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::
46 * Vertical spacing of piano staves::
47 * Horizontal spacing::
51 * Multiple movements::
56 @node Setting global staff size
57 @subsection Setting global staff size
59 @cindex font size, setting
60 @cindex staff size, setting
61 @cindex @code{layout} file
63 To set the global staff size, use @code{set-global-staff-size}.
66 #(set-global-staff-size 14)
70 This sets the global default size to 14pt staff height and scales all
73 The Feta font provides musical symbols at eight different
74 sizes. Each font is tuned for a different staff size: at a smaller size
75 the font becomes heavier, to match the relatively heavier staff lines.
76 The recommended font sizes are listed in the following table:
79 @multitable @columnfractions .15 .2 .22 .2
82 @tab @b{staff height (pt)}
83 @tab @b{staff height (mm)}
125 @c modern rental material?
130 These fonts are available in any sizes. The context property
131 @code{fontSize} and the layout property @code{staff-space} (in
132 @internalsref{StaffSymbol}) can be used to tune the size for individual
133 staves. The sizes of individual staves are relative to the global size.
141 This manual: @ref{Selecting font sizes}.
145 @subsection Paper size
149 @cindex @code{papersize}
151 To change the paper size, there are two commands,
153 #(set-default-paper-size "a4")
155 #(set-paper-size "a4")
159 The first command sets the size of all pages. The second command sets the size
160 of the pages that the @code{\paper} block applies to -- if the @code{\paper}
161 block is at the top of the file, then it will apply to all pages. If the
162 @code{\paper} block is inside a @code{\score}, then the paper size will only
165 The following paper sizes are supported: @code{a6}, @code{a5}, @code{a4},
166 @code{a3}, @code{legal}, @code{letter}, @code{tabloid}.
171 If the symbol @code{landscape} is supplied as an argument to
172 @code{set-default-paper-size}, the pages will be rotated by 90 degrees,
173 and wider line widths will be set correspondingly.
176 #(set-default-paper-size "a6" 'landscape)
180 @node Page formatting
181 @subsection Page formatting
183 @cindex page formatting
188 LilyPond will do page layout, set margins, and add headers and
189 footers to each page.
191 The default layout responds to the following settings in the
194 @cindex @code{\paper}
198 @item firstpagenumber
199 The value of the page number of the first page. Default is@tie{}1.
201 @item printfirstpagenumber
202 If set to true, will print the page number in the first page. Default is
206 The width of the page.
209 The height of the page.
212 Margin between header and top of the page.
215 Margin between footer and bottom of the page.
218 Margin between the left side of the page and the beginning of the music.
221 The length of the systems.
224 Distance between the top-most music system and the page header.
227 Distance between the bottom-most music system and the page footer.
230 If set to true, systems will not be spread across the page.
232 This should be set false for pieces that have only two or three
233 systems per page, for example orchestral scores.
235 @item raggedlastbottom
236 If set to false, systems will be spread to fill the last page.
238 Pieces that amply fill two pages or more should have this set to
241 @item betweensystemspace
242 This dimensions determines the distance between systems. It is the
243 ideal distance between the center of the bottom staff of one system
244 and the center of the top staff of the next system.
246 Increasing this will provide a more even appearance of the page at the
247 cost of using more vertical space.
249 @item betweensystempadding
250 This dimension is the minimum amount of white space that will always
251 be present between the bottom-most symbol of one system, and the
252 top-most of the next system.
254 Increasing this will put systems whose bounding boxes almost touch
257 @item aftertitlespace
258 Amount of space between the title and the first system.
260 @item beforetitlespace
261 Amount of space between the last system of the previous piece and the
264 @item betweentitlespace
265 Amount of space between consecutive titles (e.g., the title of the
266 book and the title of a piece).
268 @item systemSeparatorMarkup
269 This contains a markup object, which will be inserted between
270 systems. This is often used for orchestral scores.
272 The markup command @code{\slashSeparator} is provided as a sensible
275 @lilypond[raggedright]
277 systemSeparatorMarkup = \slashSeparator
280 \relative { c1 \break c1 }
294 raggedlastbottom = ##t
298 You can also define these values in Scheme. In that case @code{mm},
299 @code{in}, @code{pt}, and @code{cm} are variables defined in
300 @file{paper-defaults.ly} with values in millimeters. That's why the
301 value has to be multiplied in the example
305 #(define bottommargin (* 2 cm))
312 The default footer is empty, except for the first page, where the
313 @code{copyright} field from @code{\header} is inserted, and the last
314 page, where @code{tagline} from @code{\header} is added. The default
315 tagline is ``Music engraving by LilyPond (@var{version})''.@footnote{Nicely
316 printed parts are good PR for us, so please leave the tagline if you
319 The header and footer are created by the functions @code{make-footer}
320 and @code{make-header}, defined in @code{\paper}. The default
321 implementations are in @file{scm/@/page@/-layout@/.scm}.
