New features in 2.3 since 2.2
*****************************

  * LilyPond expressions can be embedded into Scheme, thanks to the #{ ... #} syntax. Within such a block, Scheme forms, for instance variable names, can be introduced thanks to a $ character ($$ has to be used to issue a single `$' character). These forms are then 'printed' in the pattern, as if they were called by (display).

          #(define (textoffset dx dy)
             (ly:export
               #{ \override Voice.TextScript #'extra-offset = #(cons $dx $dy) #}))

          \score {
            \notes {
              c'^"normal text"
              %% the following statement is the same as
              %% \override Voice.TextScript #'extra-offset = #(cons 2 -3)
              #(textoffset 2 -3)
              c'^"text with offset"
            }
          }

  * Music lists are allowed at toplevel, and are handled by default-toplevel-music-handler.  Similarly, a score block at toplevel is handled by default-toplevel-score-handler an a book at toplevel is handled by default-toplevel-book-handler.

     These default handlers have the following effect.  A Music list at toplevel is encapsulated in a score block, and a score block at toplevel is encapsulated in a book block.  A book block at toplevel generates printed output.

          \header { title = "The Title" }
          \notes { a b c }

     is the same as

          \header { title = "The Title" }
          \book {
            \score {
              \notes { a b c }
            }
          }

  * Start pitch for relative music is optional for music lists. The default value is one octave below middle C.

  * Combining lyrics with music can be newaddlyrics

          <<
              \relative {
          	\clef bass
          	d2 d c4 bes a2 \break
          	c2 c d4 f g2
              }
              \newlyrics {
          	My first Li -- ly song,
          	Not much can go wrong!
              }
          >>

  * The parser is encapsulated in a Scheme function ly:parse-file, so the following fragment processes two files

       #(ly:parse-file "another.ly")
       \score { \notes  { c4 }}

  * The font-encoding property can now be used to select differently encoded fonts. The previous default setting TeX-text has been replaced by latin1. LilyPond requires the ec-fonts-mftraced (http://www.lilypond.org/download/fonts/) package installed to function properly.

  * The encoding of a file can be switched with \encoding. The strings for markup texts are translated automatically.

  * The toplevel block book introduces page layout. A book groups score blocks into one page layout entity. Page layout consists of markup titles, headers and footers, and page breaking.  Two page breaking algorithms are available, the classic ragged pages (the default), and optimal page breaking

          \paper {
              %% Select page breaking function.
              %% #(define page-breaking ly:ragged-page-breaks)
              #(define page-breaking ly:optimal-page-breaks)
          }
          \book {
               \score { ... }
               \score { ... }
          }

     The lilypond program does not generate LaTeX titles or page layout.  If you need LaTeX titles, you can use the lilypond-book program.

  * There is now less of a noticeable ``hook'' at the end of a long slur.

  * The meaning of the | in the input can be redefined, by assigning a music expression to pipeSymbol.

New features in 2.2 since 2.0
*****************************

  * Setting raggedlast = ##t in the \paper block causes the last line to be set flush-left instead of justified.

  * The Timing_engraver now sets the Timing alias on its containing context automatically.

  * The code for font selection has been rewritten. In addition to existing font selection properties, the property font-encoding has been added, which makes the switch between normal text and other encodings like braces, music and math.

  * The pmx2ly script has been removed from the distribution.

  * Pedal brackets will now run to the last bar of a piece if they are not explicitly ended.

  * Context definitions now use the word \context instead of \translator.

  * Property functions may be used as an argument to set!, for example

            (set! (ly:grob-property grob 'beam) ... )

  * In anticipation of Emacs 21.4 or 22.1, the info documentation contains images.

