1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
8 @chapter New features in 2.1 since 2.0
21 @item There is a new mechanism for putting lyrics to melodies.
22 With this mechanism, @code{LyricVoice}s can be put melodies
23 individually, allowing for different melismatic sections in every
24 @code{LyricVoice}. See @file{input/regression/lyric-combine-new.ly}.
26 @item Formatting of ottava brackets has been improved.
28 @item Bar lines may now be dotted.
31 @item The documentation now has links to a wiki, where everyone can
32 add personal comments to the manual.
34 @item Contexts may now be changed locally for an isolated music
35 expression. For example,
39 \consists "Pitch_squash_engraver"
45 @item The syntax for changing staffs has changed. The keyword
46 @code{\change} should now be used, e.g.
52 @item Features of spanner contexts, like @code{Staff}, can now be changed
53 using @code{\property}, eg.
57 \property Staff.StaffSymbol \set #'line-count = #4
63 puts a quarter note C on a staff with 4 lines.
66 @item Multi measure rests are now truly centered between the
67 clefs/barlines of the staff, their position is independent of symbols
70 @item Collision resolution for dots in chords has been improved greatly.
73 Spacing following barlines was improved for widely stretched lines.
76 Lyric hyphens and extenders now conform to standard typesetting
80 Lyrics are now aligned under note heads conforming to engraving
81 standards. The responsible code has been rewritten, and is drastically
82 simpler from the previous version. To aid this rewrite, the syntactic
83 function of the extender line ( __ ) has been changed: it is now
84 attached to the lyric syllable.
87 When redefining a context, the associated identifier is also
88 updated. For example, after reading the following snippet,
95 the definition of @code{ScoreContext} is updated to include the changed
100 The weight of the stafflines is now heavier at smaller staff sizes.
101 The font has been modified to match this look: at smaller sizes, the
102 font is heavier and the note heads are more rounded.
104 @item Processing scores is now done while parsing the file. New
105 Scheme functions give more flexibility: for example, it is now possible
106 interpret a score, collecting synchronized musical events in a list, and
107 manipulate that information using inline Scheme. For an example, see
108 @file{input/no-notation/recording.ly}.
110 @item Font sizes can now truly be scaled continuously: the @code{font-size}
111 is similar to the old @code{font-relative-size}, but may be set to
112 fractional values; the closest design size will be scaled to achieve
113 the desired size. As a side-effect, there are now no longer
114 limitations in using smaller fonts (eg. grace notes) at small staff
117 @item The appearance of stem tips is now also engraved with rounded corners.
120 The placement of accidentals on chords and ledgered notes is improved.
125 @chapter New features in 2.0 since 1.8
130 Crescendos can now be drawn dotted or dashed.
133 Quarter tones are now supported. They are entered by suffixing
134 @code{ih} for a half-sharp and @code{eh} for a half-flat. Hence, the
135 following is an ascending list of pitches:
138 ceses ceseh ces ceh c cih cis cisih cisis
142 The following constructs have been removed from the syntax:
145 \duration #SCHEME-DURATION
147 \outputproperty @var{func} @var{symbol} = @var{value}
150 For @code{\outputproperty}, the following may be substituted:
153 \applyoutput #(outputproperty-compatibility @var{func}
154 @var{symbol} @var{value})
158 Clefs may now be transposed arbitrarily, for example
168 The syntax for chords and simultaneous music have changed.
169 Chords are entered as
175 while simultaneous music is entered as
178 <<@var{..music list..}>>
181 In effect, the meanings of both have been swapped relative to their 1.8
182 definition. The syntax for lists in @code{\markup} has changed
183 alongside, but figured bass mode was not changed, i.e.:
186 \markup @{ \center <@var{..list of markups..}> @}
187 \figure @{ <@var{figures}> @}
190 As chords the more often used than simultaneous music, this change will
194 Each music expression can now be tagged, to make different printed
195 versions from the same music expression. In the following example,
196 we see two versions of a piece of music, one for the full score, and
197 one with cue notes for the instrumental part:
201 @{ c4 f2 g4 @} % in the part, we have cue-notes
203 \tag #'score R1 % in the score: only a rest
207 The same can be applied to articulations, texts, etc.: they are
211 -\tag #@var{your-tags}
214 to an articulation, for example,
217 c4-\tag #'with-fingerings -4 -\tag #'with-strings \6
220 This defines a note, which has a conditional fingering and a
221 string-number indication.
224 The settings for chord-fingering are more flexible. You can specify a
225 list where fingerings may be placed, eg.
228 \property Voice.fingeringOrientations = #'(left down)
231 This will put the fingering for the lowest note below the chord, and the
235 The script previously known as @code{ly2dvi} has been renamed to
236 @code{lilypond}. The binary itself is now installed as
240 Markup text (ie. general text formatting) may now be used for lyrics too.
243 Two new commands for grace notes have been added, @code{\acciaccatura}
244 and @code{\appoggiatura},
251 Both reflect the traditional meanings of acciaccatura and appogiatura,
252 and both insert insert a slur from the first grace note to the main
256 Layout options for grace notes are now stored in a context property,
257 and may now be set separately from musical content.
