1 New features in 2.20 since 2.18
2 *******************************
4 • A new ‘output-attributes’ grob property is now used for svg output
5 instead of the ‘id’ grob property. It allows multiple attributes
6 to be defined as an association list. For example, ‘#'((id . 123)
7 (class . foo) (data-whatever . “bar”))’ will produce the following
8 group tag in an SVG file: ‘<g id=“123” class=“foo”
9 data-whatever=“bar”> ... </g>’.
11 • Slurs and phrasing slurs may now be started from individual notes
12 in a chord. Several simultanous slurs per ‘Voice’ need to be
13 distinguished by ‘spanner-id’ setting.
15 • The music and grob property ‘spanner-id’ for distinguishing
16 simultaneous slurs and phrasing slurs has been changed from a
17 string to a ‘key’, a non-negative integer or symbol.
19 • There is a new command ‘\=’ for specifying the ‘spanner-id’ for
20 simultaneous slurs and phrasing slurs.
22 <c~ f\=1( g\=2( >2 <c e\=1) a\=2) >
26 • Blocks introduced with ‘\header’ can be stored in variables and
27 used as arguments to music and scheme functions and as the body of
28 ‘#{...#}’ constructs. They are represented as a Guile module.
30 While ‘\book’, ‘\bookpart’, ‘\score’, ‘\with’, ‘\layout’, ‘\midi’,
31 ‘\paper’ blocks can be passed around in similar manner, they are
32 represented by different data types.
34 • Dot-separated symbol lists like ‘FretBoard.stencil’ were already
35 supported as of version 2.18. They may now also contain unsigned
36 integers, and may alternatively be separated by commata. This
38 { \time 2,2,1 5/8 g'8 8 8 8 8 }
42 \tagGroup violin,oboe,bassoon
44 • Such lists may also be used in expressions for assignments, sets,
45 and overrides. This allows usage such as
46 { \unset Timing.beamExceptions
47 \set Timing.beatStructure = 1,2,1
51 • Association list elements could previously be assigned values
52 individually (for example, paper variables like
53 ‘system-system-spacing.basic-distance’). They may now be also
54 referenced in this manner, as with
56 \void \displayScheme \system-system-spacing.basic-distance
59 In combination with the previously mentioned changes, this allows
60 setting and referencing pseudovariables like ‘violin.1’.
62 • LilyPond source files may now be embedded inside the generated PDF
63 files. This experimental feature is disabled by default and may be
64 regarded as unsafe, as PDF documents with hidden content tend to
65 present a security risk. Please note that not all PDF viewers have
66 the ability to handle embedded documents (if not, the PDF output
67 will appear normally and source files will remain invisible). This
68 feature only works with the PDF backend.
70 • French note names are now defined specifically instead of being
71 aliased to Italian note names: in addition to the generic
72 Italian-derived syntax, the D pitch may be entered as ‘ré’. Double
73 sharps may also be entered using the ‘-x’ suffix.
75 • Additional bass strings (for lute tablature) are supported.
76 m = { f'4 d' a f d a, g, fis, e, d, c, \bar "|." }
83 tablatureFormat = #fret-letter-tablature-format
87 stringTunings = \stringTuning <a, d f a d' f'>
88 additionalBassStrings = \stringTuning <c, d, e, fis, g,>
89 fretLabels = #'("a" "b" "r" "d" "e" "f" "g" "h" "i" "k")
95 • The markup-list-command ‘\table’ is now available. Each column may
96 be aligned differently.
98 \override #'(padding . 2)
102 \underline { center-aligned right-aligned center-aligned left-aligned }
103 one "1" thousandth "0.001"
104 eleven "11" hundredth "0.01"
105 twenty "20" tenth "0.1"
106 thousand "1000" one "1.0"
111 • A new markup-command, ‘\with-dimensions-from’, makes
112 ‘\with-dimensions’ easier to use by taking the new dimensions from
113 a markup object, given as first argument.
