GNU LilyPond

-- --

First steps

We start off by showing how very simple music is entered in LilyPond: you get a note simply by typing its note name, from a through g. So if you enter

     c d e f g a b
     

then the result looks like this:

We will continue with this format: First we show a snippet of input, then the resulting output.

The length of a note is specified by adding a number, 1 for a whole note, 2 for a half note, and so on:

     a1 a2 a4 a16 a32
     

If you don't specify a duration, the previous one is used:

     a4 a a2 a
     

A sharp (#) is made by adding is, a flat (b) by adding es. As you would expect, a double sharp or double flat is made by adding isis or eses:

     cis1 ees fisis aeses
     

Add a dot . after the duration to get a dotted note:

     a2. a4 a8. a16
     

The meter (or time signature) can be set with the \time command:

     \time 3/4
     \time 6/8
     \time 4/4
     

The clef can be set using the \clef command:

     \clef treble
     \clef bass
     \clef alto
     \clef tenor
     

When you enter these commands in a file, you must to enclose them in \notes {...}. This lets LilyPond know that music (and not lyrics, for example) follows:

     \notes {
       \time 3/4
       \clef bass
       c2 e4 g2.
       f4 e d c2.
     }
     

Now the piece of music is almost ready to be printed. The final step is to combine the music with a printing command.

The printing command is the so-called \paper block. Later on you will see that the \paper block is used to customize printing specifics. The music and the \paper block are combined by enclosing them in \score { ... }. This is what a full LilyPond source file looks like:

     \score {
       \notes {
         \time 3/4
         \clef bass
         c2 e4 g2.
         f4 e d c2.
       }
       \paper { }
     }
     

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Copyright (c) 1997--2002 Han-Wen Nienhuys and Jan Nieuwenhuizen.

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