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• 1. Musical notation
  • 1.1 Pitches
    • 1.1.1 Writing pitches
      • Absolute octave entry
      • Relative octave entry
      • Accidentals
      • Note names in other languages
    • 1.1.2 Changing multiple pitches
      • Octave checks
      • Transpose
      • Inversion
      • Retrograde
      • Modal transformations
    • 1.1.3 Displaying pitches
      • Clef
      • Key signature
      • Ottava brackets
      • Instrument transpositions
      • Automatic accidentals
      • Alternate accidental glyphs
      • Ambitus
    • 1.1.4 Note heads
      • Special note heads
      • Easy notation note heads
      • Shape note heads
      • Improvisation
  • 1.2 Rhythms
    • 1.2.1 Writing rhythms
      • Durations
      • Tuplets
      • Scaling durations
      • Ties
    • 1.2.2 Writing rests
      • Rests
      • Invisible rests
      • Full measure rests
      • Caesuras
    • 1.2.3 Displaying rhythms
      • Time signature
      • Metronome marks
      • Upbeats
      • Unmetered music
      • Polymetric notation
      • Automatic note splitting
      • Showing melody rhythms
    • 1.2.4 Beams
      • Automatic beams
      • Setting automatic beam behavior
      • Manual beams
      • Feathered beams
    • 1.2.5 Bars
      • Bar lines
      • Automatic bar lines
      • Bar numbers
      • Bar and bar number checks
      • Rehearsal marks
      • Measure counts
      • Section divisions
    • 1.2.6 Special rhythmic concerns
      • Grace notes
      • Aligning to cadenzas
      • Time administration
  • 1.3 Expressive marks
    • 1.3.1 Expressive marks attached to notes
      • Articulations and ornamentations
      • Dynamics
      • New dynamic marks
    • 1.3.2 Expressive marks as curves
      • Slurs
      • Phrasing slurs
      • Breath marks
      • Falls and doits
    • 1.3.3 Expressive marks as lines
      • Glissando
      • Arpeggio
      • Trills
  • 1.4 Repeats
    • 1.4.1 Long repeats
      • Written-out repeats
      • Simple repeats
      • Alternative endings
      • Other variation in repeated sections
      • Al-fine repeats
      • Segno repeat structure
      • Segno repeat appearance
      • Manual repeat marks
    • 1.4.2 Short repeats
      • Percent repeats
      • Tremolo repeats
  • 1.5 Simultaneous notes
    • 1.5.1 Single voice
      • Chorded notes
      • Chord repetition
      • Simultaneous expressions
      • Clusters
    • 1.5.2 Multiple voices
      • Single-staff polyphony
      • Voice styles
      • Collision resolution
      • Merging rests
      • Automatic part combining
      • Writing music in parallel
  • 1.6 Staff notation
    • 1.6.1 Displaying staves
      • Instantiating new staves
      • Grouping staves
      • Nested staff groups
      • Separating systems
    • 1.6.2 Modifying single staves
      • Staff symbol
      • Ossia staves
      • Hiding staves
    • 1.6.3 Writing parts
      • Instrument names
      • Quoting other voices
      • Formatting cue notes
      • Compressing empty measures
  • 1.7 Editorial annotations
    • 1.7.1 Inside the staff
      • Selecting notation font size
      • Fingering instructions
      • Gliding fingers
      • Hidden notes
      • Coloring objects
      • Staff highlights
      • Parentheses
      • Stems
    • 1.7.2 Outside the staff
      • Note names
      • Balloon help
      • Grid lines
      • Analysis brackets
  • 1.8 Text
    • 1.8.1 Writing text
      • Text objects overview
      • Text scripts
      • Text spanners
      • Section labels
      • Text marks
      • Separate text
    • 1.8.2 Formatting text
      • Text markup introduction
      • Selecting font and font size
      • Text alignment
      • Graphic notation inside markup
      • Music notation inside markup
