3 @c A menu is needed before every deeper *section nesting of @node's; run
4 @c M-x texinfo-all-menus-update
5 @c to automagically fill in these menus before saving changes
7 @c FIXME: singular vs. plural: Beams/Beam
16 @c .{Reference Manual}
18 @node Reference Manual
19 @chapter Reference Manual
22 <!--- @@WEB-TITLE@@=Reference Manual --->
25 This document describes GNU LilyPond and its input format. The last
26 revision of this document was made for LilyPond 1.4.1. It supposes a
27 passing familiarity with how LilyPond input works. New users are
28 encouraged to study the tutorial first.
33 * Easier music entry::
52 @c FIXME: Note entry vs Music entry at top level menu is confusing.
58 The most basic forms of music are notes. Notes on their own don't
59 form valid input, but for the sake of brevity we omit @code{\score}
60 blocks and @code{\paper} declarations.
66 * Chromatic alterations::
71 * Automatic note splitting ::
73 * Easy Notation note heads ::
81 A note is printed by specifying its pitch, and then its duration.
82 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
91 @cindex Note specification
93 @cindex entering notes
95 The verbose syntax for pitch specification is
102 @var{scmpitch} is a pitch scheme object.
104 In Note and Chord mode, pitches may be designated by names. The default
105 names are the Dutch note names. The notes are specified by the letters
106 @code{a} through @code{g} (where the octave is formed by notes ranging
107 from @code{c} to @code{b}). The pitch @code{c} is an octave below
108 middle C and the letters span the octave above that C.
110 @cindex note names, Dutch
112 In Dutch, a sharp is formed by adding @code{-is} to the end of a pitch
113 name and a flat is formed by adding @code{-es}. Double sharps and double
114 flats are obtained by adding @code{-isis} or @code{-eses}. @code{aes}
115 and @code{ees} are contracted to @code{as} and @code{es} in Dutch, but
116 both forms are accepted.
118 LilyPond has predefined sets of note names for various other languages.
119 To use them, simply include the language specific init file. For
120 example: @code{\include "english.ly"}. The available language files and
121 the names they define are:
124 Note Names sharp flat
125 nederlands.ly c d e f g a bes b -is -es
126 english.ly c d e f g a bf b -s/-sharp -f/-flat
127 deutsch.ly c d e f g a b h -is -es
128 norsk.ly c d e f g a b h -iss/-is -ess/-es
129 svenska.ly c d e f g a b h -iss -ess
130 italiano.ly do re mi fa sol la sib si -d -b
131 catalan.ly do re mi fa sol la sib si -d/-s -b
132 espanol.ly do re mi fa sol la sib si -s -b
141 The optional octave specification takes the form of a series of
142 single quote (`@code{'}') characters or a series of comma
143 (`@code{,}') characters. Each @code{'} raises the pitch by one
144 octave; each @code{,} lowers the pitch by an octave.
146 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
147 c' c'' es' g' as' gisis' ais'
150 @node Chromatic alterations
151 @subsection Chromatic alterations
153 Normally, accidentals are printed automatically, but you may force
154 accidentals in the following ways: A reminder accidental
155 @cindex reminder accidental
157 can be forced by adding an exclamation mark @code{!} after the pitch. A
158 cautionary accidental,
159 @cindex cautionary accidental
160 @cindex parenthesized accidental
161 i.e., an accidental within parentheses can be obtained by adding the
162 question mark `@code{?}' after the pitch.
164 The automatic production of accidentals can be tuned in many
165 ways. Refer to @ref{Accidentals} for more information.
172 A rest is entered like a note, with note name `@code{r}':
174 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
178 Whole bar rests centered in the bar are specified using @code{R}, see
179 @ref{Multi measure rests}. See also @seeinternals{Rest}.
181 For polyphonic music, it can be convenient to specify the rest position
182 directly. You can do that by entering a note, with the keyword
183 @code{\rest} appended, e.g. Rest collisions will leave these rests alone.
185 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
195 @cindex Invisible rest
198 An invisible rest, or skip, can be entered like a note with note name
199 @code{s}, or with @code{\skip @var{duration}}:
201 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
205 The @code{s} syntax is only available in Note mode and Chord mode.
206 In other situations, you should use the @code{\skip} command, and it is
207 only available in Note mode and Chord mode.
209 @c FIXME: in lyrics mode, we have " " and _
211 In Lyrics mode, you can use `@code{" "}' and `@code{_}':
212 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
214 \context Lyrics \lyrics { lah2 di4 " " dah2 _4 di }
215 \notes\relative c'' { a2 a4 a a2 a4 a }
219 The unabbreviated `@code{\skip} @var{duration}' also works outside of
222 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
225 { \time 4/8 \skip 2 \time 4/4 }
226 \notes\relative c'' { a2 a1 }
231 The skip command is merely a empty musical placeholder. It does not
232 produce any output, not even transparent output.
237 @subsection Durations
241 @cindex @code{\duration}
244 In Note, Chord, and Lyrics mode, durations may be designated by numbers
245 and dots: durations are entered as their reciprocal values. For notes
246 longer than a whole you must use identifiers.
250 c'1 c'2 c'4 c'8 c'16 c'32 c'64 c'64
252 r1 r2 r4 r8 r16 r32 r64 r64
258 \notes \relative c'' {
260 a1 a2 a4 a8 a16 a32 a64 a64
262 r1 r2 r4 r8 r16 r32 r64 r64
267 \remove "Clef_engraver"
268 \remove "Staff_symbol_engraver"
269 \remove "Time_signature_engraver"
270 \consists "Pitch_squash_engraver"
277 If the duration is omitted then it is set to the previous duration
278 entered. At the start of parsing a quarter note is assumed. The
279 duration can be followed by dots (`@code{.}') to obtain dotted note
283 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
289 You can alter the length of duration by a fraction @var{N/M} by
290 appending `@code{*}@var{N/M}' (or `@code{*}@var{N}' if @var{M=1}). This
291 will not affect the appearance of the notes or rests produced.
293 Durations can also be produced through GUILE extension mechanism.
294 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment]
295 c\duration #(make-duration 2 1)
301 Dot placement for chords is not perfect. In some cases, dots overlap:
303 \context Voice { <f,4. c'' d e f> }
314 A tie connects two adjacent note heads of the same pitch. The tie in
315 effect extends the length of a note. A tie is entered with @code{~}.
317 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
318 e' ~ e' <c' e' g'> ~ <c' e' g'>
321 When ties are used with chords, all note heads whose pitches match are
322 connected. Ties are indicated using the tilde symbol `@code{~}'. If
323 you try to tie together chords which have no common pitches then no
324 ties will be created.
326 If you want less ties created for a chord, you can set
327 @code{Voice.sparseTies} to true. In this case, a single tie is used
328 for every tied chord.
329 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
330 \property Voice.sparseTies = ##t
331 <c' e' g'> ~ <c' e' g'>
334 In its meaning a tie is just a way of extending a note duration, similar
335 to the augmentation dot: the following example are two ways of notating
336 exactly the same concept.
338 @lilypond[fragment, singleline]
339 \time 3/4 c'2. c'2 ~ c'4
341 Ties should not be confused with slurs, which indicate articulation,
342 and phrasing slurs, which indicate musical phrasing.
344 See also @seeinternals{Tie}.
349 At present, the tie is represented as a separate event, temporally
350 located in between the notes. Tieing only a subset of the note heads
351 of a chord is not supported in a simple way. It can be achieved by
352 moving the tie-engraver into the Thread context and turning on and off
355 Switching staffs when a tie is active will not work.
357 @node Automatic note splitting
358 @subsection Automatic note splitting
359 @c FIXME: This subsection doesn't belong in @ref{Note entry}.
361 There is a facility for automatically converting long notes to tied
362 notes. This is done by replacing the @code{Note_heads_engraver} by the
363 @code{Completion_heads_engraver}.
365 @lilypond[verbatim,center]
367 \notes\relative c'{ \time 2/4
368 c2. c8 d4 e f g a b c8 c2 b4 a g16 f4 e d c8. c2
372 \remove "Note_heads_engraver"
373 \consists "Completion_heads_engraver"
377 This engraver splits all running notes at the bar line, and inserts
378 ties. One of its uses is to debug complex scores: if the measures are
379 not entirely filled, then the ties exactly show how much each measure
384 Not all durations (especially those containing tuplets) can be
385 represented exactly; the engraver will not insert tuplets.
392 @cindex @code{\times}
394 Tuplets are made out of a music expression by multiplying all duration
397 @cindex @code{\times}
399 \times @var{fraction} @var{musicexpr}
402 The duration of @var{musicexpr} will be multiplied by the fraction.
403 In print, the fraction's denominator will be printed over the notes,
404 optionally with a bracket. The most common tuplet is the triplet in
405 which 3 notes have the length of 2, so the notes are 2/3 of
406 their written length:
408 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
409 g'4 \times 2/3 {c'4 c' c'} d'4 d'4
412 The property @code{tupletSpannerDuration} specifies how long each bracket
413 should last. With this, you can make lots of tuplets while typing
414 @code{\times} only once, thus saving typing work.
416 @lilypond[fragment, relative, singleline, verbatim]
417 \property Voice.tupletSpannerDuration = #(make-moment 1 4)
418 \times 2/3 { c'8 c c c c c }
421 The format of the number is determined by the property
422 @code{tupletNumberFormatFunction}. The default prints only the
423 denominator, but if you set it to the Scheme function
424 @code{fraction-tuplet-formatter}, Lilypond will print @var{num}:@var{den}
428 @cindex @code{tupletNumberFormatFunction}
429 @cindex tuplet formatting
431 See also @seeinternals{TupletBracket}.
435 Nested tuplets are not formatted automatically. In this case, outer
436 tuplet brackets should be moved automatically.
438 @node Easy Notation note heads
439 @subsection Easy Notation note heads
441 @cindex easy notation
444 A entirely different type of note head is the "easyplay" note head: a
445 note head that includes a note name. It is used in some publications by
446 Hal-Leonard Inc. music publishers.
448 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim,26pt]
450 \notes { c'2 e'4 f' | g'1 }
451 \paper { \translator { \EasyNotation } }
455 Note that @code{EasyNotation} overrides a @internalsref{Score} context. You
456 probably will want to print it with magnification or a large font size to make it more
463 If you view the result with Xdvi, then staff lines will show through
464 the letters. Printing the PostScript file obtained with ly2dvi does
465 produce the correct result.
468 @node Easier music entry
469 @section Easier music entry
472 * Graphical interfaces::
476 * Skipping corrected music::
479 When entering music with LilyPond, it is easy to introduce errors. This
480 section deals with tricks and features that help you enter music, and
481 find and correct mistakes.
483 @node Graphical interfaces
484 @subsection Graphical interfaces
487 @cindex graphical interface
494 One way to avoid entering notes using the keyboard is to use a
495 graphical user interface. The following programs are known to have
496 a lilypond export option:
500 @uref{http://denemo.sourceforge.net/, Denemo} was once intended as
501 a LilyPond graphical user interface. It run on Gnome/GTK.
503 @uref{http://rnvs.informatik.tu-chemnitz.de/~jan/noteedit/noteedit.html, Noteedit}
504 is a graphical score editor that runs under KDE/Qt.
506 @uref{http://rosegarden.sf.net/, RoseGarden}
507 was the inspiration for naming LilyPond. Nowadays it has been
508 rewritten from scratch and supports LilyPond export as of version
512 Another option is to enter the music using your favorite MIDI
513 sequencer, and then import it using midi2ly. midi2ly is described in
514 @ref{Invoking midi2ly}.
518 @node Relative octaves
519 @subsection Relative octaves
521 @cindex relative octave specification
523 Octaves are specified by adding @code{'} and @code{,} to pitch names.
524 When you copy existing music, it is easy to accidentally put a pitch in
525 the wrong octave and hard to find such an error. To prevent these
526 errors, LilyPond features octave entry.
528 @cindex @code{\relative}
530 \relative @var{startpitch} @var{musicexpr}
533 The octave of notes that appear in @var{musicexpr} are calculated as
534 follows: If no octave changing marks are used, the basic interval
535 between this and the last note is always taken to be a fourth or less
536 (This distance is determined without regarding alterations; a
537 @code{fisis} following a @code{ceses} will be put above the
540 The octave changing marks @code{'} and @code{,} can be added to raise or
541 lower the pitch by an extra octave. Upon entering relative mode, an
542 absolute starting pitch must be specified that will act as the
543 predecessor of the first note of @var{musicexpr}.
545 Entering music that changes octave frequently is easy in relative mode.
546 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim,center]
552 And octave changing marks are used for intervals greater than a fourth.
553 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
558 If the preceding item is a chord, the first note of the chord is used
559 to determine the first note of the next chord. However, other notes
560 within the second chord are determined by looking at the immediately
563 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
570 @cindex @code{\notes}
572 The pitch after the @code{\relative} contains a note name. To parse
573 the pitch as a note name, you have to be in note mode, so there must
574 be a surrounding @code{\notes} keyword (which is not
577 The relative conversion will not affect @code{\transpose},
578 @code{\chords} or @code{\relative} sections in its argument. If you
579 want to use relative within transposed music, you must place an
580 additional @code{\relative} inside the @code{\transpose}.
585 @subsection Bar check
589 @cindex @code{barCheckSynchronize}
593 Whenever a bar check is encountered during interpretation, a warning
594 message is issued if it doesn't fall at a measure boundary. This can
595 help you find errors in the input. Depending on the value of
596 @code{barCheckSynchronize}, the beginning of the measure will be
597 relocated, so this can also be used to shorten measures.
599 A bar check is entered using the bar symbol, @code{|}:
601 \time 3/4 c2 e4 | g2.
606 @cindex skipTypesetting
608 Failed bar checks are most often caused by entering incorrect
609 durations. Incorrect durations often completely garble up the score,
610 especially if it is polyphonic, so you should start correcting the score
611 by scanning for failed bar checks and incorrect durations. To speed up
612 this process, you can use @code{skipTypesetting} (See @ref{Skipping
615 @c . {Point and click}
616 @node Point and click
617 @subsection Point and click
618 @cindex poind and click
620 Point and click lets you find notes in the input by clicking on them in
621 the Xdvi window. This makes it very easy to find input that causes some
622 error in the sheet music.
624 To use it, you need the following software
626 @item A dvi viewer that supports src specials.
628 @item Xdvi, version 22.36 or newer. Available from
629 @uref{ftp://ftp.math.berkeley.edu/pub/Software/TeX/xdvi.tar.gz,ftp.math.berkeley.edu}.
631 Note that most @TeX{} distributions ship with xdvik, which is always
632 a few versions behind the official Xdvi. To find out which xdvi you
633 are running, try @code{xdvi -version} or @code{xdvi.bin -version}.
634 @item KDVI. A dvi viewer for KDE. You need KDVI from KDE 3.0 or
635 newer. Enable option @emph{Inverse search} in the menu @emph{Settings}.
644 @item An editor with a client/server interface (or a lightweight GUI
650 @item Emacs. Emacs is an extensible text-editor. It is available from
651 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/}. You need version 21 to use
654 @c move this elsewhere?