323 The page layout itself is done by two functions in the
324 @code{\paper} block, @code{page-music-height} and
325 @code{page-make-stencil}. The former tells the line-breaking algorithm
326 how much space can be spent on a page, the latter creates the actual
327 page given the system to put on it.
332 The option rightmargin is defined but doesn't set the right margin
333 yet. The value for the right margin has to be defined adjusting the
334 values of the leftmargin and linewidth.
336 The default page header puts the page number and the @code{instrument}
337 field from the @code{\header} block on a line.
341 @subsection Score layout
343 @cindex @code{\layout}
345 While @code{\paper} contains settings that relate to the page formatting
346 of the whole document, @code{\layout} contains settings for score-specific
353 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-6 . 6
356 \override TextScript #'padding = #1.0
357 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
365 This manual: @ref{Changing context default settings}
368 @node Vertical spacing
369 @subsection Vertical spacing
371 @cindex vertical spacing
372 @cindex distance between staves
373 @cindex staff distance
374 @cindex between staves, distance
375 @cindex staves per page
376 @cindex space between staves
378 The height of each system is determined automatically. To prevent
379 systems from bumping into each other, some minimum distances are set.
380 By changing these, you can put staves closer together, and thus put
381 more systems onto one page.
383 Normally staves are stacked vertically. To make staves maintain a
384 distance, their vertical size is padded. This is done with the
385 property @code{minimumVerticalExtent}. It takes a pair of numbers, so
386 if you want to make it smaller than its default @code{#'(-4 . 4)},
390 \set Staff.minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3 . 3)
394 This sets the vertical size of the current staff to 3 staff spaces on
395 either side of the center staff line. The argument of
396 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is interpreted as an interval, where the
397 center line is the 0, so the first number is generally negative. The
398 staff can be made larger at the bottom by setting it to @code{(-6 . 4)}.
400 To change the amount of space between systems, use
401 @code{betweensystemspace}. A score with only one staff is still
402 considered to have systems, so setting @code{betweensystemspace}
403 will be much more useful than changing @code{minimumVerticalExtent}.
407 betweensystemspace = 10\mm
414 Internals: Vertical alignment of staves is handled by the
415 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} object.
419 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is syntactic sugar for setting
420 @code{minimum-Y-extent} of the @internalsref{VerticalAxisGroup} of the
421 current context. It can only be changed score wide.
426 @node Vertical spacing of piano staves
427 @subsection Vertical spacing of piano staves
429 The distance between staves of a @internalsref{PianoStaff} cannot be
430 computed during formatting. Rather, to make cross-staff beaming work
431 correctly, that distance has to be fixed beforehand.
433 The distance of staves in a @code{PianoStaff} is set with the
434 @code{forced-distance} property of the
435 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} object, created in
436 @internalsref{PianoStaff}.
438 It can be adjusted as follows
440 \new PianoStaff \with @{
441 \override VerticalAlignment #'forced-distance = #7
448 This would bring the staves together at a distance of 7 staff spaces,
449 measured from the center line of each staff.
451 The difference is demonstrated in the following example,
452 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
454 \new PianoStaff \with {
455 \override VerticalAlignment #'forced-distance = #7
471 @code{forced-distance} cannot be changed per system.
474 @node Horizontal spacing
475 @subsection Horizontal Spacing
477 The spacing engine translates differences in durations into
478 stretchable distances (``springs'') of differring lengths. Longer
479 durations get more space, shorter durations get less. The shortest
480 durations get a fixed amount of space (which is controlled by
481 @code{shortest-duration-space} in the @internalsref{SpacingSpanner} object).
482 The longer the duration, the more space it gets: doubling a
483 duration adds a fixed amount (this amount is controlled by
484 @code{spacing-increment}) of space to the note.
486 For example, the following piece contains lots of half, quarter, and
487 8th notes; the eighth note is followed by 1 note head width (NHW).
