1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
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11 @unnumbered Introduction
13 @divClass{column-center-top}
16 @imageFloat{flat-design,png,right}
18 LilyPond came about when two musicians wanted to go beyond the
19 soulless look of computer-printed sheet music. Musicians prefer
20 reading beautiful music, so why couldn't programmers write
21 software to produce elegant printed parts?
23 The result is a system which frees musicians from the details of
24 layout, allowing them to focus on making music. LilyPond works
25 with them to create publication-quality parts, crafted in the best
26 traditions of classical music engraving.
30 @divClass{column-left-top}
31 @subheading Why use LilyPond?
36 @ref{Features}: What can LilyPond do?
39 @ref{Examples}: I want to see some music!
42 @ref{Freedom}: LilyPond is Free Software.
45 @ref{Background}: Our computational aesthetics.
50 @divClass{column-right-top}
51 @subheading Who uses it?
56 @ref{Productions}: Real-life use of LilyPond.
59 @ref{Testimonials}: What do people say?
64 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
65 @subheading Why not use LilyPond?
70 @ref{Text input}: You write music as @emph{text}?!
73 @ref{Easier editing}: Other ways of working with LilyPond.
78 @c TRANSLATORS, translations are not yet compiled in Info format, so
79 @c it's not worth translating the right column of the following
83 * Features:: What can LilyPond do?
84 * Examples:: I want to see some music!
85 * Freedom:: Freedom and the GPL.
86 * Background:: Computational aesthetics.
87 * Productions:: Real-life use of LilyPond.
88 * Testimonials:: What do people say about it?
89 * Text input:: You write music as text?!
90 * Easier editing:: Other ways of working with LilyPond.
97 @unnumberedsec Features
100 @subheading Why switch to LilyPond?
103 @subsubheading Excellent classical engraving
105 @imageFloat{flat-design,png,right}
107 LilyPond allows musicians to produce elegant sheet music that is
108 easy to read. Its developer community has spent thousands of hours
109 developing powerful music engraving software that results in beautifully
110 engraved music. All of LilyPond's style settings, font designs and
111 algorithms have been inspired by the finest hand-engraved music.
112 LilyPond output has the same strong, balanced and elegant look as the
113 best-engraved classical scores. This is further explained in our
117 @subsubheading Less fiddling
119 Spend less time with tweaking the output; LilyPond gets the
120 formatting correct right from the start. It determines spacing by
121 itself, and breaks lines and pages to provide a tight and uniform
122 layout. Clashes between lyrics, notes, and chords are resolved
123 and slurs and beams are sloped, automatically!
126 @subsubheading Text-based input
128 LilyPond takes ASCII input, which you can produce in your favorite
129 text editor, quickly and comfortably. The input contains all the
130 information, so there is no need to remember complex command sequences:
131 simply save a file for later reference.
134 @subsubheading Accessibility
136 Text-based input also makes score-writing possible for users with
137 severe physical disabilities. Dexterity-impaired users who are
138 unable to type or control a computer mouse can use
139 speech-recognition software to edit LilyPond files. Even users
140 who are totally blind can use screen-reading software to write
141 LilyPond files -- an impossible task in graphical-based
142 score-writing programs.
145 @subsubheading Mix music and text
147 @imageFloat{lilypond-book,png,right}
149 Put fragments of music into texts without cutting and pasting
150 pictures. Integrate music into @LaTeX{} or HTML seamlessly, or add
151 music to OpenOffice.org with OOoLilyPond.
155 @subsubheading Free software
157 LilyPond can be downloaded free of charge! Yep - It's free. Get
158 it from the download page.
160 It's also free (as in @qq{speech}) software. It comes with source
161 code, and permission to change and copy it. So, are you irritated
162 by a bug, or yearning for a feature? Simply add it yourself, or
163 pay someone else to do it.
166 @subsubheading Extensible design
168 All settings can be changed to suit your personal typographical
169 taste. If that still is not enough, there is always the built-in
170 scripting language Scheme, a dialect of the powerful language
171 LISP. Settings, variables and functions are all documented in the
172 comprehensive program reference manual.
175 @subsubheading Excellent support
177 LilyPond runs on all popular platforms: GNU/Linux, MacOS X, and
178 Windows. LilyPond comes with extensive documentation and hundreds
179 of example files. There is an active user community answering
180 questions on the lilypond-user mailing list, while the development
181 team makes sure that problems are solved quickly.
