Overview of Input Syntax
The native input language for LilyPond is comprehensive, consisting of many commands needed for expressing any sort of articulation, dynamic, meter, etc. The ability to embed Scheme code within a LilyPond source file permits arbitrary extensions to the input language and assists with algorithmic composition. Some general syntactic features are listed below.
- Single-line comments begin with a percent (%) sign.
- Notes are represented in pitch-duration format: pitch is specified with Helmholtz pitch notation, and duration is specified with a numeral based system. The semantics of the pitch-duration format change depending on the active input mode; this is explained in depth in the LilyPond manual. For example, in absolute mode,
a'4is an A, one octave up from the base A (A3 in scientific pitch notation), of quarter note length. - Commands usually begin with a backslash (such as
\time, or\slurUp). The function of the command in question determines where the command is placed; for example, if the command is used to indicate a fixed dynamic on a specific note, it is placed after the note. - Some common commands are represented symbolically to ease typing. One example is with slurs, where
(and)indicate the beginning and ending of a slur, respectively. Another example is with manual beaming, whereindicate the extent of the beam.
LilyPond's interface with Pango requires the input character encoding to be UTF-8. One benefit of this is that more than one language can be included in the same source file.
Read more about this topic: GNU LilyPond
Famous quotes containing the word input:
“Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face. As soon as one is aware of being “somebody,” to be watched and listened to with extra interest, input ceases, and the performer goes blind and deaf in his overanimation. One can either see or be seen.”
—John Updike (b. 1932)