![]() In the end, I found that what I wanted was essentially a text editor – so I could take advantage of the speed of Lilypond’s text-based language – but with plenty of shortcuts so that I’d never get lost trying to look up how to input a symbol.įrescobaldi was a real pleasure to use, if you have a Linux install. If anyone is interested, there are a number of programs I can recommend you don’t use. I experimented with various tools on my Ubuntu install, including some graphical programs that can read and write Lilypad files. In fact, I’d wager the quality of your experience with Lilypond will depend on choosing a front-end tool you like. And while text entry makes copying fast, you’re likely to want some MIDI playback and entry assistance. Music notation is always involved, because of the sheer quantity of notational conventions used – even for fairly simple musical contexts. That isn’t to say you won’t want some help. Getting the first few bars in was a bit tricky as I got the hang of entry, but then, to my surprise, finishing the score went as fast or faster than it had in other programs. I recently completed my first score in Lilypond, and was surprised that – after the initial hour or two of entry – I started to really like it. ![]() For complex measures with densely-packed material, or tricky notations from early music to modern composition, Lilypond continues to handle layout and rendering automatically, without intervention – just at the point many graphical programs will have you pulling out your hair.Įntry itself can therefore move really fast, especially if you like to sketch out an idea on paper (or in a MIDI file) first. Most importantly, this means that entering and arranging notation doesn’t get any harder as the score becomes more involved. If text is to be attached to a specific note, you specify which note in your text file. If you want a g flat, for instance, you just type “gf.” (Note: you will probably need to adjust Lilypond for your native language to get an abbreviation for “flat” that makes sense to you! Hint: “flat” is in English.) To change rhythmic durations, you use a number, so two eights followed by two quarter notes would look like “c8 d e4 f.” Because it’s text-based, you can be explicit about what you want, which avoids some of the pitfalls of graphical entry methods. Lilypond’s language for basic music entry is actually reasonably simple. What beginners don’t know is that text entry doesn’t have to be slower or more daunting – especially if you choose a tool that assists you in the entry process. ![]() The tool generates its output from text files, a bit like the way in which a Web page is rendered from an HTML file. But it could easily scare off beginners, because it isn’t necessarily graphical software. It’s free software for high-quality computer engraving, it runs on any platform (Mac, Windows, Linux), and it produces exceptionally good-looking output, often exceeding leading commercial programs in particularly tricky notational situations. Lilypond is something of a cult secret in music notation circles. What do you do? The answer might surprise you. Quick: you need to produce a music score. ![]()
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