  * Cue notes can be quoted directly from the parts that contain them. This will take into account transposition of source and target instrument. For example,

     \addquote clarinet \notes\relative c' {
       \transposition bes
       fis4 fis fis fis
     }

     \score {
         \notes \relative c'' {
     	c8 d8 \quote 2 oboe es8 gis
         }
     }

  * The transposition of an instrument can be specified using the \transposition command.  An E-flat alto saxophone is specified as

            \transposition es'

  * The naming of exported Scheme functions now follows Scheme conventions. Changes be applied to Scheme files with

                  convert-ly -e -n --from=2.1.24 --to=2.1.26 *.scm

  * Notes can  be excluded from auto-beaming, by  marking them with \noBeam

            c8 c \noBeam c c

     will print two separate eighth notes, and two beamed notes.

  * Translators and contexts have been split. The result of this internal cleanup is that Score no longer is the top context; Score is contained in the Global context. Consequently, it is possible to tweak Score as follows:

            \context Score \with {
              ...
            }

  * The number of staff lines  in Tablature notation is now automatically deduced from the stringTunings property.

  * The program reference has been cleaned up and revised.

  * The syntax for setting properties has been simplified: the following table lists the differences:

                (old)                           (new)

          \property A.B = #C                \set A.B = #C
          \property A.B \unset              \unset A.B
          \property A.B \set #C = #D        \override A.B #C = #D
          \property A.B \override #C = #D   (removed)
          \property A.B \revert #C          \revert A.B #C

     Furthermore, if A is left out, the bottommost context is used by default.  In other words, it is no longer necessary to explicitly mention Voice, Lyrics or ChordNames.

     Old:

             \property Voice.autoBeaming = ##f
             \property Staff.TimeSignature \set #'style = #'C

     New:

             \set autoBeaming = ##f
             \override Staff.TimeSignature #'style = #'C

  * Tweaks  made with \override and \revert no longer hide tweaks at higher context levels.

  * Melismata in lyrics are also properly handled  in the MIDI output.

  * The lilypond-book script has been rewritten. It is shorter, cleaner and faster.  The special construct mbinclude has been removed, plain @include or \input can be used now.

     It now supports running convert-ly on the lilypond snippets,

              lilypond-book --filter='convert-ly --from=2.0.0' my-book.tely

  * The LyricsVoice context has been removed. Lyrics should only be constructed in Lyrics.

  * The Thread context has been removed. Note heads and rests are now constructed at Voice level.

  * Harmonic notes can now be entered as

             <c' g''\harmonic>

  * Drum notation is now supported  as a regular feature: percussion may be entered in \drums mode, and printed or performed in a DrumStaff context:

            \score {
              \drums \new DrumStaff { hihat4 cowbell8 }
            }

  * The automatic staff changer was internally rewritten. As a result, the syntax has been simplified as well:

            \autochange THE-MUSIC

  * The ergonomic syntax of \markup now has an equivalent in Scheme. The markup* macro creates such objects; the following two markup commands are equivalent:

           f4^#(markup* #:raise 0.2 #:bold "hi")
           f4^\markup { \raise #0.2 \bold hi  }

  * Voice names, for vocal lines, have been added. They are similar to instrument names.   They can be set by defining vocalName and vocNam.

  * Safe mode has been reinstated for lilypond. When lilypond is invoked with --safe-mode, TeX and PostScript file output is disallowed, and lilypond-bin is invoked with --safe-mode, the user's Guile expressions are evaluated in a safe environment and file inclusion is not allowed.

     Warning: this does not protect against denial-of-service attacks using Guile, TeX or PostScript.

     (This feature is still experimental.)

  * There is now a Scheme macro for defining markup commands. Special mark-up commands can be defined in user-files too.

  * Many fixes for dimension scaling have been made, resulting in correct results for scores that mix staves in different sizes.

  * Improved robustness when  layout properties are accidentally removed.

  * A  more cleanly constructed part combiner has been installed. It is more robust and less buggy. The part-combiner can be used with

            \partcombine MUS1 MUS2

     See input/regression/new-part-combine.ly for an example.

  * Formatting of rehearsal marks has been improved. The \mark command now only does automatic incrementing for marks specified as integer. For example, \mark #1 will print an A in the default style.  See input/regression/rehearsal-mark-letter.ly, input/regression/rehearsal-mark-number.ly.

