 * Instrument names::
3265 * Multi measure rests::
3266 * Automatic part combining::
3267 * Hara kiri staves::
3268 * Sound output for transposing instruments::
3271 @c . {Rehearsal marks}
3272 @node Rehearsal marks
3273 @subsection Rehearsal marks
3274 @cindex Rehearsal marks
3276 @cindex @code{\mark}
3278 To print a rehearsal mark, use the @code{\mark} command.
3279 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3290 As you can see, the mark is incremented automatically if you use
3291 @code{\mark \default}. The value to use is stored in the property
3292 @code{rehearsalMark} is used and automatically incremented. The grob
3293 is @internalsref{RehearsalMark} in @internalsref{Score} context. See
3294 @code{input/test/boxed-molecule.ly} if you need boxes around the
3297 The @code{\mark} command can also be used to put signs like coda,
3298 segno and fermatas on a barline. The trick is to use the text markup
3299 mechanism to access the fermata symbol.
3300 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,relative=1]
3301 c1 \mark #'(music "scripts-ufermata")
3305 The problem is that marks that occur at a line break are typeset only
3306 at the beginning of the next line, opposite to what you want for the
3307 fermata. This can be corrected by the following property setting
3309 \property Score.RehearsalMark \override
3310 #'visibility-lambda = #begin-of-line-invisible
3316 @cindex barlines, putting symbols on
3320 @subsection Bar numbers
3324 @cindex measure numbers
3325 @cindex currentBarNumber
3327 Bar numbers are printed by default at the start of the line. The
3328 number itself is a property that can be set by modifying the
3329 @code{currentBarNumber} property, i.e.
3331 \property Score.currentBarNumber = #217
3334 If you want boxed bar numbers, see the example file
3335 @code{input/test/boxed-molecule.ly}.
3337 See also @seeinternals{BarNumber}.
3341 Printing bar numbers at regular intervals is not implemented.
3342 Barnumbers can collide with the StaffGroup, if there is one at the
3343 top. To solve this, You have to twiddle with the
3344 @internalsref{padding} property of @internalsref{BarNumber} if your
3345 score starts with a @internalsref{StaffGroup}.
3347 @node Instrument names
3348 @subsection Instrument names
3350 In scores, the instrument name is printed before the staff. This can
3351 be done by setting @code{Staff.instrument} and
3352 @code{Staff.instr}. This will print a string before the start of the
3353 staff. For the first start, @code{instrument} is used, for the next
3354 ones @code{instr} is used.
3356 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3357 \property Staff.instrument = "ploink " { c''4 }
3360 You can also use markup texts to construct more complicated instrument
3364 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3366 '((font-relative-size . -2 ) (music "accidentals--1")))
3369 \property Staff.instrument = #`((kern . 0.5) (lines
3370 "2 Clarinetti" (columns " (B" ,text-flat ")")))
3378 When you put a name on a grand staff or piano staff the width of the
3379 brace is not taken into account. You must add extra spaces to the end of
3380 the name to avoid a collision.
3383 @subsection Transpose
3385 @cindex transposition of pitches
3386 @cindex @code{\transpose}
3388 A music expression can be transposed with @code{\transpose}. The syntax
3391 \transpose @var{pitch} @var{musicexpr}
3394 This means that middle C in @var{musicexpr} is transposed to
3397 @code{\transpose} distinguishes between enharmonic pitches: both
3398 @code{\transpose cis'} or @code{\transpose des'} will transpose up half
3399 a tone. The first version will print sharps and the second version
3402 @lilypond[singleline, verbatim]
3403 mus =\notes { \key d \major cis d fis g }
3404 \score { \notes \context Staff {
3412 If you want to use both @code{\transpose} and @code{\relative}, then
3413 you must use @code{\transpose} first. @code{\relative} will have no
3414 effect music that appears inside a @code{\transpose}.
3416 @c . {Multi measure rests}
3417 @node Multi measure rests
3418 @subsection Multi measure rests
3419 @cindex Multi measure rests
3423 Multi measure rests are entered using `@code{R}'. It is specifically
3424 meant for full bar rests and for entering parts: the rest can expand to
3426 rests, or it can be printed as a single multimeasure rest This expansion
3427 is controlled by the property @code{Score.skipBars}. If this is set to true,
3428 Lily will not expand empty measures, and the appropriate number is added
3431 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3432 \time 3/4 r2. | R2. | R2.*2