115 \pattern #5 #Y #0 "x"
116 \pattern #5 #Y #0 \with-dimensions-from "x" "f"
117 \pattern #5 #Y #0 \with-dimensions-from "x" "g"
118 \override #'(baseline-skip . 2)
120 \pattern #5 #X #0 "n"
121 \pattern #5 #X #0 \with-dimensions-from "n" "m"
122 \pattern #5 #X #0 \with-dimensions-from "n" "!"
127 • A new page breaking function ‘ly:one-line-auto-height-breaking’
128 places a whole score on a single line and changes the page width to
129 match, just like ‘ly:one-line-breaking’. The difference is that it
130 also automatically modifies the height of the page to fit the
133 • Markup-command ‘\draw-squiggle-line’ is now available. Customizing
134 is possible with overrides of ‘thickness’, ‘angularity’, ‘height’
138 \draw-squiggle-line #0.5 #'(3 . 3) ##t
141 \override #'(thickness . 4)
142 \draw-squiggle-line #0.5 #'(3 . -3) ##t
145 \override #'(angularity . -5)
146 \draw-squiggle-line #0.5 #'(-3 . -3) ##t
148 \translate #'(3 . -3)
149 \override #'(angularity . 2)
150 \override #'(height . 0.3)
151 \override #'(orientation . -1)
152 \draw-squiggle-line #0.2 #'(-3 . 3) ##t
156 • A new command, ‘\RemoveAllEmptyStaves’, has been made available,
157 which acts exactly like ‘\RemoveEmptyStaves’, except for also
158 removing empty staves on the first system in a score.
160 • Markup-commands ‘\undertie’ and ‘\overtie’ are now available, as
161 well as the generic markup-command ‘\tie’.
163 \undertie "undertied"
168 c''1 \prall -\tweak text \markup \tie "131" -1
171 { \voiceOne \m \voiceTwo \m }
174 • ‘TabStaff’ is now able to print micro-tones for bendings etc.
178 supportNonIntegerFret = ##t
182 mus = \relative { c'4 cih d dih }
185 \new Staff << \clef "G_8" \mus >>
190 • Two new styles of whiteout are now available. The ‘outline’ style
191 approximates the contours of a glyph’s outline, and its shape is
192 produced from multiple displaced copies of the glyph. The
193 ‘rounded-box’ style produces a rounded rectangle shape. For all
194 three styles, including the default ‘box’ style, the whiteout
195 shape’s ‘thickness’, as a multiple of staff-line thickness, can be
200 \filled-box #'(-1 . 15) #'(-3 . 4) #1
201 \override #'(thickness . 3)
202 \whiteout whiteout-box
206 \filled-box #'(-1 . 24) #'(-3 . 4) #1
207 \override #'(style . rounded-box)
208 \override #'(thickness . 3)
209 \whiteout whiteout-rounded-box
213 \filled-box #'(-1 . 18) #'(-3 . 4) #1
214 \override #'(style . outline)
215 \override #'(thickness . 3)
216 \whiteout whiteout-outline
219 \override Staff.Clef.whiteout-style = #'outline
220 \override Staff.Clef.whiteout = 3
225 • All of ‘\override’, ‘\revert’, ‘\set’, and ‘\unset’ now work with
226 the ‘\once’ prefix for making one-time settings.
229 \override NoteHead.color = #red
231 \once \override NoteHead.color = #green
233 \once \revert NoteHead.color
235 \revert NoteHead.color
240 • When outputting MIDI, LilyPond will now store the ‘title’ defined
241 in a score’s ‘\header’ block (or, if there is no such definition on
242 the ‘\score’ level, the first such definition found in a ‘\header’
243 block of the score’s enclosing ‘\bookpart’, ‘\book’, or top-level
244 scope) as the name of the MIDI sequence in the MIDI file.