  * Formatting of ottava brackets has been much improved.

  * Objects in the output can now be documented: the following fragment boxes the note head, and adds the text ``heads or tails?'' three spaces below the box.

                 \context Voice \applyoutput #(add-balloon-text
          				     'NoteHead "heads, or tails?"
          				     '(0 . -3))

                 c8

  * Default staff sizes are now scalable. There are two new mechanisms for setting staff sizes. Both are demonstrated in this fragment:

            #(set-global-staff-size 15)
            \paper {
              #(paper-set-staff-size (* 15 pt))
            }

     Both have the same effect on the global layout of a piece. Similarly, the paper size may be changed as follows

            #(set-default-paper-size "a4")
            \paper {
              #(set-paper-size "a4")
            }

  * Warnings for bar check errors are more cleverly printed.  This makes barCheckSynchronize superfluous, so it is now switched off by default.

     Warning: this will cause problems in scores that use bar checks to shorten measures.

  * The black note head was made a little rounder, which causes a less frantic graphic impression.

  * A more concise syntax for checking octaves was introduced. A note may be followed by =QUOTES which indicates what its absolute octave should be.  In the following example,

            \relative c'' { c='' b=' d,='' }

     the d will generate a warning, because a d'' is expected, but a d' is found.

  * There is a new mechanism for putting lyrics to melodies. With this mechanism, Lyrics lines can be put melodies individually, allowing for different melismatic sections in every Lyrics. See input/regression/lyric-combine-new.ly.

  * Bar lines may now be dotted.

  * The documentation now has links to a wiki, where everyone can add personal comments to the manual.

  * Contexts may now be changed locally for an isolated music expression. For example,

            \new Voice \with {
               \consists "Pitch_squash_engraver"
            } {
              c'4
            }

  * The syntax for changing staffs has changed. The keyword \change should now be used, e.g.

            \change Staff = up

  * Features of spanner contexts, like Staff, can now be changed using \set, eg.

            \new Staff {
                 \override Staff.StaffSymbol #'line-count = #4
                 c'4
            }

     puts a quarter note C on a staff with 4 lines.

  * Multi measure rests are now truly centered between the clefs/barlines of the staff, their position is independent of symbols on the other staffs.

  * Collision resolution for dots in chords has been improved greatly.

  * Spacing following barlines was improved for widely stretched lines.

  * Lyric hyphens and extenders now conform to standard typesetting practice.

  * Lyrics are now aligned under note heads conforming to engraving standards. The responsible code has been rewritten, and is drastically simpler from the previous version. To aid this rewrite, the syntactic function of the extender line ( __ ) has been changed: it is now attached to the lyric syllable.

  * When redefining a context, the associated identifier is also updated. For example, after reading

           \translator {
                  \ScoreContext
                  autoBeaming = ##f
           }

     the definition of ScoreContext is updated to include the changed setting.

  * The weight of the stafflines is now heavier at smaller staff sizes. The font has been modified to match this look: at smaller sizes, the font is heavier and the note heads are more rounded.

  * Processing scores is now done while parsing the file. New Scheme functions give more flexibility: for example, it is now possible interpret a score, collecting synchronized musical events in a list, and manipulate that information using inline Scheme. For an example, see input/no-notation/recording.ly.

  * Font sizes can now truly be scaled continuously: the  font-size is similar to the old font-relative-size, but may be set to fractional values; the closest design size will be scaled to achieve the desired size. As a side-effect, there are now no longer limitations in using smaller fonts (eg. grace notes) at small staff sizes.

  * Stem tips are now also engraved with rounded corners.

  * The placement of accidentals on chords and ledgered notes is improved.

New features in 2.0 since 1.8
*****************************

  * Crescendos can now be drawn dotted or dashed.

