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@c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
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@node Putting it all together
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@chapter Putting it all together
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This chapter discusses general LilyPond concepts and how to
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create @code{\score} blocks.
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* Extending the templates::
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* How LilyPond files work::
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* Score is a single musical expression::
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@node Extending the templates
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@section Extending the templates
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You've read the tutorial, you know how to write music. But how can you
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get the staves that you want? The templates are ok, but what if you
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want something that isn't covered?
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Start off with the template that seems closest to what you want to end
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up with. Let's say that you want to write something for soprano and
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cello. In this case, we would start with ``Notes and lyrics'' (for the
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melody = \relative c' @{
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\new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" \text
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\midi @{ \tempo 4=60 @}
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Now we want to add a cello part. Let's look at the ``Notes only'' example:
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melody = \relative c' @{
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\midi @{ \tempo 4=60 @}
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We don't need two @code{\version} commands. We'll need the @code{melody}
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section. We don't want two @code{\score} sections -- if we had two
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@code{\score}s, we'd get the two parts separately. We want them together,
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as a duet. Within the @code{\score} section, we don't need two
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@code{\layout} or @code{\midi}.
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If we simply cut and paste the @code{melody} section, we would end up with
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two @code{melody} sections. So let's rename them. We'll call the section
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for the soprano @code{sopranoMusic} and the section for the cello
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@code{celloMusic}. While we're doing this, let's rename @code{text}
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to be @code{sopranoLyrics}. Remember to rename both instances of all
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these names -- both the initial definition (the
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@code{melody = relative c' @{ } part) and the name's use (in the
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@code{\score} section).
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While we're doing this, let's change the cello part's staff -- celli
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normally use bass clef. We'll also give the cello some different
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sopranoMusic = \relative c' @{
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sopranoLyrics = \lyricmode @{
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celloMusic = \relative c @{
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\new Voice = "one" @{
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\new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" \sopranoLyrics
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\midi @{ \tempo 4=60 @}
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This is looking promising, but the cello part won't appear in the
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score -- we haven't used it in the @code{\score} section. If we
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want the cello part to appear under the soprano part, we need to add
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\new Staff \celloMusic
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underneath the soprano stuff. We also need to add @code{<<} and
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@code{>>} around the music -- that tells LilyPond that there's
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more than one thing (in this case, @code{Staff}) happening at once. The
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@code{\score} looks like this now
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\new Voice = "one" @{
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\new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" \sopranoLyrics
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\new Staff \celloMusic
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\midi @{ \tempo 4=60 @}
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This looks a bit messy; the indentation is messed up now. That is
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easily fixed. Here's the complete soprano and cello template.
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@lilypond[quote,verbatim,ragged-right]
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sopranoMusic = \relative c' {
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sopranoLyrics = \lyricmode {
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celloMusic = \relative c {
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\new Lyrics \lyricsto "one" \sopranoLyrics
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\new Staff \celloMusic
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\midi { \tempo 4=60 }
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@node How LilyPond files work
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@section How LilyPond files work
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The LilyPond input format is quite free-form, giving experienced
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users a lot of flexibility to structure their files however they
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wish. However, this flexibility can make things confusing for
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new users. This section will explain some of this structure, but
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may gloss over some details in favor of simplicity. For a complete
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description of the input format, see @ref{File structure}.
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Most examples in this manual are little snippets -- for example
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As you are (hopefully) aware by now, this will not compile by
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itself. These examples are shorthand for complete
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examples. They all need at least curly braces to compile
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Most examples also make use of the @code{\relative c'}
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(or @code{c''}) command. This is not necessary to merely
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compile the examples, but in most cases the output will
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look very odd if you omit the @code{\relative c'}.
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@lilypond[quote,fragment,ragged-right,verbatim]
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Now we get to the only real stumbling block: LilyPond
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input in this form is actually @emph{another}
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shorthand. Although it compiles and displays the
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correct output, it is shorthand for
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A @code{\score} must begin with a single music
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expression. Remember that a music expression could
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be anything from a single note to a huge
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insert the whole score of a Wagner opera in here
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Since everything is inside @code{@{ ... @}}, it counts
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as one music expression.
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The @code{\score} can contain other things, such as
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Some people put some of those commands outside the
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@code{\score} block -- for example, @code{\header} is
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often placed above the @code{\score}. That's just
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another shorthand that LilyPond accepts.
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Another great shorthand is the ability to define
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variables. All the templates use this
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melody = \relative c' @{
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When LilyPond looks at this file, it takes the value of
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@code{melody} (everything after the equals sign) and
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inserts it whenever it sees
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@code{\melody}. There's nothing special about the
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names -- it could be @code{melody}, @code{global},
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@code{pianorighthand}, or @code{foofoobarbaz}. You
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can use whatever variable names you want. For
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@ref{Saving typing with identifiers and functions}.
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For a complete definition
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of the input format, see @ref{File structure}.
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@node Score is a single musical expression
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@section Score is a single musical expression
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In the previous section, @ref{How LilyPond files work},
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we saw the general organization of LilyPond input
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files. But we seemed to skip over the most important
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part: how do we figure out what to write after
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We didn't skip over it at all. The big mystery is simply
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that there @emph{is} no mystery. This line explains it
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@emph{A @code{\score} must begin with a single music expression.}
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You may find it useful to review
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@ref{Music expressions explained}. In that section, we
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saw how to build big music expressions from small
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pieces -- we started from notes, then chords, etc. Now
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we're going to start from a big music expression and
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@{ % this brace begins the overall music expression
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insert the whole score of a Wagner opera in here
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@} % this brace ends the overall music expression
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A whole Wagner opera would easily double the length of
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this manual, so let's just do a singer and piano. We
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don't need a @code{GrandStaff} for this ensemble, so we
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shall remove it. We @emph{do} need a singer and a piano,
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\new Staff = "singer" <<
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\new PianoStaff = piano <<
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Remember that we use @code{<<} and @code{>>} to show
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simultaneous music. And we definitely want to show
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the vocal part and piano part at the same time!
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\new Staff = "singer" <<
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\new Voice = "vocal" @{ @}
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\new Lyrics \lyricsto vocal \new Lyrics @{ @}
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\new PianoStaff = "piano" <<
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\new Staff = "upper" @{ @}
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\new Staff = "lower" @{ @}
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Now we have a lot more details. We have the singer's
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staff: it contains a @code{Voice} (in LilyPond, this
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term refers to a set of notes, not necessarily vocal
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notes -- for example, a violin generally plays one
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voice) and some lyrics. We also have a piano staff:
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it contains an upper staff (right hand) and a lower
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At this stage, we could start filling in notes. Inside
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the curly braces next to @code{\new Voice = vocal},
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we could start writing
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But if we did that, the @code{\score} section would
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get pretty long, and it would be harder to understand
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what was happening. So let's use identifiers (or
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\new Staff = "singer" <<
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\new Voice = "vocal" @{ \melody @}
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\new Lyrics \lyricsto vocal \new Lyrics @{ \text @}
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\new PianoStaff = "piano" <<
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\new Staff = "upper" @{ \upper @}
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\new Staff = "lower" @{ \lower @}
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Remember that you can use almost any name you like. The
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limitations on identifier names are detailed in
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@ref{File structure}.
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When writing a @code{\score} section, or when reading
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one, just take it slowly and carefully. Start with
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the outer layer, then work on each smaller
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layer. It also really helps to be strict with
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indentation -- make sure that each item on the same
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layer starts on the same horizontal position in your
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Documentation/user/putting.itely