656 LilyPond also comes with support files for emacs: lilypond-mode for
657 emacs provides indentation, syntax coloring and handy compile
658 short-cuts. If lilypond-mode is not installed on your platform, then
659 refer to the installation instructions for more information
663 @cindex lilypond-mode for emacs
664 @cindex syntax coloring
666 @item XEmacs. Xemacs is very similar to emacs.
670 @item NEdit. NEdit runs under Windows, and Unix.
671 It is available from @uref{http://www.nedit.org}.
675 @item GVim. GVim is a GUI variant of VIM, the popular VI
676 clone. It is available from @uref{http://www.vim.org}.
685 Xdvi must be configured to find the @TeX{} fonts and music
686 fonts. Refer to the Xdvi documentation for more information.
688 To use point-and-click, add one of these lines to the top of your .ly
691 #(set-point-and-click! 'line)
693 @cindex line-location
695 When viewing, Control-Mousebutton 1 will take you to the originating
696 spot in the @file{.ly} file. Control-Mousebutton 2 will show all
699 If you correct large files with point-and-click, be sure to start
700 correcting at the end of the file. When you start at the top, and
701 insert one line, all following locations will be off by a line.
704 For using point-and-click with emacs, add the following
705 In your emacs startup file (usually @file{~/.emacs}),
710 Make sure that the environment variable @var{XEDITOR} is set to
712 emacsclient --no-wait +%l %f
714 @cindex @var{XEDITOR}
715 If you use xemacs instead of emacs, you use @code{(gnuserve-start)} in
716 your @file{.emacs}, and set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{gnuclient -q +%l %f}
718 For using Vim, set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{gvim --remote +%l %f}, or use this
719 argument with xdvi's @code{-editor} option.
721 For using NEdit, set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{nc -noask +%l %f}, or
722 use this argument with xdvi's @code{-editor} option.
724 If can also make your editor jump to the exact location of the note
725 you clicked. This is only supported on Emacs. Users of version 20 must
726 apply the patch @file{emacsclient.patch}. Users of version 21 must
727 apply @file{server.el.patch} (version 21.2 and earlier). At the top
728 of the @code{ly} file, replace the @code{set!} line with the following
731 #(set-point-and-click! 'line-column)
733 @cindex line-colomn-location
734 and set @code{XEDITOR} to @code{emacsclient --no-wait +%l:%c %f}.
738 When you convert the @TeX{} file to PostScript using @code{dvips}, it
739 will complain about not finding @code{src:X:Y} files. These complaints
740 are harmless, and can be ignored.
742 @node Skipping corrected music
743 @subsection Skipping corrected music
745 The property @code{Score.skipTypesetting} can be used to switch on and
746 off typesetting completely during the interpretation phase. When
747 typesetting is switched off, the music is processed much more quickly.
748 You can use this to skip over the parts of a score that you have already
751 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim]
753 \property Score.skipTypesetting = ##t
755 \property Score.skipTypesetting = ##f
763 @section Staff notation
765 This section deals with music notation that occurs on staff level,
766 such as keys, clefs and time signatures.
768 @cindex Staff notation
780 @subsection Staff symbol
783 @cindex adjusting staff symbol
784 @cindex StaffSymbol, using \property
785 @cindex staff lines, setting number of
788 The lines of the staff symbol are formed by the
789 @internalsref{StaffSymbol} grob. This grob is created at the moment
790 that their context is created. You can not change the appearance of
791 the staff symbol by using @code{\override} or @code{\set}. At the
792 moment that @code{\property Staff} is interpreted, a Staff context is
793 made, and the StaffSymbol is created before any @code{\override} is
794 effective. You can deal with this either overriding properties in a
795 @code{\translator} definition, or by using @code{\outputproperty}.
800 If you end a staff half way a piece, the staff symbol may not end
801 exactly on the barline.
806 @subsection Key signature
811 Setting or changing the key signature is done with the @code{\key}
814 @code{\key} @var{pitch} @var{type}
817 @cindex @code{\minor}
818 @cindex @code{\major}
819 @cindex @code{\minor}
820 @cindex @code{\ionian}
821 @cindex @code{\locrian}
822 @cindex @code{\aeolian}
823 @cindex @code{\mixolydian}
824 @cindex @code{\lydian}
825 @cindex @code{\phrygian}
826 @cindex @code{\dorian}
828 Here, @var{type} should be @code{\major} or @code{\minor} to get
829 @var{pitch}-major or @var{pitch}-minor, respectively.
830 The standard mode names @code{\ionian},
831 @code{\locrian}, @code{\aeolian}, @code{\mixolydian}, @code{\lydian},
832 @code{\phrygian}, and @code{\dorian} are also defined.
834 This command sets the context property @code{Staff.keySignature}.
835 Non-standard key signatures can be specified by setting this property
838 The printed signature is a @internalsref{KeySignature} grob, typically
839 created in @internalsref{Staff} context.
841 @cindex @code{keySignature}
848 The clef can be set or changed with the @code{\clef} command:
849 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
850 \key f\major c''2 \clef alto g'2
853 Supported clef-names include
854 @c Moved standard clefs to the top /MB
856 @item treble, violin, G, G2
865 G clef on 1st line, so-called French violin clef
880 By adding @code{_8} or @code{^8} to the clef name, the clef is
881 transposed one octave down or up, respectively. Note that you have to
882 enclose @var{clefname} in quotes if you use underscores or digits in the
888 The grob for this symbol is @internalsref{Clef}.
891 This command is equivalent to setting @code{clefGlyph},
892 @code{clefPosition} (which controls the Y position of the clef),
893 @code{centralCPosition} and @code{clefOctavation}. A clef is created
894 when any of these properties are changed.
897 @c . {Time signature}
899 @subsection Time signature
900 @cindex Time signature
904 The time signature is set or changed by the @code{\time}
906 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
907 \time 2/4 c'2 \time 3/4 c'2.
910 The actual symbol that's printed can be customized with the @code{style}
911 property. Setting it to @code{#'()} uses fraction style for 4/4 and
915 The grob for this symbol is @internalsref{TimeSignature}. There are
916 many more options for its layout. They are selected through the
917 @code{style} grob property. See @file{input/test/time.ly} for more
920 This command sets the property @code{timeSignatureFraction},
921 @code{beatLength} and @code{measureLength}. The property
922 @code{timeSignatureFraction} determine where bar lines should be
923 inserted, and how automatic beams should be generated. Changing the
924 value of @code{timeSignatureFraction} also causes a time signature
925 symbol to be printed.
932 @cindex partial measure
933 @cindex measure, partial
934 @cindex shorten measures
935 @cindex @code{\partial}
937 Partial measures, for example in upbeats, are entered using the
938 @code{\partial} command:
939 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
940 \partial 4* 5/16 c'16 c4 f16 a'2. ~ a'8. a'16 | g'1
943 The syntax for this command is
945 \partial @var{duration}
947 This is internally translated into
949 \property Score.measurePosition = -@var{length of duration}
952 The property @code{measurePosition} contains a rational number
953 indicating how much of the measure has passed at this point.
956 @node Unmetered music
957 @subsection Unmetered music
959 Bar lines and bar numbers are calculated automatically. For unmetered
960 music (e.g. cadenzas), this is not desirable. The commands
961 @code{\cadenzaOn} and @code{\cadenzaOff} can be used to switch off the
964 @lilypond[fragment,relative,singleline,verbatim]
972 The property @code{Score.timing} can be used to switch off this
977 @subsection Bar lines
981 @cindex measure lines
984 Bar lines are inserted automatically, but if you need a special type
985 of barline, you can force one using the @code{\bar} command:
986 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim] c4 \bar "|:" c4
989 The following bar types are available
990 @lilypond[fragment, relative, singleline, verbatim]
1002 You are encouraged to use @code{\repeat} for repetitions. See
1005 In scores with many staffs, the barlines are automatically placed at
1006 top level, and they are connected between different staffs of a
1007 @internalsref{StaffGroup}:
1008 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim]
1009 < \context StaffGroup <
1010 \context Staff = up { e'4 d'
1013 \context Staff = down { \clef bass c4 g e g } >
1014 \context Staff = pedal { \clef bass c2 c2 } >
1017 The grobs that are created at @internalsref{Staff} level. The name is
1018 @internalsref{BarLine}.
1020 The command @code{\bar @var{bartype}} is a short cut for
1021 doing @code{\property Score.whichBar = @var{bartype}}
1022 Whenever @code{whichBar} is set to a string, a bar line of that type is
1023 created. @code{whichBar} is usually set automatically: at the start of
1024 a measure it is set to @code{defaultBarType}. The contents of
1025 @code{repeatCommands} is used to override default measure bars.
1027 @code{whichBar} can also be set directly, using @code{\property} or
1028 @code{\bar }. These settings take precedence over the automatic
1029 @code{whichBar} settings.
1032 @cindex Bar_line_engraver
1034 @cindex repeatCommands
1035 @cindex defaultBarType
1044 The easiest way to enter such fragments with more than one voice on a
1045 staff is to split chords using the separator @code{\\}. You can use
1046 it for small, short-lived voices (make a chord of voices) or for
1049 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment]
1050 \context Voice = VA \relative c'' {
1051 c4 < { f d e } \\ { b c2 } > c4 < g' \\ b, \\ f \\ d >
1055 The separator causes @internalsref{Voice} contexts to be instantiated,
1056 bearing the names @code{"1"}, @code{"2"}, etc.
1058 Sometimes, it is necessary to instantiate these contexts by hand: For
1059 Instantiate a separate Voice context for each part, and use
1060 @code{\voiceOne}, up to @code{\voiceFour} to assign a stem directions
1061 and horizontal shift for each part.
1064 @lilypond[singleline, verbatim]
1066 \context Staff < \context Voice = VA { \voiceOne cis2 b }
1067 \context Voice = VB { \voiceThree b4 ais ~ ais4 gis4 }
1068 \context Voice = VC { \voiceTwo fis4~ fis4 f ~ f } >
1071 The identifiers @code{\voiceOne} to @code{\voiceFour} set directions
1072 ties, slurs and stems, and set shift directions.
1074 If you want more than four voices, you can also manually set
1075 horizontal shifts and stem directions, as is shown in the following example:
1076 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim]
1077 \context Staff \notes\relative c''<
1078 \context Voice=one {
1079 \shiftOff \stemUp e4
1081 \context Voice=two {
1082 \shiftOn \stemUp cis
1084 \context Voice=three {
1085 \shiftOnn \stemUp ais
1087 \context Voice=four {
1088 \shiftOnnn \stemUp fis
1094 Normally, note heads with a different number of dots are not merged, but
1095 if you set the grob property @code{merge-differently-dotted}, they are:
1096 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment,singleline]
1099 \property Staff.NoteCollision \override
1100 #'merge-differently-dotted = ##t
1102 } \\ { [g'8. f16] [g'8. f'16] }
1106 Similarly, you can merge half note heads with eighth notes, by setting
1107 @code{merge-differently-headed}:
1108 @lilypond[fragment, relative=2,verbatim]
1111 \property Staff.NoteCollision
1112 \override #'merge-differently-headed = ##t
1113 c8 c4. } \\ { c2 c2 } >
1116 LilyPond also vertically shifts rests that are opposite of a stem.
1118 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1119 \context Voice < c''4 \\ r4 >
1122 See also @internalsref{NoteCollision} and @internalsref{RestCollision}
1126 Resolving collisions is a very intricate subject, and LilyPond only
1127 handles a few situations. When it can not cope, you are advised to use
1128 @code{force-hshift} of the @internalsref{NoteColumn} grob and pitched
1129 rests to override typesetting decisions.
1134 Beams are used to group short notes into chunks that are aligned with
1135 the metrum. They are inserted automatically in most cases.
1137 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim, relative=2]
1138 \time 2/4 c8 c c c \time 6/8 c c c c8. c16 c8
1141 If you're not satisfied with the automatic beaming, you can enter the
1142 beams explicitly. If you have beaming patterns that differ from the
1143 defaults, you can also set the patterns for automatic beamer.
1145 See also @internalsref{Beam}.
1148 @cindex Automatic beams
1149 @subsection Manual beams
1150 @cindex beams, manual
1154 In some cases it may be necessary to override LilyPond's automatic
1155 beaming algorithm. For example, the auto beamer will not beam over
1156 rests or bar lines, If you want that, specify the begin and end point
1157 manually using a @code{[} before the first beamed note and a @code{]}
1158 after the last note:
1160 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1162 r4 [r8 g' a r8] r8 [g | a] r8
1166 @cindex @code{stemLeftBeamCount}
1168 Normally, beaming patterns within a beam are determined automatically.
1169 When this mechanism fouls up, the properties
1170 @code{Voice.stemLeftBeamCount} and @code{Voice.stemRightBeamCount} can
1171 be used to control the beam subdivision on a stem. If you set either
1172 property, its value will be used only once, and then it is erased.
1174 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1177 [f8 r16 \property Voice.stemLeftBeamCount = #1 f g a]
1180 @cindex @code{stemRightBeamCount}
1183 The property @code{subdivideBeams} can be set in order to subdivide
1184 all 16th or shorter beams at beat positions. This accomplishes the
1185 same effect as twiddling with @code{stemLeftBeamCount} and
1186 @code{stemRightBeamCount}, but it take less typing.
1191 \property Voice.subdivideBeams = ##t
1193 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1194 \property Score.beatLength = #(make-moment 1 8)
1195 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1199 \notes \relative c' {
1201 \property Voice.subdivideBeams = ##t
1203 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1204 \property Score.beatLength = #(make-moment 1 8)
1205 [c32 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c]
1209 @cindex subdivideBeams
1211 Kneed beams are inserted automatically, when a large gap between two
1212 adjacent beamed notes is detected. This behavior can be tuned through
1213 the grob property @code{auto-knee-gap}.
1215 @cindex beams, kneed
1217 @cindex auto-knee-gap
1221 @c TODO -> why this ref? Document?
1222 @cindex @code{neutral-direction}
1226 Auto knee beams can not be used together with hara kiri staffs.
1230 The Automatic beamer does not put @strong{unfinished} beams on the
1231 last notes of a score.
1233 Formatting of ties is a difficult subject. LilyPond often does not
1234 give optimal results.
1237 * Setting automatic beam behavior ::
1241 @no de Beam typography
1242 @sub section Beam typography
1244 One of the strong points of LilyPond is how beams are formatted. Beams
1245 are quantized, meaning that the left and right endpoints beams start
1246 exactly on staff lines. Without quantization, small wedges of white
1247 space appear between the beam and staff line, and this looks untidy.
1249 Beams are also slope-damped: melodies that go up or down should also
1250 have beams that go up or down, but the slope of the beams should be
1251 less than the slope of the notes themselves.
1253 Some beams should be horizontal. These are so-called concave beams.
1255 [TODO: some pictures.]
1258 @c . {Automatic beams}
1259 @node Setting automatic beam behavior
1260 @subsection Setting automatic beam behavior
1262 @cindex @code{autoBeamSettings}
1263 @cindex @code{(end * * * *)}
1264 @cindex @code{(begin * * * *)}
1265 @cindex automatic beams, tuning
1266 @cindex tuning automatic beaming
1268 In normal time signatures, automatic beams can start on any note but can
1269 only end in a few positions within the measure: beams can end on a beat,
1270 or at durations specified by the properties in
1271 @code{Voice.autoBeamSettings}. The defaults for @code{autoBeamSettings}
1272 are defined in @file{scm/auto-beam.scm}.