245 Optionally, the name of the MIDI sequence can be overridden using
246 the new ‘midititle’ ‘\header’ field independently of ‘title’ (for
247 example, in case ‘title’ contains markup code which does not render
248 as plain text in a satisfactory way automatically).
250 • Music (and scheme and void) functions and markup commands that just
251 supply the final parameters to a chain of overrides, music function
252 and markup command calls can now be defined in the form of just
253 writing the expression cut short with ‘\etc’.
255 bold-red-markup = \markup \bold \with-color #red \etc
256 highlight = \tweak font-size 3 \tweak color #red \etc
258 \markup \bold-red "text"
259 \markuplist \column-lines \bold-red { One Two }
261 { c' \highlight d' e'2-\highlight -! }
264 • LilyPond functions defined with ‘define-music-function’,
265 ‘define-event-function’, ‘define-scheme-function’ and
266 ‘define-void-function’ can now be directly called from Scheme as if
267 they were genuine Scheme procedures. Argument checking and
268 matching will still be performed in the same manner as when calling
269 the function through LilyPond input. This includes the insertion
270 of defaults for optional arguments not matching their predicates.
271 Instead of using ‘\default’ in the actual argument list for
272 explicitly skipping a sequence of optional arguments,
273 ‘*unspecified*’ can be employed.
275 • Current input location and parser are now stored in GUILE fluids
276 and can be referenced via the function calls ‘(*location*)’ and
277 ‘(*parser*)’. Consequently, a lot of functions previously taking
278 an explicit ‘parser’ argument no longer do so.
280 Functions defined with ‘define-music-function’,
281 ‘define-event-function’, ‘define-scheme-function’ and
282 ‘define-void-function’ no longer use ‘parser’ and ‘location’
285 With those particular definitions, LilyPond will try to recognize
286 legacy use of ‘parser’ and ‘location’ arguments, providing
287 backwards-compatible semantics for some time.
289 • In the "english" notename language, the long notenames for pitches
290 with accidentals now contain a hyphen for better readability. You
293 instead of the previous
296 Double accidentals do not get another hyphen, so the Dutch ‘cisis’
297 has the long English notename ‘c-sharpsharp’.
299 • The visual style of tremolo slashes (shape, style and slope) is now
300 more finely controlled.
303 • Multi-measure rests have length according to their total duration,
304 under the control of ‘MultiMeasureRest.space-increment’.
307 • Page numbers may now be printed in roman numerals, by setting the
308 ‘page-number-type’ paper variable.
310 • It is now possible to use ‘\time’ and ‘\partial’ together to change
311 the time signature in mid measure.
313 \override Score.BarNumber.break-visibility = #end-of-line-invisible
314 \partial 4 \time 3/4 f4 | 2 4 | 2 \bar "||"
315 \time 9/8 \partial 4. f8 8 8 | 2. 8 8 8 |
318 • It is now possible to override the ‘text’ property of chord names.
321 \new ChordNames \chordmode {
323 \once \override ChordName.text = #"foo"
329 • Improved horizontal alignment when using ‘TextScript’, with
330 ‘DynamicText’ or ‘LyricText’.
332 • A new command ‘\magnifyStaff’ has been added which scales staff
333 sizes, staff lines, bar lines, beamlets and horizontal spacing
334 generally at the ‘Staff’ context level. Staff lines are prevented
335 from being scaled smaller than the default since the thickness of
336 stems, slurs, and the like are all based on the staff line
339 • ‘InstrumentName’ now supports ‘text-interface’.
341 • There is now support for controlling the ‘expression level’ of MIDI
342 channels using the ‘Staff.midiExpression’ context property. This
343 can be used to alter the perceived volume of even sustained notes
344 (albeit in a very ‘low-level’ way) and accepts a number value
345 between ‘0.0’ and ‘1.0’.