185 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
186 @subheading Where now?
188 Still not convinced? Look at some specific @ref{Examples}. If you've
189 already decided to try LilyPond, first read about our
196 @unnumberedsec Examples
198 LilyPond is a powerful and flexible tool for engraving tasks of
199 all kinds. Please browse our gallery of examples and be inspired!
203 @subsubheading Classical Music
205 This organ work by J.S. Bach is a fairly typical engraving project
208 @exampleImage{bach-bwv610}
212 @subsubheading Complex Notation
214 This example from @emph{Goyescas} by Enrique Granados shows some
215 of the more advanced features of typesetting, including kneed
216 beams, cross-staff stems, and voice-follow lines.
218 @exampleImage{granados}
222 @subsubheading Early Music
224 LilyPond also supports various types of ancient notation, such
225 as this passage of Gregorian chant.
227 @exampleImage{ancient-headword}
231 @subsubheading Modern Music
233 Contemporary composers find LilyPond well-suited to displaying
234 unusual notation. Here is an excerpt from Trevor Bača's
235 @emph{Čáry}, for unaccompanied bass flute.
242 @subsubheading Efficient, flexible creation of performance materials
244 Various performance materials can be created from the same source
245 code. This is an excerpt of @uref{http://nicolas.sceaux.free.fr/,
246 Nicolas Sceaux's} engraving of Handel's @emph{Giulio Cesare}, in
247 full score, piano-vocal reduction, and a violin part.
249 @exampleImage{sesto-full}
251 @exampleImage{sesto-piano}
253 @exampleImage{sesto-violin}
258 @subsubheading Tablature
260 LilyPond supports tablature notation, which can be customized to
261 suit any instrument that reads from tablature. The tablature
262 staff is generated automatically from notes entered for the 5-line
265 @exampleImage{tab-example}
269 @subsubheading Schenker Graphs
271 Standard output can be modified heavily. Here is an impressive
272 Schenkerian analysis, created by Kris Schaffer, for an article
273 in @uref{http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8364 , Linux Journal}
275 @exampleImage{bach-schenker}
279 @subsubheading Vocal Music
281 LilyPond is excellent for vocal music of all kinds, from sacred
282 hymns to opera. Here is a medieval motet with slightly unusual
283 requirements. The tenor voice is written in a different meter
284 than the others, but must line up as if it were in the same meter.
285 LilyPond handles this most elegantly. Note also the incipits with
286 Vaticana style clefs, the slashed stems indicating plicated notes,
287 and the ligature braces above certain groups of notes.
289 @exampleImage{aucun-snippet}
293 @subsubheading Educational Applications
295 LilyPond is perfectly suited for educational purposes as well.
296 Here is an example of a simple counterpoint exercise.
298 @exampleImage{theory}
302 @subsubheading Popular Music
304 It is simple to create pop lead sheets with melody, lyrics,
305 chord names, and fretboards. In this example you see some of the
306 predefined fretboard diagrams, but these can be heavily customized
307 to suit nearly any situation.
313 @subsubheading Large Projects
315 LilyPond is excellent for large projects like operas or works for
316 full symphony orchestra, as well. In addition, the text-based
317 input provides greater accessibility -- this example was
318 contributed by Hu Haipeng, a blind composer.
320 @exampleImage{orchestra}
324 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
325 @subheading Where now?
327 Still not convinced? LilyPond is Free software, granting you
328 @ref{Freedom}. If you've already decided to try LilyPond, first
329 read about our @ref{Text input}.
334 @unnumberedsec Freedom
336 @divClass{column-center-top}
337 @subheading Free Software
339 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/, GNU} LilyPond is written and maintained
340 by a community of enthusiasts. It is published under the
341 @ref{GPL, GNU General Public License} and the @ref{FDL, GNU Free
342 Documentation License}, giving everybody the freedom to fix,
343 modify, and extend the program. Creating beautiful music should
344 not require hundreds of dollars of software!
348 @c @divClass{column-left-top}
350 @divClass{keep-bullets}
351 @subheading What are the benefits to users?
356 No cost: download and try it out! What do you have to lose?
359 Sharing: if you like the program, give a copy to your friends,
360 teachers, students, and colleagues!