3433 \property Score.skipBars = ##t R2.*17 R2.*4
3436 Notice that the @code{R2.} is printed as a whole rest, centered in the
3439 @cindex whole rests for a full measure
3441 The grob for this object is @internalsref{MultiMeasureRest}.
3445 Currently, there is no way to automatically condense multiple rests
3446 into a single multimeasure rest. Multi measure rests do not take part
3449 @cindex condensing rests
3451 @node Automatic part combining
3452 @subsection Automatic part combining
3453 @cindex automatic part combining
3454 @cindex part combiner
3457 Automatic part combining is used to merge two parts of music onto a
3458 staff in an intelligent way. It is aimed primarily at typesetting
3459 orchestral scores. When the two parts are identical for a period of
3460 time, only one is shown. In places where the two parts differ, they
3461 are typeset as separate voices, and stem directions are set
3462 automatically. Also, solo and @emph{a due} parts can be identified
3465 The syntax for part combining is
3468 \partcombine @var{context} @var{musicexpr1} @var{musicexpr2}
3470 where the pieces of music @var{musicexpr1} and @var{musicexpr2} will be
3471 combined into one context of type @var{context}. The music expressions
3472 must be interpreted by contexts whose names should start with @code{one}
3475 The most useful function of the part combiner is to combine parts into
3476 one voice, as common for wind parts in orchestral scores:
3478 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline,fragment]
3480 \context Voice=one \partcombine Voice
3481 \context Thread=one \relative c'' {
3484 \context Thread=two \relative c'' {
3490 Notice that the first @code{g} appears only once, although it was
3491 specified twice (once in each part). Stem, slur and tie directions are
3492 set automatically, depending whether there is a solo or unisono. The
3493 first part (with context called @code{one}) always gets up stems, and
3494 `solo', while the second (called @code{two}) always gets down stems and
3497 If you just want the merging parts, and not the textual markings, you
3498 may set the property @var{soloADue} to false.
3500 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline,fragment]
3502 \property Staff.soloADue = ##f
3503 \context Voice=one \partcombine Voice
3504 \context Thread=one \relative c'' {
3507 \context Thread=two \relative c'' {
3513 There are a number of other properties that you can use to tweak the
3514 behavior of part combining, refer to the automatically generated
3515 documentation of @reng{Thread_devnull_engraver} and
3516 @reng{Voice_devnull_engraver}. Look at the documentation of the
3517 responsible engravers, @code{Thread_devnull_engraver},
3518 @code{Voice_devnull_engraver} and @code{A2_engraver}.
3522 In @code{soloADue} mode, when the two voices play the same notes on and
3523 off, the part combiner may typeset @code{a2} more than once in a
3526 @lilypond[fragment,singleline]
3528 \context Voice=one \partcombine Voice
3529 \context Thread=one \relative c'' {
3532 \context Thread=two \relative c'' {
3538 @cindex @code{Thread_devnull_engraver}
3539 @cindex @code{Voice_engraver}
3540 @cindex @code{A2_engraver}
3542 @node Hara kiri staves
3543 @subsection Hara kiri staves
3545 In orchestral scores, staff lines that only have rests are usually removed.
3546 This saves some space. LilyPond also supports this through the hara
3547 kiri@footnote{Hara kiri, also called Seppuku, is the ritual suicide of
3548 the Japanese Samourai warriors.} staff. This staff commits suicide when
3549 it finds itself to be empty after the line-breaking process. It will
3550 not disappear when it contains normal rests, you must use multi measure
3553 The hara kiri staff is specialized version of the @internalsref{Staff}
3554 context. It is available as the context identifier
3555 @code{\HaraKiriStaffContext}. Observe how the second staff in this
3556 example disappears in the second line.
3560 \notes \relative c' <
3561 \context Staff = SA { e4 f g a \break c1 }
3562 \context Staff = SB { c4 d e f \break R1 }
3566 \translator { \HaraKiriStaffContext }
3572 @node Sound output for transposing instruments
3573 @subsection Sound output for transposing instruments
3575 When you want to make a MIDI file from a score containing transposed
3576 and untransposed instruments, you have to instruct LilyPond the pitch
3577 offset (in semitones) for the transposed instruments. This is done
3578 using the @code{transposing} property. It does not affect printed
3581 @cindex @code{transposing}
3584 \property Staff.instrument = #"Cl. in B-flat"
3585 \property Staff.transposing = #-2
3591 @node Ancient notation
3592 @section Ancient notation
3595 * Ancient note heads::
3602 @node Ancient note heads
3603 @subsection Ancient note heads
3605 To get a longa note head, you have to use mensural note heads. This
3606 is accomplished by setting the @code{style} property of the
3607 NoteHead grob to @code{mensural}. There is also a note head style
3608 @code{baroque} which gives mensural note heads for @code{\longa} and
3609 @code{\breve} but standard note heads for shorter notes.
3611 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim]
3612 \property Voice.NoteHead \set #'style = #'mensural
3617 @subsection Custodes
3622 A @emph{custos} (plural: @emph{custodes}; latin word for `guard') is a
3623 staff context symbol that appears at the end of a staff line. It
3624 anticipates the pitch of the first note(s) of the following line and
3625 thus helps the player or singer to manage line breaks during
3626 performance, thus enhancing readability of a score.