349 midiExpression = #0.6
350 midiInstrument = #"clarinet"
355 \set Staff.midiExpression = #0.7 s4\f\<
356 \set Staff.midiExpression = #0.8 s4
357 \set Staff.midiExpression = #0.9 s4
358 \set Staff.midiExpression = #1.0 s4
360 \set Staff.midiExpression = #0.9 s4\>
361 \set Staff.midiExpression = #0.8 s4
362 \set Staff.midiExpression = #0.7 s4
363 \set Staff.midiExpression = #0.6 s4\!
369 • Support for making it easier to use alternative ‘music’ fonts other
370 than the default Emmentaler in LilyPond has been added. See
371 <http://fonts.openlilylib.org/> for more information.
373 • Grobs and their parents can now be aligned separately allowing more
374 flexibility for grob positions. For example the ‘left’ edge of a
375 grob can now be aligned on the ‘center’ of its parent.
377 • Improvements to the ‘\partial’ command have been made to avoid
378 problems when using multiple, parallel contexts.
380 • ‘\chordmode’ can now use ‘< >’ and ‘<< >>’ constructs.
382 • A new command ‘\tagGroup’ has now been added. This complements the
383 existing ‘\keepWithTag’ and ‘\removeWithTag’ commands. For
386 \tagGroup #'(violinI violinII viola cello)
388 declares a list of ‘tags’ that belong to a single ‘tag group’.
390 \keepWithTag #'violinI
392 Is now only concerned with ‘tags’ from ‘violinI’’s tag group.
394 Any element of the included music tagged with one or more tags from
395 the group, but _not_ with VIOLINI, will be removed.
397 • The ‘\addlyrics’ function now works with arbitrary contexts
400 • String numbers can now also be used to print roman numerals (e.g.
401 for unfretted string instruments).
409 • The ‘thin-kern’ property of the ‘BarLine’ grob has been renamed to
412 • ‘KeyCancellation’ grobs now ignore cue clefs (like ‘KeySignature’
415 • Add support for ‘\once \unset’
417 • It is now possible to individually color both the dots and
418 parentheses in fret diagrams when using the ‘\fret-diagram-verbose’
423 \override #'(fret-diagram-details . (
424 (finger-code . in-dot))) {
425 \fret-diagram-verbose #'((mute 6)
426 (place-fret 5 3 1 red)
427 (place-fret 4 5 2 inverted)
428 (place-fret 3 5 3 green)
429 (place-fret 2 5 4 blue inverted)
430 (place-fret 1 3 1 violet)
435 \override #'(fret-diagram-details . (
436 (finger-code . below-string))) {
437 \fret-diagram-verbose #'((mute 6)
438 (place-fret 5 3 1 red parenthesized)
439 (place-fret 4 5 2 yellow
442 (place-fret 3 5 3 green)
443 (place-fret 2 5 4 blue )
451 • Two new properties have been added for use in
452 ‘fret-diagram-details’ when using the ‘\fret-diagram-verbose’
453 markup command; ‘fret-label-horizontal-offset’ which affects the
454 ‘fret-label-indication’ and ‘paren-padding’ which controls the
455 space between the dot and the parentheses surrounding it.
459 \fret-diagram-verbose #'((mute 6)
463 (place-fret 1 6 4 parenthesized)
468 \override #'(fret-diagram-details . (
469 (fret-label-horizontal-offset . 2)
470 (paren-padding . 0.25))) {
471 \fret-diagram-verbose #'((mute 6)
475 (place-fret 1 6 4 parenthesized)
483 • A new markup command ‘\justify-line’ has been added. Similar to
484 the ‘\fill-line’ markup command except that instead of setting
485 _words_ in columns, the ‘\justify-line’ command balances the
486 whitespace between them ensuring that when there are three or more
487 words in a markup, the whitespace is always consistent.
489 \markup \fill-line {oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo}
490 \markup \fill-line {ooooooooo oooooooo oo ooo}
493 \markup \justify-line {oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo}
494 \markup \justify-line {ooooooooo oooooooo oo ooo}
497 • A new command ‘\magnifyMusic’ has been added, which allows the
498 notation size to be changed without changing the staff size, while
499 automatically scaling stems, beams, and horizontal spacing.