    • 1.8.3 Fonts
      • Finding fonts
      • Font families
      • Font features
      • Single entry fonts
      • Entire document fonts
      • Music fonts
• 2. Specialist notation
  • 2.1 Vocal music
    • 2.1.1 Common notation for vocal music
      • References for vocal music
      • Entering lyrics
      • Aligning lyrics to a melody
      • Automatic syllable durations
      • Manual syllable durations
      • Multiple syllables to one note
      • Multiple notes to one syllable
      • Extenders and hyphens
      • Gradual changes of vowel
    • 2.1.2 Techniques specific to lyrics
      • Working with lyrics and variables
      • Placing lyrics vertically
      • Placing syllables horizontally
      • Lyrics and repeats
      • Divisi lyrics
      • Polyphony with shared lyrics
    • 2.1.3 Stanzas
      • Adding stanza numbers
      • Adding dynamics marks to stanzas
      • Adding singers’ names to stanzas
      • Stanzas with different rhythms
      • Printing stanzas at the end
      • Printing stanzas at the end in multiple columns
    • 2.1.4 Songs
      • References for songs
      • Lead sheets
    • 2.1.5 Choral
      • References for choral
      • Score layouts for choral
    • 2.1.6 Opera and stage musicals
      • References for opera and stage musicals
      • Character names
      • Musical cues
      • Spoken music
      • Dialogue over music
    • 2.1.7 Chants psalms and hymns
      • References for chants and psalms
      • Setting a chant
      • Pointing a psalm
      • Phrase bar lines in hymn tunes
      • Partial measures in hymn tunes
    • 2.1.8 Ancient vocal music
  • 2.2 Keyboard and other multi-staff instruments
    • 2.2.1 Common notation for keyboards
      • References for keyboards
      • Changing staff manually
      • Changing staff automatically
      • Staff-change lines
    • 2.2.2 Piano
      • Piano pedals
    • 2.2.3 Accordion
      • Discant symbols
    • 2.2.4 Harp
      • References for harps
      • Harp pedals
  • 2.3 Unfretted string instruments
    • 2.3.1 Common notation for unfretted strings
      • References for unfretted strings
      • Bowing indications
      • Harmonics
      • Snap (Bartók) pizzicato
  • 2.4 Fretted string instruments
    • 2.4.1 Common notation for fretted strings
      • References for fretted strings
      • String number indications
      • Default tablatures
      • Custom tablatures
      • Fret diagram markups
      • Predefined fret diagrams
      • Automatic fret diagrams
      • Right-hand fingerings
    • 2.4.2 Guitar
      • Indicating position and barring
      • Indicating harmonics and dampened notes
      • Indicating power chords
    • 2.4.3 Banjo
      • Banjo tablatures
    • 2.4.4 Lute
      • Lute tablatures
  • 2.5 Percussion
    • 2.5.1 Common notation for percussion
      • References for percussion
      • Basic percussion notation
      • Drum rolls
      • Pitched percussion
      • Percussion staves
      • Custom percussion staves
      • Ghost notes
  • 2.6 Wind instruments
    • 2.6.1 Common notation for wind instruments
      • References for wind instruments
      • Fingerings
    • 2.6.2 Bagpipes
      • Bagpipe definitions
      • Bagpipe example
    • 2.6.3 Woodwinds
      • 2.6.3.1 Woodwind diagrams
  • 2.7 Chord notation
    • 2.7.1 Chord mode
      • Chord mode overview
      • Common chords
      • Extended and altered chords
      • Chord inversions and specific voicings
    • 2.7.2 Displaying chords
      • Printing chord names
      • Customizing chord names
      • Chord grids
    • 2.7.3 Figured bass
      • Introduction to figured bass
      • Entering figured bass
      • Displaying figured bass
  • 2.8 Contemporary music
    • 2.8.1 Pitch and harmony in contemporary music
