1.1.1 Writing pitches

This section discusses how to input pitches. There are two different ways to place notes in octaves: absolute and relative mode. In most cases, relative mode will be more convenient.


Absolute octave entry

A pitch name is specified using lowercase letters a through g. The note names c to b are engraved in the octave below middle C.

{
  \clef bass
  c4 d e f
  g4 a b c
  d4 e f g
}

[image of music]

Other octaves may be specified with a single quote (') or comma (,) character. Each ' raises the pitch by one octave; each , lowers the pitch by an octave.

{
  \clef treble
  c'4 e' g' c''
  c'4 g b c'
  \clef bass
  c,4 e, g, c
  c,4 g,, b,, c,
}

[image of music]

Common octave marks can be entered just once on a reference pitch after \fixed placed before the music. Pitches inside \fixed only need ' or , marks when they are above or below the octave of the reference pitch.

{
  \fixed c' {
    \clef treble
    c4 e g c'
    c4 g, b, c
  }
  \clef bass
  \fixed c, {
    c4 e g c'
    c4 g, b, c
  }
}

[image of music]

Pitches in the music expression following \fixed are unaffected by any enclosing \relative, discussed next.

See also

Music Glossary: Pitch names.

Snippets: Pitches.


Relative octave entry

Absolute octave entry requires specifying the octave for every single note. Relative octave entry, in contrast, specifies each octave in relation to the last note: changing one note’s octave will affect all of the following notes.

Relative note mode has to be entered explicitly using the \relative command:

\relative startpitch musicexpr

In relative mode, each note is assumed to be as close to the previous note as possible. This means that the octave of each pitch inside musicexpr is calculated as follows:

Here is the relative mode shown in action:

\relative {
  \clef bass
  c d e f
  g a b c
  d e f g
}

[image of music]

Octave changing marks are used for intervals greater than a fourth:

\relative {
  c'' g c f,
  c' a, e'' c
}

[image of music]

A note sequence without a single octave mark can nevertheless span large intervals:

\relative {
  c f b e
  a d g c
}

[image of music]

When \relative blocks are nested, the innermost \relative block starts with its own reference pitch independently of the outer \relative.

\relative {
  c' d e f
  \relative {
    c'' d e f
  }
}

[image of music]

\relative has no effect on \chordmode blocks.

\new Staff {
  \relative c''' {
    \chordmode { c1 }
  }
  \chordmode { c1 }
}

[image of music]

\relative is not allowed inside of \chordmode blocks.

Music inside a \transpose block is absolute unless a \relative is included.

\relative {
  d' e
  \transpose f g {
    d e
    \relative {
      d' e
    }
  }
}

[image of music]

If the preceding item is a chord, the first note of the chord is used as the reference point for the octave placement of a following note or chord. Inside chords, the next note is always relative to the preceding one. Examine the next example carefully, paying attention to the c notes.

\relative {
  c'
  <c e g>
  <c' e g'>
  <c, e, g''>
}

[image of music]

As explained above, the octave of pitches is calculated only with the note names, regardless of any alterations. Therefore, an E-double-sharp following a B will be placed higher, while an F-double-flat will be placed lower. In other words, a double-augmented fourth is considered a smaller interval than a double-diminished fifth, regardless of the number of semitones that each interval contains.

\relative {
  c''2 fis
  c2 ges
  b2 eisis
  b2 feses
}

[image of music]

In complex situations, it is sometimes useful to get back to a certain pitch regardless of what happened before. This can be done using \resetRelativeOctave:

\relative {
  <<
    { c''2 d }
    \\
    { e,,2 f }
  >>
  \resetRelativeOctave c''
  c2
}

[image of music]

See also

Music Glossary: fifth, interval, Pitch names.

Notation Reference: Octave checks.

Snippets: Pitches.

Internals Reference: RelativeOctaveMusic.


Accidentals

Note: New users are sometimes confused about accidentals and key signatures. In LilyPond, note names specify pitches; key signatures and clefs determine how these pitches are displayed. An unaltered note like c means ‘C natural’, regardless of the key signature or clef. For more information, see Pitches and key signatures.

