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 @item firstpagenumber
257 The value of the page number of the first page. Default is@tie{}1.
259 @item printfirstpagenumber
260 If set to true, will print the page number in the first page. Default is
263 @item printpagenumber
264 If set to false, page numbers will not be printed.
267 The width of the page.
270 The height of the page.
273 Margin between header and top of the page.
276 Margin between footer and bottom of the page.
279 Margin between the left side of the page and the beginning of the music.
282 The length of the systems.
285 Distance between the top-most music system and the page header.
288 Distance between the bottom-most music system and the page footer.
291 If set to true, systems will not be spread across the page.
293 This should be set false for pieces that have only two or three
294 systems per page, for example orchestral scores.
296 @item raggedlastbottom
297 If set to false, systems will be spread to fill the last page.
299 Pieces that amply fill two pages or more should have this set to
302 @item betweensystemspace
303 This dimensions determines the distance between systems. It is the
304 ideal distance between the center of the bottom staff of one system
305 and the center of the top staff of the next system.
307 Increasing this will provide a more even appearance of the page at the
308 cost of using more vertical space.
310 @item betweensystempadding
311 This dimension is the minimum amount of white space that will always
312 be present between the bottom-most symbol of one system, and the
313 top-most of the next system.
315 Increasing this will put systems whose bounding boxes almost touch
318 @item aftertitlespace
319 Amount of space between the title and the first system.
321 @item beforetitlespace
322 Amount of space between the last system of the previous piece and the
325 @item betweentitlespace
326 Amount of space between consecutive titles (e.g., the title of the
327 book and the title of a piece).
329 @item systemSeparatorMarkup
330 This contains a markup object, which will be inserted between
331 systems. This is often used for orchestral scores.
333 The markup command @code{\slashSeparator} is provided as a sensible
336 @lilypond[raggedright]
338 systemSeparatorMarkup = \slashSeparator
341 \relative { c1 \break c1 }
355 raggedlastbottom = ##t
359 You can also define these values in Scheme. In that case @code{mm},
360 @code{in}, @code{pt}, and @code{cm} are variables defined in
361 @file{paper-defaults.ly} with values in millimeters. That's why the
362 value has to be multiplied in the example
366 #(define bottommargin (* 2 cm))
373 The default footer is empty, except for the first page, where the
374 @code{copyright} field from @code{\header} is inserted, and the last
375 page, where @code{tagline} from @code{\header} is added. The default
376 tagline is ``Music engraving by LilyPond (@var{version})''.@footnote{Nicely
377 printed parts are good PR for us, so please leave the tagline if you
380 The header and footer are created by the functions @code{make-footer}
381 and @code{make-header}, defined in @code{\paper}. The default
382 implementations are in @file{scm/@/page@/-layout@/.scm}.
384 The page layout itself is done by two functions in the
385 @code{\paper} block, @code{page-music-height} and
386 @code{page-make-stencil}. The former tells the line-breaking algorithm
387 how much space can be spent on a page, the latter creates the actual
388 page given the system to put on it.
393 The option rightmargin is defined but doesn't set the right margin
394 yet. The value for the right margin has to be defined adjusting the
395 values of the leftmargin and linewidth.
397 The default page header puts the page number and the @code{instrument}
398 field from the @code{\header} block on a line.
402 @subsection Score layout
404 @cindex @code{\layout}
406 While @code{\paper} contains settings that relate to the page formatting
407 of the whole document, @code{\layout} contains settings for score-specific
414 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-6 . 6
417 \override TextScript #'padding = #1.0
418 \override Glissando #'thickness = #3
426 This manual: @ref{Changing context default settings}
429 @node Vertical spacing
430 @subsection Vertical spacing
432 @cindex vertical spacing
433 @cindex distance between staves
434 @cindex staff distance
435 @cindex between staves, distance
436 @cindex staves per page
437 @cindex space between staves
439 The height of each system is determined automatically. To prevent
440 systems from bumping into each other, some minimum distances are set.
441 By changing these, you can put staves closer together, and thus put
442 more systems onto one page.
