1 @c -*- coding: latin-1; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @c This file is part of lilypond.tely
4 @c A menu is needed before every deeper *section nesting of @node's; run
5 @c M-x texinfo-all-menus-update
6 @c to automatically fill in these menus before saving changes
9 @chapter Output formats
11 This is a placeholder until I can write a nice intro for this chapter.
22 The global paper layout is determined by three factors: the page layout, the
23 line breaks, and the spacing. These all influence each other. The
24 choice of spacing determines how densely each system of music is set.
25 This influences where line breaks are chosen, and thus ultimately, how
26 many pages a piece of music takes.
28 Globally spoken, this procedure happens in three steps: first,
29 flexible distances (``springs'') are chosen, based on durations. All
30 possible line breaking combinations are tried, and the one with the
31 best results -- a layout that has uniform density and requires as
32 little stretching or cramping as possible -- is chosen.
34 After spacing and linebreaking, the systems are distributed across
35 pages, taking into account the size of the page, and the size of the
41 * Setting global staff size::
42 * Selecting notation font size::
47 * Vertical spacing of piano staves::
48 * Horizontal spacing::
52 * Multiple movements::
57 @node Setting global staff size
58 @subsection Setting global staff size
60 @cindex font size, setting
61 @cindex staff size, setting
62 @cindex @code{layout} file
64 To set the global staff size, use @code{set-global-staff-size}.
67 #(set-global-staff-size 14)
71 This sets the global default size to 14pt staff height and scales all
74 The Feta font provides musical symbols at eight different
75 sizes. Each font is tuned for a different staff size: at a smaller size
76 the font becomes heavier, to match the relatively heavier staff lines.
77 The recommended font sizes are listed in the following table:
80 @multitable @columnfractions .15 .2 .22 .2
83 @tab @b{staff height (pt)}
84 @tab @b{staff height (mm)}
126 @c modern rental material?
131 These fonts are available in any sizes. The context property
132 @code{fontSize} and the layout property @code{staff-space} (in
133 @internalsref{StaffSymbol}) can be used to tune the size for individual
134 staves. The sizes of individual staves are relative to the global size.
142 This manual: @ref{Selecting notation font size}.
145 @node Selecting notation font size
146 @subsection Selecting notation font size
148 The easiest method of setting the font size of any context, is by
149 setting the @code{fontSize} property.
151 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
160 It does not change the size of variable symbols, such as beams or
163 Internally, the @code{fontSize} context property will cause the
164 @code{font-size} property to be set in all layout objects. The value
165 of @code{font-size} is a number indicating the size relative to the
166 standard size for the current staff height. Each step up is an
167 increase of approximately 12% of the font size. Six steps is exactly a
168 factor two. The Scheme function @code{magstep} converts a
169 @code{font-size} number to a scaling factor.
171 @lilypond[quote,fragment,relative=1,verbatim]
173 \override NoteHead #'font-size = #-4
175 \override NoteHead #'font-size = #3
179 LilyPond has fonts in different design sizes. The music fonts for
180 smaller sizes are chubbier, while the text fonts are relatively wider.
181 Font size changes are achieved by scaling the design size that is
182 closest to the desired size. The standard font size (for
183 @code{font-size} equals 0), depends on the standard staff height. For
184 a 20pt staff, a 10pt font is selected.
186 The @code{font-size} property can only be set on layout objects that
187 use fonts. These are the ones supporting the
188 @internalsref{font-interface} layout interface.
192 The following commands set @code{fontSize} for the current voice:
196 @cindex @code{\small}
198 @cindex @code{\normalsize}
203 @subsection Paper size
207 @cindex @code{papersize}
209 To change the paper size, there are two commands,
211 #(set-default-paper-size "a4")
213 #(set-paper-size "a4")
217 The first command sets the size of all pages. The second command sets the size
218 of the pages that the @code{\paper} block applies to -- if the @code{\paper}
219 block is at the top of the file, then it will apply to all pages. If the
220 @code{\paper} block is inside a @code{\book}, then the paper size will only
223 The following paper sizes are supported: @code{a6}, @code{a5}, @code{a4},
224 @code{a3}, @code{legal}, @code{letter}, @code{tabloid}.