      • References for pitch and harmony in contemporary music
      • Microtonal notation
      • Contemporary key signatures and harmony
    • 2.8.2 Contemporary approaches to rhythm
      • References for contemporary approaches to rhythm
      • Tuplets in contemporary music
      • Contemporary time signatures
      • Extended polymetric notation
      • Beams in contemporary music
      • Bar lines in contemporary music
    • 2.8.3 Graphical notation
    • 2.8.4 Contemporary scoring techniques
    • 2.8.5 New instrumental techniques
    • 2.8.6 Further reading and scores of interest
      • Books and articles on contemporary musical notation
      • Scores and musical examples
  • 2.9 Ancient notation
    • 2.9.1 Overview of the supported styles
    • 2.9.2 Ancient notation – common features
      • Predefined contexts
      • Ligatures
      • Custodes
    • 2.9.3 Typesetting mensural music
      • Mensural contexts
      • Mensural clefs
      • Mensural time signatures
      • Mensural note heads
      • Mensural flags
      • Mensural rests
      • Mensural accidentals and key signatures
      • Annotational accidentals (musica ficta)
      • White mensural ligatures
    • 2.9.4 Typesetting Gregorian chant
      • Gregorian chant contexts
      • Gregorian clefs
      • Gregorian accidentals and key signatures
      • Divisiones
      • Gregorian articulation signs
      • Augmentum dots (morae)
      • Gregorian square neume ligatures
    • 2.9.5 Typesetting Kievan square notation
      • Kievan contexts
      • Kievan clefs
      • Kievan notes
      • Kievan accidentals
      • Kievan bar lines
      • Kievan melismata
    • 2.9.6 Working with ancient music – scenarios and solutions
      • Incipits
      • Mensurstriche layout
      • Transcribing Gregorian chant
      • Ancient and modern from one source
  • 2.10 World music
    • 2.10.1 Common notation for non-Western music
      • Extending notation and tuning systems
    • 2.10.2 Arabic music
      • References for Arabic music
      • Arabic note names
      • Arabic key signatures
      • Arabic time signatures
      • Arabic music example
      • Further reading for Arabic music
    • 2.10.3 Turkish classical music
      • References for Turkish classical music
      • Turkish note names
      • Turkish key signatures
      • Further reading for Turkish music
    • 2.10.4 Persian classical music
      • Persian music notation
      • Persian tunings
      • Persian key signatures
      • Further reading on Persian music
• 3. General input and output
  • 3.1 Input modes
  • 3.2 Input structure
    • 3.2.1 Structure of a score
    • 3.2.2 Multiple scores in a book
    • 3.2.3 Multiple output files from one input file
    • 3.2.4 Output file names
    • 3.2.5 File structure
  • 3.3 Titles and headers
    • 3.3.1 Creating titles headers and footers
      • Titles explained
      • Default layout of bookpart and score titles
      • Default layout of headers and footers
    • 3.3.2 Custom titles headers and footers
      • Custom text formatting for titles
      • Custom layout for titles
      • Custom layout for headers and footers
    • 3.3.3 Creating output file metadata
    • 3.3.4 Creating footnotes
      • Footnotes in music expressions
      • Footnotes in stand-alone text
    • 3.3.5 Reference to page numbers
    • 3.3.6 Table of contents
  • 3.4 Working with input files
    • 3.4.1 Including LilyPond files
    • 3.4.2 Different editions from one source
      • Using variables
      • Using tags
      • Using global settings
    • 3.4.3 Using music functions
      • 3.4.3.1 Substitution function syntax
      • 3.4.3.2 Substitution function examples
    • 3.4.4 Special characters
      • Text encoding
      • Unicode
      • ASCII aliases
  • 3.5 Controlling output
    • 3.5.1 Extracting fragments of music