363 Source available: if you are curious about how LilyPond creates
364 some notation, you can see exactly how it is done.
367 Extendible: you can add features, fix bugs, and change the
368 functionality. If you are not a programmer, you can hire somebody
371 This may not seem appealing to casual musicians, but the ability
372 to extend software can be highly valuable to serious composers,
373 companies, and academics.
376 Future safety: if a commercial company goes bankrupt, what happens
377 to any electronic music which depends on their products? This is
378 not a concern with LilyPond; even if the entire development team
379 quits (extremely unlikely), the program will still be legally
380 available for copying, modifications, and distribution.
389 @c @divClass{column-right-top}
391 @divClass{keep-bullets}
392 @subheading Why do LilyPond developers @qq{give away} their work for free?
394 Most of us view LilyPond development as a hobby or volunteer work.
395 So this question is really asking @qq{why do people volunteer}?
400 Fun: working towards a goal can be enjoyable, especially when you
404 Shared goals: we all want beautiful sheet music, but few people
405 have the expertise (and nobody has the time!), to create a program
406 which can handle all situations. By working together -- one
407 person improves the automatic beaming code, another person
408 improves the shape of slurs, and a third person writes
409 documentation explaining how to use these features -- we can
410 achieve our goal with only a fraction of the individual effort.
413 @qq{Gift culture}: the Free Software (or @qq{Open Source})
414 movement has created many great software projects, such as
415 @uref{http://kernel.org/, GNU/Linux},
416 @uref{http://www.getfirefox.com/, Mozilla Firefox}, and
417 @uref{http://www.wesnoth.org/, Battle for Wesnoth}. Having
418 benefitted from these projects, some developers want to @qq{give
419 back} to the community.
422 Work experience: contributing to open-source projects is a great way to
423 practice programming, documentation writing, documentation translation,
424 or design. This experience has helped some developers gain job offers
434 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
435 @subheading Where now?
437 Still not convinced? Read our extensive essay about our engraving
438 philosophy in @ref{Background}. If you've already decided to try
439 LilyPond, first read about our @ref{Text input}.
444 @unnumberedsec Background
446 @divClass{column-center-top}
447 @subheading Background essay
449 We have an extensive essay describing computational aesthetics:
450 the art of creating beauty with a computer.
452 If you just want a quick introduction to LilyPond, the essay might
453 be too much material to read. If you would like to read it now,
454 please progress to @ref{Essay}.
457 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
458 @subheading Where now?
460 Still not convinced? Read about some of our users'
461 @ref{Productions} and sheet music. If you've already decided to
462 try LilyPond, first read about our @ref{Text input}.
467 @unnumberedsec Productions
469 @divClass{column-left-top}
472 LilyPond engravings have been used for performances around the world.
475 @divClass{keep-bullets}
479 @emph{Affaire étrangère}, an opera by
480 @uref{http://valentin.villenave.net/,Valentin Villenave}
481 to a French libretto by
482 @uref{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Trondheim, Lewis
483 Trondheim}, premiered February 1, 2009 at
484 @uref{http://www.orchestre-montpellier.com/, L'Opéra National de
485 Montpellier}, France.
488 @uref{http://www.mercurybaroque.org/02/02109.aspx, Mercury Baroque}'s
489 performance of Lully's @emph{Armide}, May 15-16, 2009, in Houston,
490 Texas (engraving by @uref{http://nicolas.sceaux.free.fr/,
494 Instrumental excerpts from Rameau's @emph{Hippolyte et Aricie} at
495 St. James's Church in Manhattan, May 8, 2009, by Frederick Renz
496 and his ensemble @uref{http://www.earlymusicny.org/, Early Music
497 New York} (engraving by Nicolas Sceaux).
505 @divClass{column-right-top}
506 @subheading Published sheet music
508 @divClass{keep-bullets}
512 @uref{http://www.mutopiaproject.org/index.html, Mutopia Project},
513 over 1500 pieces of classical sheet music for free download, and
514 the main showcase of LilyPond scores.
516 @c don't make this "Mutopia" a link, since that looks silly.
518 @uref{http://etudeapp.com, Etude}, @qq{sheet music on steroids} is
519 an iPhone app which displays piano music engraved with LilyPond,
520 including many pieces from Mutopia. The app includes a virtual
521 piano keyboard showing which keys to press to help beginners learn
522 how to read sheet music.