3631 \property Staff.Custos \set #'style = #'mensural
3636 \consists Custos_engraver
3642 Custodes were frequently used in music notation until the 17th century.
3643 There were different appearances for different notation styles.
3644 Nowadays, they have survived only in special forms of musical notation
3645 such as via the @emph{editio vaticana} dating back to the beginning of
3648 For typesetting custodes, just put a @code{Custos_engraver} into the
3649 @internalsref{Staff} context when declaring the @code{\paper} block. In this
3650 block, you can also globally control the appearance of the custos symbol
3651 by setting the custos @code{style} property. Currently supported styles
3652 are @code{vaticana}, @code{medicaea}, @code{hufnagel} and
3659 \consists Custos_engraver
3660 Custos \override #'style = #'mensural
3665 The property can also be set locally, for example in a @code{\notes}
3670 \property Staff.Custos \override #'style = #'vaticana
3671 c'1 d' e' d' \break c' d' e' d'
3676 @subsection Ancient clefs
3678 LilyPond supports a variety of clefs, many of them ancient. These can
3679 be selected by setting @code{Staff.clefGlyph}) to one of the following
3689 @item clefs-vaticana_do
3690 Editio Vaticana style do clef
3691 @item clefs-vaticana_fa
3692 Editio Vaticana style fa clef
3693 @item clefs-medicaea_do
3694 Editio Medicaea style do clef
3695 @item clefs-medicaea_fa
3696 Editio Medicaea style fa clef
3697 @item clefs-mensural1_c
3698 modern style mensural C clef
3699 @item clefs-mensural2_c
3700 historic style small mensural C clef
3701 @item clefs-mensural3_c
3702 historic style big mensural C clef
3703 @item clefs-mensural1_f
3704 historic style traditional mensural F clef
3705 @item clefs-mensural2_f
3706 historic style new mensural F clef
3707 @item clefs-mensural_g
3708 historic style mensural G clef
3709 @item clefs-hufnagel_do
3710 historic style hufnagel do clef
3711 @item clefs-hufnagel_fa
3712 historic style hufnagel fa clef
3713 @item clefs-hufnagel_do_fa
3714 historic style hufnagel combined do/fa clef
3715 @item clefs-percussion
3716 modern style percussion clef
3719 @emph{Modern style} means ``as is typeset in current editions.''
3720 @emph{Historic style} means ``as was typeset or written in contemporary
3721 historic editions''. @emph{Editio XXX style} means ``as is/was printed in
3724 @cindex Vaticana, Editio
3725 @cindex Medicaea, Editio
3726 @cindex hufnagel clefs
3730 @subsection Figured bass
3732 @cindex Basso continuo
3734 LilyPond has limited support for figured bass:
3736 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment]
3738 \context FiguredBass
3743 \context Voice { c4 g8 }
3747 The support for figured bass consists of two parts: there is an input
3748 mode, introduced by @code{\figures}, where you can enter bass figures
3749 as numbers, and there is a context called @internalsref{FiguredBass}
3750 that takes care of making @internalsref{BassFigure} grobs.
3752 In figures input mode, a group of bass figures is delimited by
3753 @code{<} and @code{>}. The duration is entered after the @code{>}.
3758 \context FiguredBass
3762 Accidentals are added to the numbers if you alterate them by
3763 appending @code{-}, @code{!} and @code{+}.
3769 \context FiguredBass
3770 \figures { <4- 6+ 7!> }
3773 Spaces or dashes may be inserted by using @code{_}. Brackets are
3774 introduced with @code{[} and @code{]}.
3780 \context FiguredBass
3781 \figures { < [4 6] 8 [_ 12]> }
3784 Although the support for figured bass may superficially resemble chord
3785 support, it works much simpler: in figured bass simply stores the
3786 numbers, and then prints the numbers you entered. There is no
3787 conversion to pitches, and no realizations of the bass are played in
3791 @c . {Tuning output}
3793 @section Tuning output
3795 LilyPond tries to take as much formatting as possible out of your
3796 hands. Nevertheless, there are situations where it needs some help, or
3797 where you want to override its decisions. In this section we discuss
3798 ways to do just that.
3800 Formatting is internally done by manipulating so called grobs (graphic
3801 objects). Each grob carries with it a set of properties (grob
3802 properties) specific to that object. For example, a stem grob has
3803 properties that specify its direction, length and thickness.
3805 The most direct way of tuning the output is by altering the values of
3806 these properties. There are two ways of doing that: first, you can
3807 temporarily change the definition of a certain type of grob, thus
3808 affecting a whole set of objects. Second, you can select one specific
3809 object, and set a grob property in that object.