    • 3.5.2 Skipping corrected music
    • 3.5.3 Alternative output formats
      • SVG Output
    • 3.5.4 Replacing the notation font
  • 3.6 Creating MIDI output
    • 3.6.1 Supported notation for MIDI
    • 3.6.2 Unsupported notation for MIDI
    • 3.6.3 The MIDI block
    • 3.6.4 Controlling MIDI dynamics
      • Dynamic marks in MIDI
      • Setting MIDI volume
      • Setting MIDI block properties
    • 3.6.5 Using MIDI instruments
    • 3.6.6 Using repeats with MIDI
    • 3.6.7 MIDI channel mapping
    • 3.6.8 Context properties for MIDI effects
    • 3.6.9 Enhancing MIDI output
      • The ‘articulate’ script
      • The ‘swing’ script
  • 3.7 Extracting musical information
    • 3.7.1 Displaying LilyPond notation
    • 3.7.2 Displaying scheme music expressions
    • 3.7.3 Saving music events to a file
• 4. Spacing issues
  • 4.1 Page layout
    • 4.1.1 The \paper block
    • 4.1.2 Paper size and automatic scaling
      • Setting the paper size
      • Automatic scaling to paper size
    • 4.1.3 Fixed vertical spacing \paper variables
    • 4.1.4 Flexible vertical spacing \paper variables
      • Structure of flexible vertical spacing alists
      • List of flexible vertical spacing \paper variables
    • 4.1.5 Horizontal spacing \paper variables
      • \paper variables for widths and margins
      • \paper variables for two-sided mode
      • \paper variables for shifts and indents
    • 4.1.6 Other \paper variables
      • \paper variables for line breaking
      • \paper variables for page breaking
      • \paper variables for page numbering
      • \paper variables concerning headers and markups
      • \paper variables for debugging
  • 4.2 Score layout
    • 4.2.1 The \layout block
    • 4.2.2 Setting the staff size
  • 4.3 Breaks
    • 4.3.1 Line breaking
    • 4.3.2 Page breaking
      • Manual page breaking
      • Optimal page breaking
      • Minimal page breaking
      • One-page page breaking
      • One-line page breaking
      • One-line-auto-height page breaking
      • Optimal page turning
  • 4.4 Vertical spacing
    • 4.4.1 Flexible vertical spacing within systems
      • Within-system spacing properties
      • Spacing of ungrouped staves
      • Spacing of grouped staves
      • Spacing of non-staff lines
    • 4.4.2 Explicit staff and system positioning
    • 4.4.3 Vertical collision avoidance
  • 4.5 Horizontal spacing
    • 4.5.1 Horizontal spacing overview
    • 4.5.2 New spacing section
    • 4.5.3 Changing horizontal spacing globally
      • Uniform stretching of tuplets
      • Strict note spacing
    • 4.5.4 Adjusting horizontal spacing for specific layout objects
      • 4.5.4.1 Overview of object-specific horizontal spacing tweaks
      • 4.5.4.2 Spacing between adjacent non-musical items
      • 4.5.4.3 Spacing between adjacent columns
    • 4.5.5 Line width
    • 4.5.6 Proportional notation
  • 4.6 Fitting music onto fewer pages
    • 4.6.1 Displaying spacing
    • 4.6.2 Changing spacing
• 5. Changing defaults
  • 5.1 Interpretation contexts
    • 5.1.1 Contexts explained
      • Output definitions – blueprints for contexts
      • Score – the master of all contexts
      • Top-level contexts – staff containers
      • Intermediate-level contexts – staves
      • Bottom-level contexts – voices
    • 5.1.2 Creating and referencing contexts
    • 5.1.3 Keeping contexts alive
    • 5.1.4 Modifying context plug-ins
    • 5.1.5 Changing context default settings
      • Changing all contexts of the same type
      • Changing just one specific context
      • Order of precedence
    • 5.1.6 Defining new contexts
      • Context definition overview
      • New contexts in MIDI
      • Replacing the Score context
    • 5.1.7 Context layout order
  • 5.2 Explaining the Internals Reference