525 @uref{http://www.adoromusicpub.com/, Adoro Music Publishing},
526 high-quality scores of sacred music, available for immediate
527 download or in traditional paper format.
530 @uref{http://theshadylanepublishing.com/, The Shady Lane
532 a @qq{micro musical publishing house} whose goal is to promote a
533 new form of musical economy closer to the musicians and music
543 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
544 @subheading Where now?
546 Still not convinced? Read some of our users' @ref{Testimonials}.
547 If you've already decided to try LilyPond, first read about our
551 @c TRANSLATORS, so far it's mostly from
552 @c http://lilypond.org/web/switch/testimonials
555 @unnumberedsec Testimonials
557 @divClass{testimonial-item}
558 @imageFloat{carter-brey,jpg, right}
559 @subsubheading @uref{http://nyphil.org/meet/orchestra/index.cfm?page=profile&personNum=7, Carter Brey}, Principal Cellist, New York Philharmonic
561 @qq{@dots{} I've written a couple of encore pieces for solo cello
562 which I've printed with LilyPond and which I'm going to submit to
563 Schirmer for publication. I'll bet their engraved version wouldn't
564 look half as sharp as mine!}
568 @divClass{testimonial-item}
569 @imageFloat{orm-finnendahl,jpg, left}
570 @subsubheading @uref{http://icem-www.folkwang-hochschule.de/~finnendahl/, Orm Finnendahl}, professor of Composition, Musikhochschule Freiburg
572 @qq{Although I don't know [LilyPond] very well yet, I'm
573 @strong{*very} impressed. I used the program to input a motet of
574 Josquin Desprez in mensural notation and there's no doubt that
575 lilypond outscores all other notation programs easily concerning
576 speed, ease of use and look!}
580 @divClass{testimonial-item}
581 @imageFloat{darius-blasband,jpg, right}
582 @subsubheading Darius Blasband, composer (Brussels, Belgium)
584 @qq{[..after the first orchestra rehearsal] I got numerous
585 compliments about the quality of the scores. Even more
586 importantly, while LilyPond provides numerous hacks to improve the
587 way its scores look, what the orchestra got from me is basically
588 the raw, untouched output.}
592 @divClass{testimonial-item}
593 @subsubheading Kieren MacMillan, composer (Toronto, Canada)
595 @qq{thanks and kudos to the development team for their incredible
596 work. I've never seen anything approaching the output that I get
597 from LilyPond -- I'm totally confident that my music publishing
598 needs will be fulfilled beyond my expectations using this great
599 application. [..] basically untweaked LilyPond output [..] looks
600 better than most recent @q{professional} publications I've compared
601 it to (q.v., just about any Warner Bros. score, and even many of
602 the most recent by @q{the old houses}). [..]}
604 @qq{Beat that, Finale/Sibelius/Igor/whatever!!!}
608 @divClass{testimonial-item}
609 @subsubheading Chris Cannam, lead programmer of the @uref{http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/, RoseGarden} project
611 @qq{LilyPond is obviously the zillion-ton gorilla [of great music
616 @divClass{testimonial-item}
617 @subsubheading Chris Snyder, @uref{http://www.adoromusicpub.com/, Adoro Music Publishing}
619 @qq{The way that music is entered for LilyPond causes me to think in a
620 more musical way -- there have been times when I've been stumped as
621 to how to tell Lily to engrave something, only to realize that
622 even if I did get it exactly as the composer wanted, the music
623 would be confusing to read. LilyPond makes it much easier for me
624 to work in my dual editor+engraver role.}
626 @qq{I've been using LilyPond exclusively for my fledgling music
627 publishing business. Virtually without exception, every composer
628 has been blown away by the quality of the engraving when presented
629 with the proofs of their music about to be published. I deserve
630 some of the credit for this -- I spend a lot of time tweaking
631 output, especially ties (mainly in chords) -- but LilyPond gives
632 me an excellent starting point, a very intuitive interface, and
633 the ability to modify absolutely anything if I want to take the
