LilyPond Notation Reference: A.16 Available music functions

## A.16 Available music functions

`acciaccatura` - music (music)

  Create an acciaccatura from the following music expression

`addChordShape` - key-symbol (symbol) tuning (pair) shape-definition (string or pair)

  Add chord shape shape-definition to the chord-shape-table hash with the key (cons key-symbol tuning).

`addInstrumentDefinition` - name (string) lst (list)

  Create instrument name with properties list.

`addQuote` - name (string) music (music)

  Define music as a quotable music expression named name

`afterGrace` - main (music) grace (music)

  Create grace note(s) after a main music expression.

`allowPageTurn`

  Allow a page turn. May be used at toplevel (ie between scores or markups), or inside a score.

`applyContext` - proc (procedure)

  Modify context properties with Scheme procedure proc.

`applyMusic` - func (procedure) music (music)

  Apply procedure func to music.

`applyOutput` - ctx (symbol) proc (procedure)

  Apply function `proc` to every layout object in context `ctx`

`appoggiatura` - music (music)

  Create an appoggiatura from music

`assertBeamQuant` - l (pair) r (pair)

  Testing function: check whether the beam quants l and r are correct

`assertBeamSlope` - comp (procedure)

  Testing function: check whether the slope of the beam is the same as `comp`

`autochange` - music (music)

  Make voices that switch between staves automatically

`balloonGrobText` - grob-name (symbol) offset (pair of numbers) text (markup)

  Attach text to grob-name at offset offset (use like `\once`)

`balloonText` - offset (pair of numbers) text (markup)

  Attach text at offset (use like `\tweak`)

`bar` - type (string)

  Insert a bar line of type type

`barNumberCheck` - n (integer)

  Print a warning if the current bar number is not n.

`bendAfter` - delta (real number)

  Create a fall or doit of pitch interval delta.

`bookOutputName` - newfilename (string)

  Direct output for the current book block to newfilename.

`bookOutputSuffix` - newsuffix (string)

  Set the output filename suffix for the current book block to newsuffix.

`breathe`

  Insert a breath mark.

`chordGlissando` - mus1 (music) mus2 (music)

  Make a glissando between the notes of triads `mus1` and `mus2`.

`clef` - type (string)

  Set the current clef to type.

`compoundMeter` - args (pair)

  Create compound time signatures. The argument is a Scheme list of lists. Each list describes one fraction, with the last entry being the denominator, while the first entries describe the summands in the enumerator. If the time signature consists of just one fraction, the list can be given directly, i.e. not as a list containing a single list. For example, a time signature of (3+1)/8 + 2/4 would be created as `\compoundMeter #'((3 1 8) (2 4))`, and a time signature of (3+2)/8 as `\compoundMeter #'((3 2 8))` or shorter `\compoundMeter #'(3 2 8)`.

`contextStringTuning` - tuning (symbol) chord (music)

  (undocumented; fixme)

`cueClef` - type (string)

  Set the current cue clef to type.

`cueClefUnset`

  Unset the current cue clef.

`cueDuring` - what (string) dir (direction) main-music (music)

  Insert contents of quote what corresponding to main-music, in a CueVoice oriented by dir.

`cueDuringWithClef` - what (string) dir (direction) clef (string) main-music (music)

  Insert contents of quote what corresponding to main-music, in a CueVoice oriented by dir.

`deadNote` - note (music)

  Print note with a cross-shaped note head.

`defaultNoteHeads`

  Revert to the default note head style.

`displayLilyMusic` - music (music)

  Display the LilyPond input representation of music to the console.

`displayMusic` - music (music)

  Display the internal representation of music to the console.

`endSpanners` - music (music)

  Terminate the next spanner prematurely after exactly one note without the need of a specific end spanner.

`featherDurations` - factor (moment) argument (music)

  Adjust durations of music in argument by rational factor.

`footnote` - offset (pair of numbers) text (markup) footnote (markup)

  Attach text at offset with text referring to footnote (use like `\tweak`)

`footnoteGrob` - grob-name (symbol) offset (pair of numbers) text (markup) footnote (markup)

  Attach text to grob-name at offset offset, with text referring to footnote (use like `\once`)

`grace` - music (music)

  Insert music as grace notes.

`harmonicByFret` - fret (number) music (music)

  (undocumented; fixme)

`harmonicByRatio` - ratio (number) music (music)

  (undocumented; fixme)

`harmonicNote` - note (music)

  Print note with a diamond-shaped note head.

`harmonicsOn`

  Set the default note head style to a diamond-shaped style.

`instrumentSwitch` - name (string)

  Switch instrument to name, which must be predefined with `\addInstrumentDefinition`.

`inversion` - around (music) to (music) music (music)

  Invert music about around and transpose from around to to.

`keepWithTag` - tag (symbol) music (music)

  Include only elements of music that are tagged with tag.

`killCues` - music (music)

  Remove cue notes from music.

`label` - label (symbol)

  Create label as a bookmarking label.

`language` - language (string)

  Set note names for language language.

`languageRestore`

  Restore a previously-saved pitchnames alist.

`languageSaveAndChange` - language (string)

  Store the previous pitchnames alist, and set a new one.

`makeClusters` - arg (music)

  Display chords in arg as clusters.

`makeDefaultStringTunings` - default-tuning-alist (list)

  (undocumented; fixme)

`makeStringTuning` - tuning (symbol) chord (music)

  (undocumented; fixme)

`modalInversion` - around (music) to (music) scale (music) music (music)

  Invert music about around using scale and transpose from around to to.