3812 * Tuning groups of grobs ::
3813 * Tuning per grob ::
3818 @node Tuning groups of grobs
3819 @subsection Tuning groups of grobs
3821 @cindex grob description
3825 A grob definition is a Scheme association list, that is stored in a
3826 context property. By assigning to that property (using plain
3827 @code{\property}), you can change the resulting grobs.
3829 @lilypond[verbatim, fragment]
3830 c'4 \property Voice.Stem = #'()
3833 The @code{\property} assignment effectively empties the definition of
3834 the Stem object. One of the effects is that the recipe of how it should be
3835 printed is erased, with the effect of rendering it invisible. The above
3836 assignment is available as a standard identifier, for the case that you
3840 \property Voice.Stem = \turnOff
3847 This mechanism is fairly crude, since you can only set, but not modify,
3848 the definition of a grob. For this reason, there is a more advanced
3851 The definition of a grob is actually a list of default grob
3852 properties. For example, the definition of the Stem grob (available in
3853 @file{scm/grob-description.scm}), defines the following values for
3858 (beamed-lengths . (0.0 2.5 2.0 1.5))
3859 (Y-extent-callback . ,Stem::height)
3863 You can add a property on top of the existing definition, or remove a
3864 property, thus overriding the system defaults:
3866 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \override #'thickness = #4.0
3867 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \revert #'thickness
3870 You should balance @code{\override} and @code{\revert}. If that's too
3871 much work, you can use the @code{\set} shorthand. It performs a revert
3872 followed by an override. The following example gives exactly the same
3873 result as the previous one.
3875 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \set #'thickness = #4.0
3876 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \set #'thickness = #0.8
3879 If you use @code{\set}, you must explicitly restore the default.
3882 Formally the syntax for these constructions is
3884 \property @var{context}.@var{grobname} \override @var{symbol} = @var{value}
3885 \property @var{context}.@var{grobname} \set @var{symbol} = @var{value}
3886 \property @var{context}.@var{grobname} \revert @var{symbol}
3888 Here @var{symbol} is a Scheme expression of symbol type, @var{context}
3889 and @var{grobname} are strings and @var{value} is a Scheme expression.
3892 If you revert a setting which was not set in the first place, then it
3893 has no effect. However, if the setting was set as a system default, it
3894 may remove the default value, and this may give surprising results,
3895 including crashes. In other words, @code{\override} and @code{\revert},
3896 must be carefully balanced.
3898 These are examples of correct nesting of @code{\override}, @code{\set},
3901 A clumsy but correct form:
3903 \override \revert \override \revert \override \revert
3906 Shorter version of the same:
3908 \override \set \set \revert
3911 A short form, using only @code{\set}. This requires you to know the
3914 \set \set \set \set @var{to default value}
3917 If there is no default (i.e. by default, the grob property is unset),
3920 \set \set \set \revert
3923 For the digirati, the grob description is an Scheme association
3924 list. Since a Scheme list is a singly linked list, we can treat it as a
3925 stack, and @code{\override} and @code{\revert} are just push and pop
3926 operations. This pushing and popping is also used for overriding
3927 automatic beaming settings.
3931 LilyPond will hang or crash if @var{value} contains cyclic references.
3932 The backend is not very strict in type-checking grob properties. If you
3933 @code{\revert} properties that are expected to be set by default,
3939 @node Tuning per grob
3940 @subsection Tuning per grob
3942 @cindex \outputproperty
3944 A second way of tuning grobs is the more arcane @code{\outputproperty}
3945 feature. The syntax is as follows:
3947 \outputproperty @var{predicate} @var{symbol} = @var{value}
3949 Here @code{predicate} is a Scheme function taking a grob argument, and
3950 returning a boolean. This statement is processed by the
3951 @code{Output_property_engraver}. It instructs the engraver to feed all
3952 grobs that it sees to @var{predicate}. Whenever the predicate returns
3953 true, the grob property @var{symbol} will be set to @var{value}.
3955 You will need to combine this statement with @code{\context} to select
3956 the appropriate context to apply this to.
3958 Here are some random examples.
3961 In the following example, all note heads occurring at current staff
3962 level, are shifted up and right by setting their @code{extra-offset}
3965 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,singleline]
3967 \context Staff \outputproperty
3968 #(make-type-checker 'note-head-interface)
3969 #'extra-offset = #'(0.5 . 0.75)
3973 @cindex @code{extra-offset}
3975 In this example, the predicate checks the @code{text} grob property, to
3976 shift only the `m.d.' text, but not the fingering instruction "2".
3977 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3978 #(define (make-text-checker text)
3979 (lambda (grob) (equal? text (ly-get-grob-property grob 'text))))
3982 \notes\relative c''' {
3983 \property Voice.Stem \set #'direction = #1
3984 \outputproperty #(make-text-checker "m.d.")
3985 #'extra-offset = #'(-3.5 . -4.5)
3993 If possible, avoid this feature: the semantics are not very clean, and
3994 the syntax and semantics are up for rewrite.