444 Normally staves are stacked vertically. To make staves maintain a
445 distance, their vertical size is padded. This is done with the
446 property @code{minimumVerticalExtent}. It takes a pair of numbers, so
447 if you want to make it smaller than its default @code{#'(-4 . 4)},
451 \set Staff.minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3 . 3)
455 This sets the vertical size of the current staff to 3 staff spaces on
456 either side of the center staff line. The argument of
457 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is interpreted as an interval, where the
458 center line is the 0, so the first number is generally negative. The
459 staff can be made larger at the bottom by setting it to @code{(-6 . 4)}.
461 To change the amount of space between systems, use
462 @code{betweensystemspace}. A score with only one staff is still
463 considered to have systems, so setting @code{betweensystemspace}
464 will be much more useful than changing @code{minimumVerticalExtent}.
468 betweensystemspace = 10\mm
475 Internals: Vertical alignment of staves is handled by the
476 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} object.
480 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is syntactic sugar for setting
481 @code{minimum-Y-extent} of the @internalsref{VerticalAxisGroup} of the
482 current context. It can only be changed score wide.
487 @node Vertical spacing of piano staves
488 @subsection Vertical spacing of piano staves
490 The distance between staves of a @internalsref{PianoStaff} cannot be
491 computed during formatting. Rather, to make cross-staff beaming work
492 correctly, that distance has to be fixed beforehand.
494 The distance of staves in a @code{PianoStaff} is set with the
495 @code{forced-distance} property of the
496 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} object, created in
497 @internalsref{PianoStaff}.
499 It can be adjusted as follows
501 \new PianoStaff \with @{
502 \override VerticalAlignment #'forced-distance = #7
509 This would bring the staves together at a distance of 7 staff spaces,
510 measured from the center line of each staff.
512 The difference is demonstrated in the following example,
513 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
515 \new PianoStaff \with {
516 \override VerticalAlignment #'forced-distance = #7
532 @code{forced-distance} cannot be changed per system.
535 @node Horizontal spacing
536 @subsection Horizontal Spacing
538 The spacing engine translates differences in durations into
539 stretchable distances (``springs'') of differring lengths. Longer
540 durations get more space, shorter durations get less. The shortest
541 durations get a fixed amount of space (which is controlled by
542 @code{shortest-duration-space} in the @internalsref{SpacingSpanner} object).
543 The longer the duration, the more space it gets: doubling a
544 duration adds a fixed amount (this amount is controlled by
545 @code{spacing-increment}) of space to the note.
547 For example, the following piece contains lots of half, quarter, and
548 8th notes; the eighth note is followed by 1 note head width (NHW).
549 The quarter note is followed by 2 NHW, the half by 3 NHW, etc.
551 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=1]
552 c2 c4. c8 c4. c8 c4. c8 c8
556 Normally, @code{spacing-increment} is set to 1.2 staff space, which is
557 approximately the width of a note head, and
558 @code{shortest-duration-space} is set to 2.0, meaning that the
559 shortest note gets 2.4 staff space (2.0 times the
560 @code{spacing-increment}) of horizontal space. This space is counted
561 from the left edge of the symbol, so the shortest notes are generally
562 followed by one NHW of space.
564 If one would follow the above procedure exactly, then adding a single
565 32nd note to a score that uses 8th and 16th notes, would widen up the
566 entire score a lot. The shortest note is no longer a 16th, but a 32nd,
567 thus adding 1 NHW to every note. To prevent this, the shortest
568 duration for spacing is not the shortest note in the score, but rather
569 the one which occurs most frequently.
572 The most common shortest duration is determined as follows: in every
573 measure, the shortest duration is determined. The most common shortest
574 duration is taken as the basis for the spacing, with the stipulation
575 that this shortest duration should always be equal to or shorter than
576 an 8th note. The shortest duration is printed when you run
577 @code{lilypond} with the @code{--verbose} option.
579 These durations may also be customized. If you set the
580 @code{common-shortest-duration} in @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, then
581 this sets the base duration for spacing. The maximum duration for this
582 base (normally an 8th), is set through @code{base-shortest-duration}.