1274 The value of @code{autoBeamSettings} is changed using
1275 @code{\override} and unset using @code{\revert}:
1277 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override #'(@var{BE} @var{P} @var{Q} @var{N} @var{M}) = @var{dur}
1278 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \revert #'(@var{BE} @var{P} @var{Q} @var{N} @var{M})
1280 Here, @var{BE} is the symbol @code{begin} or @code{end}. It determines
1281 whether the rule applies to begin or end-points. The quantity
1282 @var{P}/@var{Q} refers to the length of the beamed notes (and `@code{*
1283 *}' designates notes of any length), @var{N}/@var{M} refers to a time
1284 signature (wildcards, `@code{* *}' may be entered to designate all time
1287 For example, if you want automatic beams to end on every quarter note,
1288 you can use the following:
1290 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override
1291 #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 1 4)
1293 Since the duration of a quarter note is 1/4 of a whole note, it is
1294 entered as @code{(make-moment 1 4)}.
1296 The same syntax can be used to specify beam starting points. In this
1297 example, automatic beams can only end on a dotted quarter note.
1299 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override
1300 #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 3 8)
1302 In 4/4 time signature, this means that automatic beams could end only on
1303 3/8 and on the fourth beat of the measure (after 3/4, that is 2 times
1304 3/8 has passed within the measure).
1306 You can also restrict rules to specific time signatures. A rule that
1307 should only be applied in @var{N}/@var{M} time signature is formed by
1308 replacing the second asterisks by @var{N} and @var{M}. For example, a
1309 rule for 6/8 time exclusively looks like
1311 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings \override
1312 #'(begin * * 6 8) = ...
1315 If you want a rule to apply to certain types of beams, you can use the
1316 first pair of asterisks. Beams are classified according to the shortest
1317 note they contain. For a beam ending rule that only applies to beams
1318 with 32nd notes (and no shorter notes), you would use @code{(end 1
1322 @c Automatic beams can not be put on the last note in a score.
1324 If a score ends while an automatic beam has not been ended and is still
1325 accepting notes, this last beam will not be typeset at all.
1327 @cindex automatic beam generation
1329 @cindex @code{Voice.autoBeaming}
1332 For melodies that have lyrics, you may want to switch off
1333 automatic beaming. This is done by setting @code{Voice.autoBeaming} to
1339 It is not possible to specify beaming parameters for beams with mixed
1340 durations, that differ from the beaming parameters of all separate
1341 durations, i.e., you'll have to specify manual beams to get:
1342 @c FIXME: lily wants symbol for no good reason.
1343 @c lilypond: music.cc:189: void Music::internal_set_mus_property(scm_unused_struct *, scm_unused_struct *): Assertion `type_check_assignment (s, v, ly_symbol2scm ("music-type?"))' failed.
1344 @c @lily pond[fragment,singleline,relative]
1345 @c \property Voice.autoBeamSettings
1346 @c \override #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 3 8)
1347 @c \time 12/8 c'8 c c c16 c c c c c [c c c c] c8 c c4
1351 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings
1352 \override #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 3 8)
1353 \time 12/8 c'8 c c c16 c c c c c [c c c c] c8 c c4
1357 @lily pond[singleline,relative,noverbatim]
1358 %%#(ly-set-option 'internal-type-checking #f)
1361 \property Voice.autoBeamSettings
1362 \override #'(end * * * *) = #(make-moment 3 8)
1363 \time 12/8 c'8 c c c16 c c c c c [c c c c] c8 c c4
1367 It is not possible to specify beaming parameters that act differently in
1368 different parts of a measure. This means that it is not possible to use
1369 automatic beaming in irregular meters such as @code{5/8}.
1372 @section Accidentals
1374 This section describes how to change the way that LilyPond automatically
1375 inserts accidentals before the running notes.
1378 * Using the predefined accidental macros::
1379 * Defining your own accidental typesettings::
1382 @node Using the predefined accidental macros
1383 @subsection Using the predefined accidental macros
1384 The constructs for describing the accidental typesetting rules are
1385 quite hairy, so non-experts should stick to the macros defined in
1386 @file{ly/property-init.ly}.
1387 @cindex @file{property-init.ly}
1389 The macros operate on the ``Current'' context (see @ref{Context properties}). This
1390 means that the macros shuold normally be invoked right after the
1391 creation of the context in which the accidental typesetting described
1392 by the macro is to take effect. I.e. if you want to use
1393 piano-accidentals in a pianostaff then you issue
1394 @code{\pianoAccidentals} first thing after the creation of the piano
1398 \notes \relative c'' <
1399 \context Staff = sa @{ cis4 d e2 @}
1400 \context GrandStaff <
1402 \context Staff = sb @{ cis4 d e2 @}
1403 \context Staff = sc @{ es2 c @}
1405 \context Staff = sd @{ es2 c @}
1409 @lilypond[singleline]
1411 \notes \relative c'' <
1412 \context Staff = sa { cis4 d e2 }
1413 \context GrandStaff <
1415 \context Staff = sb { cis4 d e2 }
1416 \context Staff = sc { es2 c }
1418 \context Staff = sd { es2 c }
1423 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-4.0 . 4.0)
1431 @item \defaultAccidentals
1432 @cindex @code{\defaultAccidentals}
1433 This is the default typesetting behaviour. It should correspond
1434 to 18th century common practice: Accidentals are
1435 remembered to the end of the measure in which they occur and
1436 only on their own octave.
1438 @item \voiceAccidentals
1439 @cindex @code{\voiceAccidentals}
1440 The normal behaviour is to remember the accidentals on
1442 This macro, however, typesets accidentals individually for each
1444 Apart from that the rule is similar to
1445 @code{\defaultAccidentals}.
1447 Warning: This leads to some weird and often unwanted results
1448 because accidentals from one voice DO NOT get cancelled in other
1450 @lilypond[singleline,relative,fragment,verbatim]
1453 \context Voice=va { \voiceOne es g }
1454 \context Voice=vb { \voiceTwo c, e }
1457 Hence you should only use @code{\voiceAccidentals}
1458 if the voices are to be read solely by
1459 individual musicians. if the staff should be readable also
1460 by one musician/conductor then you should use
1461 @code{\modernVoiceAccidentals} or @code{\modernVoiceCautionaries}
1464 @item \modernAccidentals
1465 @cindex @code{\modernAccidentals}
1466 This rule should correspond to the common practice in the 20th
1468 The rule is a bit more complex than @code{\defaultAccidentals}:
1469 You get all the same accidentals, but temporary
1470 accidentals also get cancelled in other octaves. Further more,
1471 in the same octave, they also get cancelled in the following measure:
1472 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1474 cis' c'' cis'2 | c'' c'
1477 @item \modernCautionaries
1478 @cindex @code{\modernCautionaries}
1479 This rule is similar to @code{\modernAccidentals}, but the
1480 ``extra'' accidentals (the ones not typeset by
1481 @code{\defaultAccidentals}) are typeset as cautionary accidentals
1482 (i.e. in reduced size):
1483 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1485 cis' c'' cis'2 | c'' c'
1488 @item \modernVoiceAccidentals
1489 @cindex @code{\modernVoiceAccidentals}
1490 Multivoice accidentals to be read both by musicians playing one voice
1491 and musicians playing all voices.
1493 Accidentals are typeset for each voice, but they ARE cancelled
1494 across voices in the same @internalsref{Staff}.
1496 @item \modernVoiceCautionaries
1497 @cindex @code{\modernVoiceCautionaries}
1498 The same as @code{\modernVoiceAccidentals}, but with the
1499 extra accidentals (the ones not typeset by
1500 @code{\voiceAccidentals}) typeset as cautionaries.
1501 Notice that even though all accidentals typeset by
1502 @code{\defaultAccidentals} ARE typeset by this macro then some
1503 of them are typeset as cautionaries.
1505 @item \pianoAccidentals
1506 @cindex @code{\pianoAccidentals}
1507 20th century practice for piano notation. Very similar to
1508 @code{\modernAccidentals} but accidentals also get cancelled
1509 across the staves in the same @internalsref{GrandStaff} or
1510 @internalsref{PianoStaff}.
1512 @item \pianoCautionaries
1513 @cindex @code{\pianoCautionaries}
1514 As @code{\pianoAccidentals} but with the extra accidentals
1515 typeset as cationaries.
1518 @cindex @code{\noResetKey}
1519 Same as @code{\defaultAccidentals} but with accidentals lasting
1520 ``forever'' and not only until the next measure:
1521 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim,relative]
1526 @item \forgetAccidentals
1527 @cindex @code{\forgetAccidentals}
1528 This is sort of the opposite of @code{\noResetKey}: Accidentals
1529 are not remembered at all - and hence all accidentals are
1530 typeset relative to the key signature, regardless of what was
1531 before in the music:
1532 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim,relative]
1534 \key d\major c4 c cis cis d d dis dis
1538 @node Defining your own accidental typesettings
1539 @subsection Defining your own accidental typesettings
1541 This section must be considered gurus-only, and hence it must be
1542 sufficient with a short description of the system and a reference to
1543 the internal documentation.
1545 The idea of the algorithm is to try several different rules and then
1546 use the rule that gives the highest number of accidentals.
1547 Each rule cosists of
1550 In which context is the rule applied. I.e. if context is
1551 @internalsref{Score} then all staves share accidentals, and if
1552 context is @internalsref{Staff} then all voices in the same
1553 staff share accidentals, but staves don't - like normally.
1555 Whether the accidental changes all octaves or only the current
1558 Over how many barlines the accidental lasts.
1559 If lazyness is @code{-1} then the accidental is forget
1560 immidiately, and if lazyness is @code{#t} then the accidental
1564 As described in the internal documentation of
1565 @reng{Accidental_engraver}, the properties @code{autoAccidentals} and
1566 @code{autoCautionaries} contain lists of rule descriptions. Notice
1567 that the contexts must be listed from in to out - that is
1568 @internalsref{Thread} before @internalsref{Voice},
1569 @internalsref{Voice} before @internalsref{Staff}, etc.
1570 see the macros in @file{ly/property-init.ly} for examples of how the
1575 Currently the simultaneous notes are considered to be entered in
1576 sequential mode. This means that in a chord the accidentals are
1577 typeset as if the notes in the chord happened one at a time - in the
1578 order in which they appear in the input file.
1580 Of course this is only a problem when you have simultainous notes
1581 which accidentals should depend on each other.
1582 Notice that the problem only occurs when using non-default accidentals
1583 - as the default accidentals only depend on other accidentals on the
1584 same staff and same pitch and hence cannot depend on other
1587 This example shows two examples of the same music giving different
1588 accidentals depending on the order in which the notes occur in the
1591 @lilypond[singleline,fragment,verbatim]
1592 \property Staff.autoAccidentals = #'( Staff (any-octave . 0) )
1593 cis'4 <c'' c'> r2 | cis'4 <c' c''> r2 | <cis' c''> r | <c'' cis'> r |
1596 The only solution is to manually insert the problematic
1597 accidentals using @code{!} and @code{?}.
1599 @node Expressive marks
1600 @section Expressive marks
1615 A slur indicates that notes are to be played bound or @emph{legato}.
1616 They are entered using parentheses:
1617 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
1618 f'()g'()a' [a'8 b'(] a'4 g'2 )f'4
1621 See also @seeinternals{Slur}.
1623 Slurs avoid crossing stems, and are generally attached to note heads.
1624 However, in some situations with beams, slurs may be attached to stem
1625 ends. If you want to override this layout you can do this through the
1626 grob-property @code{attachment} of @internalsref{Slur} in
1627 @internalsref{Voice} context It's value is a pair of symbols, specifying
1628 the attachment type of the left and right end points.
1630 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1632 \property Voice.Stem \set #'length = #5.5
1634 \property Voice.Slur \set #'attachment = #'(stem . stem)
1638 If a slur would strike through a stem or beam, the slur will be moved
1639 away upward or downward. If this happens, attaching the slur to the
1640 stems might look better:
1642 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1645 \property Voice.Slur \set #'attachment = #'(stem . stem)
1650 Similarly, the curvature of a slur is adjusted to stay clear of note
1651 heads and stems. When that would increase the curvature too much, the
1652 slur is reverted to its default shape. The threshold for this
1653 decision is in @internalsref{Slur}'s grob-property @code{beautiful}.
1654 It is loosely related to the enclosed area between the slur and the
1655 notes. Usually, the default setting works well, but in some cases you
1656 may prefer a curved slur when LilyPond decides for a vertically moved
1657 one. You can indicate this preference by increasing the
1658 @code{beautiful} value:
1660 @lilyp ond[verbatim,singleline,relative]
1662 c16( a' f' a a f a, )c,
1663 c( a' f' a a f d, )c
1664 \property Voice.Slur \override #'beautiful = #5.0
1665 c( a' f' a a f d, )c
1671 Producing nice slurs is a difficult problem, and LilyPond currently
1672 uses a simple, empiric method to produce slurs. In some cases, the
1673 results of this method are ugly.
1676 This is reflected by the
1677 @code{beautiful} property, which it is an arbitrary parameter in the
1678 slur formatter. Useful values can only be determined by trial and
1682 @cindex Adjusting slurs
1684 @node Phrasing slurs
1685 @subsection Phrasing slurs
1687 @cindex phrasing slurs
1688 @cindex phrasing marks
1690 A phrasing slur (or phrasing mark) connects chords and is used to
1691 indicate a musical sentence. It is started using @code{\(} and @code{\)}
1694 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center,relative]
1695 \time 6/4 c' \( d () e f () e \) d
1698 Typographically, the phrasing slur behaves almost exactly like a normal
1699 slur. See also @seeinternals{PhrasingSlur}.
1703 @subsection Breath marks
1705 Breath marks are entered using @code{\breathe}. See also
1706 @seeinternals{BreathingSign}.
1708 @lilypond[fragment,relative]
1717 @cindex beats per minute
1718 @cindex metronome marking
1720 Metronome settings can be entered as follows:
1722 @cindex @code{\tempo}
1724 \tempo @var{duration} = @var{perminute}
1727 For example, @code{\tempo 4 = 76} requests output with 76 quarter notes
1732 The tempo setting is not printed, but is only used in the MIDI
1733 output. You can trick lily into producing a metronome mark,
1734 though. Details are in @ref{Text markup}.
1739 @subsection Text spanners
1740 @cindex Text spanners
1742 Some textual indications, e.g. rallentando or accelerando, often extend
1743 over many measures. This is indicated by following the text with a
1744 dotted line. You can create such texts using text spanners. The syntax
1747 \spanrequest \start "text"
1748 \spanrequest \stop "text"
1750 LilyPond will respond by creating a @internalsref{TextSpanner} grob (typically
1751 in @internalsref{Voice} context). The string to be printed, as well as the
1752 style is set through grob properties.