229 If the symbol @code{landscape} is supplied as an argument to
230 @code{set-default-paper-size}, the pages will be rotated by 90 degrees,
231 and wider line widths will be set correspondingly.
234 #(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
238 @node Page formatting
239 @subsection Page formatting
241 @cindex page formatting
246 LilyPond will do page layout, set margins, and add headers and
247 footers to each page.
249 The default layout responds to the following settings in the
252 @cindex @code{\paper}
256 @cindex @code{firstpagenumber}
257 @item firstpagenumber
258 The value of the page number of the first page. Default is@tie{}1.
260 @cindex @code{printfirstpagenumber}
261 @item printfirstpagenumber
262 If set to true, will print the page number in the first page. Default is
265 @cindex @code{printpagenumber}
266 @item printpagenumber
267 If set to false, page numbers will not be printed.
271 The width of the page.
275 The height of the page.
277 @cindex @code{topmargin}
279 Margin between header and top of the page.
281 @cindex @code{bottommargin}
283 Margin between footer and bottom of the page.
285 @cindex @code{leftmargin}
287 Margin between the left side of the page and the beginning of the music.
289 @cindex @code{linewidth}
291 The length of the systems.
293 @cindex @code{headsep}
295 Distance between the top-most music system and the page header.
297 @cindex @code{footsep}
299 Distance between the bottom-most music system and the page footer.
301 @cindex @code{raggedbottom}
303 If set to true, systems will not be spread across the page.
305 This should be set false for pieces that have only two or three
306 systems per page, for example orchestral scores.
308 @cindex @code{raggedlastbottom}
309 @item raggedlastbottom
310 If set to false, systems will be spread to fill the last page.
312 Pieces that amply fill two pages or more should have this set to
315 @cindex @code{betweensystemspace}
316 @item betweensystemspace
317 This dimensions determines the distance between systems. It is the
318 ideal distance between the center of the bottom staff of one system
319 and the center of the top staff of the next system.
321 Increasing this will provide a more even appearance of the page at the
322 cost of using more vertical space.
324 @cindex @code{betweensystempadding}
325 @item betweensystempadding
326 This dimension is the minimum amount of white space that will always
327 be present between the bottom-most symbol of one system, and the
328 top-most of the next system.
330 Increasing this will put systems whose bounding boxes almost touch
333 @cindex @code{horizontalshift}
334 @item horizontalshift
335 All systems (including titles and system separators) are shifted by
336 this amount to the right. Page markup, such as headers and footers are
337 not affected by this. The purpose of this variable is to make space
338 for instrument names at the left.
340 @cindex @code{aftertitlespace}
341 @item aftertitlespace
342 Amount of space between the title and the first system.
344 @cindex @code{aftertitlespace}
345 @item beforetitlespace
346 Amount of space between the last system of the previous piece and the
349 @cindex @code{betweentitlespace}
350 @item betweentitlespace
351 Amount of space between consecutive titles (e.g., the title of the
352 book and the title of a piece).
354 @cindex @code{printallheaders}
355 @item printallheaders
356 Setting this to #t will print all headers for each \score in a
357 \book. Normally only the piece and opus \headers are printed.
359 @cindex @code{systemSeparatorMarkup}
360 @item systemSeparatorMarkup
361 This contains a markup object, which will be inserted between
362 systems. This is often used for orchestral scores.