  * Quarter tones are now supported. They are entered by suffixing ih for a half-sharp and eh for a half-flat. Hence, the following is an ascending list of pitches:

            ceses ceseh ces ceh c cih cis cisih cisis

  * The following constructs have been removed from the syntax:

            \duration #SCHEME-DURATION
            \pitch #SCHEME-PITCH
            \outputproperty FUNC SYMBOL = VALUE

     For \outputproperty, the following may be substituted:

             \applyoutput #(outputproperty-compatibility FUNC
                            SYMBOL VALUE)

  * Clefs may now be transposed arbitrarily, for example

            \clef "G_8"
            \clef "G_15"
            \clef "G_9"

  * The syntax for chords and simultaneous music have changed. Chords are entered as

             <PITCHES>

     while simultaneous music is entered as

             <<..MUSIC LIST..>>

     In effect, the meanings of both have been swapped relative to their 1.8 definition.  The syntax for lists in \markup has changed alongside, but figured bass mode was not  changed, i.e.:

            \markup { \center <..LIST OF MARKUPS..> }
            \figure { <FIGURES> }

     As chords the more often used than simultaneous music, this change will save keystrokes.

  * Each music expression can now be tagged, to make different printed versions from the same music expression.  In the following example, we see two versions of a piece of music, one for the full score, and one with cue notes for the instrumental part:

          << \tag #'part <<
               { c4 f2 g4 }      % in the part, we have cue-notes
               \\ R1 >>
            \tag #'score R1  % in the score: only a rest
          >>

     The same can be applied to articulations, texts, etc.: they are made by prepending

                  -\tag #YOUR-TAGS

     to an articulation, for example,

                  c4-\tag #'with-fingerings -4 -\tag #'with-strings \6

     This defines a note, which has a conditional fingering and a string-number indication.

  * The settings for chord-fingering are more flexible. You can specify a list where fingerings may be placed, eg.

          	\property Voice.fingeringOrientations = #'(left down)

     This will put the fingering for the lowest note below the chord, and the rest to the left.

  * The script previously known as ly2dvi has been renamed to lilypond. The binary itself is now installed as lilypond-bin.

  * Markup text (ie. general text formatting) may now be used for lyrics too.

  * Two new commands for grace notes have been added, \acciaccatura and \appoggiatura,

            \appoggiatura f8 e4
            \acciaccatura g8 f4

     Both reflect the traditional meanings of acciaccatura and appogiatura, and both insert insert a slur from the first grace note to the main note.

  * Layout options for grace notes are now stored in a context property, and may now be set separately from musical content.

  * The \new command will create a context with a unique name automatically. Hence, for multi-staff scores, it is no longer necessary to invent arbitrary context names. For example, a two-staff score may be created by

            \simultaneous {
              \new Staff { NOTES FOR 1ST STAFF }
              \new Staff { NOTES FOR 2ND STAFF }
            }

  * Octave checks make octave errors easier to correct. The syntax is

            \octave PITCH

     This checks that PITCH (without octave) yields PITCH (with octave) in \relative mode. If not, a warning is printed, and the octave is corrected.

  * All articulations must now be entered postfix. For example,

          	c8[( d8])

     is a pair of beamed slurred eighth notes.

  * The definition of \relative has been simplified.  Octaves are now always propagated in the order that music is entered. In the following example,

            PRE
            \repeat "unfold" 3  BODY \alternative { ALT1 ALT2 }
            POST

     the octave of BODY is based on PRE, the starting octave of ALT1 on BODY, the starting octave of ALT2 on ALT1, and the starting octave of POST on ALT2.

     The same mechanism is used for all other music expressions, except the chord. Backwards compatibility is retained through a special program option, which is set through

            #(ly:set-option 'old-relative)

  * Windows users can double click a .ly file to process and view it automagically through the new lily-wins frontend.

New features in 1.8 since 1.6
*****************************

  * The chord entry code has been completely rewritten. It is now cleaner and more flexible.

  * A new syntax has been added for text entry.  This syntax is more friendly than the old mechanism, and it is implemented in a more robust and modular way. For more information, refer to the section on "Text markup" in the notation manual.

