1 article(FAQ - GNU LilyPond FAQs)()()()
3 DEFINEMACRO(question)(1)(subsect(ARG1))
7 question(HELP! I'm stuck!)
9 Please read this document carefully. If you are still at loss,
10 send your questions to the bf(mailing list), and not to authors
13 Note: relative paths are meant to be relative to the source directory
17 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
18 question(If I install the .exe file on my DOS/windows 3.11 machine, it doesn't work)
20 The DOS port is done with the cygnus gnu/windows32 port of the GNU utils.
21 It does em(not) work with windows 3.x; you need Windows-NT (95/98?). This
22 is not a recommendation, however. We recommend you use Unix, in
23 particular, use GNU/Linux. For further information see file(README-W32).
25 question(Where is guile-config)
27 RedHat RPMS don't include guile-config. You need guile-config as it
28 was produced during the RPM build run. Build the RPM from source
29 (file(.src.rpm)), and use the guile-config that is in
30 file(/usr/src/redhat/BUILD/guile-1.3/guile-config/).
33 question(I get all kinds of errors while compiling file(parser.cc))
35 LilyPond uses features of bison version 1.25. Please confirm that
36 you are using a version 1.25 or better, that is bf(GNU) bison
37 bf(1.25). Don't forget to do "make clean" after installing it. Don't
38 forget to remove the stale file(bison.simple) as well.
40 If the problem persists, then please send a bug report to the mailing list.
42 question(I upgraded by applying a patch, and now my configure/build breaks.)
44 Patches don't include automatically generated files, i.e.
45 file(configure) and files generated by file(configure). Regenerate them
51 You might need to create some extra "out" directories. Do this with
55 question(Some of your neat scripts fail, what directories do you use:)
57 [This only applies if you don't do code(make install), and develop out
58 of the source directory]
60 I have a directory which contains all our development projects
65 which looks like file(/usr/)
76 The directory file(~/usr/src/) contains something like
77 includefile(../stepmake/Documentation/layout.yo)
80 ~/usr/src/bin is in the PATH, and contains symbolic links to the
83 question(Is there an emacs mode?)
85 Yes. It is included with the source archive as mudela-mode.el. If
86 you have an rpm it is in /usr/doc/lilypond-X/. You have to install it
89 question(How do i create the file(.tfm) files?)
91 You don't. The file(.tfm) files should be generated automatically by
92 Metafont when you run TeX(). Check your TeX() installation, or ask
93 your local TeX() guru. The supplied file(.afm) files are intended to
94 be used by LilyPond, not by any other programs.
99 question(Why is the documentation/website/etc. so lousy?)
101 LilyPond development is moving quite fast, documentation will often
102 lag a bit behind. We must always make a choice between writing more
103 doco, writing more code and answering email.
105 If you think you can make a correction, or devised a solution that
106 should be documented, please do so and send in a patch.
108 sect(Language: mudela)
110 question(Why can't you type code(#c) in stead of code(cis) ?)
112 We think that code(#c) looks as if you are entering the symbols to
113 print (which you are not; remember, you're entering the musical
117 question(Why do I have to type the accidentals to the note if I specified them?)
123 Independently of how it was written and what the current key was, you
124 would say that you are playing and reading "two C-sharp" notes. We
125 have tried to make the language somewhat context-free. Of course
126 sheet music is not context-free. Unfortunately, sheet music is also 2
127 dimensional, and ASCII is not.
129 Technically it would be feasible to have the Interpreting phase do
130 tricky things to add (or leave out) the accidentals, but we think that
131 it is impractical: it hampers the readability and portability of your
132 source, since you need LilyPond to fill in the details and actually
136 question(What is code(cis) anyway)
138 code(cis) is the dutch naming for C-sharp. The notes are named
139 a, b,.., g. The suffix -is means sharp, and -es flat. This system is
140 common in a number of languages (such as swedish, dutch, german.)
141 Certain other languages (such as English, French and Italian) just add
142 the word for "sharp" to the notename.
144 We chose the Dutch system, because we're dutch. You are free to chose
145 whatever names you like; they are user definable.
148 question(Why are [] around the notes, and () inbetween?)
150 [] designate beams, a note can only be in one beam at the same
151 time. () is a slur, which connects notes. You need to be able to
157 question(I want to insert some TeX commands.)