1754 An application---or rather, a hack---is to fake octavation indications.
1755 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
1756 \relative c' { a''' b c a
1757 \property Voice.TextSpanner \set #'type = #'dotted-line
1758 \property Voice.TextSpanner \set #'edge-height = #'(0 . 1.5)
1759 \property Voice.TextSpanner \set #'edge-text = #'("8va " . "")
1760 \property Staff.centralCPosition = #-13
1761 a\spanrequest \start "text" b c a \spanrequest \stop "text" }
1779 @subsection Articulations
1780 @cindex Articulations
1782 @cindex articulations
1786 A variety of symbols can appear above and below notes to indicate
1787 different characteristics of the performance. They are added to a note
1788 by adding a dash and the the character signifying the
1789 articulation. They are demonstrated here.
1790 @lilypond[singleline]
1792 \notes \context Voice {
1793 \property Voice.TextScript \set #'font-family = #'typewriter
1794 \property Voice.TextScript \set #'font-shape = #'upright
1800 c''4-^_"c-\\^{ }" s4
1806 The script is automatically placed, but if you need to force
1807 directions, you can use @code{_} to force them down, or @code{^} to
1809 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim]
1814 Other symbols can be added using the syntax
1815 @var{note}@code{-\}@var{name}. Again, they can be forced up or down
1816 using @code{^} and @code{_}.
1820 @cindex staccatissimo
1829 @cindex organ pedal marks
1838 @cindex prallmordent
1842 @cindex thumb marking
1849 \property Score.LyricText \override #'font-family =#'typewriter
1850 \property Score.LyricText \override #'font-shape = #'upright
1851 \context Staff \notes {
1852 c''-\accent c''-\marcato c''-\staccatissimo c''^\fermata
1853 c''-\stopped c''-\staccato c''-\tenuto c''-\portato
1855 c''-\downbow c''^\lheel c''-\rheel c''^\ltoe
1856 c''-\rtoe c''-\turn c''-\open c''-\flageolet
1857 c''-\reverseturn c''-\trill c''-\prall c''-\mordent
1858 c''-\prallprall c''-\prallmordent c''-\upprall c''-\downprall
1859 c''-\upmordent c''-\downmordent c''-\pralldown c''-\prallup
1860 c''-\lineprall c''-\thumb c''-\segno c''-\coda
1862 \context Lyrics \lyrics {
1863 accent__ marcato__ staccatissimo__ fermata
1864 stopped__ staccato__ tenuto__ portato
1866 downbow__ lheel__ rheel__ ltoe
1867 rtoe__ turn__ open__ flageolet
1868 reverseturn__ trill__ prall__ mordent
1869 prallprall__ prallmordent__ uprall__ downprall
1870 upmordent__ downmordent__ pralldown__ prallup__
1871 lineprall__ thumb__ segno__ coda
1875 linewidth = 5.875\in
1884 Fingering instructions can also be entered in this shorthand. For
1885 finger changes, use markup texts:
1887 @lilypond[verbatim, singleline, fragment]
1888 c'4-1 c'4-2 c'4-3 c'4-4
1893 @cindex @code{\script}
1898 See also @seeinternals{Script} and @seeinternals{Fingering}.
1902 All of these note ornaments appear in the printed output but have no
1903 effect on the MIDI rendering of the music.
1905 Unfortunately, there is no support for adding fingering instructions or
1906 ornaments to individual note heads. Some hacks exist, though. See
1907 @file{input/test/script-horizontal.ly}.
1912 @subsection Text scripts
1913 @cindex Text scripts
1915 In addition, it is possible to place arbitrary strings of text or markup
1916 text (see @ref{Text markup}) above or below notes by using a string:
1919 By default, these indications do not influence the note spacing, but
1920 by using the command @code{\fatText}, the widths will be taken into
1923 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim] \relative c' {
1924 c4^"longtext" \fatText c4_"longlongtext" c4 }
1927 It is possible to use @TeX{} commands in the strings, but this should be
1928 avoided because it makes it impossible for LilyPond to compute the
1929 exact length of the string, which may lead to collisions. Also, @TeX{}
1930 commands won't work with direct PostScript output.
1931 @c (see @ref{PostScript output}).
1933 Text scripts are created in form of @internalsref{TextScript} grobs, in
1934 @internalsref{Voice} context.
1936 @ref{Text markup} describes how to change the font or access
1937 special symbols in text scripts.
1942 @subsection Grace notes
1946 @cindex @code{\grace}
1950 Grace notes are ornaments are written out ornaments
1951 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,ifragment]
1952 c4 \grace c16 c4 \grace { [c16 d16] } c4
1955 In normal notation, grace notes are supposed to take up no logical
1956 time in a measure. Such an idea is practical for normal notation, but
1957 is not strict enough to put it into a program. The model that LilyPond
1958 uses for grace notes internally is that all timing is done in two
1961 Every point in musical time consists of two rational numbers: one
1962 denotes the logical time, one denotes the grace timing. The above
1963 example is shown here with timing tuples.
1966 \score { \notes \relative c''{
1967 c4^"(0,0)" \grace c16_" "_"(1/4,-1/16)" c4^"(1/4,0)" \grace {
1968 [c16_"(2/4,-1/8)" d16^"(2/4,-1/16)" ] } c4_" "_"(2/4,0)"
1970 \paper { linewidth = 8.\cm }
1974 The advantage of this approach is that you can use almost any lilypond
1975 construction together with grace notes, for example slurs and clef
1976 changes may appear halfway in between grace notes:
1978 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,fragment]
1979 c4 \grace { [ c16 c, \clef bass c, b(] } )c4
1982 The placement of these grace notes is synchronized between different
1983 staffs, using this grace timing.
1985 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,fragment]
1986 < \context Staff = SA { e4 \grace { c16 d e f } e4 }
1987 \context Staff = SB { c4 \grace { g8 b } c4 } >
1991 Unbeamed eighth notes and shorter by default have a slash through the
1992 stem. This can be controlled with grob property @code{flag-style} of
1993 @internalsref{Stem}. The change in formatting is accomplished by
1994 inserting @code{\startGraceMusic} before handling the grace notes, and
1995 @code{\stopGraceMusic} after finishing the grace notes. You can add to
1996 these definitions to globally change grace note formatting. The
1997 standard definitions are in @file{ly/grace-init.ly}.
2000 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2001 \relative c'' \context Voice {
2002 \grace c8 c4 \grace { [c16 c16] } c4
2004 \property Voice.Stem \override #'flag-style = #'()
2006 \property Voice.Stem \revert #'flag-style
2011 If you want to end a note with a grace note, then the standard trick
2012 is to put the grace notes before a phantom ``space note'', e.g.
2013 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim, relative=2]
2016 { s2 \grace { [c16 d] } } >
2024 Grace note synchronization can also lead to surprises. Staff notation,
2025 such as key signatures, barlines, etc. are also synchronized. Take
2026 care when you mix staffs with grace notes and staffs without.
2028 @lilypond[relative=2,verbatim,fragment]
2029 < \context Staff = SA { e4 \bar "|:" \grace c16 d4 }
2030 \context Staff = SB { c4 \bar "|:" d4 } >
2033 Grace sections should only be used within sequential music
2034 expressions. Nesting, juxtaposing, or ending sequential music with a
2035 grace section is not supported, and might produce crashes or other
2047 @subsection Glissando
2050 @cindex @code{\glissando}
2052 A glissando line can be requested by attaching a @code{\glissando} to
2055 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2061 Printing of an additional text (such as @emph{gliss.}) must be done
2062 manually. See also @seeinternals{Glissando}.
2068 @subsection Dynamics
2081 @cindex @code{\ffff}
2091 Absolute dynamic marks are specified using an identifier after a
2092 note: @code{c4-\ff}. The available dynamic marks are: @code{\ppp},
2093 @code{\pp}, @code{\p}, @code{\mp}, @code{\mf}, @code{\f}, @code{\ff},
2094 @code{\fff}, @code{\fff}, @code{\fp}, @code{\sf}, @code{\sff},
2095 @code{\sp}, @code{\spp}, @code{\sfz}, and @code{\rfz}.
2097 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline,fragment,relative]
2098 c'\ppp c\pp c \p c\mp c\mf c\f c\ff c\fff
2104 @cindex @code{\decr}
2105 @cindex @code{\rced}
2111 A crescendo mark is started with @code{\cr} and terminated with
2112 @code{\rc} (the textual reverse of @code{cr}). A decrescendo mark is
2113 started with @code{\decr} and terminated with @code{\rced}. There are
2114 also shorthands for these marks. A crescendo can be started with
2115 @code{\<} and a decrescendo can be started with @code{\>}. Either one
2116 can be terminated with @code{\!}. Note that @code{\!} must go before
2117 the last note of the dynamic mark whereas @code{\rc} and @code{\rced} go
2118 after the last note. Because these marks are bound to notes, if you
2119 want several marks during one note, you have to use spacer notes.
2121 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
2122 c'' \< \! c'' d'' \decr e'' \rced
2123 < f''1 { s4 s4 \< \! s4 \> \! s4 } >
2126 You can also use a text saying @emph{cresc.} instead of hairpins. Here
2127 is an example how to do it:
2129 @lilypond[fragment,relative=2,verbatim]
2130 c4 \cresc c4 \endcresc c4
2137 You can also supply your own texts:
2138 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2140 \property Voice.crescendoText = "cresc. poco"
2141 \property Voice.crescendoSpanner = #'dashed-line
2148 Dynamics are grobs of @internalsref{DynamicText} and
2149 @internalsref{Hairpin}. Vertical positioning of these symbols is
2150 handled by the @internalsref{DynamicLineSpanner} grob. If you want to
2151 adjust padding or vertical direction of the dynamics, you must set
2152 properties for the @internalsref{DynamicLineSpanner} grob. Predefined
2153 identifiers to set the vertical direction are \dynamicUp and
2156 @cindex direction, of dynamics
2157 @cindex @code{\dynamicDown}
2158 @cindex @code{\dynamicUp}
2166 @cindex @code{\repeat}
2168 To specify repeats, use the @code{\repeat} keyword. Since repeats
2169 should work differently when played or printed, there are a few
2170 different variants of repeats.
2174 Repeated music is fully written (played) out. Useful for MIDI
2175 output, and entering repetitive music.
2178 This is the normal notation: Repeats are not written out, but
2179 alternative endings (voltas) are printed, left to right.
2182 Alternative endings are written stacked. This has limited use but may be
2183 used to typeset two lines of lyrics in songs with repeats, see
2184 @file{input/star-spangled-banner.ly}.
2190 Make beat or measure repeats. These look like percent signs.
2196 * Repeats and MIDI::
2197 * Manual repeat commands::
2199 * Tremolo subdivisions::
2204 @subsection Repeat syntax
2206 The syntax for repeats is
2209 \repeat @var{variant} @var{repeatcount} @var{repeatbody}
2212 If you have alternative endings, you may add
2213 @cindex @code{\alternative}
2215 \alternative @code{@{} @var{alternative1}
2217 @var{alternative3} @dots{} @code{@}}
2219 where each @var{alternative} is a music expression.
2221 Normal notation repeats are used like this:
2222 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2224 \repeat volta 2 { c'4 d' e' f' }
2225 \repeat volta 2 { f' e' d' c' }
2228 With alternative endings:
2229 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2231 \repeat volta 2 {c'4 d' e' f'}
2232 \alternative { {d'2 d'} {f' f} }
2235 Folded repeats look like this:
2238 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2240 \repeat fold 2 {c'4 d' e' f'}
2241 \alternative { {d'2 d'} {f' f} }
2245 If you don't give enough alternatives for all of the repeats, then
2246 the first alternative is assumed to be repeated often enough to equal
2247 the specified number of repeats.
2249 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2253 \repeat volta 4 { e | c2 d2 | e2 f2 | }
2254 \alternative { { g4 g g } { a | a a a a | b2. } }
2259 @node Repeats and MIDI
2260 @subsection Repeats and MIDI
2262 @cindex expanding repeats
2264 For instructions on how to unfoldi repeats for MIDI output, see
2265 the example file @file{input/test/unfold-all-repeats.ly}.
2270 Notice that timing information is not remembered at the start of an
2271 alternative, so you have to reset timing information after a repeat,
2272 e.g. using a bar-check (See @ref{Bar check}), setting
2273 @code{Score.measurePosition} or entering @code{\partial}. Slurs or ties
2274 are also not repeated.
2276 It is possible to nest @code{\repeat}s, although this probably is only
2277 meaningful for unfolded repeats.
2279 Folded repeats offer little more over simultaneous music.
2281 @node Manual repeat commands
2282 @subsection Manual repeat commands
2284 @cindex @code{repeatCommands}
2286 The property @code{repeatCommands} can be used to control the layout of
2287 repeats. Its value is a Scheme list of repeat commands, where each repeat
2295 @item (volta . @var{text})
2296 Print a volta bracket saying @var{text}.
2298 Stop a running volta bracket
2301 @lilypond[verbatim, fragment]
2303 \property Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta "93") end-repeat)
2305 \property Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta #f))
2310 Repeats brackets are @internalsref{VoltaBracket} grobs.
2312 @node Tremolo repeats
2313 @subsection Tremolo repeats
2314 @cindex tremolo beams
2316 To place tremolo marks between notes, use @code{\repeat} with tremolo
2318 @lilypond[verbatim,center,singleline]
2320 \context Voice \notes\relative c' {
2321 \repeat "tremolo" 8 { c16 d16 }
2322 \repeat "tremolo" 4 { c16 d16 }
2323 \repeat "tremolo" 2 { c16 d16 }
2324 \repeat "tremolo" 4 c16
2329 Tremolo beams are @internalsref{Beam} grobs. Single stem tremolos are
2330 @internalsref{StemTremolo}. The single stem tremolo @emph{must} be
2331 entered without @code{@{} and @code{@}}.
2335 Only powers of two and undotted notes are supported repeat counts.
2337 @node Tremolo subdivisions
2338 @subsection Tremolo subdivisions
2339 @cindex tremolo marks
2340 @cindex @code{tremoloFlags}
2342 Tremolo marks can be printed on a single note by adding
2343 `@code{:}[@var{length}]' after the note. The length must be at least 8.
2344 A @var{length} value of 8 gives one line across the note stem. If the
2345 length is omitted, then then the last value (stored in
2346 @code{Voice.tremoloFlags}) is used.
2348 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment,center]
2349 c'2:8 c':32 | c': c': |
2355 Tremolos in this style do not carry over into the MIDI output.
2358 @node Measure repeats
2359 @subsection Measure repeats
2361 @cindex percent repeats
2362 @cindex measure repeats
2364 In the @code{percent} style, a note pattern can be repeated. It is
2365 printed once, and then the pattern is replaced with a special sign.
2366 Patterns of a one and two measures are replaced by percent-like signs,
2367 patterns that divide the measure length are replaced by slashes.
2369 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
2370 \context Voice { \repeat "percent" 4 { c'4 }
2371 \repeat "percent" 2 { c'2 es'2 f'4 fis'4 g'4 c''4 }
2375 The signs are represented by these grobs: @internalsref{RepeatSlash} and
2376 @internalsref{PercentRepeat} and @internalsref{DoublePercentRepeat}.
2380 You can not nest percent repeats, e.g. by filling in the first measure
2381 with slashes, and repeating that measure with percents.