`modalTranspose` - from (music) to (music) scale (music) music (music)

  Transpose music from pitch from to pitch to using scale.

`musicMap` - proc (procedure) mus (music)

  Apply proc to mus and all of the music it contains.

`noPageBreak`

  Forbid a page break. May be used at toplevel (i.e., between scores or markups), or inside a score.

`noPageTurn`

  Forbid a page turn. May be used at toplevel (i.e., between scores or markups), or inside a score.

`octaveCheck` - pitch-note (music)

  Octave check.

`ottava` - octave (integer)

  Set the octavation.

`overrideProperty` - name (string) property (symbol) value (any type)

  Set property to value in all grobs named name. The name argument is a string of the form `"Context.GrobName"` or `"GrobName"`.

`overrideTimeSignatureSettings` - time-signature (pair) base-moment (pair) beat-structure (list) beam-exceptions (list)

  Override `timeSignatureSettings` for time signatures of time-signature to have settings of base-moment, beat-structure, and beam-exceptions.

`pageBreak`

  Force a page break. May be used at toplevel (i.e., between scores or markups), or inside a score.

`pageTurn`

  Force a page turn between two scores or top-level markups.

`palmMute` - note (music)

  Print note with a triangle-shaped note head.

`palmMuteOn`

  Set the default note head style to a triangle-shaped style.

`parallelMusic` - voice-ids (list) music (music)

  Define parallel music sequences, separated by ’|’ (bar check signs), and assign them to the identifiers provided in voice-ids.

  voice-ids: a list of music identifiers (symbols containing only letters)

  music: a music sequence, containing BarChecks as limiting expressions.

  Example:

        \parallelMusic #'(A B C) {
          c c | d d | e e |
          d d | e e | f f |
        }
      <==>
        A = { c c | d d | }
        B = { d d | e e | }
        C = { e e | f f | }

`parenthesize` - arg (music)

  Tag arg to be parenthesized.

`partcombine` - part1 (music) part2 (music)

  Take the music in part1 and part2 and typeset so that they share a staff.

`partcombineForce` - type (symbol-or-boolean) once (boolean)

  Override the part-combiner.

`phrasingSlurDashPattern` - dash-fraction (number) dash-period (number)

  Set up a custom style of dash pattern for dash-fraction ratio of line to space repeated at dash-period interval.

`pitchedTrill` - main-note (music) secondary-note (music)

  Print a trill with main-note as the main note of the trill and print secondary-note as a stemless note head in parentheses.

`pointAndClickOff`

  Suppress generating extra code in final-format (e.g. pdf) files to point back to the lilypond source statement.

`pointAndClickOn`

  Enable generation of code in final-format (e.g. pdf) files to reference the originating lilypond source statement; this is helpful when developing a score but generates bigger final-format files.

`quoteDuring` - what (string) main-music (music)

  Indicate a section of music to be quoted. what indicates the name of the quoted voice, as specified in an `\addQuote` command. main-music is used to indicate the length of music to be quoted; usually contains spacers or multi-measure rests.

`removeWithTag` - tag (symbol) music (music)

  Remove elements of music that are tagged with tag.

`resetRelativeOctave` - reference-note (music)

  Set the octave inside a \relative section.

`retrograde` - music (music)

  Return music in reverse order.

`revertTimeSignatureSettings` - time-signature (pair)

  Revert `timeSignatureSettings` for time signatures of time-signature.

`rightHandFinger` - finger (number or string)

  Apply finger as a fingering indication.

`scaleDurations` - fraction (pair of numbers) music (music)

  Multiply the duration of events in music by fraction.

`shiftDurations` - dur (integer) dots (integer) arg (music)

  Scale arg up by a factor of 2^dur*(2-(1/2)^dots).

`slurDashPattern` - dash-fraction (number) dash-period (number)

  (undocumented; fixme)

`spacingTweaks` - parameters (list)

  Set the system stretch, by reading the ’system-stretch property of the ‘parameters’ assoc list.

`storePredefinedDiagram` - fretboard-table (hash table) chord (music) tuning (pair) diagram-definition (string or pair)

  Add predefined fret diagram defined by diagram-definition for the chord pitches chord and the stringTuning tuning.

`styledNoteHeads` - style (symbol) heads (list or symbol) music (music)

  Set heads in music to style.

`tabChordRepetition`

  Include the string information in a chord repetition.

`tag` - tag (symbol) arg (music)

  Add tag to the `tags` property of arg.

`tieDashPattern` - dash-fraction (number) dash-period (number)

  (undocumented; fixme)

`tocItem` - text (markup)

  Add a line to the table of content, using the `tocItemMarkup` paper variable markup

`transposedCueDuring` - what (string) dir (direction) pitch-note (music) main-music (music)

  Insert notes from the part what into a voice called `cue`, using the transposition defined by pitch-note. This happens simultaneously with main-music, which is usually a rest. The argument dir determines whether the cue notes should be notated as a first or second voice.

`transposition` - pitch-note (music)

  Set instrument transposition

`tweak` - sym (symbol) val (any type) arg (music)

  Add `sym . val` to the `tweaks` property of arg.

`unfoldRepeats` - music (music)

  Force any `\repeat volta`, `\repeat tremolo` or `\repeat percent` commands in music to be interpreted as `\repeat unfold`.

`withMusicProperty` - sym (symbol) val (any type) music (music)

  Set sym to val in music.

`xNote` - note (music)

  Print note with a cross-shaped note head.

`xNotesOn`

  Set the default note head style to a cross-shaped style.

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#### LilyPond — Notation Reference