488 The quarter note is followed by 2 NHW, the half by 3 NHW, etc.
490 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=1]
491 c2 c4. c8 c4. c8 c4. c8 c8
495 Normally, @code{spacing-increment} is set to 1.2 staff space, which is
496 approximately the width of a note head, and
497 @code{shortest-duration-space} is set to 2.0, meaning that the
498 shortest note gets 2.4 staff space (2.0 times the
499 @code{spacing-increment}) of horizontal space. This space is counted
500 from the left edge of the symbol, so the shortest notes are generally
501 followed by one NHW of space.
503 If one would follow the above procedure exactly, then adding a single
504 32nd note to a score that uses 8th and 16th notes, would widen up the
505 entire score a lot. The shortest note is no longer a 16th, but a 32nd,
506 thus adding 1 NHW to every note. To prevent this, the shortest
507 duration for spacing is not the shortest note in the score, but rather
508 the one which occurs most frequently.
511 The most common shortest duration is determined as follows: in every
512 measure, the shortest duration is determined. The most common shortest
513 duration is taken as the basis for the spacing, with the stipulation
514 that this shortest duration should always be equal to or shorter than
515 an 8th note. The shortest duration is printed when you run
516 @code{lilypond} with the @code{--verbose} option.
518 These durations may also be customized. If you set the
519 @code{common-shortest-duration} in @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, then
520 this sets the base duration for spacing. The maximum duration for this
521 base (normally an 8th), is set through @code{base-shortest-duration}.
523 @cindex @code{common-shortest-duration}
524 @cindex @code{base-shortest-duration}
525 @cindex @code{stem-spacing-correction}
526 @cindex @code{spacing}
528 Notes that are even shorter than the common shortest note are
529 followed by a space that is proportional to their duration relative to
530 the common shortest note. So if we were to add only a few 16th notes
531 to the example above, they would be followed by half a NHW:
533 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=2]
534 c2 c4. c8 c4. c16[ c] c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
538 In the introduction (see @ref{Engraving}), it was explained that stem
539 directions influence spacing. This is controlled with the
540 @code{stem-spacing-correction} property in the
541 @internalsref{NoteSpacing}, object. These are generated for every
542 @internalsref{Voice} context. The @code{StaffSpacing} object
543 (generated in @internalsref{Staff} context) contains the same property
544 for controlling the stem/bar line spacing. The following example shows
545 these corrections, once with default settings, and once with
546 exaggerated corrections:
548 @lilypond[quote,raggedright]
552 \override Staff.NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
553 \override Staff.StaffSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
562 Internals: @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, @internalsref{NoteSpacing},
563 @internalsref{StaffSpacing}, @internalsref{SeparationItem}, and
564 @internalsref{SeparatingGroupSpanner}.
568 Spacing is determined on a score wide basis. If you have a score that
569 changes its character (measured in durations) halfway during the
570 score, the part containing the longer durations will be spaced too
573 There is no convenient mechanism to manually override spacing. The
574 following work-around may be used to insert extra space into a score.
576 \once \override Score.SeparationItem #'padding = #1
579 No work-around exists for decreasing the amount of space.
582 @subsection Line length
585 @cindex breaking pages
587 @cindex @code{indent}
588 @cindex @code{linewidth}
590 @c Although linewidth can be set in \layout, it should be set in paper
591 @c block, to get page layout right.
592 @c Setting indent in \paper block makes not much sense, but it works.
594 @c Bit verbose and vague, use examples?
595 The most basic settings influencing the spacing are @code{indent} and
596 @code{linewidth}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block. They
597 control the indentation of the first line of music, and the lengths of
600 If @code{raggedright} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block, then
601 the lines are justified at their natural length. This is useful for
602 short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural spacing is.
605 @cindex vertical spacing
607 The option @code{raggedlast} is similar to @code{raggedright}, but
608 only affects the last line of the piece. No restrictions are put on
609 that line. The result is similar to formatting text paragraphs. In a
610 paragraph, the last line simply takes its natural length.
611 @c Note that for text there are several options for the last line.
612 @c While Knuth TeX uses natural length, lead typesetters use the same
613 @c stretch as the previous line. eTeX uses \lastlinefit to
614 @c interpolate between both these solutions.
617 @subsection Line breaking
620 @cindex breaking lines
622 Line breaks are normally computed automatically. They are chosen so
623 that lines look neither cramped nor loose, and that consecutive lines
624 have similar density.