3999 @node Font selection
4000 @subsection Font selection
4002 The most common thing to change about the appearance of fonts is
4003 their size. The font size of a @internalsref{Voice},
4004 @internalsref{Staff} or @internalsref{Thread} context, can be easily
4005 changed by setting the @code{fontSize} property for that context:
4006 @lilypond[fragment,relative=1]
4007 c4 c4 \property Voice.fontSize = #-1
4010 This command will not change the size of variable symbols, such as
4011 beams or slurs. You can use this command to get smaller symbol for
4012 cue notes, but that involves some more subtleties. An elaborate
4013 example of those is in @file{input/test/cue-notes.ly}.
4019 The font used for printing a grob can be selected by setting
4020 @code{font-name}, e.g.
4022 \property Staff.TimeSignature
4023 \set #'font-name = #"cmr17"
4025 You may use any font which is available to @TeX{}, such as foreign
4026 fonts or fonts that do not belong to the Computer Modern font family.
4027 Font selection for the standard fonts, @TeX{}'s Computer Modern fonts,
4028 can also be adjusted with a more fine-grained mechanism. By setting
4029 the grob properties described below, you can select a different font.
4030 All three mechanisms work for every grob that supports
4031 @code{font-interface}.
4035 A symbol indicating the general class of the typeface. Supported are
4036 @code{roman} (Computer Modern), @code{braces} (for piano staff
4037 braces), @code{music} (the standard music font), @code{ancient} (the
4038 ancient notation font) @code{dynamic} (font for dynamic signs) and
4042 A symbol indicating the shape of the font, there are typically several
4043 font shapes available for each font family. Choices are @code{italic},
4044 @code{caps} and @code{upright}
4047 A symbol indicating the series of the font. There are typically several
4048 font series for each font family and shape. Choices are @code{medium}
4051 @item font-relative-size
4052 A number indicating the size relative the standard size. For example,
4053 with 20pt staff height, relative size -1 corresponds to 16pt staff
4054 height, and relative size +1 corresponds to 23 pt staff height.
4056 @item font-design-size
4057 A number indicating the design size of the font.
4059 This is a feature of the Computer Modern Font: each point size has a
4060 slightly different design. Smaller design sizes are relatively wider,
4061 which enhances readability.
4064 For any of these properties, the value @code{*} (i.e. the @emph{symbol},
4065 @code{*}, entered as @code{#'*}), acts as a wildcard. This can be used
4066 to override default setting, which are always present. For example:
4068 \property Lyrics . LyricText \override #'font-series = #'bold
4069 \property Lyrics . LyricText \override #'font-family = #'typewriter
4070 \property Lyrics . LyricText \override #'font-shape = #'*
4073 @cindex @code{font-style}
4075 There are also pre-cooked font selection qualifiers. These are
4076 selected through the grob property @code{font-style}. For example,
4077 the style @code{finger} selects family @code{number} and relative size
4078 @code{-3}. Styles available include @code{volta}, @code{finger},
4079 @code{tuplet}, @code{timesig}, @code{mmrest}, @code{script},
4080 @code{large}, @code{Large} and @code{dynamic}. The style sheets and
4081 tables for selecting fonts are located in @file{scm/font.scm}. Refer
4082 to this file for more information.
4084 @cindex magnification
4086 The size of the font may be scaled with the grob property
4087 @code{font-magnification}. For example, @code{2.0} blows up all
4088 letters by a factor 2 in both directions.
4092 Relative size is not linked to any real size.
4094 There is no style sheet provided for other fonts besides the @TeX{}
4095 family, and the style sheet can not be modified easiyl.
4097 @cindex font selection
4098 @cindex font magnification
4099 @cindex @code{font-interface}
4103 @subsection Text markup
4107 LilyPond has an internal mechanism to typeset texts. You can
4108 form text markup expressions by composing scheme expressions
4109 in the following way.
4111 @lilypond[verbatim, singleline]
4116 c^#'(italic "italic")
4117 d_#'((bold italic) "ff")
4119 f_#'(lines "one" (bold "two"))
4120 g^#'(music "noteheads-2" ((raise . 2.4) "flags-u3"))
4124 Normally, the Scheme markup text is stored in the @code{text} property
4125 of a grob. Formally, it is defined as follows:
4128 text: string | (head? text+)
4129 head: markup | (markup+)
4130 markup-item: property | abbrev
4131 property: (@var{key} . @var{value})
4132 abbrev: @code{columns lines roman music bold italic named super sub}
4133 @code{overstrike text finger volta timesig mmrest mark script}
4134 @code{large Large dynamic}
4137 The markup is broken down and converted into a list of grob properties,
4138 which are prepended to the property list. The @var{key}-@var{value}
4139 pair is a grob property. A list of properties available is included in
4140 the generated documentation for @internalsref{text-interface}.