2383 @node Rhythmic music
2384 @section Rhythmic music
2386 Sometimes you might want to show only the rhythm of a melody. This can
2387 be done with the rhythmic staff. All pitches of notes on such a staff
2388 are squashed, and the staff itself looks has a single staff line:
2390 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2391 \context RhythmicStaff {
2393 c4 e8 f g2 | r4 g r2 | g1:32 | r1 |
2398 * Percussion staves::
2401 @node Percussion staves
2402 @subsection Percussion staves
2405 To typeset more than one piece of percussion to be played by the same
2406 musician one typically uses a multiline staff where each staff
2407 position refers to a specific piece of percussion.
2409 LilyPond is shipped with a bunch of scheme functions which allows you
2410 to do this fairly easily.
2412 The system is based on the general midi drum-pitches.
2413 In order to use the drum pitches you include
2414 @file{ly/drumpitch-init.ly}. This file defines the pitches from the scheme
2415 variable @code{drum-pitch-names} - which definition can be read in
2416 @file{scm/drums.scm}. You see that each piece of percussion has a full
2417 name and an abbreviated name - and you may freely select whether to
2418 refer to the full name or the abbreviation in your music definition.
2420 To typeset the music on a staff you apply the scheme function
2421 @code{drums->paper} to the percussion music. This function takes a
2422 list of percussion instrument names, notehead scripts and staff
2423 positions (that is: pitches relative to the C-clef) and uses this to
2424 transform the input music by moving the pitch, changing the notehead
2425 and (optionally) adding a script:
2426 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
2427 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2428 up = \notes { crashcymbal4 hihat8 halfopenhihat hh hh hh openhihat }
2429 down = \notes { bassdrum4 snare8 bd r bd sn4 }
2431 \apply #(drums->paper 'drums) \context Staff <
2433 \context Voice = up { \voiceOne \up }
2434 \context Voice = down { \voiceTwo \down }
2439 In the above example the music was transformed using the list @code{'drums}.
2440 Currently the following lists are defined in @file{scm/drums.scm}:
2443 To typeset a typical drum kit on a five line staff.
2445 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2446 nam = \lyrics { cymc cyms cymr hh hhc hho hhho hhp cb hc
2447 bd sn ss tomh tommh tomml toml tomfh tomfl }
2448 mus = \notes { cymc cyms cymr hh hhc hho hhho hhp cb hc
2449 bd sn ss tomh tommh tomml toml tomfh tomfl s16 }
2452 \apply #(drums->paper 'drums) \context Staff <
2456 \context Lyrics \nam
2461 \remove Bar_engraver
2462 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2463 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-4.0 . 5.0)
2467 \remove Stem_engraver
2472 Notice that the scheme supports six different toms.
2473 If you are using fewer toms then you simply select the toms that produce
2474 the desired result - i.e. to get toms on the three middle lines you
2475 use @code{tommh}, @code{tomml} and @code{tomfh}.
2477 Because the general midi contain no rimshots we use the sidestick for
2478 this purpose instead.
2480 To typeset timbales on a two line staff.
2481 @lilypond[singleline]
2482 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2483 nam = \lyrics { timh ssh timl ssl cb }
2484 mus = \notes { timh ssh timl ssl cb s16 }
2487 \apply #(drums->paper 'timbales) \context Staff <
2491 \context Lyrics \nam
2496 \remove Bar_engraver
2497 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2498 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #2
2499 StaffSymbol \override #'staff-space = #2
2500 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3.0 . 4.0)
2504 \remove Stem_engraver
2511 To typeset congas on a two line staff.
2512 @lilypond[singleline]
2513 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2514 nam = \lyrics { cgh cgho cghm ssh cgl cglo cglm ssl }
2515 mus = \notes { cgh cgho cghm ssh cgl cglo cglm ssl s16 }
2518 \apply #(drums->paper 'congas) \context Staff <
2522 \context Lyrics \nam
2527 \remove Bar_engraver
2528 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2529 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #2
2530 StaffSymbol \override #'staff-space = #2
2531 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3.0 . 4.0)
2535 \remove Stem_engraver
2541 To typeset bongos on a two line staff.
2542 @lilypond[singleline]
2543 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2544 nam = \lyrics { boh boho bohm ssh bol bolo bolm ssl }
2545 mus = \notes { boh boho bohm ssh bol bolo bolm ssl s16 }
2548 \apply #(drums->paper 'bongos) \context Staff <
2552 \context Lyrics \nam
2557 \remove Bar_engraver
2558 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2559 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #2
2560 StaffSymbol \override #'staff-space = #2
2561 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-3.0 . 4.0)
2565 \remove Stem_engraver
2571 To typeset all kinds of simple percussion on one line staves.
2572 @lilypond[singleline]
2573 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2574 nam = \lyrics { tri trio trim gui guis guil cb cl tamb cab mar hc }
2575 mus = \notes { tri trio trim gui guis guil cb cl tamb cab mar hc s16 }
2578 \apply #(drums->paper 'percussion) \context Staff <
2582 \context Lyrics \nam
2587 \remove Bar_engraver
2588 \remove Time_signature_engraver
2589 StaffSymbol \override #'line-count = #1
2590 minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-2.0 . 3.0)
2594 \remove Stem_engraver
2601 If you don't like any of the predefined lists you can define your own
2602 list at the top of your file:
2604 @lilypond[singleline, verbatim]
2606 (bassdrum default #f ,(make-pitch -1 2 0))
2607 (snare default #f ,(make-pitch 0 1 0))
2608 (hihat cross #f ,(make-pitch 0 5 0))
2609 (pedalhihat xcircle "stopped" ,(make-pitch 0 5 0))
2610 (lowtom diamond #f ,(make-pitch -1 6 0))
2612 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2613 up = \notes { hh8 hh hh hh hhp4 hhp }
2614 down = \notes { bd4 sn bd toml8 toml }
2616 \apply #(drums->paper 'mydrums) \context Staff <
2618 \context Voice = up { \voiceOne \up }
2619 \context Voice = down { \voiceTwo \down }
2624 To use a modified existing list instead of building your own from
2625 scratch you can append your modifications to the start of the existing
2629 #(define mydrums (append `(
2630 (bassdrum default #f ,(make-pitch -1 2 0))
2631 (lowtom diamond #f ,(make-pitch -1 6 0))
2635 @c FIXME: Too many levels of headers when using subsubsections.
2636 @c Perhaps junk subsection ``Percussion staves''
2637 @subsubsection Percussion staves with normal staves
2638 When you include @file{drumpitch-init.ly} then the default pitches
2639 are overridden so that you after the inclusion cannot use the common
2640 dutch pitch names anymore. Hence you might wan't to reinclude
2641 @file{nederlands.ly} after the drum-pattern-definitions:
2642 @lilypond[singleline,verbatim]
2643 \include "drumpitch-init.ly"
2644 up = \notes { crashcymbal4 hihat8 halfopenhihat hh hh hh openhihat }
2645 down = \notes { bassdrum4 snare8 bd r bd sn4 }
2646 \include "nederlands.ly"
2647 bass = \notes \transpose c, { a4. e8 r e g e }
2650 \apply #(drums->paper 'drums) \context Staff = drums <
2652 \context Voice = up { \voiceOne \up }
2653 \context Voice = down { \voiceTwo \down }
2655 \context Staff = bass { \clef "F_8" \bass }
2660 @subsubsection Percussion midi output
2661 In order to produce correct midi output you need to produce two score
2662 blocks - one for the paper and one for the midi.
2663 To use the percussion channel you set the property @code{instrument}
2664 to @code{'drums}. Because the drum-pitches themself are similar to the
2665 general midi pitches all you have to do is to insert the voices with
2666 none of the scheme functions to get the correct midi output:
2670 \apply #(drums->paper 'mydrums) \context Staff <
2672 \context Voice = up @{ \voiceOne \up @}
2673 \context Voice = down @{ \voiceTwo \down @}
2679 \property Staff.instrument = #'drums
2688 This scheme is to be considered a temporary implementation. Even
2689 though the scheme will probably keep on working then the future might
2690 bring some other way of typesetting drums, and probably
2691 there will be made no great efforts in keeping things downwards
2696 @section Piano music
2698 Piano music is an odd type of notation. Piano staves are two normal
2699 staves coupled with a brace. The staves are largely independent, but
2700 sometimes voices can cross between the two staves. The
2701 @internalsref{PianoStaff} is especially built to handle this cross-staffing
2702 behavior. In this section we discuss the @internalsref{PianoStaff} and some
2703 other pianistic peculiarities.
2706 * Automatic staff changes::
2707 * Manual staff switches::
2710 * Voice follower lines::
2714 @c . {Automatic staff changes}
2715 @node Automatic staff changes
2716 @subsection Automatic staff changes
2717 @cindex Automatic staff changes
2719 Voices can switch automatically between the top and the bottom
2720 staff. The syntax for this is
2722 \autochange Staff \context Voice @{ @dots{}@var{music}@dots{} @}
2724 The autochanger switches on basis of pitch (central C is the turning
2725 point), and it looks ahead skipping over rests to switch rests in
2726 advance. Here is a practical example:
2728 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
2729 \score { \notes \context PianoStaff <
2730 \context Staff = "up" {
2731 \autochange Staff \context Voice = VA < \relative c' {
2732 g4 a b c d r4 a g } > }
2733 \context Staff = "down" {
2738 Spacer rests are used to prevent the bottom staff from
2739 terminating too soon.
2742 @node Manual staff switches
2743 @subsection Manual staff switches
2745 @cindex manual staff switches
2746 @cindex staff switch, manual
2748 Voices can be switched between staves manually, using the following command:
2750 \translator Staff = @var{staffname} @var{music}
2752 The string @var{staffname} is the name of the staff. It switches the
2753 current voice from its current staff to the Staff called
2754 @var{staffname}. Typically @var{staffname} is @code{"up"} or
2762 Piano pedal instruction can be expressed using
2763 @code{\sustainDown}, @code{\sustainUp}, @code{\unaCorda},
2764 @code{\treCorde}, @code{\sostenutoDown} and @code{\sostenutoUp}.
2766 These identifiers are shorthands for spanner commands of the types
2767 @internalsref{Sustain}, @internalsref{UnaCorda} and @internalsref{Sostenuto}:
2769 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2770 c''4 \spanrequest \start "Sustain" c''4
2771 c''4 \spanrequest \stop "Sustain"
2774 The symbols that are printed can be modified by setting
2775 @code{pedal@var{X}Strings}, where @var{X} is one of the pedal types:
2776 Sustain, Sostenuto or UnaCorda. Refer to the generated documentation of
2777 @rgrob{SustainPedal}, for example, for more information.
2779 Pedals can also be indicated by a sequence of brackets, by setting the
2780 @code{pedal-type} property of SustainPedal grobs:
2782 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2783 \property Staff.SustainPedal \override #'pedal-type = #'bracket
2784 c''4 \sustainDown d''4 e''4 a'4
2785 \sustainUp \sustainDown
2786 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sustainUp
2789 A third style of pedal notation is a mixture of text and brackets,
2790 obtained by setting @code{pedal-type} to @code{mixed}:
2792 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2793 \property Staff.SustainPedal \override #'pedal-type = #'mixed
2794 c''4 \sustainDown d''4 e''4 c'4
2795 \sustainUp \sustainDown
2796 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sustainUp
2799 The default '*Ped' style for sustain and damper pedals corresponds to
2800 @code{\pedal-type = #'text}. However, @code{mixed} is the default style
2801 for a sostenuto pedal:
2803 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2804 c''4 \sostenutoDown d''4 e''4 c'4 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sostenutoUp
2807 For fine-tuning of the appearance of a pedal bracket, the properties
2808 @code{edge-width}, @code{edge-height}, and @code{shorten-pair} of
2809 @code{PianoPedalBracket} grobs (see the detailed documentation of
2810 @rgrob{PianoPedalBracket}) can be modified. For example, the bracket
2811 may be extended to the end of the note head.
2813 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
2814 \property Staff.PianoPedalBracket \override
2815 #'shorten-pair = #'(0 . -1.0)
2816 c''4 \sostenutoDown d''4 e''4 c'4
2817 f'4 g'4 a'4 \sostenutoUp
2824 @subsection Arpeggio
2827 @cindex broken arpeggio
2828 @cindex @code{\arpeggio}
2830 You can specify an arpeggio sign on a chord by attaching an
2831 @code{\arpeggio} to a note of the chord.
2834 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2835 \context Voice <c\arpeggio e g c>
2838 When an arpeggio crosses staves in piano music, you attach an arpeggio
2839 to the chords in both staves, and set
2840 @code{PianoStaff.connectArpeggios}.
2842 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2843 \context PianoStaff <
2844 \property PianoStaff.connectArpeggios = ##t
2845 \context Voice = one { <c'\arpeggio e g c> }
2846 \context Voice = other { \clef bass <c,,\arpeggio e g>}
2850 This command creates @internalsref{Arpeggio} grobs. Cross staff arpeggios
2851 are @code{PianoStaff.Arpeggio}.
2853 To add an arrow head to explicitly specify the direction of the
2854 arpeggio, you should set the arpeggio grob property
2855 @code{arpeggio-direction}.
2857 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2859 \property Voice.Arpeggio \set #'arpeggio-direction = #1
2861 \property Voice.Arpeggio \set #'arpeggio-direction = #-1
2866 A square bracket on the left indicates that the player should not
2867 arpeggiate the chord. To draw these brackets, set the
2868 @code{molecule-callback} property of @code{Arpeggio} or
2869 @code{PianoStaff.Arpeggio} grobs to @code{\arpeggioBracket}, and use
2870 @code{\arpeggio} statements within the chords as before.
2872 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2873 \context PianoStaff <
2874 \property PianoStaff.connectArpeggios = ##t
2875 \property PianoStaff.Arpeggio \override
2876 #'molecule-callback = \arpeggioBracket
2877 \context Voice = one { <c'\arpeggio e g c> }
2878 \context Voice = other { \clef bass <c,,\arpeggio e g>}
2885 It is not possible to mix connected arpeggios and unconnected
2886 arpeggios in one PianoStaff at the same time.
2890 @node Voice follower lines
2891 @subsection Voice follower lines
2893 @cindex follow voice
2894 @cindex staff switching
2897 @cindex @code{followVoice}
2899 Whenever a voice switches to another staff a line connecting the notes
2900 can be printed automatically. This is enabled if the property
2901 @code{PianoStaff.followVoice} is set to true:
2903 @lilypond[fragment,relative,verbatim]
2904 \context PianoStaff <
2905 \property PianoStaff.followVoice = ##t
2906 \context Staff \context Voice {
2908 \translator Staff=two
2911 \context Staff=two {\clef bass \skip 1*2 }
2915 The associated grob is @internalsref{VoiceFollower}.
2921 Tablature notation is used music for plucked string instruments. It
2922 notates pitches not by using note heads, but by indicating on which
2923 string and fret a note must be played. LilyPond offers limited
2924 support for tablature, by abusing the fingering system.