364 The markup command @code{\slashSeparator} is provided as a sensible
367 @lilypond[raggedright]
369 systemSeparatorMarkup = \slashSeparator
372 \relative { c1 \break c1 }
386 raggedlastbottom = ##t
390 You can also define these values in Scheme. In that case @code{mm},
391 @code{in}, @code{pt}, and @code{cm} are variables defined in
392 @file{paper-defaults.ly} with values in millimeters. That's why the
393 value has to be multiplied in the example
397 #(define bottommargin (* 2 cm))
404 The default footer is empty, except for the first page, where the
405 @code{copyright} field from @code{\header} is inserted, and the last
406 page, where @code{tagline} from @code{\header} is added. The default
407 tagline is ``Music engraving by LilyPond (@var{version})''.@footnote{Nicely
408 printed parts are good PR for us, so please leave the tagline if you
411 The header and footer are created by the functions @code{make-footer}
412 and @code{make-header}, defined in @code{\paper}. The default
413 implementations are in @file{scm/@/page@/-layout@/.scm}.
415 The page layout itself is done by two functions in the
416 @code{\paper} block, @code{page-music-height} and
417 @code{page-make-stencil}. The former tells the line-breaking algorithm
418 how much space can be spent on a page, the latter creates the actual
419 page given the system to put on it.
424 The option rightmargin is defined but doesn't set the right margin
425 yet. The value for the right margin has to be defined adjusting the
426 values of the leftmargin and linewidth.
428 The default page header puts the page number and the @code{instrument}
429 field from the @code{\header} block on a line.
433 @subsection Score layout
435 @cindex @code{\layout}
437 While @code{\paper} contains settings that relate to the page formatting
438 of the whole document, @code{\layout} contains settings for score-specific
445 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-6 . 6
448 \override TextScript #'padding = #1.0
449 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
457 This manual: @ref{Changing context default settings}
460 @node Vertical spacing
461 @subsection Vertical spacing
463 @cindex vertical spacing
464 @cindex distance between staves
465 @cindex staff distance
466 @cindex between staves, distance
467 @cindex staves per page
468 @cindex space between staves
470 The height of each system is determined automatically. To prevent
471 systems from bumping into each other, some minimum distances are set.
472 By changing these, you can put staves closer together, and thus put
473 more systems onto one page.
475 Normally staves are stacked vertically. To make staves maintain a
476 distance, their vertical size is padded. This is done with the
477 property @code{minimumVerticalExtent}. It takes a pair of numbers, so
478 if you want to make it smaller than its default @code{#'(-4 . 4)},
482 \set Staff.minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3 . 3)
486 This sets the vertical size of the current staff to 3 staff spaces on
487 either side of the center staff line. The argument of
488 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is interpreted as an interval, where the
489 center line is the 0, so the first number is generally negative. The
490 staff can be made larger at the bottom by setting it to @code{(-6 . 4)}.
492 To change the amount of space between systems, use
493 @code{betweensystemspace}. A score with only one staff is still
494 considered to have systems, so setting @code{betweensystemspace}
495 will be much more useful than changing @code{minimumVerticalExtent}.
499 betweensystemspace = 10\mm
503 If you simply want to tell LilyPond ``fit as much as possible onto
504 these pages, then expand to fill any available space on the pages,''
505 then use the following
509 betweensystempadding = #1
518 Internals: Vertical alignment of staves is handled by the
519 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} object. The context parameters
520 specifying the vertical extent are described in connection with
521 the @internalsref{Axis_group_engraver}.
525 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is syntactic sugar for setting
526 @code{minimum-Y-extent} of the @internalsref{VerticalAxisGroup} of the
527 current context. It can only be changed score wide.
532 @node Vertical spacing of piano staves
533 @subsection Vertical spacing of piano staves
535 The distance between staves of a @internalsref{PianoStaff} cannot be
536 computed during formatting. Rather, to make cross-staff beaming work
537 correctly, that distance has to be fixed beforehand.
539 The distance of staves in a @code{PianoStaff} is set with the
540 @code{forced-distance} property of the
541 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} object, created in
542 @internalsref{PianoStaff}.