502 \new Voice \relative {
504 <e' e'>4 <f f'>8. <g g'>16 <f f'>8 <e e'>4 r8
506 \new Voice \relative {
509 \override Score.SpacingSpanner.spacing-increment = #(* 1.2 0.63)
510 r32 c'' a c a c a c r c a c a c a c
511 r c a c a c a c a c a c a c a c
517 • A new flexible template suitable for a range of choral music, is
518 now provided. This may be used to create simple choral music, with
519 or without piano accompaniment, in two or four staves. Unlike
520 other templates, this template is ‘built-in’, which means it does
521 not need to be copied and edited: instead it is simply ‘\include’’d
522 in the input file. For details, see *note
523 (lilypond-learning)Built-in templates::.
525 • The positioning of tuplet numbers for kneed beams has been
526 significantly improved. Previously, tuplet numbers were placed
527 according to the position of the tuplet bracket, even if it was not
528 printed. This could lead to stranded tuplet numbers. Now they are
529 now positioned closer to the kneed-beam when an appropriate beam
530 segment exists for its placement and when the bracket is not drawn.
532 Collision detection is also added, offsetting horizontally if too
533 close to an adjoining note column but preserving the number’s
534 vertical distance from the kneed beam. If the number itself is too
535 large to fit in the available space the original, bracket-based,
536 positioning system is used instead; and in the event of a collision
537 (e.g. with an accidental) the tuplet number is moved vertically
541 \override Beam.auto-knee-gap = 3
549 The original kneed-beam tuplet behavior is still available through
550 an ‘\override’ via a new, ‘knee-to-beam’ property.
553 \override Beam.auto-knee-gap = 3
554 \override TupletNumber.knee-to-beam = ##f
562 • ‘\lyricsto’ and ‘\addLyrics’ have been ‘harmonized’. Both now
563 accept the same kind of delimited argument list that ‘\lyrics’ and
564 ‘\chords’ accept. Backward compatibility has been added so music
565 identifiers (i.e. ‘\mus’) are permitted as arguments. A
566 ‘convert-ly’ rule has been added that removes redundant uses of
567 ‘\lyricmode’ and rearranges combinations with context starters such
568 that ‘\lyricsto’ in general is applied last (i.e. like
569 ‘\lyricmode’ would be).
571 • Scheme functions and identifiers can now be used as output
574 • Scheme expressions can now be used as chord constituents.
576 • Improved visual spacing of small and regular ‘MI’ Funk and Walker
577 noteheads so they are now the same width as other shaped notes in
578 their respective sets. ‘SOL’ noteheads are also now visually
579 improved when used with both the normal Aiken and Sacred Harp
580 heads, as well as with the thin variants.
582 • ‘LeftEdge’ now has a definable ‘Y-extent’ (i.e.vertical). See
583 *note (lilypond-internals)LeftEdge::.
585 • Added a new ‘make-path-stencil’ function that supports all ‘path’
586 commands both relative and absolute:
588 ‘lineto’, ‘rlineto’, ‘curveto’, ‘rcurveto’, ‘moveto’, ‘rmoveto’,
589 ‘closepath’. The function also supports ‘single-letter’ syntax
590 used in standard SVG path commands:
592 ‘L’, ‘l’, ‘C’, ‘c’, ‘M’, ‘m’, ‘Z’ and ‘z’. The new command is also
593 backward-compatible with the original ‘make-connected-path-stencil’
594 function. Also see ‘scm/stencil.scm’.
596 • Context properties named in the ‘alternativeRestores’ property are
597 restored to their value at the start of the _first_ alternative in
598 all subsequent alternatives.