2927 * Tablatures basic::
2928 * Non-guitar tablatures::
2929 * Tablature in addition to normal staff::
2932 @node Tablatures basic
2933 @subsection Tablatures basic
2934 @cindex Tablatures basic
2936 Tablature can be typeset with Lilypond by using the
2937 @internalsref{TabStaff} and @internalsref{TabVoice} contexts. As
2938 tablature is a recent feature in Lilypond, most of the guitar special
2939 effects such as hammer, pull, bend are not yet supported.
2941 With the @internalsref{TabStaff}, the string number associated to a note
2942 is given though the fingering mechanism, e.g. @code{c4-3} for a C
2943 quarter on the third string. The string 1 is the lowest one, and the
2944 tuning defaults to the standard guitar tuning (with 6 strings).
2946 @c FIXME TabStaff is broken
2947 @lily pond[fragment,verbatim]
2951 \property Staff.Stem \override #'direction = #1
2960 @node Non-guitar tablatures
2961 @subsection Non-guitar tablatures
2962 @cindex Non-guitar tablatures
2964 There are many ways to customize Lilypond tablatures.
2966 First you can change the number of strings, by setting the number of
2967 lines in the @internalsref{TabStaff}. You can change the strings
2968 tuning. A string tuning is given as a Scheme list with one integer
2969 number for each string, the number being the pitch of an open string.
2971 Finally, it is possible to change the Scheme function to format the
2972 tablature note text. The default is @var{fret-number-tablature-format},
2973 which uses the fret number, but for some instruments that may not use
2974 this notation, just create your own tablature-format function. This
2975 function takes three argument: the string number, the string tuning and
2979 @node Tablature in addition to normal staff
2980 @subsection Tablature in addition to normal staff
2981 @cindex Tablature in addition to normal staff
2983 It is possible to typeset both tablature and a "normal" staff, as
2984 commonly done in many parts.
2986 A common trick for that is to put the notes in a variables, and to hide
2987 the fingering information (which correspond to the string number) for
2991 @c @lily pond[verbatim]
2998 \context StaffGroup <
3000 % Hide fingering number
3001 \property Staff.Fingering \override #'transparent = ##t
3006 \property Staff.Stem \override #'direction = #1
3020 LilyPond has support for both entering and printing chords.
3021 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3022 twoWays = \notes \transpose c'' {
3032 < \context ChordNames \twoWays
3033 \context Voice \twoWays > }
3036 This example also shows that the chord printing routines do not try to
3037 be intelligent. If you enter @code{f bes d}, it does not interpret
3038 this as an inversion.
3040 As you can see chords really are a set of pitches. They are internally
3041 stored as simultaneous music expressions. This means you can enter
3042 chords by name and print them as notes, enter them as notes and print
3043 them as chord names, or (the most common case) enter them by name, and
3048 * Printing named chords::
3053 @subsection Chords mode
3056 Chord mode is a mode where you can input sets of pitches using common
3057 names. It is introduced by the keyword @code{\chords}. It is similar
3058 to note mode, but words are also looked up in a chord modifier table
3059 (containing @code{maj}, @code{dim}, etc). Dashes and carets are used
3060 to indicate chord additions and subtractions, so articulation scripts
3061 can not be entered in Chord mode.
3063 Throughout these examples, chords have been shifted around the staff
3064 using @code{\transpose}.
3066 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3070 c:9 c:9-.5+.7+ c:3-.5-
3080 The second type of modifier that may appear after the @code{:} is a
3081 named modifier. Named modifiers are listed in the file
3082 @file{chord-modifiers.ly}. The available modifiers are @code{m} and
3083 @code{min} which lower the 3rd half a step, `@code{aug}' which
3084 raises the 5th, `@code{dim}' which lowers the 5th,
3085 `@code{maj}' which adds a raised 7th, and `@code{sus}'
3086 which replaces the 5th with a 4th.
3088 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3091 c1:m c:min7 c:maj c:aug c:dim c:sus
3097 Chord subtractions are used to eliminate notes from a chord. The
3098 notes to be subtracted are listed after a @code{^} character,
3101 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
3110 Chord inversions can be specified by appending `@code{/}' and the name
3111 of a single note to a chord. In a chord inversion, the inverted note is
3112 transposed down until it is the lowest note in the chord. If the note
3113 is not in the chord, a warning will be printed.
3115 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
3125 Bass notes can be added by `@code{/+}' and
3126 the name of a single note to a chord. This has the effect of
3127 adding the specified note to the chord, lowered by an octave,
3128 so it becomes the lowest note in the chord.
3130 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,center]
3139 The formal syntax for named chords is as follows:
3141 @var{tonic}[@var{duration}][@code{-}@var{modifiers}][@code{^}@var{subtractions}][@code{/}@var{inversion}][@code{/+}@var{bass}].
3144 @var{tonic} should be the tonic note of the chord, and @var{duration} is
3145 the chord duration in the usual notation. There are two kinds of
3146 modifiers. One type is formed by @emph{chord additions}. Additions are
3147 obtained by listing intervals separated by dots. An interval is written
3148 by its number with an optional @code{+} or @code{-} to indicate raising
3149 or lowering by half a step. Chord additions have two effects: they adds
3150 the specified interval and all lower odd numbered intervals to the
3151 chord, and they may lower or raise the specified interval.
3156 Implementation details are gory. For example @code{c:4} not only adds
3157 a fourth, but also removes the third.
3160 @c . {Printing named chords}
3161 @node Printing named chords
3162 @subsection Printing named chords
3164 @cindex printing chord names
3168 For displaying printed chord names, use the @internalsref{ChordNames} context.
3169 The chords may be entered either using the notation described above, or
3170 directly using simultaneous music.
3172 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3174 \chords {a1 b c} <d f g> <e g b>
3178 \context ChordNames \scheme
3179 \context Staff \transpose c'' \scheme
3184 You can make the chord changes stand out by setting
3185 @code{ChordNames.chordChanges} to true. This will only display chord
3186 names when there's a change in the chords scheme and at the start of a
3191 c1:m c:m \break c:m c:m d
3195 \context ChordNames {
3196 \property ChordNames.chordChanges = ##t
3198 \context Staff \transpose c'' \scheme
3200 \paper{linewidth= 9.\cm}
3204 LilyPond examines chords specified as lists of notes to determine a name
3205 to give the chord. LilyPond will not try to identify chord inversions or
3206 an added bass note, which may result in strange chord names when chords
3207 are entered as a list of pitches:
3209 @lilypond[verbatim,center,singleline]
3218 \context ChordNames \scheme
3219 \context Staff \scheme
3225 By default, a chord name system proposed by Harald Banter (See
3226 @ref{Literature}) is used. The system is very regular and predictable.
3227 Typical American style chord names may be selected by setting the
3228 @code{style} property of the @code{ChordNames.ChordName} grob to
3229 @code{'american}. Similarly @code{'jazz} selects Jazz chordnames.
3231 Routines that determine the names to be printed are written in Scheme,
3232 and may be customized by the user. The code can be found in
3233 @file{scm/chord-name.scm}. Here's an example showing the differences in
3237 @c maybe just junk verbatim option?
3238 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3248 \context ChordNames = banter \scheme
3249 \context ChordNames = american {
3250 \property ChordNames.ChordName \override
3251 #'style = #'american \scheme }
3252 \context ChordNames = jazz {
3253 \property ChordNames.ChordName \override
3254 #'style = #'jazz \scheme }
3255 \context Staff \transpose c'' \scheme
3262 @section Writing parts
3264 Orchestral music involves some special notation, both in the full score,
3265 as in the individual parts. This section explains how to tackle common
3266 problems in orchestral music.
3273 * Instrument names::
3275 * Multi measure rests::
3276 * Automatic part combining::
3277 * Hara kiri staves::
3278 * Sound output for transposing instruments::
3281 @c . {Rehearsal marks}
3282 @node Rehearsal marks
3283 @subsection Rehearsal marks
3284 @cindex Rehearsal marks
3286 @cindex @code{\mark}
3288 To print a rehearsal mark, use the @code{\mark} command.
3289 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3300 As you can see, the mark is incremented automatically if you use
3301 @code{\mark \default}. The value to use is stored in the property
3302 @code{rehearsalMark} is used and automatically incremented. The grob
3303 is @internalsref{RehearsalMark} in @internalsref{Score} context. See
3304 @code{input/test/boxed-molecule.ly} if you need boxes around the
3307 The @code{\mark} command can also be used to put signs like coda,
3308 segno and fermatas on a barline. The trick is to use the text markup
3309 mechanism to access the fermata symbol.
3310 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,relative=1]
3311 c1 \mark #'(music "scripts-ufermata")
3315 The problem is that marks that occur at a line break are typeset only
3316 at the beginning of the next line, opposite to what you want for the
3317 fermata. This can be corrected by the following property setting
3319 \property Score.RehearsalMark \override
3320 #'visibility-lambda = #begin-of-line-invisible
3326 @cindex barlines, putting symbols on
3330 @subsection Bar numbers
3334 @cindex measure numbers
3335 @cindex currentBarNumber
3337 Bar numbers are printed by default at the start of the line. The
3338 number itself is a property that can be set by modifying the
3339 @code{currentBarNumber} property, i.e.
3341 \property Score.currentBarNumber = #217
3344 If you want boxed bar numbers, see the example file
3345 @code{input/test/boxed-molecule.ly}.
3347 See also @seeinternals{BarNumber}.
3351 Printing bar numbers at regular intervals is not implemented.
3352 Barnumbers can collide with the StaffGroup, if there is one at the
3353 top. To solve this, You have to twiddle with the
3354 @internalsref{padding} property of @internalsref{BarNumber} if your
3355 score starts with a @internalsref{StaffGroup}.
3357 @node Instrument names
3358 @subsection Instrument names
3360 In scores, the instrument name is printed before the staff. This can
3361 be done by setting @code{Staff.instrument} and
3362 @code{Staff.instr}. This will print a string before the start of the
3363 staff. For the first start, @code{instrument} is used, for the next
3364 ones @code{instr} is used.
3366 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3367 \property Staff.instrument = "ploink " { c''4 }
3370 You can also use markup texts to construct more complicated instrument
3374 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3376 '((font-relative-size . -2 ) (music "accidentals--1")))
3379 \property Staff.instrument = #`((kern . 0.5) (lines
3380 "2 Clarinetti" (columns " (B" ,text-flat ")")))
3388 When you put a name on a grand staff or piano staff the width of the
3389 brace is not taken into account. You must add extra spaces to the end of
3390 the name to avoid a collision.
3393 @subsection Transpose
3395 @cindex transposition of pitches
3396 @cindex @code{\transpose}
3398 A music expression can be transposed with @code{\transpose}. The syntax
3401 \transpose @var{pitch} @var{musicexpr}
3404 This means that middle C in @var{musicexpr} is transposed to
3407 @code{\transpose} distinguishes between enharmonic pitches: both
3408 @code{\transpose cis'} or @code{\transpose des'} will transpose up half
3409 a tone. The first version will print sharps and the second version
3412 @lilypond[singleline, verbatim]
3413 mus =\notes { \key d \major cis d fis g }
3414 \score { \notes \context Staff {
3422 If you want to use both @code{\transpose} and @code{\relative}, then
3423 you must use @code{\transpose} first. @code{\relative} will have no
3424 effect music that appears inside a @code{\transpose}.
3426 @c . {Multi measure rests}
3427 @node Multi measure rests
3428 @subsection Multi measure rests
3429 @cindex Multi measure rests
3433 Multi measure rests are entered using `@code{R}'. It is specifically
3434 meant for full bar rests and for entering parts: the rest can expand to
3436 rests, or it can be printed as a single multimeasure rest This expansion
3437 is controlled by the property @code{Score.skipBars}. If this is set to true,
3438 Lily will not expand empty measures, and the appropriate number is added
3441 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim]
3442 \time 3/4 r2. | R2. | R2.*2
3443 \property Score.skipBars = ##t R2.*17 R2.*4
3446 Notice that the @code{R2.} is printed as a whole rest, centered in the
3449 @cindex whole rests for a full measure
3451 The grob for this object is @internalsref{MultiMeasureRest}.
3455 Currently, there is no way to automatically condense multiple rests
3456 into a single multimeasure rest. Multi measure rests do not take part
3459 @cindex condensing rests
3461 @node Automatic part combining
3462 @subsection Automatic part combining
3463 @cindex automatic part combining
3464 @cindex part combiner
3467 Automatic part combining is used to merge two parts of music onto a
3468 staff in an intelligent way. It is aimed primarily at typesetting
3469 orchestral scores. When the two parts are identical for a period of
3470 time, only one is shown. In places where the two parts differ, they
3471 are typeset as separate voices, and stem directions are set
3472 automatically. Also, solo and @emph{a due} parts can be identified
3475 The syntax for part combining is
3478 \partcombine @var{context} @var{musicexpr1} @var{musicexpr2}
3480 where the pieces of music @var{musicexpr1} and @var{musicexpr2} will be
3481 combined into one context of type @var{context}. The music expressions
3482 must be interpreted by contexts whose names should start with @code{one}
3485 The most useful function of the part combiner is to combine parts into
3486 one voice, as common for wind parts in orchestral scores:
3488 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline,fragment]
3490 \context Voice=one \partcombine Voice
3491 \context Thread=one \relative c'' {
3494 \context Thread=two \relative c'' {
3500 Notice that the first @code{g} appears only once, although it was
3501 specified twice (once in each part). Stem, slur and tie directions are
3502 set automatically, depending whether there is a solo or unisono. The
3503 first part (with context called @code{one}) always gets up stems, and
3504 `solo', while the second (called @code{two}) always gets down stems and
3507 If you just want the merging parts, and not the textual markings, you
3508 may set the property @var{soloADue} to false.
3510 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline,fragment]
3512 \property Staff.soloADue = ##f
3513 \context Voice=one \partcombine Voice
3514 \context Thread=one \relative c'' {
3517 \context Thread=two \relative c'' {
3523 There are a number of other properties that you can use to tweak the
3524 behavior of part combining, refer to the automatically generated
3525 documentation of @reng{Thread_devnull_engraver} and
3526 @reng{Voice_devnull_engraver}. Look at the documentation of the
3527 responsible engravers, @code{Thread_devnull_engraver},
3528 @code{Voice_devnull_engraver} and @code{A2_engraver}.
3532 In @code{soloADue} mode, when the two voices play the same notes on and
3533 off, the part combiner may typeset @code{a2} more than once in a
3536 @lilypond[fragment,singleline]
3538 \context Voice=one \partcombine Voice
3539 \context Thread=one \relative c'' {
3542 \context Thread=two \relative c'' {
3548 @cindex @code{Thread_devnull_engraver}
3549 @cindex @code{Voice_engraver}
3550 @cindex @code{A2_engraver}
3552 @node Hara kiri staves
3553 @subsection Hara kiri staves
3555 In orchestral scores, staff lines that only have rests are usually removed.
3556 This saves some space. LilyPond also supports this through the hara
3557 kiri@footnote{Hara kiri, also called Seppuku, is the ritual suicide of
3558 the Japanese Samourai warriors.} staff. This staff commits suicide when
3559 it finds itself to be empty after the line-breaking process. It will
3560 not disappear when it contains normal rests, you must use multi measure
3563 The hara kiri staff is specialized version of the @internalsref{Staff}
3564 context. It is available as the context identifier
3565 @code{\HaraKiriStaffContext}. Observe how the second staff in this
3566 example disappears in the second line.