159 You shouldn't: it's against LilyPond philosophy to have typesetting
160 commands in the mudela source. Moreover, this would be difficult.
161 LilyPond uses TeX like a glorified output engine: the output consists
162 of (x,y) positions and symbols. You can only sensibly do TeX stuff in
163 the symbol string. You can access the symbol string easily for some
164 symbols (notably lyrics and code(^"text") commands).
167 sect(Do you support ...)
169 question(Do you support pop songs (chords, single staff, lyrics)?)
171 Yes, see the file(twinkle-pop) example.
174 question(Do you support guitar chord diagrams?)
176 No. Go ahead and send a patch.
178 We ourselves don't play guitar, and don't know the fine points of this
179 notation. We would welcome anyone who could give this a try.
181 question(Do you support TAB notation?)
183 No. The same as for the previous question goes, but TAB is a lot
184 more work than diagrams (TAB needs modification of Parser, Lexer,
185 Staff, Notehead, Stem code and all the code that creates these graphic
188 question(Do you support multiple staff-sizes?)
190 Yes. At this time you can choose between 11, 13, 16, 19, 20, 23 and
191 20 pt staff-size. Use the staffLineLeading property for setting the
192 size of the staff, and fontSize for setting the size of the glyphs.
194 question(Do you support Gregorian chant notation?)
198 question(Do you support grace notes?)
200 Yes. See file(input/test/grace.ly)
205 question(How do I change the TeX layout?)
207 See file(lilyponddefs.tex), it has some comments. Or use file(ly2dvi).
209 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
210 question(How do I place lyrics under em(each) of the staves in a score, as choral music. I can work out how to put lyrics for each line all under the top line, or at the bottom but not between!)
212 You change the order lyrics and staves. You have to name all
213 staves (lyric and melodic), otherwise they will end up in the same
217 < \melodic \type Staff = "treble" \trebleMelody
218 \lyric \type Lyrics = "tlyrics" \trebtext
219 \type Staff = "bass" \melodic \bassMelody
220 \lyric \type Lyrics = "blyrics" \basstext
226 question(How do I put more than one marking on a note.)
232 or use spacing-notes to put markings at different horizontal positions
235 { s4\ff s4^"text" s4-\marcato s4 }
238 This also works for crescendi, eg,
246 question(How do I get bar numbers?)
248 See file(input/test/bar-scripts.ly).
253 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
254 question(Could you implement feature XXXX? It is really easy, just extend the syntax to allow YYYY!)
256 If it is reasonable, I'll add XXXX to the TODO list. In general
257 finding a cute syntax (such as YYYY) isn't very hard. The complicated
258 issue how to adapt the internals to do XXXX. The parser is really a
259 simple front end to the complicated internals.
261 question(Can I join in on LilyPond development? How do I do this?)
263 LilyPond development is open for anyone who wants to join. We try
264 to use a Bazaar style development model for LilyPond, see
265 lurl(http://locke.ccil.org/~esr/writings/cathedral.html.) This means:
266 frequent releases, everyone can send in a patch or do suggestions and
267 all development discussions are public.
269 To be precise, discussions take place on the gnu-music-discuss mailing
270 list, which is open for subscription to everyone.
273 question(I want to implement XXXX! Should I do this?)
275 There might be better ways of doing XXXX, so it's a good thing to
276 ask about this before you start hacking. If you want to keep in touch
277 with current developments, you should subscribe to the mailing list
278 (see the "links" section of the documentation).
281 question(Is there a GUI frontend? Should I start building one?)
283 LilyPond currently has no graphical interface. The authors seriously
284 doubt if a simple-minded approach (dragging and dropping notes) is any
285 easier or quicker to use than mudela. But for composing a graphical
286 environment probably is indispensable.
288 In any case email(Derek Wyatt)(wyatt@scar.utoronto.edu) is working on
289 GTK based editor, but that effort practically died. (see
290 lurl(http://harmonia.scar.utoronto.ca).
292 Matthew Hiller is working on extending Midiscore and Koobase to handle
293 mudela. Check out lurl(http://zoo.cs.yale.edu/~meh25/).
295 There is also a GUI package RoseGarden that could be extended to
298 If you want to work on this, please send e-mail to the mailing list
299 email(gnu-music-discuss@gnu.org).
303 question(I want to implement XXXX! How should I do this?)
