lilypond-learning: Pitches
Pitches
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DONTPRINTYET Music Glossary: 
(music-glossary)pitch, *noteDONTPRINTYET DONTPRINTYET Music Glossary: (music-glossary)pitch,
(music-glossary)interval, (music-glossary)scale, *noteDONTPRINTYET DONTPRINTYET DONTPRINTYET Music Glossary: (music-glossary)pitch,
(music-glossary)interval, (music-glossary)scale,
(music-glossary)middle C, (music-glossary)octave, *noteDONTPRINTYET DONTPRINTYET DONTPRINTYET Music Glossary: (music-glossary)pitch,
(music-glossary)interval, (music-glossary)scale,
(music-glossary)middle C, (music-glossary)octave,
(music-glossary)accidental.
The easiest way to enter notes is by using ‘\relative’ mode. In this
mode, the octave is chosen automatically by assuming the following note
is always to be placed closest to the previous note, i.e., it is to be
placed in the octave which is within three staff spaces of the previous
note. We begin by entering the most elementary piece of music, a scale,
in which every note is within just one staff space of the previous note.
% set the starting point to middle C
\relative c' {
c d e f
g a b c
}
[image src="" alt="[image of music]" text="image of music" ]
The initial note is middle C. Each successive note is placed closest
to the previous note – in other words, the first ‘c’ is the closest C to
middle C. This is followed by the closest D to the previous note. We
can create melodies which have larger intervals, still using only
‘\relative’ mode:
\relative c' {
d f a g
c b f d
}
[image src="" alt="[image of music]" text="image of music" ]
It is not necessary for the first note of the melody to start on the
note which specifies the starting pitch. In the previous example, the
first note – the ‘d’ – is the closest D to middle C.
By adding (or removing) quotes ‘'’ or commas ‘,’ from the
‘‘\relative c'’’ command, we can change the starting octave:
% one octave above middle C
\relative c'' {
e c a c
}
[image src="" alt="[image of music]" text="image of music" ]
Relative mode can be confusing initially, but is the easiest way to
enter most melodies. Let us see how this relative calculation works in
practice. Starting from a B, which is on the middle line in a treble
clef, you can reach a C, D and E within 3 staff spaces going up, and an
A, G and F within 3 staff spaces going down. So if the note following a
B is a C, D or E it will be assumed to be above the B, and an A, G or F
will be assumed to be below.
\relative c'' {
b c % c is 1 staff space up, so is the c above
b d % d is 2 up or 5 down, so is the d above
b e % e is 3 up or 4 down, so is the e above
b a % a is 6 up or 1 down, so is the a below
b g % g is 5 up or 2 down, so is the g below
b f % f is 4 up or 3 down, so is the f below
}
[image src="" alt="[image of music]" text="image of music" ]
Exactly the same happens even when any of these notes are sharpened
or flattened. Accidentals are *totally ignored* in the calculation of
relative position. Precisely the same staff space counting is done from
a note at any other position on the staff.
To add intervals that are larger than three staff spaces, we can
raise the octave by adding a single quote ‘'’ (or apostrophe) to the
note name. We can lower the octave by adding a comma ‘,’ to the note
name.
\relative c'' {
a a, c' f,
g g'' a,, f'
}
[image src="" alt="[image of music]" text="image of music" ]
To change a note by two (or more!) octaves, we use multiple ‘''’ or
‘,,’ – but be careful that you use two single quotes ‘''’ and not one
double quote ‘"’ !
Info Catalog
lilypond-learning: Simple notation
lilypond-learning: Durations (rhythms)