3570 \notes \relative c' <
3571 \context Staff = SA { e4 f g a \break c1 }
3572 \context Staff = SB { c4 d e f \break R1 }
3576 \translator { \HaraKiriStaffContext }
3582 @node Sound output for transposing instruments
3583 @subsection Sound output for transposing instruments
3585 When you want to make a MIDI file from a score containing transposed
3586 and untransposed instruments, you have to instruct LilyPond the pitch
3587 offset (in semitones) for the transposed instruments. This is done
3588 using the @code{transposing} property. It does not affect printed
3591 @cindex @code{transposing}
3594 \property Staff.instrument = #"Cl. in B-flat"
3595 \property Staff.transposing = #-2
3601 @node Ancient notation
3602 @section Ancient notation
3605 * Ancient note heads::
3612 @node Ancient note heads
3613 @subsection Ancient note heads
3615 To get a longa note head, you have to use mensural note heads. This
3616 is accomplished by setting the @code{style} property of the
3617 NoteHead grob to @code{mensural}. There is also a note head style
3618 @code{baroque} which gives mensural note heads for @code{\longa} and
3619 @code{\breve} but standard note heads for shorter notes.
3621 @lilypond[fragment,singleline,verbatim]
3622 \property Voice.NoteHead \set #'style = #'mensural
3623 \property Voice.NoteHead \set #'font-family = #'ancient
3628 @subsection Custodes
3633 A @emph{custos} (plural: @emph{custodes}; latin word for `guard') is a
3634 staff context symbol that appears at the end of a staff line. It
3635 anticipates the pitch of the first note(s) of the following line and
3636 thus helps the player or singer to manage line breaks during
3637 performance, thus enhancing readability of a score.
3642 \property Staff.Custos \set #'style = #'mensural
3647 \consists Custos_engraver
3653 Custodes were frequently used in music notation until the 17th century.
3654 There were different appearances for different notation styles.
3655 Nowadays, they have survived only in special forms of musical notation
3656 such as via the @emph{editio vaticana} dating back to the beginning of
3659 For typesetting custodes, just put a @code{Custos_engraver} into the
3660 @internalsref{Staff} context when declaring the @code{\paper} block. In this
3661 block, you can also globally control the appearance of the custos symbol
3662 by setting the custos @code{style} property. Currently supported styles
3663 are @code{vaticana}, @code{medicaea}, @code{hufnagel} and
3670 \consists Custos_engraver
3671 Custos \override #'style = #'mensural
3676 The property can also be set locally, for example in a @code{\notes}
3681 \property Staff.Custos \override #'style = #'vaticana
3682 c'1 d' e' d' \break c' d' e' d'
3687 @subsection Ancient clefs
3689 LilyPond supports a variety of clefs, many of them ancient. These can
3690 be selected from the @code{ancient} font family, by setting
3691 @code{Staff.clefGlyph}) to one of the following values
3700 @item clefs-vaticana_do
3701 Editio Vaticana style do clef
3702 @item clefs-vaticana_fa
3703 Editio Vaticana style fa clef
3704 @item clefs-medicaea_do
3705 Editio Medicaea style do clef
3706 @item clefs-medicaea_fa
3707 Editio Medicaea style fa clef
3708 @item clefs-mensural1_c
3709 modern style mensural C clef
3710 @item clefs-mensural2_c
3711 historic style small mensural C clef
3712 @item clefs-mensural3_c
3713 historic style big mensural C clef
3714 @item clefs-mensural1_f
3715 historic style traditional mensural F clef
3716 @item clefs-mensural2_f
3717 historic style new mensural F clef
3718 @item clefs-mensural_g
3719 historic style mensural G clef
3720 @item clefs-hufnagel_do
3721 historic style hufnagel do clef
3722 @item clefs-hufnagel_fa
3723 historic style hufnagel fa clef
3724 @item clefs-hufnagel_do_fa
3725 historic style hufnagel combined do/fa clef
3726 @item clefs-percussion
3727 modern style percussion clef
3730 @emph{Modern style} means ``as is typeset in current editions.''
3731 @emph{Historic style} means ``as was typeset or written in contemporary
3732 historic editions''. @emph{Editio XXX style} means ``as is/was printed in
3735 @cindex Vaticana, Editio
3736 @cindex Medicaea, Editio
3737 @cindex hufnagel clefs
3741 @subsection Figured bass
3743 @cindex Basso continuo
3745 LilyPond has limited support for figured bass:
3747 @lilypond[verbatim,fragment]
3749 \context FiguredBass
3754 \context Voice { c4 g8 }
3758 The support for figured bass consists of two parts: there is an input
3759 mode, introduced by @code{\figures}, where you can enter bass figures
3760 as numbers, and there is a context called @internalsref{FiguredBass}
3761 that takes care of making @internalsref{BassFigure} grobs.
3763 In figures input mode, a group of bass figures is delimited by
3764 @code{<} and @code{>}. The duration is entered after the @code{>}.
3769 \context FiguredBass
3773 Accidentals are added to the numbers if you alterate them by
3774 appending @code{-}, @code{!} and @code{+}.
3780 \context FiguredBass
3781 \figures { <4- 6+ 7!> }
3784 Spaces or dashes may be inserted by using @code{_}. Brackets are
3785 introduced with @code{[} and @code{]}.
3791 \context FiguredBass
3792 \figures { < [4 6] 8 [_ 12]> }
3795 Although the support for figured bass may superficially resemble chord
3796 support, it works much simpler: in figured bass simply stores the
3797 numbers, and then prints the numbers you entered. There is no
3798 conversion to pitches, and no realizations of the bass are played in
3802 @c . {Tuning output}
3804 @section Tuning output
3806 LilyPond tries to take as much formatting as possible out of your
3807 hands. Nevertheless, there are situations where it needs some help, or
3808 where you want to override its decisions. In this section we discuss
3809 ways to do just that.
3811 Formatting is internally done by manipulating so called grobs (graphic
3812 objects). Each grob carries with it a set of properties (grob
3813 properties) specific to that object. For example, a stem grob has
3814 properties that specify its direction, length and thickness.
3816 The most direct way of tuning the output is by altering the values of
3817 these properties. There are two ways of doing that: first, you can
3818 temporarily change the definition of a certain type of grob, thus
3819 affecting a whole set of objects. Second, you can select one specific
3820 object, and set a grob property in that object.
3823 * Tuning groups of grobs ::
3824 * Tuning per grob ::
3829 @node Tuning groups of grobs
3830 @subsection Tuning groups of grobs
3832 @cindex grob description
3836 A grob definition is a Scheme association list, that is stored in a
3837 context property. By assigning to that property (using plain
3838 @code{\property}), you can change the resulting grobs.
3840 @lilypond[verbatim, fragment]
3841 c'4 \property Voice.Stem = #'()
3844 The @code{\property} assignment effectively empties the definition of
3845 the Stem object. One of the effects is that the recipe of how it should be
3846 printed is erased, with the effect of rendering it invisible. The above
3847 assignment is available as a standard identifier, for the case that you
3851 \property Voice.Stem = \turnOff
3858 This mechanism is fairly crude, since you can only set, but not modify,
3859 the definition of a grob. For this reason, there is a more advanced
3862 The definition of a grob is actually a list of default grob
3863 properties. For example, the definition of the Stem grob (available in
3864 @file{scm/grob-description.scm}), defines the following values for
3869 (beamed-lengths . (0.0 2.5 2.0 1.5))
3870 (Y-extent-callback . ,Stem::height)
3874 You can add a property on top of the existing definition, or remove a
3875 property, thus overriding the system defaults:
3877 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \override #'thickness = #4.0
3878 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \revert #'thickness
3881 You should balance @code{\override} and @code{\revert}. If that's too
3882 much work, you can use the @code{\set} shorthand. It performs a revert
3883 followed by an override. The following example gives exactly the same
3884 result as the previous one.
3886 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \set #'thickness = #4.0
3887 c'4 \property Voice.Stem \set #'thickness = #0.8
3890 If you use @code{\set}, you must explicitly restore the default.
3893 Formally the syntax for these constructions is
3895 \property @var{context}.@var{grobname} \override @var{symbol} = @var{value}
3896 \property @var{context}.@var{grobname} \set @var{symbol} = @var{value}
3897 \property @var{context}.@var{grobname} \revert @var{symbol}
3899 Here @var{symbol} is a Scheme expression of symbol type, @var{context}
3900 and @var{grobname} are strings and @var{value} is a Scheme expression.
3903 If you revert a setting which was not set in the first place, then it
3904 has no effect. However, if the setting was set as a system default, it
3905 may remove the default value, and this may give surprising results,
3906 including crashes. In other words, @code{\override} and @code{\revert},
3907 must be carefully balanced.
3909 These are examples of correct nesting of @code{\override}, @code{\set},
3912 A clumsy but correct form:
3914 \override \revert \override \revert \override \revert
3917 Shorter version of the same:
3919 \override \set \set \revert
3922 A short form, using only @code{\set}. This requires you to know the
3925 \set \set \set \set @var{to default value}
3928 If there is no default (i.e. by default, the grob property is unset),
3931 \set \set \set \revert
3934 For the digirati, the grob description is an Scheme association
3935 list. Since a Scheme list is a singly linked list, we can treat it as a
3936 stack, and @code{\override} and @code{\revert} are just push and pop
3937 operations. This pushing and popping is also used for overriding
3938 automatic beaming settings.
3942 LilyPond will hang or crash if @var{value} contains cyclic references.
3943 The backend is not very strict in type-checking grob properties. If you
3944 @code{\revert} properties that are expected to be set by default,
3950 @node Tuning per grob
3951 @subsection Tuning per grob
3953 @cindex \outputproperty
3955 A second way of tuning grobs is the more arcane @code{\outputproperty}
3956 feature. The syntax is as follows:
3958 \outputproperty @var{predicate} @var{symbol} = @var{value}
3960 Here @code{predicate} is a Scheme function taking a grob argument, and
3961 returning a boolean. This statement is processed by the
3962 @code{Output_property_engraver}. It instructs the engraver to feed all
3963 grobs that it sees to @var{predicate}. Whenever the predicate returns
3964 true, the grob property @var{symbol} will be set to @var{value}.
3966 You will need to combine this statement with @code{\context} to select
3967 the appropriate context to apply this to.
3969 Here are some random examples.
3972 In the following example, all note heads occurring at current staff
3973 level, are shifted up and right by setting their @code{extra-offset}
3976 @lilypond[fragment,verbatim,singleline]
3978 \context Staff \outputproperty
3979 #(make-type-checker 'note-head-interface)
3980 #'extra-offset = #'(0.5 . 0.75)
3984 @cindex @code{extra-offset}
3986 In this example, the predicate checks the @code{text} grob property, to
3987 shift only the `m.d.' text, but not the fingering instruction "2".
3988 @lilypond[verbatim,singleline]
3989 #(define (make-text-checker text)
3990 (lambda (grob) (equal? text (ly-get-grob-property grob 'text))))
3993 \notes\relative c''' {
3994 \property Voice.Stem \set #'direction = #1
3995 \outputproperty #(make-text-checker "m.d.")
3996 #'extra-offset = #'(-3.5 . -4.5)
4004 If possible, avoid this feature: the semantics are not very clean, and
4005 the syntax and semantics are up for rewrite.
4010 @node Font selection
4011 @subsection Font selection
4013 The most common thing to change about the appearance of fonts is
4014 their size. The font size of a @internalsref{Voice},
4015 @internalsref{Staff} or @internalsref{Thread} context, can be easily
4016 changed by setting the @code{fontSize} property for that context:
4017 @lilypond[fragment,relative=1]
4018 c4 c4 \property Voice.fontSize = #-1
4021 This command will not change the size of variable symbols, such as
4022 beams or slurs. You can use this command to get smaller symbol for
4023 cue notes, but that involves some more subtleties. An elaborate
4024 example of those is in @file{input/test/cue-notes.ly}.
4030 The font used for printing a grob can be selected by setting
4031 @code{font-name}, e.g.
4033 \property Staff.TimeSignature
4034 \set #'font-name = #"cmr17"
4036 You may use any font which is available to @TeX{}, such as foreign
4037 fonts or fonts that do not belong to the Computer Modern font family.
4038 Font selection for the standard fonts, @TeX{}'s Computer Modern fonts,
4039 can also be adjusted with a more fine-grained mechanism. By setting
4040 the grob properties described below, you can select a different font.
4041 All three mechanisms work for every grob that supports
4042 @code{font-interface}.
4046 A symbol indicating the general class of the typeface. Supported are
4047 @code{roman} (Computer Modern), @code{braces} (for piano staff
4048 braces), @code{music} (the standard music font), @code{ancient} (the
4049 ancient notation font) @code{dynamic} (font for dynamic signs) and
4053 A symbol indicating the shape of the font, there are typically several
4054 font shapes available for each font family. Choices are @code{italic},
4055 @code{caps} and @code{upright}
4058 A symbol indicating the series of the font. There are typically several
4059 font series for each font family and shape. Choices are @code{medium}
4062 @item font-relative-size
4063 A number indicating the size relative the standard size. For example,
4064 with 20pt staff height, relative size -1 corresponds to 16pt staff
4065 height, and relative size +1 corresponds to 23 pt staff height.
4067 @item font-design-size
4068 A number indicating the design size of the font.
4070 This is a feature of the Computer Modern Font: each point size has a
4071 slightly different design. Smaller design sizes are relatively wider,
4072 which enhances readability.
4075 For any of these properties, the value @code{*} (i.e. the @emph{symbol},
4076 @code{*}, entered as @code{#'*}), acts as a wildcard. This can be used
4077 to override default setting, which are always present. For example:
4079 \property Lyrics . LyricText \override #'font-series = #'bold
4080 \property Lyrics . LyricText \override #'font-family = #'typewriter
4081 \property Lyrics . LyricText \override #'font-shape = #'*
4084 @cindex @code{font-style}
4086 There are also pre-cooked font selection qualifiers. These are
4087 selected through the grob property @code{font-style}. For example,
4088 the style @code{finger} selects family @code{number} and relative size
4089 @code{-3}. Styles available include @code{volta}, @code{finger},
4090 @code{tuplet}, @code{timesig}, @code{mmrest}, @code{script},
4091 @code{large}, @code{Large} and @code{dynamic}. The style sheets and
4092 tables for selecting fonts are located in @file{scm/font.scm}. Refer
4093 to this file for more information.
4095 @cindex magnification
4097 The size of the font may be scaled with the grob property
4098 @code{font-magnification}. For example, @code{2.0} blows up all
4099 letters by a factor 2 in both directions.
4103 Relative size is not linked to any real size.
4105 There is no style sheet provided for other fonts besides the @TeX{}
4106 family, and the style sheet can not be modified easiyl.
4108 @cindex font selection
4109 @cindex font magnification
4110 @cindex @code{font-interface}
4114 @subsection Text markup
4118 LilyPond has an internal mechanism to typeset texts. You can
4119 form text markup expressions by composing scheme expressions
4120 in the following way.