  * The integration of the input language and Scheme has been made deeper: you can now use LilyPond identifiers in Scheme, and use Scheme expressions instead of LilyPond identifiers.

  * The internal representation of music has been cleaned up completely and converted to Scheme data structures.  The representation may be exported as XML.

  * A new uniform postfix syntax for articulation has been introduced. A beamed slurred pair of eighth notes can be entered as

          	c8-[-( d8-]-)

     In version 2.0, postfix syntax will be the only syntax available, and the dashes will become optional.

     This will simplify the language: all articulations can be entered as postfix, in any order.

  * A new syntax has been added for chords:

          	<< PITCHES >>

     It is not necessary to update files to this syntax, but it will be for using LilyPond version 2.0.  In version 2.0, this syntax will be changed to

          	< PITCHES >

     for chords, and

          	\simultaneous { .. }

     for simultaneous music.

     To convert your files from <PITCHES> to <<PITCHES>>, use the script included in buildscripts/convert-new-chords.py

     This change was introduced for the following reasons

       * It solves the "start score with chord" problem, where you have to state \context Voice explicitly when a chord was the start of a Staff or Score.

       * With the new syntax, it is possible to distinguish between articulations (or fingerings) which are for a single chord note, and which are for the entire chord. This allows for per-note fingerings, and is more logical on the whole.

  * User code may now be executed during interpreting.  The syntax for this code is

          	\applycontext #SCHEME-FUNCTION

  * User code may now be executed on arbitrary grobs during interpreting. The syntax for this feature is

          	\applyoutput #SCHEME-FUNCTION

     SCHEME-FUNCTION takes a single argument, and is called for every grob that is created in the current context.

  * New algorithms for chord-name formatting have been installed. They can be tuned and have ergonomic syntax for entering exceptions.

  * Texts may now be put on multimeasure rests, e.g.

          	R1*20^\markup { "GP" }

  * Ancient notation now prints ligatures in Gregorian square neumes notation, roughly following the typographical style of the Liber hymnarius of Solesmes, published in 1983.  Ligatures are still printed without the proper line breaking and horizontal spacing.

  * Glissandi can now be printed using the zigzag style.

  * LilyPond can now print clusters. The syntax is

          	\apply #notes-to-clusters { NOTE NOTE .. }

  * For irregular meters, beat grouping marks can be printed. The syntax for this is

          	#(set-time-signature 7 8 '(3 2 2))

  * Nested horizontal brackets for music analysis can now be printed:

          	NOTE-\startGroup
          		..
          	NOTE-\stopGroup

  * Ottava brackets are now fully supported as a feature.  The syntax is

          	#(set-octavation 1)

  * Metronome markings are printed when a \tempo command is processed.

  * Fingerings can be put on chords horizontally.

  * The appearance of various glyphs has been fine-tuned.

  * Different types of percent style repeats may now be nested.

  * The emacs support has been extended.

  * The manual has been completely revised and extended.

New features in 1.6 since 1.4
*****************************

  * Support for figured bass and tablature.

  * Completely rewritten beam formatting: provides much better output now.

  * Completely revised and improved music font.

  * Completely rewritten MIDI import support.

  * Completely rewritten grace note support. Practically speaking this means that grace notes can be slurred to normal normal notes.

  * Improved accidental handling and formatting: styles for producing cautionaries may vary, and complex collisions between accidentals of a chord are handled much better.

  * Better spacing: both globally and locally. This includes subtle details like optical stem spacing.

  * More support for ancient notation: mensural ligatures, ambitus (pitch range) of voices, more shapes, etc.

  * More support for piano notation: bracket pedals, directed arpeggios, arpeggio brackets.

  * Easier music polyphonic music entry.

  * More extensibility, many speedups and bugfixes

  * The manual has been thoroughly revised.

  * Development is now hosted at http://savannah.gnu.org, and sources can be downloaded through anonymous CVS.

  * Support for windows: LilyPond is part of the cygwin distribution, which comes with a user-friendly installer.