634 time. I'm convinced that no commercial product can come close.}
638 @divClass{testimonial-item}
639 @subsubheading David Bobroff, Bass Trombone, Iceland Symphony Orchestra
641 @qq{I think LilyPond is great [..] The more I learn about LilyPond
646 @divClass{testimonial-item}
647 @subsubheading Vaylor Trucks, Electric guitar player (Yes, @uref{http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=userpage&file=content&page_id=12, related to})
649 @qq{I am super impressed with LilyPond [..]}
651 @qq{THIS IS THE BEST PROGRAM EVER!!!}
653 @qq{Thank you all SO MUCH for your hard work and dedication!}
657 @divClass{testimonial-item}
658 @subsubheading @uref{http://nicolas.sceaux.free.fr/, Nicolas Sceaux}, @uref{http://www.mutopiaproject.org/, Mutopia} contributor
660 @qq{I had a kind of hate-passion relationship with it. Passion
661 because the first score I saw was so amazing! The description of
662 LilyPond lies about its beautifulness, it is too modest! [..] as
663 LilyPond is getting always better, and as I look closer how things
664 are done in scheme, I have less and less frustrations. Anyway,
665 what I mean is: thank you for providing LilyPond, it is really
670 @divClass{testimonial-item}
671 @subsubheading @uref{http://www.troff.org/whoswho.html#werner, Werner Lemberg}, Conductor at the Theatre in Koblenz, Germany and distinguished GNU Hacker
673 @qq{Anyway, LilyPond does an amazingly good job!}
677 @divClass{testimonial-item}
678 @subsubheading Paul Davis, developer of @uref{http://jackaudio.org/, JACK} and @uref{http://www.ardour.org/, Ardour}
680 @qq{I think [LilyPond is] an incredible program, and it produces
681 wonderful, wonderful output. when i read an interview about it
682 last year, i was raving to several friends of mine about its
687 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
688 @subheading Where now?
690 Read about our @ref{Text input}.
696 @unnumberedsec Text input
698 @c TRANSLATORS, so far it's mostly from
699 @c http://lilypond.org/web/switch/howto
701 @subheading @qq{Compiling} Music
703 @imageClickable{nereid-shot-small,png, (click to enlarge), nereid-shot,png, right}
705 LilyPond is a @emph{compiled} system: it is run on a text file
706 describing the music. The resulting output is viewed on-screen or
707 printed. In some ways, LilyPond is more similar to a programming
708 language than graphical score editing software.
710 You do not write music by dragging notes from a graphical toolbar
711 and placing them on a dynamically refreshing score; you write
712 music by typing text. This text is interpreted (or @qq{compiled})
713 by LilyPond, which produces beautifully engraved sheet music.
715 People accustomed to graphical user interfaces might need to learn
716 a new way of working, but the results are definitely worth it!
718 @warning{We present a quick overview of our text input -- it's not
719 as complicated as it sounds! Don't worry about understanding
720 every detail in these examples; our beginner documentation covers
721 everything at a much more gradual pace.}
724 @subsubheading It's as simple as A B C
726 Notes are encoded with letters and numbers. Special commands are
727 entered with backslashes.
729 @imageFloat{text-input-1-annotate,png,center}
730 @imageFloat{text-input-1-output,png,center}
732 Alterations are made with different names: add @code{-is} for
733 sharp, and @code{-es} for flat (these are Dutch note names, other
734 languages are available). LilyPond figures out where to put
737 @imageFloat{text-input-2-annotate,png,center}
738 @imageFloat{text-input-2-output,png,center}
741 @subsubheading Pop music
743 Put chords and lyrics together to get a lead sheet:
745 @imageFloat{text-input-pop-annotate,png,center}
746 @imageFloat{text-input-pop-output,png,center}
750 @subsubheading Orchestral parts
752 The input file contains the notes of piece of music. Score and
753 parts can be made from a single input file, so that changing a
754 note always affects the score and parts. To be able to include
755 the same music in multiple places, the music is assigned to a
756 @qq{variable} (a name).
