4.1.2 Pitches

The most common syntax for pitch entry is used in \chords and \notes mode. In Note and Chord mode, pitches may be designated by names. The notes are specified by the letters a through g, while the octave is formed with notes ranging from c to b. The pitch c is an octave below middle C and the letters span the octave above that C:

     \clef bass
       a,4 b, c d e f g a b c' d' e' \clef treble f' g' a' b' c''

A sharp is formed by adding -is to the end of a pitch name and a flat is formed by adding -es. Double sharps and double flats are obtained by adding -isis or -eses. These names are the Dutch note names. In Dutch, aes is contracted to as, but both forms are accepted. Similarly, both es and ees are accepted.

Half-flats and half-sharps are formed by adding -eh and -ih; the following is a series of Cs with increasing pitches:

       ceses4
       ceseh
       ces
       ceh
       c
       cih
       cis
       cisih
       cisis

There are predefined sets of note names for various other languages. To use them, include the language specific init file. For example: \include "english.ly". The available language files and the note names they define are:

                             Note Names               sharp       flat
     nederlands.ly  c   d   e   f   g   a   bes b   -is         -es
     english.ly     c   d   e   f   g   a   bf  b   -s/-sharp   -f/-flat
                                                    -x (double)
     deutsch.ly     c   d   e   f   g   a   b   h   -is         -es
     norsk.ly       c   d   e   f   g   a   b   h   -iss/-is    -ess/-es
     svenska.ly     c   d   e   f   g   a   b   h   -iss        -ess
     italiano.ly    do  re  mi  fa  sol la  sib si  -d          -b
     catalan.ly     do  re  mi  fa  sol la  sib si  -d/-s       -b
     espanol.ly     do  re  mi  fa  sol la  sib si  -s          -b
     

The optional octave specification takes the form of a series of single quote (`'') characters or a series of comma (`,') characters. Each ' raises the pitch by one octave; each , lowers the pitch by an octave:

       c' c'' es' g' as' gisis' ais'

Predefined commands

Notes can be hidden and unhidden with the following commands:

\hideNotes, \unHideNotes.

See also

bla

NoteEvent (lilypond-internals), and NoteHead (lilypond-internals).

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