GNU LilyPond is a free software program for Music_engraving sheet music. It uses a simple ASCII notation for music, which is then compiled into PDF (via PostScript) or into Scalable Vector Graphics. LilyPond can also automatically generate MIDI files from music specified in the LilyPond format.

Unlike retail programs such as Finale (program) and Sibelius notation program, LilyPond does not contain its own graphical user interface for the creation of scores. It does, however, have the same aim of producing output comparable to professionally-engraved scores. Some graphical music notation programs such as Rosegarden and NoteEdit can export files directly to LilyPond format.

The Mutopia project, which distributes free sheet music, uses LilyPond to typeset its music. WikiTeX, a MediaWiki interface, supports editing LilyPond notation directly in wiki articles.

= Example of Lilypond input file =

Text after a percent sign (%) is a Comment. Double percent signs are used here for readability.

In LilyPond, notes are entered in note, pitch and length format; pitch is represented with series of single quotes or commas, each representing an octave up or down from the base. For example, a 4 is an A, one octave up from the base, of quarter note length. As a curious syntactical rule, all other modifiers - even ones containing parentheses, which by usual writing rules should go before the note - are added after the note, so d8[ c] is an eighth-note pair with a beam as signified by the brackets.

LilyPond has two modes of entering the note pitches: Absolute and relative. In absolute mode, note pitches are always given, for each note, relative to the base; in relative move, when the melody stays within limits, notes with unspecified pitch are assumed to be near the last note and pitch markers are only used when the interval between the preceding note is more than a forth. This example uses the relative mode.

%% Theme to Fire Breathers , a homebrew NES game perpetually %% under development. Composed by Urpo Lankinen.

%% Note: The composer has made this source code available %% to Wikipedia under the GFDL license. Other versions outside %% Wikipedia are typically under CC BY-SA license.

%% This file uses Finnish note names (for example, where %% Americans use F# and Bb , Finns use Fis and B ). %% Dutch note names are used by default. include suomi.ly

%% Optional language upgrade helper. version 2.6.0

%% The header block defines the titles and texts. header { title = Theme to ``Fire Breathers! instrument = For the 2A03 or SID composer = Urpo Lankinen enteredby = Urpo Lankinen updatedby = Jan Nieuwenhuizen date = June 2005 }

Melody = elative c { clef treble ime 3/4 key a minor

%% The piece starts with a quarter-note partial bar, partial 4 %% tells so to LilyPond. partial 4 a4 | e 4.( d8[ c]) r8 | d4.( c8[ h]) r8 | a2. | e2 a4 | e 4.( d8[ c]) r8 | d4.( e8[ f]) r8 | e2. | r2 e4 | f4.( e8[ d]) r8 | d4.( c8[ h]) r8 | a2. | e2 a4 | e 4.( d8[ c]) r8 | d4.( c8[ h]) r8 | a2. ~ a2 r4 | ar |. }

%% This is the second voice. SecondVoice = elative c { clef bass ime 3/4 key a minor

partial 4 r4 | e2. | d2. | a2. | e2 a4 | e 2. | d2 f4 | e2. | r2. | f2. | d2. | a2. | e2 a4 | e 2. | d2 h4 | a2. ~ a2 r4 | ar |. }

%% Melodies, lyrics and chords can be assigned to a variable and then %% be *reused* elsewhere. Here are three different accompaniment %% patterns, which are used throughout the accompaniment melody. AccompA = elative c { a4 e 8 a, e a, | } AccompB = elative c { g4 d 8 g, d g, | } AccompC = elative c { e,4 h 8 e, h e, | }

Accompaniment = { clef bass ime 3/4 key a minor

partial 4 r4 | AccompA AccompB AccompA AccompA AccompA AccompB AccompA AccompA AccompC AccompC AccompA AccompA AccompA AccompB AccompA | a2 r4 | ar |. }

%% The top level music definition. >

== Corresponding output ==

= See also =

= External links =