758 @imageFloat{text-input-parts-both-annotate,png,center}
761 This variable is then used in a single part (here transposed, with
762 condensed rests spanning several measures):
764 @imageFloat{text-input-parts-single-annotate,png,center}
765 @imageFloat{text-input-parts-single-output,png,center}
768 The same variable is used in the full score (here in concert
771 @imageFloat{text-input-score-annotate,png,center}
772 @imageFloat{text-input-score-output,png,center}
775 @subsubheading Beginner Documentation
777 We realize that many users find this way of entering music a bit
778 odd. For this reason, we have written extensive documentation to
779 help new users, beginning with @ref{Learning}. The Learning
780 Manual is the best place to start, as many questions are answered
783 Please read the Learning Manual before complaining about bugs!
784 New users occasionally believe that LilyPond is not working
785 correctly, when in fact it is working precisely as designed.
787 More in-depth information is available in @ref{Manuals}.
790 @subsubheading Easier editing environments
792 @imageClickable{lilykde-screenshot-small,png,
793 (click to enlarge),lilykde-screenshot,png,right}
795 LilyPond is primarily concerned with producing top-quality
796 engraved sheet music; creating a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
797 would distract us from this goal. However, there are other
798 projects aimed at making it easier to create LilyPond input files.
800 Some editing environments include syntax highlighting, automatic
801 command completion, and pre-made templates. Other programs
802 actually provide a GUI which allows direct manipulation of a
803 graphical score. For more information, see @ref{Easier editing}.
806 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
807 @subheading Where now?
809 You are now ready to @ref{Download, Download LilyPond}. Still not
810 convinced? Read about @ref{Easier editing}.
816 @unnumberedsec Easier editing
818 @divClass{column-center-top}
819 @subheading Graphical environment: Denemo
821 @imageClickable{screenshot-denemo-small,png,
822 (click to enlarge),screenshot-denemo,png,right}
824 @sourceimage{logo-linux,,,}
825 @sourceimage{logo-windows,,,}
827 @uref{http://denemo.org}
829 Denemo is a graphical editor which generates LilyPond source code,
830 at release 2.8.7, and also allows audio playback. It allows users
831 to view the LilyPond source code in parallel to the graphical view.
832 Extra LilyPond tweaks can be attached to notes, chords etc. and are
833 stored with the Denemo file, so that users can continue to edit graphically.
835 Moving the cursor in the LilyPond text moves the cursor in the graphical
836 view, and any syntax errors in your LilyPond tweaks are highlighted in
837 the text view when printed from there.
842 @divClass{column-center-top}
843 @subheading Mixed environment: LilyPondTool
845 @imageClickable{lilypondtool-2.12-screenshot-400wide,png,
846 (click to enlarge),lilypondtool-2.12-screenshot,png,right}
848 @sourceimage{logo-linux,,,}
849 @sourceimage{logo-freebsd,,,}
850 @sourceimage{logo-macosx,,,}
851 @sourceimage{logo-windows,,,}
853 @uref{http://lilypondtool.organum.hu}
855 Created as a plugin for the
856 @uref{http://www.jedit.org,jEdit} text editor,
857 LilyPondTool is one of the most feature-rich text-based tools for
858 editing LilyPond scores. Its features include a Document Wizard
859 with lyrics support to set up documents easier, and embedded PDF
860 viewer with advanced point-and-click support.
864 @divClass{column-center-top}
865 @subheading Mixed environment: Frescobaldi
867 @imageClickable{frescobaldi-lilypond-editor-small,png,
868 (click to enlarge),frescobaldi-lilypond-editor,png,right}
870 @sourceimage{logo-linux,,,}
871 @sourceimage{logo-freebsd,,,}
873 @uref{http://www.frescobaldi.org}
875 Frescobaldi is a dedicated LilyPond music and text editor with a
876 built-in PDF previewer, a powerful score wizard and many editing
877 features. It is built on top of the KDE4 libraries and runs
878 currently on all flavours of Linux and other UNIX-like operating
883 @divClass{column-center-top}
884 @subheading Text environment: Emacs and Vim
886 @sourceimage{logo-linux,,,}
887 @sourceimage{logo-freebsd,,,}
888 @sourceimage{logo-macosx,,,}
889 @sourceimage{logo-windows,,,}
891 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/}
893 Emacs is a text editor with language-sensitive capabilities for
894 many different computer languages. Emacs is a highly extensible
895 editor and can be used as an Integrated Development Environment.
896 There is a @q{lilypond mode} which supplies the language
897 definitions for working with LilyPond source files.
899 @uref{http://www.vim.org}
901 Vim is a minimal text editor and is an extension of the older Unix
902 @command{vi} editor. It is also extensible and configurable.