260 The @code{\new} command will create a context with a unique
261 name automatically. Hence, for multi-staff scores, it is no longer
262 necessary to invent arbitrary context names. For example, a two-staff
263 score may be created by
267 \new Staff @{ @var{notes for 1st staff} @}
268 \new Staff @{ @var{notes for 2nd staff} @}
275 Octave checks make octave errors easier to correct.
282 This checks that @var{pitch} (without octave) yields @var{pitch} (with
283 octave) in \relative mode. If not, a warning is printed, and the
287 All articulations must now be entered postfix. For example,
294 is a pair of beamed slurred eighth notes.
297 The definition of @code{\relative} has been simplified. Octaves are
298 now always propagated in the order that music is entered. In the
303 \repeat "unfold" 3 BODY \alternative @{ ALT1 ALT2 @}
308 the octave of BODY is based on PRE, the starting octave of ALT1 on
309 BODY, the starting octave of ALT2 on ALT1, and the starting octave of
312 The same mechanism is used for all other music expressions, except the
313 chord. Backwards compatibility is retained through a special program option,
317 #(ly:set-option 'old-relative)
321 Windows users can double click a @code{.ly} file to process and view
322 it automagically through the new @code{lily-wins} frontend.
329 @chapter New features in 1.8 since 1.6
334 The chord entry code has been completely rewritten. It is now
335 cleaner and more flexible.
338 A new syntax has been added for text entry. This syntax is more
339 friendly than the old mechanism, and it is implemented in a more
340 robust and modular way. For more information, refer to the section on
341 "Text markup" in the notation manual.
344 The integration of the input language and Scheme has been made deeper:
345 you can now use LilyPond identifiers in Scheme, and use Scheme
346 expressions instead of LilyPond identifiers.
349 The internal representation of music has been cleaned up completely
350 and converted to Scheme data structures. The representation may be
354 A new uniform postfix syntax for articulation has been introduced.
355 A beamed slurred pair of eighth notes can be entered as
361 In version 2.0, postfix syntax will be the only syntax
362 available, and the dashes will become optional.
364 This will simplify the language: all articulations can be entered as
365 postfix, in any order.
368 A new syntax has been added for chords:
375 It is not necessary to update files to this syntax, but it will be for
376 using LilyPond version 2.0. In version 2.0, this syntax will be
386 \simultaneous @{ .. @}
389 for simultaneous music.
391 To convert your files from <PITCHES> to <<PITCHES>>, use the script
392 included in buildscripts/convert-new-chords.py
394 This change was introduced for the following reasons
398 It solves the "start score with chord" problem, where you have to
399 state \context Voice explicitly when a chord was the start of a
402 With the new syntax, it is possible to distinguish between
403 articulations (or fingerings) which are for a single chord note,
404 and which are for the entire chord. This allows for per-note
405 fingerings, and is more logical on the whole.
409 User code may now be executed during interpreting. The syntax for
413 \applycontext #SCHEME-FUNCTION
417 User code may now be executed on arbitrary grobs during interpreting.
418 The syntax for this feature is
421 \applyoutput #SCHEME-FUNCTION
425 SCHEME-FUNCTION takes a single argument, and is called for every grob
426 that is created in the current context.
429 New algorithms for chord-name formatting have been installed. They
430 can be tuned and have ergonomic syntax for entering exceptions.
433 Texts may now be put on multimeasure rests, e.g.
436 R1*20^\markup @{ "GP" @}
440 Ancient notation now prints ligatures in Gregorian square neumes
441 notation, roughly following the typographical style of the Liber
442 hymnarius of Solesmes, published in 1983. Ligatures are still printed
443 without the proper line breaking and horizontal spacing.
446 Glissandi can now be printed using the zigzag style.
449 LilyPond can now print clusters. The syntax is
452 \apply #notes-to-clusters @{ NOTE NOTE .. @}
456 For irregular meters, beat grouping marks can be printed. The
460 #(set-time-signature 7 8 '(3 2 2))
465 Nested horizontal brackets for music analysis can now be printed:
474 @item Ottava brackets are now fully supported as a feature. The syntax
482 @item Metronome markings are printed when a \tempo command is processed.
486 @item Fingerings can be put on chords horizontally.
490 @item The appearance of various glyphs has been fine-tuned.
494 @item Different types of percent style repeats may now be nested.
498 @item The emacs support has been extended.
502 The manual has been completely revised and extended.
506 @chapter New features in 1.6 since 1.4
512 Support for figured bass and tablature.
515 Completely rewritten beam formatting: provides much better output
520 Completely revised and improved music font.
524 Completely rewritten MIDI import support.
527 Completely rewritten grace note support. Practically speaking this
528 means that grace notes can be slurred to normal normal notes.
532 Improved accidental handling and formatting: styles for producing
533 cautionaries may vary, and complex collisions between accidentals of a
534 chord are handled much better.
537 Better spacing: both globally and locally. This includes subtle
538 details like optical stem spacing.
541 More support for ancient notation: mensural ligatures, ambitus
542 (pitch range) of voices, more shapes, etc.
545 More support for piano notation: bracket pedals, directed arpeggios,
549 Easier music polyphonic music entry.
552 More extensibility, many speedups and bugfixes
555 The manual has been thoroughly revised.
558 Development is now hosted at http://savannah.gnu.org, and sources
559 can be downloaded through anonymous CVS.
562 Support for windows: LilyPond is part of the cygwin distribution,
563 which comes with a user-friendly installer.