4142 The following abbreviations are defined:
4145 horizontal mode: set all text on one line (default)
4147 vertical mode: set every text on a new line
4151 selects the Feta font (the standard font for music notation glyphs),
4152 and uses named lookup
4159 lookup by character name
4161 plain text lookup (by character value)
4167 the next text or character overstrikes this one
4169 select fingering number fontstyle
4171 select volta number fontstyle
4173 select time signature number fontstyle
4175 select multi measure rest number fontstyle
4177 select mark number fontstyle
4179 select scriptsize roman fontstyle
4181 select large roman fontstyle
4183 select Large roman fontstyle
4185 select dynamics fontstyle
4189 @cindex metronome mark
4191 One practical application of complicated markup is to fake a metronome
4195 #(define note '(columns
4196 (music "noteheads-2" ((kern . -0.1) "flags-stem"))))
4197 #(define eight-note `(columns ,note ((kern . -0.1)
4198 (music ((raise . 3.5) "flags-u3")))))
4199 #(define dotted-eight-note
4200 `(columns ,eight-note (music "dots-dot")))
4203 \notes\relative c'' {
4204 a1^#`((columns (font-relative-size . -1))
4205 ,dotted-eight-note " = 64")
4211 TextScript \override #'font-shape = #'upright
4219 The syntax and semantics of markup texts are not clean, and both
4220 syntax and semantics are slated for a rewrite.
4222 LilyPond does not do kerning, and there generally spaces texts
4228 @section Global layout
4230 The global layout determined by three factors: the page layout, the
4231 line breaks and the spacing. These all influence each other: The
4232 choice of spacing determines how densely each system of music is set,
4233 where line breaks breaks are chosen, and thus ultimately how many
4234 pages a piece of music takes. In this section we will explain how the
4235 lilypond spacing engine works, and how you can tune its results.
4237 Globally spoken, this procedure happens in three steps: first,
4238 flexible distances (``springs'') are chosen, based on durations. All
4239 possible line breaking combination are tried, and the one with the
4240 best results---a layout that has uniform density and requires as
4241 little stretching or cramping as possible---is chosen. When the score
4242 is processed by @TeX{}, page are filled with systems, and page breaks
4243 are chosen whenever the page gets full.
4246 * Vertical spacing::
4247 * Horizontal spacing::
4254 @node Vertical spacing
4255 @subsection Vertical spacing
4257 @cindex vertical spacing
4258 @cindex distance between staffs
4259 @cindex staff distance
4260 @cindex between staves, distance
4262 The height of each system is determined automatically by lilypond, to
4263 keep systems from bumping into each other, some minimum distances are
4264 set. By changing these, you can put staffs closer together, and thus
4265 put more systems onto one page.
4267 Normally staves are stacked vertically. To make
4268 staves maintain a distance, their vertical size is padded. This is
4269 done with the property @code{minimumVerticalExtent}. It takes a pair
4270 of numbers, so if you want to make it smaller from its, then you could
4273 \property Staff.minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-4 . 4)
4275 This sets the vertical size of the current staff to 4 staff-space on
4276 either side of the center staff line. The argument of
4277 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is interpreted as an interval, where the
4278 center line is the 0, so the first number is generally negative. you
4279 could also make the staff larger at the bottom by setting it to
4280 @code{(-6 . 4)}. The default value is @code{(-6 . 6)}.
4282 Vertical aligment of staves is handled by the
4283 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} grob, which lives at
4284 @internalsref{Score} level.
4286 The piano staffs are handled a little differently: to make cross-staff
4287 beaming work correctly, it necessary that the distance between staves
4288 is fixed. This is also done with a @internalsref{VerticalAlignment}
4289 grob, created in @internalsref{PianoStaff}, but a forced distance is
4290 set. This is done with the grob property #'forced-distance. If you
4291 want to override this, use a @code{\translator} block as follows:
4295 VerticalAlignment \override #'forced-distance = #9
4298 This would bring the staffs together at a distance of 9 staff spaces,
4299 and again this is measured from the center line of each staff.
4303 @node Horizontal spacing
4304 @subsection Horizontal Spacing
4306 The spacing engine translates differences in durations into
4307 stretchable distances (``springs'') of differing lengths. Longer
4308 durations get more space, shorter durations get less. The basis for
4309 assigning spaces to durations, is that the shortest durations get a
4310 fixed amount of space, and the longer durations get more: doubling a
4311 duration adds a fixed amount of space to the note.
4313 For example, the following piece contains lots of half, quarter and
4314 8th notes, the eighth note is followed by 1 note head width. The The
4315 quarter note is followed by 2 NHW, the half by 3 NHW, etc.