544 It can be adjusted as follows
546 \new PianoStaff \with @{
547 \override VerticalAlignment #'forced-distance = #7
554 This would bring the staves together at a distance of 7 staff spaces,
555 measured from the center line of each staff.
557 The difference is demonstrated in the following example,
558 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
560 \new PianoStaff \with {
561 \override VerticalAlignment #'forced-distance = #7
577 @code{forced-distance} cannot be changed per system.
580 @node Horizontal spacing
581 @subsection Horizontal Spacing
583 The spacing engine translates differences in durations into
584 stretchable distances (``springs'') of differring lengths. Longer
585 durations get more space, shorter durations get less. The shortest
586 durations get a fixed amount of space (which is controlled by
587 @code{shortest-duration-space} in the @internalsref{SpacingSpanner} object).
588 The longer the duration, the more space it gets: doubling a
589 duration adds a fixed amount (this amount is controlled by
590 @code{spacing-increment}) of space to the note.
592 For example, the following piece contains lots of half, quarter, and
593 8th notes; the eighth note is followed by 1 note head width (NHW).
594 The quarter note is followed by 2 NHW, the half by 3 NHW, etc.
596 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=1]
597 c2 c4. c8 c4. c8 c4. c8 c8
601 Normally, @code{spacing-increment} is set to 1.2 staff space, which is
602 approximately the width of a note head, and
603 @code{shortest-duration-space} is set to 2.0, meaning that the
604 shortest note gets 2.4 staff space (2.0 times the
605 @code{spacing-increment}) of horizontal space. This space is counted
606 from the left edge of the symbol, so the shortest notes are generally
607 followed by one NHW of space.
609 If one would follow the above procedure exactly, then adding a single
610 32nd note to a score that uses 8th and 16th notes, would widen up the
611 entire score a lot. The shortest note is no longer a 16th, but a 32nd,
612 thus adding 1 NHW to every note. To prevent this, the shortest
613 duration for spacing is not the shortest note in the score, but rather
614 the one which occurs most frequently.
617 The most common shortest duration is determined as follows: in every
618 measure, the shortest duration is determined. The most common shortest
619 duration is taken as the basis for the spacing, with the stipulation
620 that this shortest duration should always be equal to or shorter than
621 an 8th note. The shortest duration is printed when you run
622 @code{lilypond} with the @code{--verbose} option.
624 These durations may also be customized. If you set the
625 @code{common-shortest-duration} in @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, then
626 this sets the base duration for spacing. The maximum duration for this
627 base (normally an 8th), is set through @code{base-shortest-duration}.
629 @cindex @code{common-shortest-duration}
630 @cindex @code{base-shortest-duration}
631 @cindex @code{stem-spacing-correction}
632 @cindex @code{spacing}
634 Notes that are even shorter than the common shortest note are
635 followed by a space that is proportional to their duration relative to
636 the common shortest note. So if we were to add only a few 16th notes
637 to the example above, they would be followed by half a NHW:
639 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=2]
640 c2 c4. c8 c4. c16[ c] c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
644 In the introduction (see @ref{Engraving}), it was explained that stem
645 directions influence spacing. This is controlled with the
646 @code{stem-spacing-correction} property in the
647 @internalsref{NoteSpacing}, object. These are generated for every
648 @internalsref{Voice} context. The @code{StaffSpacing} object
649 (generated in @internalsref{Staff} context) contains the same property
650 for controlling the stem/bar line spacing. The following example shows
651 these corrections, once with default settings, and once with
652 exaggerated corrections:
654 @lilypond[quote,raggedright]
658 \override Staff.NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
659 \override Staff.StaffSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
668 Internals: @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, @internalsref{NoteSpacing},
669 @internalsref{StaffSpacing}, @internalsref{SeparationItem}, and
670 @internalsref{SeparatingGroupSpanner}.
674 Spacing is determined on a score wide basis. If you have a score that
675 changes its character (measured in durations) halfway during the
676 score, the part containing the longer durations will be spaced too
679 There is no convenient mechanism to manually override spacing. The
680 following work-around may be used to insert extra space into a score.