584 @cindex @code{common-shortest-duration}
585 @cindex @code{base-shortest-duration}
586 @cindex @code{stem-spacing-correction}
587 @cindex @code{spacing}
589 Notes that are even shorter than the common shortest note are
590 followed by a space that is proportional to their duration relative to
591 the common shortest note. So if we were to add only a few 16th notes
592 to the example above, they would be followed by half a NHW:
594 @lilypond[quote,fragment,verbatim,relative=2]
595 c2 c4. c8 c4. c16[ c] c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
599 In the introduction (see @ref{Engraving}), it was explained that stem
600 directions influence spacing. This is controlled with the
601 @code{stem-spacing-correction} property in the
602 @internalsref{NoteSpacing}, object. These are generated for every
603 @internalsref{Voice} context. The @code{StaffSpacing} object
604 (generated in @internalsref{Staff} context) contains the same property
605 for controlling the stem/bar line spacing. The following example shows
606 these corrections, once with default settings, and once with
607 exaggerated corrections:
609 @lilypond[quote,raggedright]
613 \override Staff.NoteSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
614 \override Staff.StaffSpacing #'stem-spacing-correction = #1.5
623 Internals: @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, @internalsref{NoteSpacing},
624 @internalsref{StaffSpacing}, @internalsref{SeparationItem}, and
625 @internalsref{SeparatingGroupSpanner}.
629 Spacing is determined on a score wide basis. If you have a score that
630 changes its character (measured in durations) halfway during the
631 score, the part containing the longer durations will be spaced too
634 There is no convenient mechanism to manually override spacing. The
635 following work-around may be used to insert extra space into a score.
637 \once \override Score.SeparationItem #'padding = #1
640 No work-around exists for decreasing the amount of space.
643 @subsection Line length
646 @cindex breaking pages
648 @cindex @code{indent}
649 @cindex @code{linewidth}
651 @c Although linewidth can be set in \layout, it should be set in paper
652 @c block, to get page layout right.
653 @c Setting indent in \paper block makes not much sense, but it works.
655 @c Bit verbose and vague, use examples?
656 The most basic settings influencing the spacing are @code{indent} and
657 @code{linewidth}. They are set in the @code{\layout} block. They
658 control the indentation of the first line of music, and the lengths of
661 If @code{raggedright} is set to true in the @code{\layout} block, then
662 the lines are justified at their natural length. This is useful for
663 short fragments, and for checking how tight the natural spacing is.
666 @cindex vertical spacing
668 The option @code{raggedlast} is similar to @code{raggedright}, but
669 only affects the last line of the piece. No restrictions are put on
670 that line. The result is similar to formatting text paragraphs. In a
671 paragraph, the last line simply takes its natural length.
672 @c Note that for text there are several options for the last line.
673 @c While Knuth TeX uses natural length, lead typesetters use the same
674 @c stretch as the previous line. eTeX uses \lastlinefit to
675 @c interpolate between both these solutions.
678 @subsection Line breaking
681 @cindex breaking lines
683 Line breaks are normally computed automatically. They are chosen so
684 that lines look neither cramped nor loose, and that consecutive lines
685 have similar density.
687 Occasionally you might want to override the automatic breaks; you can
688 do this by specifying @code{\break}. This will force a line break at
689 this point. Line breaks can only occur at places where there are bar
690 lines. If you want to have a line break where there is no bar line,
691 you can force an invisible bar line by entering @code{\bar
692 ""}. Similarly, @code{\noBreak} forbids a line break at a
696 @cindex regular line breaks
697 @cindex four bar music.
699 For line breaks at regular intervals use @code{\break} separated by
700 skips and repeated with @code{\repeat}:
702 << \repeat unfold 7 @{
703 s1 \noBreak s1 \noBreak
704 s1 \noBreak s1 \break @}
705 @emph{the real music}
710 This makes the following 28 measures (assuming 4/4 time) be broken every
711 4 measures, and only there.
715 @code{\break}, and @code{\noBreak}.