4316 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim, relative=1]
4317 c2 c4. c8 c4. c8 c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
4320 These two amounts of space are @code{shortest-duration-space}
4321 @code{spacing-increment}, grob properties of
4322 @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}. Normally @code{spacing-increment} is
4323 set to 1.2, which is the width of a note head, and
4324 @code{shortest-duration-space} is set to 2.0, meaning that the
4325 shortest note gets 2 noteheads of space. For normal notes, this space
4326 is always counted from the left edge of the symbol, so the short notes
4327 in a score is generally followed by one note head width of space.
4329 If one would follow the above procedure exactly, then adding a single
4330 32th note to a score that uses 8th and 16th notes, would widen up the
4331 entire score a lot. The shortest note is no longer a 16th, but a 64th,
4332 thus adding 2 noteheads of space to every note. To prevent this, the
4333 shortest duration for spacing is not the shortest note in the score,
4334 but the most commonly found shortest note. Notes that are even
4335 shorter this are followed by a space that is proportonial to their
4336 duration relative to the common shortest note. So if we were to add
4337 only a few 16th notes to the example above, they would be followed by
4340 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim, relative=1]
4341 c2 c4. c8 c4. [c16 c] c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
4344 The most common shortest duration is determined as follows: in every
4345 measure, the shortest duration is determined. The most common short
4346 duration, is taken as the basis for the spacing, with the stipulation
4347 that this shortest duration should always be equal to or shorter than
4348 1/8th note. The shortest duration is printed when you run lilypond
4349 with @code{--verbose}. These durations may also be customized. If you
4350 set the @code{common-shortest-duration} in
4351 @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, then this sets the base duration for
4352 spacing. The maximum duration for this base (normally 1/8th), is set
4353 through @code{base-shortest-duration}.
4355 @cindex @code{common-shortest-duration}
4356 @cindex @code{base-shortest-duration}
4357 @cindex @code{stem-spacing-correction}
4358 @cindex @code{spacing}
4360 In the introduction it was explained that stem directions influence
4361 spacing. This is controlled with @code{stem-spacing-correction} in
4362 @internalsref{NoteSpacing}. The @code{StaffSpacing} grob contains the
4363 same property for controlling the stem/barline spacing. In the
4364 following example shows these corrections, once with default settings,
4365 and once with exaggerated corrections.
4371 \property Staff.NoteSpacing \override #'stem-spacing-correction
4373 \property Staff.StaffSpacing \override #'stem-spacing-correction
4378 \paper { linewidth = -1. } }
4385 Spacing is determined on a score wide basis. If you have a score that
4386 changes its character (measured in durations) half way during the
4387 score, the part containing the longer durations will be spaced too
4390 Generating optically pleasing spacing is black magic. LilyPond tries
4391 to deal with a number of frequent cases. Here is an example that is
4392 not handled correctly, due to the combination of chord collisions and
4397 \context PianoStaff \notes \transpose c''' <
4398 \context Staff = up { s1 }
4399 \context Staff = down { [c8 c \translator Staff=up <c d> c
4400 \translator Staff=down c c c] }
4402 \paper { linewidth = -1 }
4409 @subsection Font size
4410 @cindex font size, setting
4411 @cindex staff size, setting
4412 @cindex @code{paper} file
4414 The Feta font provides musical symbols at seven different sizes.
4415 These fonts are 11 point, 13 point, 16 point, 19 pt, 20 point, 23
4416 point, and 26 point. The point size of a font is the height of the
4417 five lines in a staff when displayed in the font.
4419 Definitions for these sizes are the files @file{paperSZ.ly}, where
4420 @code{SZ} is one of 11, 13, 16, 19, 20, 23 and 26. If you include any
4421 of these files, the identifiers @code{paperEleven},
4422 @code{paperThirteen}, @code{paperSixteen}, @code{paperNineteen},
4423 @code{paperTwenty}, @code{paperTwentythree}, and @code{paperTwentysix}
4424 are defined respectively. The default @code{\paper} block is also
4425 set. These files should be imported at toplevel, i.e.
4427 \include "paper26.ly"
4431 The font definitions are generated using a Scheme function. For more
4432 details, see the file @file{scm/font.scm}.
4437 @subsection Line breaking
4440 @cindex breaking lines
4442 Line breaks are normally computed automatically. They are chosen such
4443 that it looks neither cramped nor loose, and that consecutive lines have
4446 Occasionally you might want to override the automatic breaks; you can
4447 do this by specifying @code{\break}. This will force a line break at
4448 this point. Line breaks can only occur at places where there are bar
4449 lines. If you want to have a line break where there is no bar line,
4450 you can force an invisible bar line by entering @code{\bar
4451 ""}. Similarly, @code{\noBreak} forbids a line break at a certain
4455 @cindex regular line breaks
4456 @cindex four bar music.
