path: root/2020/subtitles/emacsconf-2020--04-music-in-plain-text--jonathan-gregory.sbv

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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.