626 Occasionally you might want to override the automatic breaks; you can
627 do this by specifying @code{\break}. This will force a line break at
628 this point. Line breaks can only occur at places where there are bar
629 lines. If you want to have a line break where there is no bar line,
630 you can force an invisible bar line by entering @code{\bar
631 ""}. Similarly, @code{\noBreak} forbids a line break at a
635 @cindex regular line breaks
636 @cindex four bar music.
638 For line breaks at regular intervals use @code{\break} separated by
639 skips and repeated with @code{\repeat}:
641 << \repeat unfold 7 @{
642 s1 \noBreak s1 \noBreak
643 s1 \noBreak s1 \break @}
644 @emph{the real music}
649 This makes the following 28 measures (assuming 4/4 time) be broken every
650 4 measures, and only there.
654 @code{\break}, and @code{\noBreak}.
655 @cindex @code{\break}
656 @cindex @code{\noBreak}
660 Internals: @internalsref{BreakEvent}.
664 @subsection Page breaking
666 The default page breaking may be overriden by inserting
667 @code{\pageBreak} or @code{\noPageBreak} commands. These commands are
668 analogous to @code{\break} and @code{\noBreak}. They should be
669 inserted at a bar line. These commands force and forbid a page-break
670 from happening. Of course, the @code{\pageBreak} command also forces
673 Page breaks are computed by the @code{page-breaking} function in the
676 To force a new page for a new piece (in a collection of pieces or a
677 piece in several movements), use @code{breakbefore} in the header.
687 @cindex @code{\pageBreak}
689 @cindex @code{\noPageBreak}
693 @node Multiple movements
694 @subsection Multiple movements
696 @cindex bibliographic information
699 @cindex Music engraiving by LilyPond
701 A document may contain multiple pieces of music and texts. Examples
702 of these are an etude book, or an orchestral part with multiple
703 movements. Each movement is entered with a @code{\score} block,
711 and texts are entered with a @code{\markup} block,
721 The movements and texts are combined together in a @code{\book} block,
739 The header for each piece of music can be put inside the @code{\score}
740 block. The @code{piece} name from the header will be printed before
741 each movement. The title for the entire book can be put inside the
742 @code{\book}, but if it is not present, the @code{\header} which is at
743 the top of the file is inserted.
745 @cindex Engraved by LilyPond
746 @cindex signature line
751 title = "Eight miniatures"
752 composer = "Igor Stravinsky"
756 \header @{ piece = "Romanze" @}
759 ..text of second verse..
762 ..text of third verse..
766 \header @{ piece = "Menuetto" @}
772 @node Creating titles
773 @subsection Creating titles
775 Titles are created for each @code{\score} block, and over a
778 The contents of the titles are taken from the @code{\header} blocks.
779 The header block for a book supports the following
782 The dedicatee of the music, centered at the top of the first page.
785 The title of the music, centered just below the dedication.
788 Subtitle, centered below the title.
791 Subsubtitle, centered below the subtitle.
794 Name of the poet, flush-left below the subtitle.
797 Name of the composer, flush-right below the subtitle.
800 Meter string, flush-left below the poet.
803 Name of the opus, flush-right below the composer.
806 Name of the arranger, flush-right below the opus.
809 Name of the instrument, centered below the arranger.
812 Name of the piece, flush-left below the instrument.
814 @cindex page breaks, forcing
816 This forces the title to start on a new page (set to ##t or ##f).
819 Here is a demonstration of the fields available. Note that you
820 may use any @ref{Text markup} commands in the header.
822 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,linewidth=11.0\cm]
830 dedication = "dedicated to me"
831 title = \markup \center-align { "Title first line" "Title second line, longer" }
832 subtitle = "the subtitle,"
833 subsubtitle = #(string-append "subsubtitle LilyPond version " (lilypond-version))
835 composer = \markup \center-align { "composer" \small "(1847-1973)" }
836 texttranslator = "Text Translator"
837 meter = \markup { \teeny "m" \tiny "e" \normalsize "t" \large "e" \huge "r" }
838 arranger = "Arranger"
839 opus = \markup { \fontsize #8.5 "o" \fontsize #2.5 "p" \fontsize #-2.5 "u" \fontsize #-5.3 "s" \fontsize #7.5 " " }
840 instrument = \markup \bold \italic "instrument"
864 A more advanced option is to change the definitions of the following
865 variables in the @code{\paper} block. The init file
866 @file{ly/titling-init.ly} lists the default layout.
