Note names in other languages (LilyPond Notation Reference)

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Note names in other languages

There are predefined sets of note and accidental names for various other languages. Selecting the note name language is usually done at the beginning of the file; the following example is written using Italian note names:

\language "italiano"

\relative {
  do' re mi sib
}

The available languages and the note names they define are:

Language Note Names

nederlands c d e f g a bes b

català or
catalan do re mi fa sol la sib si

deutsch c d e f g a b h

english c d e f g a bf/b-flat b

español or
espanol do re mi fa sol la sib si

français do ré/re mi fa sol la sib si

italiano do re mi fa sol la sib si

norsk c d e f g a b h

português or
portugues do re mi fa sol la sib si

suomi c d e f g a b h

svenska c d e f g a b h

vlaams do re mi fa sol la sib si

Language	Note Names
`nederlands`	`c` `d` `e` `f` `g` `a` `bes` `b`
`català` or `catalan`	`do` `re` `mi` `fa` `sol` `la` `sib` `si`
`deutsch`	`c` `d` `e` `f` `g` `a` `b` `h`
`english`	`c` `d` `e` `f` `g` `a` `bf`/`b-flat` `b`
`español` or `espanol`	`do` `re` `mi` `fa` `sol` `la` `sib` `si`
`français`	`do` `ré`/`re` `mi` `fa` `sol` `la` `sib` `si`
`italiano`	`do` `re` `mi` `fa` `sol` `la` `sib` `si`
`norsk`	`c` `d` `e` `f` `g` `a` `b` `h`
`português` or `portugues`	`do` `re` `mi` `fa` `sol` `la` `sib` `si`
`suomi`	`c` `d` `e` `f` `g` `a` `b` `h`
`svenska`	`c` `d` `e` `f` `g` `a` `b` `h`
`vlaams`	`do` `re` `mi` `fa` `sol` `la` `sib` `si`

In addition to note names, accidental suffixes may also vary depending on the language:

Language sharp flat double sharp double flat

nederlands is es isis eses

català or
catalan d/s b dd/ss bb

deutsch is es isis eses

english s/-sharp f/-flat ss/x/-sharpsharp ff/-flatflat

español or
espanol s b ss/x bb

français d b dd/x bb

italiano d b dd bb

norsk iss/is ess/es ississ/isis essess/eses

português or
portugues s b ss bb

suomi is es isis eses

svenska iss ess ississ essess

vlaams k b kk bb

Language	sharp	flat	double sharp	double flat
`nederlands`	`is`	`es`	`isis`	`eses`
`català` or `catalan`	`d`/`s`	`b`	`dd`/`ss`	`bb`
`deutsch`	`is`	`es`	`isis`	`eses`
`english`	`s`/`-sharp`	`f`/`-flat`	`ss`/`x`/`-sharpsharp`	`ff`/`-flatflat`
`español` or `espanol`	`s`	`b`	`ss`/`x`	`bb`
`français`	`d`	`b`	`dd`/`x`	`bb`
`italiano`	`d`	`b`	`dd`	`bb`
`norsk`	`iss`/`is`	`ess`/`es`	`ississ`/`isis`	`essess`/`eses`
`português` or `portugues`	`s`	`b`	`ss`	`bb`
`suomi`	`is`	`es`	`isis`	`eses`
`svenska`	`iss`	`ess`	`ississ`	`essess`
`vlaams`	`k`	`b`	`kk`	`bb`

In Dutch, German, Norwegian, and Finnish, aes is contracted to as; in Dutch and Norwegian, however, both forms are accepted by LilyPond. Exactly the same holds for es and ees, aeses and ases, and finally eeses and eses.

In German and Finnish, LilyPond additionally provides the more frequent form asas for ases.

\relative c'' { a2 as e es a ases e eses }

Some music uses microtones whose alterations are fractions of a ‘normal’ sharp or flat. The following table lists note name suffixes for quarter tone accidentals; here the prefixes semi- and sesqui- respectively mean ‘half’ and ‘one and a half’.

Language semi-sharp semi-flat sesqui-sharp sesqui-flat

nederlands ih eh isih eseh

català or
catalan qd/qs qb tqd/tqs tqb

deutsch ih eh isih eseh

english qs qf tqs tqf

español or
espanol cs cb tcs tcb

français sd sb dsd bsb

italiano sd sb dsd bsb

norsk ih eh issih/isih esseh/eseh

português or
portugues sqt bqt stqt btqt

suomi ih eh isih eseh

svenska ih eh issih esseh

vlaams hk hb khk bhb

Language	semi-sharp	semi-flat	sesqui-sharp	sesqui-flat
`nederlands`	`ih`	`eh`	`isih`	`eseh`
`català` or `catalan`	`qd`/`qs`	`qb`	`tqd`/`tqs`	`tqb`
`deutsch`	`ih`	`eh`	`isih`	`eseh`
`english`	`qs`	`qf`	`tqs`	`tqf`
`español` or `espanol`	`cs`	`cb`	`tcs`	`tcb`
`français`	`sd`	`sb`	`dsd`	`bsb`
`italiano`	`sd`	`sb`	`dsd`	`bsb`
`norsk`	`ih`	`eh`	`issih`/`isih`	`esseh`/`eseh`
`português` or `portugues`	`sqt`	`bqt`	`stqt`	`btqt`
`suomi`	`ih`	`eh`	`isih`	`eseh`
`svenska`	`ih`	`eh`	`issih`	`esseh`
`vlaams`	`hk`	`hb`	`khk`	`bhb`

In German, there are similar name contractions for microtones as with normal pitches described above.

\language "deutsch"

\relative c'' { asah2 eh aih eisih }

Most languages presented here are commonly associated with Western classical music, also referred to as Common Practice Period. However, alternate pitches and tuning systems are also supported: see Common notation for non-Western music.

Note names in other languages

See also

LilyPond Notation Reference v2.25.15 (development-branch).