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24.3 The MIDI block
To create a MIDI output file from a LilyPond input file, insert a
\midi block, which can be empty, within the \score
block.9
\score {
… music …
\layout { }
\midi { }
}
Note: A \score block that contains music and a
\midi block but no \layout block produces a
MIDI output file only. No notation gets printed.
A \midi block at the top level can be used to change
MIDI settings globally; however, the generation of an actual MIDI
file only happens when a \midi block is part of a
\score block.
Similarly, a \layout block at the top level affects
layout settings globally but does not influence whether printed
output is produced or not.
The default output file extension (.midi) can be changed by using
the -dmidi-extension option with the lilypond command:
lilypond -dmidi-extension=mid MyFile.ly
Alternatively, add the following Scheme expression before the start of
either the \book, \bookpart or \score blocks. See
File structure.
#(ly:set-option 'midi-extension "mid")
See also
Notation Reference: File structure, Creating output file metadata.
Installed Files: scm/midi.scm.
Known issues and warnings
There are fifteen MIDI channels available and one additional channel (#10) for drums. Staves are assigned to channels in sequence, so a score that contains more than fifteen staves will result in the extra staves sharing (but not overwriting) the same MIDI channel. This may be a problem if the sharing staves have conflicting, channel-based, MIDI properties – such as different MIDI instruments – set.
Footnotes
(9)
Note that there also exists a markup command
called \score that doesn’t produce MIDI output, even if a
\midi block is present. See Scores within markup.
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