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Hello, everyone, and welcome to the EmacsConf.
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I am Jonathan. In this talk I'm going
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to demonstrate ways of producing sheet
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music in Emacs
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using Lilypond, and maybe also convince
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you to use Emacs for writing your scores.
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I'll start with an overview of the
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syntax for those who are new to using
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text-based notation
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as a shallow dive into the deep pond of
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lilies and Lilypond,
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and move on to showcase some of its
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functionalities using Org Mode
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and lilypond-mode. One disclaimer,
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however: I am not a Lilypond developer.
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So what is Lilypond? Lilypond is
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a file format and music engraving system
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for producing high-quality sheet music.
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It translates textual representations of
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music to graphical objects.
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It's similar to LaTeX in that its
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input format describes the visual
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layouts of the score,
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using commands to define musical
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expressions.
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Commands begin with a backslash.
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For example,
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the formatter command, as shown on the
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left, yields its graphical equivalents on
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the right,
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the fermata symbol over the low B and
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so on and so forth.
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It's also fully extensible, like Emacs,
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allowing users to extend
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and override Lilypond's functionalities
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using the Scheme
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scripting language. It can be used for
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early and contemporary music
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tablature, vocal music lead sheets,
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and so on.
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Above all, it works with Emacs.
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In fact,
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Lilypond ships with Emacs Lisp libraries,
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including a major mode for editing
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Lilypond files.
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So the input files are similar to
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source files.
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They contain expressions formed with
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curly braces,
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comments that start with the percent
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sign, and the code is indented.
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Notes are entered using lowercase
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letters, and rests with the letter r.
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In this case, the lowercase r or r4
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is the equivalence of a crotchet or
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quarter note rest.
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Durations are entered using numbers and
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dots after the note name.
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If you do not specify one, the previous
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duration is used.
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You can also tie notes together using
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the tilde symbol (~).
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In fact, you can input chords, lyrics,
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embellishments, and a lot more.
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I encourage you to read the manual for
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more information.
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Now let's switch to a terminal window.
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with Lilypond installed, let's create
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a test file with the extension
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.ly and open it in Emacs.
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At the top of the file is the version
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statement, which tells Lilypond which
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version to use when compiling the file.
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Here I'm using version 2.20.0.
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I've added the clef and time signature.
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Let's add some notes.
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I'm going to close this now and
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compile the file by running
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lilypond followed by the file name.
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So now let's view the output.
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Okay. So here's a more complex example
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for randomizing note sequences.
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The idea is to create new reading
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materials each time the code blocks are
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evaluated.
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As usual, we begin with a header.
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I've added the title
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and composer. Then we add the note
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sequences to use in the composition.
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In this case, sn is a note name just like
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a b c d and so on, and stands for snare drum,
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the percussion instruments.
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Now here's a function that's going to
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shuffle the notes in the table.
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Finally, we expand the notes inside
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the Lilypond source block.
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So whatever the function returns is
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expanded inside the drums block.
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Now let's press C-c C-c to view
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the results.
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Okay. And if I run this again, it should
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create a new composition.
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Great. You can also audition a piece
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using the midi command,
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which creates a midi file of the score.
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Note also that the ob library--
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sorry, the ob-lilypond library comes
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with two modes.
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The one I'm using now is called
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arrange mode
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and is useful for assembling
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complete scores.
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The basic mode on the other hand allows
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you to mix text and music
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by embedding Lilypond snippets and
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export them using typical Org Mode
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commands.
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Now to demonstrate the basic mode in
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action. I'm going to export this document
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to a PDF file.
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In this case, the
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:file header argument is required, so you
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have to provide one
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and include the file name.
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Again, you can run the code and view
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the results.
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Here it is. So now let's
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export this to a PDF file.
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And here it is, what it generates.
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Now I'm going to show you the workflow I
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used to produce music books in Emacs,
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combining Lilypond and LaTeX for a
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perfect marriage.
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I begin by sketching the first draft of the
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manuscript using pencil and paper.
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Then I move to Emacs to input the notes
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in a git repository.
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This is a typical source file. It begins
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with a stylesheet
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where I set variables and layout
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settings, although in general, there's no
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need for tweaking the layout
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unless you have specific requirements to
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do so.
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The easiest way to compile the file from
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Emacs is by pressing C-c C-l,
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so let's do this now,
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and the compilation buffer will tell you
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if there were any errors in the file.
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Now to automate the process of compiling
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several files and building the PDF,
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I use GNU Make, so all I have to do is
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open the shell
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and run the make command. Don't worry,
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I'll provide a link to the source code
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on the last slide.
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As I moved forward with the project, I
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found at least two things missing.
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One, I had no access to a metronome,
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at least not from the editor,
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so I built one for casual use and made
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it available in the MELPA repository.
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I also missed bar numbers in the source file.
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This is useful when going back and forth
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between input and output files without
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getting lost.
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So I wrote a command for toggling bar
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numbers, which I hope you can see on the left.
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Also, some expressions are difficult or
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slow to write on the keyboard--
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accents and tuplets, for example--so I use
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template expansion extensively for this purpose,
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mainly ya-snippet.
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So what do I think? Well, I think
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Lilypond can be a sharp paradigm shift
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for people used to GUI alternatives, but
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the results are impressive.
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You don't have to dive too deeply to
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start using Lilypond.
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Likewise, the ability to extend the
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software, I think, is especially appealing
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for music professionals,
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enthusiasts, composers, and the academic
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community:
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for example, allowing users to create
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alternative notation systems required in
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non-Western music traditions
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and other non-conventional requirements.
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Also, Lilypond and Emacs both have
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extensive and well-written manuals
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and active communities of users.
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But if you're still not sure where to
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start and when to wedge your feet in the deep
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but warm pond of lilies, Lilypond, and
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Lilypond users,
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I invite you to contribute to my
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Lilypond projects,
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which you can do so from the links on
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the screen.
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So, thank you all. I look forward to your
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comments, and I hope you enjoy the rest
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of the conference.
