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Kievan notes

For Kievan square notation, the appropriate note head style needs to be chosen and the flags and stems need to be turned off. This is accomplished by calling the \kievanOn function, which sets the appropriate properties of the note head, stems, and flags. Once Kievan note heads are not needed, these properties can be reverted by calling the \kievanOff function.

The Kievan final note, which usually comes at the end of a piece of music, may be selected by setting the duration to \longa. The Kievan recitative mark, used to indicate the chanting of several syllables on one note, may be selected by setting the duration to \breve. The following example demonstrates the various Kievan note heads:

\cadenzaOn
\kievanOn
b'1 b'2 b'4 b'8 b'\breve b'\longa
\kievanOff
b'2

See also

Music Glossary: Kievan notation, note head.

Notation Reference: Note head styles.

Known issues and warnings

LilyPond automatically determines if the stem up or stem down form of a note is drawn. When setting chant in square notation, however, it is customary to have the stems point in the same direction within a single melisma. This can be done manually by setting the direction property of the Stem object.