A sharp pitch is made by adding is to the note name, and a flat pitch by adding es. As you might expect, a double sharp or double flat is made by adding isis or eses. This syntax is derived from Dutch note naming conventions. To use other names for accidentals, see Note names in other languages.

\relative c'' { ais1 aes aisis aeses }

[image of music]

A natural pitch is entered as a simple note name; no suffix is required. A natural sign will be printed when needed to cancel the effect of an earlier accidental or key signature.

\relative c'' { a4 aes a2 }

[image of music]

Quarter tones may be added; the following is a series of Cs with increasing pitches:

\relative c'' { ceseh1 ces ceh c cih cis cisih }

[image of music]

Normally accidentals are printed automatically, but you may also print them manually. A reminder accidental can be forced by adding an exclamation mark ! after the pitch. A cautionary accidental (i.e., an accidental within parentheses) can be obtained by adding the question mark ? after the pitch.

\relative c'' { cis cis cis! cis? c c c! c? }

[image of music]

Accidentals on tied notes are only printed at the beginning of a new system:

\relative c'' {
  cis1~ 1~
  \break
  cis
}

[image of music]

Selected Snippets

Hiding accidentals on tied notes at the start of a new system

This shows how to hide accidentals on tied notes at the start of a new system.

\relative c'' {
  \override Accidental.hide-tied-accidental-after-break = ##t
  cis1~ cis~
  \break
  cis
}

[image of music]

Preventing extra naturals from being automatically added

In accordance with traditional typesetting rules, a natural sign is printed before a sharp or flat if a previous double sharp or flat on the same note is canceled. To change this behavior to contemporary practice, set the extraNatural property to f in the Staff context.

\relative c'' {
  aeses4 aes ais a
  \set Staff.extraNatural = ##f
  aeses4 aes ais a
}

[image of music]

See also

Music Glossary: sharp, flat, double sharp, double flat, Pitch names, quarter tone.

Learning Manual: Pitches and key signatures.

Notation Reference: Automatic accidentals, Annotational accidentals (musica ficta), Note names in other languages.

Snippets: Pitches.

Internals Reference: Accidental_engraver, Accidental, AccidentalCautionary, accidental-interface.

Known issues and warnings

There are no generally accepted standards for denoting quarter tone accidentals, so LilyPond’s symbols do not conform to any standard.


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
}

[image of music]

The available languages and the note names they define are:

LanguageNote Names
nederlandsc d e f g a bes b
català or
 catalan
do re mi fa sol la sib si
deutschc d e f g a b h
englishc d e f g a bf/b-flat b
español or
 espanol
do re mi fa sol la sib si
françaisdo /re mi fa sol la sib si
italianodo re mi fa sol la sib si
norskc d e f g a b h
português or
 portugues
do re mi fa sol la sib si
suomic d e f g a b h
svenskac d e f g a b h
vlaamsdo re mi fa sol la sib si

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

Languagesharpflatdouble sharpdouble flat
nederlandsisesisiseses
català or
 catalan
d/sbdd/ssbb
deutschisesisiseses
englishs/-sharpf/-flatss/x/-sharpsharpff/-flatflat
español or
 espanol
sbss/xbb
françaisdbdd/xbb
italianodbddbb
norskiss/isess/esississ/isisessess/eses
português or
 portugues
sbssbb
suomiisesisiseses
svenskaissessississessess
vlaamskbkkbb

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 }

[image of music]

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’.

Languagesemi-sharpsemi-flatsesqui-sharpsesqui-flat
nederlandsihehisiheseh
català or
 catalan
qd/qsqbtqd/tqstqb
deutschihehisiheseh
englishqsqftqstqf
español or
 espanol
cscbtcstcb
françaissdsbdsdbsb
italianosdsbdsdbsb
norskihehissih/isihesseh/eseh
português or
 portugues
sqtbqtstqtbtqt
suomiihehisiheseh
svenskaihehissihesseh
vlaamshkhbkhkbhb

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

\language "deutsch"

\relative c'' { asah2 eh aih eisih }

[image of music]

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.

See also

Music Glossary: Pitch names, Common Practice Period.

Notation Reference: Common notation for non-Western music.

Installed Files: ‘scm/define-note-names.scm’.

Snippets: Pitches.


LilyPond — Notation Reference v2.23.82 (development-branch).