305 Your best bet of getting us to include code, is to present it as a
306 "fait accompli", i.e., to send a patch to the mailing list.
309 question(I made some code, how do I get you to include it?)
313 diff -urN old-file new-file > patch
317 diff -urN old-directory/ new-directory/ > patch
319 Alternatively, you can use issue the command
324 Don't forget to put your name and e-mail address
325 in the file(AUTHORS.pod) file, or you won't get credits :-]
328 em(Please) always send a bf(-u) diff, even if it is larger than the
331 question(How do I learn the C++ code?)
333 The entry point is in code(main()). Good luck. :-)
335 Seriously, read, reread and reread internals and CodingStyle, and
338 Anywhere? Well, most of the comment doco are in the header files, so
339 your best bet would be code(less lily/include/*.hh).
341 You should also have a look using Javadoc like tools. Try
342 DOC++, lurl(http://www.imaginator.com/doc++)
350 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
351 question(Your make system does not adhere to GNU coding standards, could you please fix it?)
353 No. We have evaluated the standard GNU combination for compiling
354 programs (autoconf, automake, libtool) and found to be inadequate in
355 several respects. More detailed argumentation is included with
356 LilyPond's generic make package code(StepMake)
357 (see file(stepmake-x.x.x/Documentation/automake.urgh))
359 LilyPond already compiles into a different directory ((the different
360 directory is called out/, there is one in every source directory).
361 make distclean essentially reduces to file(rm -f out/*) in every directory
363 question(gdb crashes when I debug!)
367 question(Why do I need g++ >= 2.8 / EGCS-1.1 ?)
369 Supporting more compilers than EGCS/G++ 2.8 is unlikely to make
370 LilyPond run on more platforms. It would give us an enormous headache
371 in detecting and catering for every variant of every compiler: not
372 having to support other compilers saves us a em(lot) of trouble.
378 question(I use dvilj4, and there are lots of warning messages for the printing)
380 You should use dvips and ghostscript to print the code(dvi) output:
381 the slurs and beams are PS code(\special) commands.
384 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
385 question(My symbols are all messed up after I upgraded, I get the wrong symbols and dvi-checksum errors!)
387 We obviously mucked with the fonts in the upgrade. Remove em(all)
388 previous fonts, including the file(.pk) and file(.tfm) fonts in
389 file(/var/lib/texmf). A script automating this has been included, see
390 file(buildscripts/clean-fonts.sh).
392 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
393 question(all the pk and tfm fonts are created in the directory where the mudela file is, not in "/var/spool/texmf" where I think they should be.)
395 Mats Bengtsson <mats.bengtsson@s3.kth.se> writes:
397 The simple solution used by Anthony Fok in the Debian distribution of
398 Lilypond is to link the mf/ directory to
399 /usr/lib/texmf/fonts/source/public/lilypond Depending on what
400 distribution of teTeX and Linux you have installed, there might also
401 be other places like /usr/local/lib/texmf/fonts/source/public/lilypond
402 or /var/spool/texmf//fonts/source/public/lilypond
404 Wherever you put it, don't forget to run mktexlsr (or texhash for
405 older installations) afterwards, so that TeX will find the files.
406 Also, don't forget to remove all old .tfm and .*pk files when the font
407 is updated (as it will be in version 1.1.40, for example).
409 question(Are there scalable versions of the font?)
411 Yes, they are type-3 fonts. In the file(mf/)
415 ) in the mf/ subdirectory. This will also make file(mfplain) for metapost.
416 The file(pfa)s will be in the subdirectory file(out/).
418 question(How does PS output work?)
422 Generate the PostScript Type-3 fonts.
424 Run lilypond with option tt(-f ps):
428 it() To view the file(.ps) output with GhostView, set GS_FONTPATH to the
429 directory containing the file(pfa)s. In the source tree, this is file(mf/out/).
432 i.e. do something like:
434 export GS_FONTPATH=$HOME/usr/src/lilypond/mf/out
439 Direct PS output is still experimental. For creating nice looking ps
440 output, use TeX() and code(dvips).
443 question(The beams and slurs are gone if use the XDvi magnifying glass!?)
445 The beams and slurs are done in PostScript. XDvi doesn't show
446 PostScript in the magnifying glass. Complain to the XDvi maintainers.
449 question(I don't get midi-output, even if I use bf(-M)!)