716 @cindex @code{\break}
717 @cindex @code{\noBreak}
721 Internals: @internalsref{BreakEvent}.
725 @subsection Page breaking
727 The default page breaking may be overriden by inserting
728 @code{\pageBreak} or @code{\noPageBreak} commands. These commands are
729 analogous to @code{\break} and @code{\noBreak}. They should be
730 inserted at a bar line. These commands force and forbid a page-break
731 from happening. Of course, the @code{\pageBreak} command also forces
734 Page breaks are computed by the @code{page-breaking} function in the
737 To force a new page for a new piece (in a collection of pieces or a
738 piece in several movements), use @code{breakbefore} in the header.
748 @cindex @code{\pageBreak}
750 @cindex @code{\noPageBreak}
754 @node Multiple movements
755 @subsection Multiple movements
757 @cindex bibliographic information
760 @cindex Music engraiving by LilyPond
762 A document may contain multiple pieces of music and texts. Examples
763 of these are an etude book, or an orchestral part with multiple
764 movements. Each movement is entered with a @code{\score} block,
772 and texts are entered with a @code{\markup} block,
782 The movements and texts are combined together in a @code{\book} block,
800 The header for each piece of music can be put inside the @code{\score}
801 block. The @code{piece} name from the header will be printed before
802 each movement. The title for the entire book can be put inside the
803 @code{\book}, but if it is not present, the @code{\header} which is at
804 the top of the file is inserted.
806 @cindex Engraved by LilyPond
807 @cindex signature line
812 title = "Eight miniatures"
813 composer = "Igor Stravinsky"
817 \header @{ piece = "Romanze" @}
820 ..text of second verse..
823 ..text of third verse..
827 \header @{ piece = "Menuetto" @}
833 @node Creating titles
834 @subsection Creating titles
836 Titles are created for each @code{\score} block, and over a
839 The contents of the titles are taken from the @code{\header} blocks.
840 The header block for a book supports the following
843 The dedicatee of the music, centered at the top of the first page.
846 The title of the music, centered just below the dedication.
849 Subtitle, centered below the title.
852 Subsubtitle, centered below the subtitle.
855 Name of the poet, flush-left below the subtitle.
858 Name of the composer, flush-right below the subtitle.
861 Meter string, flush-left below the poet.
864 Name of the opus, flush-right below the composer.
867 Name of the arranger, flush-right below the opus.
870 Name of the instrument, centered below the arranger. Also
871 centered at the top of pages (other than the first page).
874 Name of the piece, flush-left below the instrument.
876 @cindex page breaks, forcing
878 This forces the title to start on a new page (set to ##t or ##f).
881 Copyright notice, centered at the bottom of the first page. To
882 insert the copyright symbol, see @ref{Text encoding}.
885 Centered at the bottom of the last page.
889 Here is a demonstration of the fields available. Note that you
890 may use any @ref{Text markup} commands in the header.
892 @lilypond[quote,verbatim,linewidth=11.0\cm]
900 dedication = "dedicated to me"
901 title = \markup \center-align { "Title first line" "Title second line, longer" }
902 subtitle = "the subtitle,"
903 subsubtitle = #(string-append "subsubtitle LilyPond version " (lilypond-version))
905 composer = \markup \center-align { "composer" \small "(1847-1973)" }
906 texttranslator = "Text Translator"
907 meter = \markup { \teeny "m" \tiny "e" \normalsize "t" \large "e" \huge "r" }
908 arranger = "Arranger"
909 opus = \markup { \fontsize #8.5 "o" \fontsize #2.5 "p" \fontsize #-2.5 "u" \fontsize #-5.3 "s" \fontsize #7.5 " " }
910 instrument = \markup \bold \italic "instrument"
934 A more advanced option is to change the definitions of the following
935 variables in the @code{\paper} block. The init file
936 @file{ly/titling-init.ly} lists the default layout.
939 @item bookTitleMarkup
940 This is the title put over an entire @code{\book} block. Typically,
941 it has the composer and the title of the piece
943 @item scoreTitleMarkup
944 This is the title put over a @code{\score} block within a
945 @code{\book}. Typically, it has the name of the movement (@code{piece}
948 @item oddHeaderMarkup
949 This is the page header for odd-numbered pages.
951 @item evenHeaderMarkup
952 This is the page header for even-numbered pages. If unspecified,
953 the odd header is used instead.
