GNU LilyPond

Welcome to the home of the GNU Music Typesetter

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Tutorial

• First steps: Music language of LilyPond
• Simple legend: Small table of music language symbols
• Running LilyPond: Printing music
• The first real tune: The first real tune
• Lyrics and chords: Lyrics and chords
• More movements : Joining separate pieces of music
• A piano excerpt: Piano music
• An orchestral score: Conductor's score and individual parts
• Other ways to run LilyPond: Other ways to run LilyPond
• Integrating text and music: Integrating text and music
• End of tutorial: The end

The music is described in a text file, using a simple music language. LilyPond reads that text file and generates music that you can print or view.

Therefore, creating music notation with LilyPond is done in two steps. Using a text editor, you write down the notes to print. Then, you run LilyPond to get your printed output.

This tutorial starts with a small introduction to the LilyPond music language. After this first contact, we will show you how to run LilyPond to produce printed output; you should then be able to create your first sheets of music.

The tutorial continues with a slightly more elaborate example of real music. This piece introduces and explains some finer details of LilyPond. Then, a number of more complex examples follow, that will help you to produce most complex music with LilyPond.

Please send GNU LilyPond questions and comments to lilypond-user@gnu.org.

Please send comments on these web pages to lilypond@packages.debian.org

Copyright (c) 1997--2001 Han-Wen Nienhuys and Jan Nieuwenhuizen.

Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.