682 \once \override Score.SeparationItem #'padding = #1
685 No work-around exists for decreasing the amount of space.
689 @subsection Line length
692 @cindex breaking pages
694 @cindex @code{indent}
695 @cindex @code{linewidth}
696 @cindex @code{raggedright}
698 @c Although linewidth can be set in \layout, it should be set in paper
699 @c block, to get page layout right.
700 @c Setting indent in \paper block makes not much sense, but it works.
702 @c Bit verbose and vague, use examples?
703 The most basic settings influencing the spacing are @code{indent} and
704 @code{linewidth}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block. They
705 control the indentation of the first line of music, and the lengths of
708 If @code{raggedright} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block, then
709 the lines are justified at their natural length. This is useful for
710 short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural spacing is.
713 @cindex vertical spacing
715 The option @code{raggedlast} is similar to @code{raggedright}, but
716 only affects the last line of the piece. No restrictions are put on
717 that line. The result is similar to formatting text paragraphs. In a
718 paragraph, the last line simply takes its natural length.
719 @c Note that for text there are several options for the last line.
720 @c While Knuth TeX uses natural length, lead typesetters use the same
721 @c stretch as the previous line. eTeX uses \lastlinefit to
722 @c interpolate between both these solutions.
726 @subsection Line breaking
729 @cindex breaking lines
731 Line breaks are normally computed automatically. They are chosen so
732 that lines look neither cramped nor loose, and that consecutive lines
733 have similar density.
735 Occasionally you might want to override the automatic breaks; you can
736 do this by specifying @code{\break}. This will force a line break at
737 this point. Line breaks can only occur at places where there are bar
738 lines. If you want to have a line break where there is no bar line,
739 you can force an invisible bar line by entering @code{\bar
740 ""}. Similarly, @code{\noBreak} forbids a line break at a
744 @cindex regular line breaks
745 @cindex four bar music.
747 For line breaks at regular intervals use @code{\break} separated by
748 skips and repeated with @code{\repeat}:
750 << \repeat unfold 7 @{
751 s1 \noBreak s1 \noBreak
752 s1 \noBreak s1 \break @}
753 @emph{the real music}
758 This makes the following 28 measures (assuming 4/4 time) be broken every
759 4 measures, and only there.
763 @code{\break}, and @code{\noBreak}.
764 @cindex @code{\break}
765 @cindex @code{\noBreak}
769 Internals: @internalsref{BreakEvent}.
773 @subsection Page breaking
775 The default page breaking may be overriden by inserting
776 @code{\pageBreak} or @code{\noPageBreak} commands. These commands are
777 analogous to @code{\break} and @code{\noBreak}. They should be
778 inserted at a bar line. These commands force and forbid a page-break
779 from happening. Of course, the @code{\pageBreak} command also forces
782 Page breaks are computed by the @code{page-breaking} function in the
785 To force a new page for a new piece (in a collection of pieces or a
786 piece in several movements), use @code{breakbefore} in the header.
796 @cindex @code{\pageBreak}
798 @cindex @code{\noPageBreak}
802 @node Multiple movements
803 @subsection Multiple movements
805 @cindex bibliographic information
808 @cindex Music engraving by LilyPond
810 A document may contain multiple pieces of music and texts. Examples
811 of these are an etude book, or an orchestral part with multiple
812 movements. Each movement is entered with a @code{\score} block,
820 and texts are entered with a @code{\markup} block,
830 The movements and texts are combined together in a @code{\book} block,
848 The header for each piece of music can be put inside the @code{\score}
849 block. The @code{piece} name from the header will be printed before
850 each movement. The title for the entire book can be put inside the
851 @code{\book}, but if it is not present, the @code{\header} which is at
852 the top of the file is inserted.