    • 5.2.1 Navigating the program reference
    • 5.2.2 Layout interfaces
    • 5.2.3 Determining the grob property
  • 5.3 Modifying properties
    • 5.3.1 Overview of modifying properties
    • 5.3.2 The \set command
    • 5.3.3 The \override command
    • 5.3.4 The \tweak command
    • 5.3.5 \set vs. \override
    • 5.3.6 The \offset command
    • 5.3.7 Modifying alists
  • 5.4 Useful concepts and properties
    • 5.4.1 Direction and placement
      • Articulation direction indicators
      • The direction property
    • 5.4.2 Distances and measurements
    • 5.4.3 Dimensions
    • 5.4.4 Spanners
      • Modifying broken spanners
      • Setting minimum lengths for spanners
      • Controlling spanner end points
    • 5.4.5 Line styles
    • 5.4.6 Line spanners
    • 5.4.7 Visibility of objects
      • Removing the stencil
      • Making objects transparent
      • Painting objects white
      • Using break-visibility
      • Special considerations
    • 5.4.8 Rotating objects
      • Rotating layout objects
      • Rotating markup
    • 5.4.9 Aligning objects
      • Setting X-offset and Y-offset directly
      • Using the side-position-interface
      • Using the self-alignment-interface
      • Using the break-alignable-interface
    • 5.4.10 Modifying stencils
    • 5.4.11 Modifying shapes
      • Modifying ties and slurs
• A. Notation manual tables
  • A.1 Chord name chart
  • A.2 Common chord modifiers
  • A.3 Predefined string tunings
  • A.4 Predefined fretboard diagrams
    • Diagrams for Guitar
    • Diagrams for Ukulele
    • Diagrams for Mandolin
  • A.5 Predefined paper sizes
  • A.6 MIDI instruments
  • A.7 List of colors
  • A.8 The Emmentaler font
    • Clef glyphs
    • Time Signature glyphs
    • Number glyphs
    • Figured bass symbol glyphs
    • Accidental glyphs
    • Default note head glyphs
    • Special note head glyphs
    • Note head glyphs for shape notes
    • Rest glyphs
    • Flag glyphs
    • Dot glyphs
    • Dynamic glyphs
    • Script glyphs
    • Arrowhead glyphs
    • Bracket-tip glyphs
    • Pedal glyphs
    • Accordion glyphs
    • Tie glyphs
    • Vaticana glyphs
    • Medicaea glyphs
    • Hufnagel glyphs
    • Mensural glyphs
    • Neomensural glyphs
    • Petrucci glyphs
    • Solesmes glyphs
    • Kievan Notation glyphs
  • A.9 Note head styles
  • A.10 Accidental glyph sets
  • A.11 Clef styles
    • Standard clefs
    • Percussion staff clef
    • Tab staff clefs
    • Ancient music clefs
      • Gregorian
      • Mensural
      • Kievan
  • A.12 Text markup commands
    • A.12.1 Font
    • A.12.2 Align
    • A.12.3 Graphic
    • A.12.4 Music
    • A.12.5 Conditionals
    • A.12.6 Instrument Specific Markup
    • A.12.7 Accordion Registers
    • A.12.8 Other
  • A.13 Text markup list commands
  • A.14 List of special characters
  • A.15 List of articulations
    • Articulation scripts
    • Ornament scripts
    • Fermata scripts
    • Instrument-specific scripts
    • Repeat sign scripts
    • Ancient scripts
  • A.16 List of breath marks
  • A.17 Percussion notes
  • A.18 List of bar lines
  • A.19 Default values for outside-staff-priority
  • A.20 Technical glossary
    • alist
    • callback
    • closure
    • glyph
    • grob
    • immutable
    • interface
    • lexer
    • mutable
    • output-def
    • parser
    • parser variable
    • prob
    • smob
    • spanner
    • stencil
  • A.21 Available music functions
  • A.22 Context modification identifiers
  • A.23 Naming conventions
  • A.24 Predefined type predicates
    • R5RS primary predicates
    • R5RS secondary predicates
    • Guile predicates
    • LilyPond scheme predicates
    • LilyPond exported predicates
• B. Cheat sheet
• C. GNU Free Documentation License
• D. LilyPond command index
• E. LilyPond index