955 By default, headers are defined such that the page number is on the
956 outside edge, and the instrument is centered.
958 @item oddFooterMarkup
959 This is the page footer for odd-numbered pages.
961 @item evenFooterMarkup
962 This is the page footer for even-numbered pages. If unspecified,
963 the odd header is used instead.
965 By default, the footer has the copyright notice on the first, and
966 the tagline on the last page.
976 The following definition will put the title flush left, and the
977 composer flush right on a single line.
981 bookTitleMarkup = \markup {
983 \fromproperty #'header:title
984 \fromproperty #'header:composer
993 @section Sound output
998 MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard for
999 connecting and controlling digital instruments. A MIDI file is a
1000 series of notes in a number of tracks. It is not an actual
1001 sound file; you need special software to translate between the
1002 series of notes and actual sounds.
1004 Pieces of music can be converted to MIDI files, so you can listen to
1005 what was entered. This is convenient for checking the music; octaves
1006 that are off or accidentals that were mistyped stand out very much
1007 when listening to the MIDI output.
1011 Many musically interesting effects, such as swing, articulation,
1012 slurring, etc., are not translated to midi.
1014 The midi output allocates a channel for each staff, and one for global
1015 settings. Therefore the midi file should not have more than 15 staves
1016 (or 14 if you do not use drums). Other staves will remain silent.
1018 Not all midi players correctly handle tempo changes in the midi
1019 output. Players that are known to work include
1020 @uref{http://@/timidity@/.sourceforge@/.net/,timidity}.
1023 * Creating MIDI files::
1025 * MIDI instrument names::
1028 @node Creating MIDI files
1029 @subsection Creating MIDI files
1031 To create a MIDI from a music piece of music, add a @code{\midi} block
1032 to a score, for example,
1037 \midi @{ \tempo 4=72 @}
1041 The tempo is specified using the @code{\tempo} command. In this
1042 example the tempo of quarter notes is set to 72 beats per minute.
1045 If there is a @code{\midi} command in a @code{\score}, only MIDI will
1046 be produced. When notation is needed too, a @code{\layout} block must
1052 \midi @{ \tempo 4=72 @}
1056 @cindex layout block
1060 Ties, dynamics, and tempo changes are interpreted. Dynamic marks,
1061 crescendi and decrescendi translate into MIDI volume levels. Dynamic
1062 marks translate to a fixed fraction of the available MIDI volume
1063 range, crescendi and decrescendi make the volume vary linearly between
1064 their two extremes. The fractions can be adjusted by
1065 @code{dynamicAbsoluteVolumeFunction} in @internalsref{Voice} context.
1066 For each type of MIDI instrument, a volume range can be defined. This
1067 gives a basic equalizer control, which can enhance the quality of
1068 the MIDI output remarkably. The equalizer can be controlled by
1069 setting @code{instrumentEqualizer}.
1073 @subsection MIDI block
1077 The MIDI block is analogous to the layout block, but it is somewhat
1078 simpler. The @code{\midi} block can contain
1082 @item a @code{\tempo} definition, and
1083 @item context definitions.
1086 A number followed by a period is interpreted as a real number, so
1087 for setting the tempo for dotted notes, an extra space should be
1088 inserted, for example
1091 \midi @{ \tempo 4 . = 120 @}
1095 @cindex context definition
1097 Context definitions follow precisely the same syntax as within the
1098 \layout block. Translation modules for sound are called performers.
1099 The contexts for MIDI output are defined in @file{ly/@/performer@/-init@/.ly}.
1102 @node MIDI instrument names
1103 @subsection MIDI instrument names
1105 @cindex instrument names
1106 @cindex @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
1108 The MIDI instrument name is set by the @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
1109 property. The instrument name should be chosen from the list in
1110 @ref{MIDI instruments}.
1113 \set Staff.midiInstrument = "glockenspiel"
1117 If the selected instrument does not exactly match an instrument from
1118 the list of MIDI instruments, the Grand Piano (@code{"acoustic grand"})