Re: Basic questions about LilyPond.

[Michael Welsh Duggan]

"Michael Edwards" <address@hidden> writes:

>      Hallo, everyone - I'm new here.

Welcome.

>      I'm not a member of the list - at least not yet.  So I'm not
> even sure if this will get through, and whether I will be able to
> read any response on the web site archives.  (If not, I guess I'll
> have to join, then submit this message again.)
>      I'm considering whether to use LilyPond; but, because I have
> hard disk space problems and this is a very active list, I'm a bit
> hesitant to subscribe and receive lots of mail until I have an idea
> whether LilyPond will be suitable for me to use or not.  If I decide
> that it is, no doubt I will want to subscribe in due course, and
> discuss things a lot more.
>      In any case, I will need to do something about my space
> problems before starting to use any music notation program at all.
> While I'm about it, I should change operating systems, too, since I
> cannot live with Windows, long-term.
>      This is all bound up with the problem of choosing a music
> notation program, which has been plaguing me for several years.
> (Long story, which it would bore people to explain here.)  I am on
> the mailing lists for Sibelius, Score, Finale, and Igor Engraver -
> and for each of these, there seem to be reasons that make me
> hesitate to adopt that program.  Perhaps the most general of these
> reasons is that all are Windows or Macintosh programs, and I do not
> feel committed to using either of these systems long term, and have
> been considering whether to convert all or most of my computing
> activities to some version of Unix or Linux.  (I haven't done so
> yet, though, for a variety of reasons.)
>      So that is why, when LilyPond came to my attention and I found
> it to be Unix-based, I was interested.  Hitherto, I had not been
> aware of particular programs for Unix or Linux which I knew to be of
> good quality.
>

[...]

>
>      Maybe I have the ideal software in mind, which doesn't exist
> outside my own mind, and maybe I'd find significant problems with
> any existing software.  However, since it appears LilyPond is
> Unix-based, and doesn't have a graphical user interface (which I
> don't like much anyway), and I have read high praise for it, and am
> considering switching to Linux, it at least seems worth considering
> for my own use.
>
>      Could I please ask for any general opinions on the following
> questions?

Sure.  I'll throw in examples from the documentation where
appropriate.  (Some of the examples are in the middle of large pages
of text interspersed with images.  In some web browsers you may have
to wait for the images to load fully and click reload to actually
have it display the correct anchor.)

> 1.

>      Does LilyPond compare well in features with professional-level
> programs such as those I named above?  My composing style is not
> avant-garde, but does tend to occasionally use rather complex
> textures which require flexible solutions to notation problems.  So
> I definitely need to be able to notate the sort of complexity one
> might find in late-19th or early-20th century piano music.

Yes.  Peruse through
<URL:http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.2/input/test/out-www/collated-files.html>
for some good examples.

>      For instance: are devices such as polytonal key signatures in
> different staves, non-standard key signatures,

Yes, and see 
<URL:http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.2/input/regression/out-www/collated-files.html#key-signature-scordatura.ly>
 for examples of the latter.

> and different metres in different staves possible in LilyPond.

Here are examples of two different ways of doing this:
<URL:http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.2/input/test/out-www/collated-files.html#polymetric-differing-notes.ly>
<URL:http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.2/input/test/out-www/collated-files.html#polymetric.ly>

> 2.
>      I am a touch-typist and pianist, and thus efficient keyboard
> use of software is an important consideration to me.  I do not like
> software where I have to alternate my right hand often between the
> mouse and the keyboard; and I do not like any software that requires
> me to use the mouse hundreds of times per hour, and feel that it
> could cause hand damage (even more than the keyboard might).
>      So I would appreciate some opinions about how efficiently music
> can be entered on the computer keyboard without using the mouse at
> all, or at least not for often-repeated operations.

In my experience, much more efficiently, once you get used to the
syntax.  There is a bit of a learning curve, but well worth it,
IMHO.  One note: the default pitch name style is dutch, which is
easily changed

> 3.
>      If I adopt any music notation program, it will be used on a
> laptop computer, with its lack of a separate numeric keypad.  (While
> this can be simulated by toggling shift keys, this seems a clumsy
> procedure.)  Is LilyPond dependent on frequent use of a numeric
> keypad - like Sibelius is, for instance.  If so, can the
> configuration be altered to get around this.
>      In general, how configurable is LilyPond for different methods
> of usage?

There is no need for a numeric keypad at all, as everything is plain
text. 

> 4.
>      Playback of a score on the computer is of secondary importance
> to me, but I might as well know about this: so does LilyPond play
> back music?  Or is it strictly *notation* only.  Are the playback
> features (if they exist) quite advanced, or rather basic?  Do you
> need a lot of technical knowledge to get good playback.  (I know a
> lot about notation and music theory, but almost nothing about the
> use of audio on computers, and have limited interest in getting
> involved in complex technical matters.)

Lilypond can generate MIDI output, which can be played back with an
external program.  The MIDI output is not as mature as the engraved
output, but is improving, and is more than enough to audibly proof a
score.

In point of fact, MIDI output is often the desired end-product for
me, as I never learned to play the piano.  I enter the piano
accompaniment (and melody) to vocal scores and practice using the
MIDI output.  It is currently a goal of mine to improve the MIDI
output support, espcially with regard to tempo changes and
articulations.

>      If I get interested in LilyPond, no doubt I will come up with
> lots more questions.  Perhaps that will do for a start, though.

Please make sure you read the web pages at www.lilypond.org.  The
documention for lilypond is extremely extensive, with lots of
examples.

>      I would be grateful for any opinions anyone can offer on these
> questions.  Thanks.

One other point I should make, Han-wen and Jan do a remarkable job of
being prompt with bugfixes, and are always looking for ways to improve
the software.  Feature suggestions have a habit of appearing in
future versions of the software extremely quickly.  Please metion on
the lists any problems you have, and any suggestions you might have.

-- 
Michael Welsh Duggan
(address@hidden)