600 Currently the default set restores ‘current meter’;
603 \repeat volta 2 { c2 e4 | }
614 \repeat volta 2 { c2 e4 | }
617 \set Timing.measurePosition = #(ly:make-moment -1/2)
628 \set chordChanges = ##t
629 \chordmode { c1:m d:m c:m d:m }
632 \repeat volta 2 { \chordmode { c1:m } }
634 { \chordmode { d:m } }
635 { \chordmode { c:m } }
642 • Improved MIDI output for breathe marks. After tied notes, breaths
643 take time _only_ from the last note of the tie; e.g. ‘{ c4~ c8
644 \breathe }’ performs as ‘{ c4~ c16 r }’ instead of ‘{ c4 r8 }’.
645 This is more consistent with articulations and how humans interpret
646 breaths after ties. It now also makes it easier to align
647 simultaneous breathe marks over multiple parts, all with different
650 • A new note head style for Tabulature has been added;
651 ‘TabNoteHead.style = #'slash’.
653 • Four new Clef glyphs have been added _Double G_, _Tenor G_,
654 _Varpercussion_ and _varC_ and their related tessitura.
655 \override Staff.Clef.full-size-change = ##t
658 \clef "tenorG" c c c c
660 \clef "altovarC" c c c c
661 \clef "tenorvarC" c c c c
662 \clef "baritonevarC" c c c c
663 \clef "varpercussion" c c c c
666 \override Staff.Clef.full-size-change = ##f
669 \clef "tenorG" c c c c
671 \clef "altovarC" c c c c
672 \clef "tenorvarC" c c c c
673 \clef "baritonevarC" c c c c
674 \clef "varpercussion" c c c c
677 • Isolated durations in music sequences now stand for unpitched
678 notes. This may be useful for specifying rhythms to music or
679 scheme functions. When encountered in the final score, the pitches
680 are provided by the preceding note or chord. Here are two examples
681 where this makes for readable input:
683 \new DrumStaff \with { \override StaffSymbol.line-count = 1 }
686 tambourine 8 \tuplet 3/2 { 16 16 16 }
687 8 \tuplet 3/2 { 16 16 16 } 8 8 |
691 \new Staff { r16 c'16 ~ 8 ~ 4 ~ 2 | }
694 • ‘\displayLilyMusic’ and its underlying Scheme functions no longer
695 omit redundant note durations. This makes it easier to reliably
696 recognize and format standalone durations in expressions like
699 • Beaming exceptions can now be constructed using the
700 ‘\beamExceptions’ scheme function. One can now write
703 \set Timing.beamExceptions =
704 \beamExceptions { 32[ 32] 32[ 32] 32[ 32] }
706 \repeat unfold 6 { c32 } |
709 with multiple exceptions separated with ‘|’ bar checks (writing the
710 exception pattern without pitches is convenient but not mandatory).
711 Previously, setting the beam exceptions would have required writing
713 \set Timing.beamExceptions =
715 (end . ;entry for end of beams
716 ( ;start of alist of end points
717 ((1 . 32) . (2 2 2)) ;rule for 1/32 beams -- end each 1/16
720 • The most common articulations are now reflected in MIDI output.
721 Accent and marcato make notes louder; staccato, staccatissimo and
722 portato make them shorter. Breath marks shorten the previous note.
724 This behavior is customizable through the ‘midiLength’ and
725 ‘midiExtraVelocity’ properties on ‘ArticulationEvent’. See
726 ‘script-init.ly’ for examples.
728 • The PostScript functionality of stroke adjustment is no longer
729 applied automatically but left to the discretion of the PostScript
730 device (by default, Ghostscript uses it for resolutions up to
731 150dpi when generating raster images). When it is enabled, a more
732 complex drawing algorithm designed to benefit from stroke
733 adjustment is employed mostly for stems and bar lines.
735 Stroke adjustment can be forced by specifying the command line
736 option ‘-dstrokeadjust’ to LilyPond. When generating ‘PDF’ files,
737 this will usually result in markedly better looking ‘PDF’ previews
738 but significantly larger file size. Print quality at high
739 resolutions will be unaffected.