4122 @lilypond[verbatim, singleline]
4127 c^#'(italic "italic")
4128 d_#'((bold italic) "ff")
4130 f_#'(lines "one" (bold "two"))
4131 g^#'(music "noteheads-2" ((raise . 2.4) "flags-u3"))
4135 Normally, the Scheme markup text is stored in the @code{text} property
4136 of a grob. Formally, it is defined as follows:
4139 text: string | (head? text+)
4140 head: markup | (markup+)
4141 markup-item: property | abbrev
4142 property: (@var{key} . @var{value})
4143 abbrev: @code{columns lines roman music bold italic named super sub}
4144 @code{overstrike text finger volta timesig mmrest mark script}
4145 @code{large Large dynamic}
4148 The markup is broken down and converted into a list of grob properties,
4149 which are prepended to the property list. The @var{key}-@var{value}
4150 pair is a grob property. A list of properties available is included in
4151 the generated documentation for @internalsref{text-interface}.
4153 The following abbreviations are defined:
4156 horizontal mode: set all text on one line (default)
4158 vertical mode: set every text on a new line
4162 selects the Feta font (the standard font for music notation glyphs),
4163 and uses named lookup
4170 lookup by character name
4172 plain text lookup (by character value)
4178 the next text or character overstrikes this one
4180 select fingering number fontstyle
4182 select volta number fontstyle
4184 select time signature number fontstyle
4186 select multi measure rest number fontstyle
4188 select mark number fontstyle
4190 select scriptsize roman fontstyle
4192 select large roman fontstyle
4194 select Large roman fontstyle
4196 select dynamics fontstyle
4200 @cindex metronome mark
4202 One practical application of complicated markup is to fake a metronome
4206 #(define note '(columns
4207 (music "noteheads-2" ((kern . -0.1) "flags-stem"))))
4208 #(define eight-note `(columns ,note ((kern . -0.1)
4209 (music ((raise . 3.5) "flags-u3")))))
4210 #(define dotted-eight-note
4211 `(columns ,eight-note (music "dots-dot")))
4214 \notes\relative c'' {
4215 a1^#`((columns (font-relative-size . -1)) ,dotted-eight-note " = 64")
4221 TextScript \override #'font-shape = #'upright
4229 The syntax and semantics of markup texts are not clean, and both
4230 syntax and semantics are slated for a rewrite.
4232 LilyPond does not do kerning, and there generally spaces texts
4238 @section Global layout
4240 The global layout determined by three factors: the page layout, the
4241 iline breaks and the spacing. These all influence each other: The
4242 choice of spacing determines how densely each system of music is set,
4243 whree line breaks breaks are chosen, and thus ultimately how many
4244 pages a piece of music takes. In this section we will explain how the
4245 lilypond spacing engine works, and how you can tune its results.
4247 Globally spoken, this procedure happens in three steps: first,
4248 flexible distances (``springs'') are chosen, based on durations. All
4249 possible line breaking combination are tried, and the one with the
4250 best results---a layout that has uniform density and requires as
4251 little stretching or cramping as possible---is chosen. When the score
4252 is processed by @TeX{}, page are filled with systems, and page breaks
4253 are chosen whenever the page gets full.
4256 * Vertical spacing::
4257 * Horizontal spacing::
4264 @node Vertical spacing
4265 @subsection Vertical spacing
4267 @cindex vertical spacing
4268 @cindex distance between staffs
4269 @cindex staff distance
4270 @cindex between staves, distance
4272 The height of each system is determined automatically by lilypond, to
4273 keep systems from bumping into each other, some minimum distances are
4274 set. By changing these, you can put staffs closer together, and thus
4275 put more systems onto one page.
4277 Normally staves are stacked vertically. To make
4278 staves maintain a distance, their vertical size is padded. This is
4279 done with the property @code{minimumVerticalExtent}. It takes a pair
4280 of numbers, so if you want to make it smaller from its, then you could
4283 \property Staff.minimumVerticalExtent = #'(-4 . 4)
4285 This sets the vertical size of the current staff to 4 staff-space on
4286 either side of the center staff line. The argument of
4287 @code{minimumVerticalExtent} is interpreted as an interval, where the
4288 center line is the 0, so the first number is generally negative. you
4289 could also make the staff larger at the bottom by setting it to
4290 @code{(-6 . 4)}. The default value is @code{(-6 . 6)}.
4292 Vertical aligment of staves is handled by the
4293 @internalsref{VerticalAlignment} grob, which lives at
4294 @internalsref{Score} level.
4296 The piano staffs are handled a little differently: to make cross-staff
4297 beaming work correctly, it necessary that the distance between staves
4298 is fixed. This is also done with a @internalsref{VerticalAlignment}
4299 grob, created in @internalsref{PianoStaff}, but a forced distance is
4300 set. This is done with the grob property #'forced-distance. If you
4301 want to override this, use a @code{\translator} block as follows:
4305 VerticalAlignment \override #'forced-distance = #9
4308 This would bring the staffs together at a distance of 9 staff spaces,
4309 and again this is measured from the center line of each staff.
4313 @node Horizontal spacing
4314 @subsection Horizontal Spacing
4316 The spacing engine translates differences in durations into
4317 stretchable distances (``springs'') of differing lengths. Longer
4318 durations get more space, shorter durations get less. The basis for
4319 assigning spaces to durations, is that the shortest durations get a
4320 fixed amount of space, and the longer durations get more: doubling a
4321 duration adds a fixed amount of space to the note.
4323 For example, the following piece contains lots of half, quarter and
4324 8th notes, the eighth note is followed by 1 note head width. The The
4325 quarter note is followed by 2 NHW, the half by 3 NHW, etc.
4326 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim, relative=1]
4327 c2 c4. c8 c4. c8 c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
4330 These two amounts of space are @code{shortest-duration-space}
4331 @code{spacing-increment}, grob properties of
4332 @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}. Normally @code{spacing-increment} is
4333 set to 1.2, which is the width of a note head, and
4334 @code{shortest-duration-space} is set to 2.0, meaning that the
4335 shortest note gets 2 noteheads of space. For normal notes, this space
4336 is always counted from the left edge of the symbol, so the short notes
4337 in a score is generally followed by one note head width of space.
4339 If one would follow the above procedure exactly, then adding a single
4340 32th note to a score that uses 8th and 16th notes, would widen up the
4341 entire score a lot. The shortest note is no longer a 16th, but a 64th,
4342 thus adding 2 noteheads of space to every note. To prevent this, the
4343 shortest duration for spacing is not the shortest note in the score,
4344 but the most commonly found shortest note. Notes that are even
4345 shorter this are followed by a space that is proportonial to their
4346 duration relative to the common shortest note. So if we were to add
4347 only a few 16th notes to the example above, they would be followed by
4350 @lilypond[fragment, verbatim, relative=1]
4351 c2 c4. c8 c4. [c16 c] c4. c8 c8 c8 c4 c4 c4
4354 The most common shortest duration is determined as follows: in every
4355 measure, the shortest duration is determined. The most common short
4356 duration, is taken as the basis for the spacing, with the stipulation
4357 that this shortest duration should always be equal to or shorter than
4358 1/8th note. The shortest duration is printed when you run lilypond
4359 with @code{--verbose}. These durations may also be customized. If you
4360 set the @code{common-shortest-duration} in
4361 @internalsref{SpacingSpanner}, then this sets the base duration for
4362 spacing. The maximum duration for this base (normally 1/8th), is set
4363 through @code{base-shortest-duration}.
4365 @cindex @code{common-shortest-duration}
4366 @cindex @code{base-shortest-duration}
4367 @cindex @code{stem-spacing-correction}
4368 @cindex @code{spacing}
4370 In the introduction it was explained that stem directions influence
4371 spacing. This is controlled with @code{stem-spacing-correction} in
4372 @internalsref{NoteSpacing}. The @code{StaffSpacing} grob contains the
4373 same property for controlling the stem/barline spacing. In the
4374 following example shows these corrections, once with default settings,
4375 and once with exaggerated corrections.
4381 \property Staff.NoteSpacing \override #'stem-spacing-correction
4383 \property Staff.StaffSpacing \override #'stem-spacing-correction
4388 \paper { linewidth = -1. } }
4395 Spacing is determined on a score wide basis. If you have a score that
4396 changes its character (measured in durations) half way during the
4397 score, the part containing the longer durations will be spaced too
4400 Generating optically pleasing spacing is black magic. LilyPond tries
4401 to deal with a number of frequent cases. Here is an example that is
4402 not handled correctly, due to the combination of chord collisions and
4407 \context PianoStaff \notes \transpose c''' <
4408 \context Staff = up { s1 }
4409 \context Staff = down { [c8 c \translator Staff=up <c d> c
4410 \translator Staff=down c c c] }
4412 \paper { linewidth = -1 }
4419 @subsection Font size
4420 @cindex font size, setting
4421 @cindex staff size, setting
4422 @cindex @code{paper} file
4424 The Feta font provides musical symbols at seven different sizes.
4425 These fonts are 11 point, 13 point, 16 point, 19 pt, 20 point, 23
4426 point, and 26 point. The point size of a font is the height of the
4427 five lines in a staff when displayed in the font.
4429 Definitions for these sizes are the files @file{paperSZ.ly}, where
4430 @code{SZ} is one of 11, 13, 16, 19, 20, 23 and 26. If you include any
4431 of these files, the identifiers @code{paperEleven},
4432 @code{paperThirteen}, @code{paperSixteen}, @code{paperNineteen},
4433 @code{paperTwenty}, @code{paperTwentythree}, and @code{paperTwentysix}
4434 are defined respectively. The default @code{\paper} block is also
4435 set. These files should be imported at toplevel, i.e.
4437 \include "paper26.ly"
4441 The font definitions are generated using a Scheme function. For more
4442 details, see the file @file{scm/font.scm}.
4447 @subsection Line breaking
4450 @cindex breaking lines
4452 Line breaks are normally computed automatically. They are chosen such
4453 that it looks neither cramped nor loose, and that consecutive lines have
4456 Occasionally you might want to override the automatic breaks; you can
4457 do this by specifying @code{\break}. This will force a line break at
4458 this point. Line breaks can only occur at places where there are bar
4459 lines. If you want to have a line break where there is no bar line,
4460 you can force an invisible bar line by entering @code{\bar
4461 ""}. Similarly, @code{\noBreak} forbids a line break at a certain
4465 @cindex regular line breaks
4466 @cindex four bar music.
4468 If you want linebreaks at regular intervals, you can use the following:
4470 < \repeat 7 unfold @{ s1 * 4 \break @}
4474 This makes the following 28 measures (assuming 4/4 time) be broken every
4478 @subsection Page layout
4481 @cindex breaking pages
4483 @cindex @code{indent}
4484 @cindex @code{linewidth}
4486 The most basic settings influencing the spacing are @code{linewidth}
4487 and @code{indent}, both set in the @code{\paper} block. They control
4488 the indentation of the first line of music, and the lengths of the
4489 lines. If @code{linewidth} set to a negative value, a single
4490 unjustified line is produced. A similar effect for scores that are
4491 longer than one line, can be produced by setting @code{raggedright} to
4492 true in the @code{\paper} block.
4496 The page layout process happens outside lilypond. Ly2dvi sets page
4497 layout instructions. Ly2dvi responds to the following variables in the
4498 @code{\paper} block. The variable @code{textheight} sets the total
4499 height of the music on each page. The spacing between systems is
4500 controlled with @code{interscoreline}, its default is 16pt.
4501 The distance between the score lines will stretch in order to fill the
4502 full page @code{interscorelinefill} is set to a positive number. In
4503 that case @code{interscoreline} specifies the minimum spacing.
4505 @cindex @code{textheight}
4506 @cindex @code{interscoreline}
4507 @cindex @code{interscorelinefill}
4509 If the variable @code{lastpagefill} is defined (that is, it gets any
4510 value assigned in the @code{\paper} block), systems are evenly
4511 distributed vertically on the last page. This might produce ugly
4512 results in case there are not enough systems on the last page. Note
4513 that @command{lilypond-book} ignores @code{lastpagefill}. See
4514 @ref{Insert music snippets into your texts using lilypond-book} for
4517 @cindex @code{lastpagefill}
4519 Page breaks are normally computed by @TeX{}, so they are not under
4520 direct control of LilyPond. However, you can insert a commands into
4521 the @file{.tex} output to instruct @TeX{} where to break pages. You
4522 can insert a @code{\newpage} from within lilypond. This is done by
4523 setting the @code{between-systems-strings} on the
4524 @internalsref{NonMusicalPaperColumn} where the system is broken.
4528 @cindex @code{papersize}
4530 To change the paper size, you must first set the
4531 @code{papersize} paper variable variable. Set it to
4532 the strings @code{a4}, @code{letter}, or @code{legal}. After this
4533 specification, you must set the font as described above. If you want
4534 the default font, then use the 20 point font.
4537 \paper@{ papersize = "a4" @}
4538 \include "paper16.ly"
4541 The file @code{paper16.ly} will now include a file named @file{a4.ly}, which
4542 will set the paper variables @code{hsize} and @code{vsize} (used by
4543 Lilypond and @code{ly2dvi})
4553 LilyPond can produce MIDI output. The performance lacks lots of
4554 interesting effects, such as swing, articulation, slurring, etc., but it
4555 is good enough for proof-hearing the music you have entered. Ties,
4556 dynamics and tempo changes are interpreted.
4558 Dynamic marks, crescendi and decrescendi translate into MIDI volume
4559 levels. Dynamic marks translate to a fixed fraction of the available
4560 MIDI volume range, crescendi and decrescendi make the the volume vary
4561 linearly between their two extremities. The fractions be adjusted by
4562 overriding the @code{absolute-volume-alist} defined in
4563 @file{scm/midi.scm}.
4565 For each type of musical instrument (that MIDI supports), a volume range
4566 can be defined. This gives you basic equalizer control, which can
4567 enhance the quality of the MIDI output remarkably. You can add
4568 instruments and ranges or change the default settings by overriding the
4569 @code{instrument-equalizer-alist} defined in @file{scm/midi.scm}.
4571 Both loudness controls are combined to produce the final MIDI volume.
4577 * MIDI instrument names::
4582 @subsection MIDI block
4586 The MIDI block is analogous to the paper block, but it is somewhat
4587 simpler. The @code{\midi} block can contain:
4591 @item a @code{\tempo} definition
4592 @item context definitions
4595 Assignments in the @code{\midi} block are not allowed.
4599 @cindex context definition
4601 Context definitions follow precisely the same syntax as within the
4602 \paper block. Translation modules for sound are called performers.
4603 The contexts for MIDI output are defined in @file{ly/performer-init.ly}.
4606 @node MIDI instrument names
4607 @subsection MIDI instrument names
4609 @cindex instrument names
4610 @cindex @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
4611 @cindex @code{Staff.instrument}
4613 The MIDI instrument name is set by the @code{Staff.midiInstrument}
4614 property or, if that property is not set, the @code{Staff.instrument}
4615 property. The instrument name should be chosen from the list in
4616 @ref{MIDI instruments}.
4620 If the selected string does not exactly match, then LilyPond uses the
4621 default (Grand Piano). It is not possible to select an instrument by