904 As a general rule, if you are not already familiar with Emacs or
905 Vim, then you would probably prefer to use a different editor for
906 writing LilyPond input files.
910 @divClass{column-center-top}
914 @subsubheading Text environment: TexShop
916 @sourceimage{logo-macosx,,,}
918 @uref{http://www.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop}
920 The TexShop editor for MacOS@tie{}X can be extended to run LilyPond,
921 @command{lilypond-book} and @command{convert-ly} from within the editor,
922 using the extensions available at:
925 @uref{http://users.dimi.uniud.it/~nicola.vitacolonna/home/content/lilypond-scripts}
928 @subsubheading TextMate
930 @sourceimage{logo-macosx,,,}
932 There is a LilyPond bundle for TextMate. It may be installed by
936 mkdir -p /Library/Application\ Support/TextMate/Bundles
937 cd /Library/Application\ Support/TextMate/Bundles
938 svn co http://svn.textmate.org/trunk/Bundles/LilyPond.tmbundle/
943 @divClass{column-center-top}
944 @subheading Other programs can export LilyPond code
947 @subsubheading Graphical environments:
951 @uref{http://www.rosegardenmusic.com,Rosegarden}, an audio and
952 MIDI sequencer, which also has a score editor for single-staff
956 @uref{http://vsr.informatik.tu-chemnitz.de/staff/jan/nted/nted.xhtml,NtEd},
957 is based on the @uref{http://cairographics.org, Cairo} library and
958 has experimental export for LilyPond.
961 @uref{http://www.tuxguitar.com.ar/,TuxGuitar}, a multitrack
962 tablature editor and player, provides a score view as well as tab,
963 and can export to LilyPond.
966 @uref{http://musescore.org,MuseScore} has incomplete LilyPond
967 export but is being actively developed.
970 @uref{http://canorus.org,Canorus} can also export to LilyPond, but
971 is still beta-software. Testers are welcome, though.
974 @uref{http://www.volny.cz/smilauer/rumor/rumor.html,Rumor}, a
975 realtime monophonic MIDI to LilyPond converter.
978 @uref{http://strasheela.sourceforge.net, Strasheela} is @qq{a
979 highly expressive constraint-based music composition system}.
983 @subsubheading Command Line Tools:
987 @uref{http://www.volny.cz/smilauer/rumor/rumor.html,Rumor}, a realtime
988 monophonic MIDI to LilyPond converter.
991 @uref{http://nicolas.sceaux.free.fr/lilypond/lyqi.html,lyqi}, an
996 @subheading Other programs not being actively developed
1001 @uref{http://lilykde.googlecode.com/,LilyKDE} has been replaced by
1002 @uref{http://www.frescobaldi.org/,Frescobaldi}, and exists as
1003 LilyKDE3 for KDE 3.5 and lilypond-KDE4 for KDE 4.1 only.
1006 @uref{http://noteedit.berlios.de,NoteEdit}, which imported
1007 @uref{http://www.musicxml.com/xml.html,MusicXML}, has been forked
1009 @uref{http://vsr.informatik.tu-chemnitz.de/staff/jan/nted/nted.xhtml,NtEd}
1010 and @uref{http://canorus.org,Canorus}.
1013 @uref{http://common-lisp.net/project/fomus/,FOMUS}, a LISP library
1014 to generate music notation a LISP library to generate music
1018 @uref{http://lilycomp.sourceforge.net, LilyComp} is a graphical
1019 note entry program, acting much like a number-pad which produces
1027 @divClass{column-center-bottom}
1028 @subheading Where now?
1030 You are now ready to @ref{Download, Download LilyPond}.
1032 Still not convinced? Many composers, musicians, and conductors
1033 have learned how to write music in our input format. Experienced
1034 users even report that they can enter a full score in LilyPond
1035 faster than with a piano keyboard or mouse+GUI! Perhaps you would
1036 like to review the @ref{Features}, @ref{Examples}, or the
1037 @ref{Freedom} that LilyPond provides, or read about users'
1038 @ref{Productions} and @ref{Testimonials}. In addition, our
1039 approach to the computational aesthetics of classical engraving is
1040 explained in our @ref{Background}.
1043 @subheading Legalese
1046 All logos and product images are copyright and trademark