4458 If you want linebreaks at regular intervals, you can use the following:
4460 < \repeat 7 unfold @{ s1 * 4 \break @}
4464 This makes the following 28 measures (assuming 4/4 time) be broken every
4468 @subsection Page layout
4471 @cindex breaking pages
4473 @cindex @code{indent}
4474 @cindex @code{linewidth}
4476 The most basic settings influencing the spacing are @code{linewidth}
4477 and @code{indent}, both set in the @code{\paper} block. They control
4478 the indentation of the first line of music, and the lengths of the
4479 lines. If @code{linewidth} set to a negative value, a single
4480 unjustified line is produced. A similar effect for scores that are
4481 longer than one line, can be produced by setting @code{raggedright} to
4482 true in the @code{\paper} block.
4486 The page layout process happens outside lilypond. Ly2dvi sets page
4487 layout instructions. Ly2dvi responds to the following variables in the
4488 @code{\paper} block. The variable @code{textheight} sets the total
4489 height of the music on each page. The spacing between systems is
4490 controlled with @code{interscoreline}, its default is 16pt.
4491 The distance between the score lines will stretch in order to fill the
4492 full page @code{interscorelinefill} is set to a positive number. In
4493 that case @code{interscoreline} specifies the minimum spacing.
4495 @cindex @code{textheight}
4496 @cindex @code{interscoreline}
4497 @cindex @code{interscorelinefill}
4499 If the variable @code{lastpagefill} is defined (that is, it gets any
4500 value assigned in the @code{\paper} block), systems are evenly
4501 distributed vertically on the last page. This might produce ugly
4502 results in case there are not enough systems on the last page. Note
4503 that @command{lilypond-book} ignores @code{lastpagefill}. See
4504 @ref{Integrating text and music with lilypond-book} for
4507 @cindex @code{lastpagefill}
4509 Page breaks are normally computed by @TeX{}, so they are not under
4510 direct control of LilyPond. However, you can insert a commands into
4511 the @file{.tex} output to instruct @TeX{} where to break pages. You
4512 can insert a @code{\newpage} from within lilypond. This is done by
4513 setting the @code{between-systems-strings} on the
4514 @internalsref{NonMusicalPaperColumn} where the system is broken.
4518 @cindex @code{papersize}
4520 To change the paper size, you must first set the
4521 @code{papersize} paper variable variable. Set it to
4522 the strings @code{a4}, @code{letter}, or @code{legal}. After this
4523 specification, you must set the font as described above. If you want
4524 the default font, then use the 20 point font.
4527 \paper@{ papersize = "a4" @}
4528 \include "paper16.ly"
4531 The file @code{paper16.ly} will now include a file named @file{a4.ly}, which
4532 will set the paper variables @code{hsize} and @code{vsize} (used by
4533 Lilypond and @code{ly2dvi})
4543 LilyPond can produce MIDI output. The performance lacks lots of
4544 interesting effects, such as swing, articulation, slurring, etc., but it
4545 is good enough for proof-hearing the music you have entered. Ties,
4546 dynamics and tempo changes are interpreted.
4548 Dynamic marks, crescendi and decrescendi translate into MIDI volume
4549 levels. Dynamic marks translate to a fixed fraction of the available
4550 MIDI volume range, crescendi and decrescendi make the the volume vary
4551 linearly between their two extremities. The fractions be adjusted by
4552 overriding the @code{absolute-volume-alist} defined in
4553 @file{scm/midi.scm}.
4555 For each type of musical instrument (that MIDI supports), a volume range
4556 can be defined. This gives you basic equalizer control, which can
4557 enhance the quality of the MIDI output remarkably. You can add
4558 instruments and ranges or change the default settings by overriding the
4559 @code{instrument-equalizer-alist} defined in @file{scm/midi.scm}.
4561 Both loudness controls are combined to produce the final MIDI volume.
4567 * MIDI instrument names::
4572 @subsection MIDI block
4576 The MIDI block is analogous to the paper block, but it is somewhat
4577 simpler. The @code{\midi} block can contain:
4581 @item a @code{\tempo} definition
4582 @item context definitions
4585 Assignments in the @code{\midi} block are not allowed.
4589 @cindex context definition
4591 Context definitions follow precisely the same syntax as within the
4592 \paper block. Translation modules for sound are called performers.
4593 The contexts for MIDI output are defined in @file{ly/performer-init.ly}.
4596 @node MIDI instrument names
4597 @subsection MIDI instrument names
4599 @cindex instrument names
4600 @cindex @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
4601 @cindex @code{Staff.instrument}
4603 The MIDI instrument name is set by the @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
4604 property or, if that property is not set, the @code{Staff.instrument}
4605 property. The instrument name should be chosen from the list in
4606 @ref{MIDI instruments}.
4610 If the selected string does not exactly match, then LilyPond uses the
4611 default (Grand Piano). It is not possible to select an instrument by