About the Learning Manual
This book explains how to begin learning LilyPond, as well as
explaining some key concepts in easy terms. You should read these
chapters in a linear fashion.
There is a paragraph See also at the end of each section,
which contains cross-references to other sections: you should not
follow these cross-references at first reading; when you have read all
of the Learning Manual, you may want to read some sections again and
follow cross-references for further reading.
- Introduction: explains the background and overall goal of
LilyPond.
- Tutorial: gives a gentle introduction to typesetting music.
First time users should start here.
- Fundamental concepts: explains some general concepts about
the LilyPond file format. If you are not certain where to place a
command, read this chapter!
- Tweaking output: shows how to change the default engraving
that LilyPond produces.
- Working on LilyPond projects: discusses practical uses of
LilyPond and how to avoid some common problems. Read this before
undertaking large projects!
The Learning Manual also contains appendices which are not part of the
recommended linear reading. They may be useful for later
viewing:
- Templates: shows ready-made templates of LilyPond pieces.
Just cut and paste a template into a file, add notes, and you're
done!
- Scheme tutorial: presents a short introduction to Scheme,
the programming language that music functions use. This is
material for advanced tweaks; many users never touch Scheme at
all.
Other languages: français, español, deutsch.