854 @cindex Engraved by LilyPond
855 @cindex signature line
860 title = "Eight miniatures"
861 composer = "Igor Stravinsky"
865 \header @{ piece = "Romanze" @}
868 ..text of second verse..
871 ..text of third verse..
875 \header @{ piece = "Menuetto" @}
881 @node Creating titles
882 @subsection Creating titles
884 Titles are created for each @code{\score} block, and over a
887 The contents of the titles are taken from the @code{\header} blocks.
888 The header block for a book supports the following
891 The dedicatee of the music, centered at the top of the first page.
894 The title of the music, centered just below the dedication.
897 Subtitle, centered below the title.
900 Subsubtitle, centered below the subtitle.
903 Name of the poet, flush-left below the subtitle.
906 Name of the composer, flush-right below the subtitle.
909 Meter string, flush-left below the poet.
912 Name of the opus, flush-right below the composer.
915 Name of the arranger, flush-right below the opus.
918 Name of the instrument, centered below the arranger. Also
919 centered at the top of pages (other than the first page).
922 Name of the piece, flush-left below the instrument.
924 @cindex page breaks, forcing
926 This forces the title to start on a new page (set to ##t or ##f).
929 Copyright notice, centered at the bottom of the first page. To
930 insert the copyright symbol, see @ref{Text encoding}.
933 Centered at the bottom of the last page.
937 Here is a demonstration of the fields available. Note that you
938 may use any @ref{Text markup} commands in the header.
940 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,linewidth=11.0\cm]
948 dedication = "dedicated to me"
949 title = \markup \center-align { "Title first line" "Title second line, longer" }
950 subtitle = "the subtitle,"
951 subsubtitle = #(string-append "subsubtitle LilyPond version " (lilypond-version))
953 composer = \markup \center-align { "composer" \small "(1847-1973)" }
954 texttranslator = "Text Translator"
955 meter = \markup { \teeny "m" \tiny "e" \normalsize "t" \large "e" \huge "r" }
956 arranger = \markup { \fontsize #8.5 "a" \fontsize #2.5 "r" \fontsize #-2.5 "r" \fontsize #-5.3 "a" \fontsize #7.5 "nger" }
957 instrument = \markup \bold \italic "instrument"
981 As demonstrated before, you can use multiple @code{\header} blocks.
982 When same fields appear in different blocks, the latter is used.
983 Here is a short example.
987 composer = "Composer"
995 title = "New title" % overwrite previous one
1000 If you define the @code{\header} inside the @code{\score} block, then
1001 normally only the @code{piece} and @code{opus} headers will be printed.
1003 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,linewidth=11.0\cm]
1007 title = "title" % not printed
1014 @cindex @code{printallheaders}
1016 You may change this behavior (and print all the headers when defining
1017 @code{\header} inside @code{\score}) by using
1028 A more advanced option is to change the definitions of the following
1029 variables in the @code{\paper} block. The init file
1030 @file{ly/titling-init.ly} lists the default layout.
1033 @cindex @code{bookTitleMarkup}
1034 @item bookTitleMarkup
1035 This is the title put over an entire @code{\book} block. Typically,
1036 it has the composer and the title of the piece
1038 @cindex @code{scoreTitleMarkup}
1039 @item scoreTitleMarkup
1040 This is the title put over a @code{\score} block within a
1041 @code{\book}. Typically, it has the name of the movement (@code{piece}
1044 @cindex @code{oddHeaderMarkup}
1045 @item oddHeaderMarkup
1046 This is the page header for odd-numbered pages.
1048 @cindex @code{evenHeaderMarkup}
1049 @item evenHeaderMarkup
1050 This is the page header for even-numbered pages. If unspecified,
1051 the odd header is used instead.
1053 By default, headers are defined such that the page number is on the
1054 outside edge, and the instrument is centered.