869 @item bookTitleMarkup
870 This is the title put over an entire @code{\book} block. Typically,
871 it has the composer and the title of the piece
873 @item scoreTitleMarkup
874 This is the title put over a @code{\score} block within a
875 @code{\book}. Typically, it has the name of the movement (@code{piece}
878 @item oddHeaderMarkup
879 This is the page header for odd-numbered pages.
881 @item evenHeaderMarkup
882 This is the page header for even-numbered pages. If unspecified,
883 the odd header is used instead.
885 By default, headers are defined such that the page number is on the
886 outside edge, and the instrument is centered.
888 @item oddFooterMarkup
889 This is the page footer for odd-numbered pages.
891 @item evenFooterMarkup
892 This is the page footer for even-numbered pages. If unspecified,
893 the odd header is used instead.
895 By default, the footer has the copyright notice on the first, and
896 the tagline on the last page.
906 The following definition will put the title flush left, and the
907 composer flush right on a single line.
911 bookTitleMarkup = \markup {
913 \fromproperty #'header:title
914 \fromproperty #'header:composer
923 @section Sound output
928 MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard for
929 connecting and controlling digital instruments. A MIDI file is a
930 series of notes in a number of tracks. It is not an actual
931 sound file; you need special software to translate between the
932 series of notes and actual sounds.
934 Pieces of music can be converted to MIDI files, so you can listen to
935 what was entered. This is convenient for checking the music; octaves
936 that are off or accidentals that were mistyped stand out very much
937 when listening to the MIDI output.
941 Many musically interesting effects, such as swing, articulation,
942 slurring, etc., are not translated to midi.
944 The midi output allocates a channel for each staff, and one for global
945 settings. Therefore the midi file should not have more than 15 staves
946 (or 14 if you do not use drums). Other staves will remain silent.
948 Not all midi players correctly handle tempo changes in the midi
949 output. Players that are known to work include
950 @uref{http://@/timidity@/.sourceforge@/.net/,timidity}.
953 * Creating MIDI files::
955 * MIDI instrument names::
958 @node Creating MIDI files
959 @subsection Creating MIDI files
961 To create a MIDI from a music piece of music, add a @code{\midi} block
962 to a score, for example,
967 \midi @{ \tempo 4=72 @}
971 The tempo is specified using the @code{\tempo} command. In this
972 example the tempo of quarter notes is set to 72 beats per minute.
975 If there is a @code{\midi} command in a @code{\score}, only MIDI will
976 be produced. When notation is needed too, a @code{\layout} block must
982 \midi @{ \tempo 4=72 @}
990 Ties, dynamics, and tempo changes are interpreted. Dynamic marks,
991 crescendi and decrescendi translate into MIDI volume levels. Dynamic
992 marks translate to a fixed fraction of the available MIDI volume
993 range, crescendi and decrescendi make the volume vary linearly between
994 their two extremes. The fractions can be adjusted by
995 @code{dynamicAbsoluteVolumeFunction} in @internalsref{Voice} context.
996 For each type of MIDI instrument, a volume range can be defined. This
997 gives a basic equalizer control, which can enhance the quality of
998 the MIDI output remarkably. The equalizer can be controlled by
999 setting @code{instrumentEqualizer}.
1003 @subsection MIDI block
1007 The MIDI block is analogous to the layout block, but it is somewhat
1008 simpler. The @code{\midi} block can contain
1012 @item a @code{\tempo} definition, and
1013 @item context definitions.
1016 A number followed by a period is interpreted as a real number, so
1017 for setting the tempo for dotted notes, an extra space should be
1018 inserted, for example
1021 \midi @{ \tempo 4 . = 120 @}
1025 @cindex context definition
1027 Context definitions follow precisely the same syntax as within the
1028 \layout block. Translation modules for sound are called performers.
1029 The contexts for MIDI output are defined in @file{ly/@/performer@/-init@/.ly}.
1032 @node MIDI instrument names
1033 @subsection MIDI instrument names
1035 @cindex instrument names
1036 @cindex @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
1038 The MIDI instrument name is set by the @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
1039 property. The instrument name should be chosen from the list in
1040 @ref{MIDI instruments}.
1043 \set Staff.midiInstrument = "glockenspiel"
1047 If the selected instrument does not exactly match an instrument from
1048 the list of MIDI instruments, the Grand Piano (@code{"acoustic grand"})