451 Your \score should include a \midi block, eg.
454 \melodic { c4 c g g }
457 output = "myfile.midi";
462 The bf(-M) option was added to LilyPond because processing the \paper
465 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
466 question(A lot of musical stuff doesn't make it to the MIDI file, eg. dynamics, articulation, etc.)
468 The MIDI output was originally put in as a proof that MIDI could be
469 done, and as a method of proof"reading" the input. The MIDI support
470 is by no means finished. Patches appreciated.
475 COMMENT(look out: can't have line breaks in subsect() macro)
476 question(How does copyright for sheet music work? Can I enter and spread my newly bought Bach urtext?)
478 Silas S. Brown <ssb22@hermes.cam.ac.uk>:
480 There are several aspects to sheet music copyright:
482 1. The music itself - copyright for the composer's life plus 70 years (so
483 not applicable to Bach).
485 2. If the music is an arrangement, then the arranger holds copyright on
486 that arrangement. However, you can produce your own arrangement using
487 that arrangement as a reference point. Obviously your arrangement must be
488 sufficently different to be called your own arrangement - you need to do
489 more than change one note!
491 3. In some countries, the same applies for editions. This could be
492 relevant to the Bach example. If a modern person has edited the music,
493 then they hold the copyright on the edition. This does not stop you from
494 removing the editorial features - remove all editorial slurs, phrasemarks,
495 ornaments etc and only leave those that you know to be original. You can
496 then add some of your own if you want to be your own editor.
498 4. If there are lyrics, then the lyricist also holds copyright. This
499 does not stop you from using the music without the lyrics if it is
500 otherwise out of copyright.
502 5. The copyright of the printed page is held by the publisher for 30
503 years after printing (25 in some countries). This stops you from
504 photocopying (unless it's "fair use" eg. you're partially sighted and need
505 to enlarge the music) or otherwise reproducing the typesetting that is
506 used on it. But the copyright is only held over the typesetting work, not
507 the music itself. Since Mudela specifies the notes, independently of any
508 typesetting work that went into your reference copy, you are not
509 duplicating any of the publisher's work.
511 6. If you want to violate copyright, there are two main cases where you
512 may do so: fair use, and with permission. The former is rather fuzzily
513 defined, but it includes such things as including small extracts of a
514 score in a critique, and making a large print or Braille copy for a blind
515 or partially-sighted performer (many people argue that in this case it
516 should always be kept with the original copy and/or destroyed after it is
517 no longer needed). The latter is obvious: You can always write to the
518 composer, arranger, editor, lyricist or publisher in question and ask if
519 you can do whatever it is you're trying to do. Some will respond more
520 readily than others, but anything that they say will override any copying
521 restrictions imposed on you.
524 References - best one I know is the UK-based Performing Right Society,
525 lurl(http://www.prs.co.uk/) (especially "membership") and their links to other
526 international equivalents.
530 Juergen Reuter <reuterj@ira.uka.de>:
532 [More information can be had at: ]
534 lurl(http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/)
537 lurl(http://fairuse.stanford.edu/)
538 (meta site about copyright with many links to other resources)
540 lurl(http://host.mpa.org/crc.html)
541 (copyright from the viewpoint of the USA music publishers' association)
543 lurl(http://www.wipo.int)
544 (World Intellectual Property Organization (a UNO agency); with
545 information about international copyright)
550 See lurl(http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Studio/1714/harpsichord.html)
551 for a summary of copyright relative to old music, also for the
552 expert forum for such questions.
554 Werner Lemberg <sx0005@sx2.HRZ.Uni-Dortmund.DE>:
556 This is not correct. Urtext editions per se are em(not) copyrighted
557 -- if you print exactly what the composer has written, how can there
558 some copyright be added? Copyrighted are usually only the `Critical
559 notes', the foreword, and the cadenzas some editors have added.
561 This means that the `Photocopying forbidden' sign in many scores is
562 not always correct for e.g. J.S. Bach -- you are allowed to copy the
563 pages which don't contain editorial stuff which is probably
566 A very unfortunate situation for the publishers.
572 question(I downloaded the windows32 port, and it doesn't match the website!)
574 The website is usually made from the latest snapshots. Binary releases,
575 in particular the windows32 binaries, are only made every once in a while.
576 They may lag several versions behind the latest version.
578 question(But i want a native DOS/Windows-NT/95 port)
580 Reconsider. Try Linux. It's fun!