1056 @cindex @code{oddFooterMarkup}
1057 @item oddFooterMarkup
1058 This is the page footer for odd-numbered pages.
1060 @cindex @code{evenFotterMarkup}
1061 @item evenFooterMarkup
1062 This is the page footer for even-numbered pages. If unspecified,
1063 the odd header is used instead.
1065 By default, the footer has the copyright notice on the first, and
1066 the tagline on the last page.
1076 The following definition will put the title flush left, and the
1077 composer flush right on a single line.
1081 bookTitleMarkup = \markup {
1083 \fromproperty #'header:title
1084 \fromproperty #'header:composer
1093 @section Sound output
1098 MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard for
1099 connecting and controlling digital instruments. A MIDI file is a
1100 series of notes in a number of tracks. It is not an actual
1101 sound file; you need special software to translate between the
1102 series of notes and actual sounds.
1104 Pieces of music can be converted to MIDI files, so you can listen to
1105 what was entered. This is convenient for checking the music; octaves
1106 that are off or accidentals that were mistyped stand out very much
1107 when listening to the MIDI output.
1111 Many musically interesting effects, such as swing, articulation,
1112 slurring, etc., are not translated to midi.
1114 The midi output allocates a channel for each staff, and one for global
1115 settings. Therefore the midi file should not have more than 15 staves
1116 (or 14 if you do not use drums). Other staves will remain silent.
1118 Not all midi players correctly handle tempo changes in the midi
1119 output. Players that are known to work include
1120 @uref{http://@/timidity@/.sourceforge@/.net/,timidity}.
1123 * Creating MIDI files::
1125 * MIDI instrument names::
1128 @node Creating MIDI files
1129 @subsection Creating MIDI files
1131 To create a MIDI from a music piece of music, add a @code{\midi} block
1132 to a score, for example,
1137 \midi @{ \tempo 4=72 @}
1141 The tempo is specified using the @code{\tempo} command. In this
1142 example the tempo of quarter notes is set to 72 beats per minute.
1145 If there is a @code{\midi} command in a @code{\score}, only MIDI will
1146 be produced. When notation is needed too, a @code{\layout} block must
1152 \midi @{ \tempo 4=72 @}
1156 @cindex layout block
1160 Ties, dynamics, and tempo changes are interpreted. Dynamic marks,
1161 crescendi and decrescendi translate into MIDI volume levels. Dynamic
1162 marks translate to a fixed fraction of the available MIDI volume
1163 range, crescendi and decrescendi make the volume vary linearly between
1164 their two extremes. The fractions can be adjusted by
1165 @code{dynamicAbsoluteVolumeFunction} in @internalsref{Voice} context.
1166 For each type of MIDI instrument, a volume range can be defined. This
1167 gives a basic equalizer control, which can enhance the quality of
1168 the MIDI output remarkably. The equalizer can be controlled by
1169 setting @code{instrumentEqualizer}.
1173 @subsection MIDI block
1177 The MIDI block is analogous to the layout block, but it is somewhat
1178 simpler. The @code{\midi} block can contain
1182 @item a @code{\tempo} definition, and
1183 @item context definitions.
1186 A number followed by a period is interpreted as a real number, so
1187 for setting the tempo for dotted notes, an extra space should be
1188 inserted, for example
1191 \midi @{ \tempo 4 . = 120 @}
1195 @cindex context definition
1197 Context definitions follow precisely the same syntax as within the
1198 \layout block. Translation modules for sound are called performers.
1199 The contexts for MIDI output are defined in @file{ly/@/performer@/-init@/.ly}.
1202 @node MIDI instrument names
1203 @subsection MIDI instrument names
1205 @cindex instrument names
1206 @cindex @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
1208 The MIDI instrument name is set by the @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
1209 property. The instrument name should be chosen from the list in
1210 @ref{MIDI instruments}.
1213 \set Staff.midiInstrument = "glockenspiel"
1217 If the selected instrument does not exactly match an instrument from
1218 the list of MIDI instruments, the Grand Piano (@code{"acoustic grand"})