On 12/04, Werner LEMBERG wrote: > > Folks, > > > the music engraving conference in Salzburg (January 17.-19.) aims to > present as much note engraving programs as possible. While some > companies send representatives (e.g., Dorico, Capella, Finale) – some > even with talks – we don't have something similar for LilyPond in the > main part of the conference. > > Instead, we would like to have a poster (in A0 format) that shows how > LilyPond works, together with some showcase results. > > Now my question: Are there people who are willing to produce such a > poster? Has anyone already done something similar for other > conferences? > > > Werner
I don't have the time/skill to make a poster right now, but here are my first thoughts about some things which might be good to include. In no particular order: (1) Mention Frescobaldi, and include a screenshot which exposes the playback functionality. While Frescobaldi is not the only way to use Lilypond, seeing a GUI and playback bar will likely be comforting to people used to graphical notational software who are intimidated by the idea of working with straight text files. (2) Show off things which are easier in Lilypond than in graphical notation software. Some things which come to mind are * quarter tones * \cadenzaOn and \cadenzaOff * per-staff meters * percussion input (3) Keep Lilypond code snippets simple. Focus on one thing per snippet. (For example, don't use any accidentals, except for a snippet demonstrating accidentals and quarter tone accidentals and nothing else.) Lilypond's syntax often consists of English words and musical terms. Try to stick to code that an English-speaking musician could parse without any familiarity with Lilypond. (4) If the text of the poster is in English, use English note names. If the text of the poster is not in English, I am on the fence as to whether it would be better to use note names consistent with the language of the poster, or to use English note names in order to be consistent with the language of Lilypond's syntax. Or perhaps have only one example using accidentals at all, and demonstrate in multiple languages. (5) Emphasize the high quality of Lilypond's default output, pre-tweaking. Lilypond takes longer to learn than graphical notation software, but it makes up for that in the long run by requiring far less manual tweaking. I rarely have to manually tweak anything other than slurs. This also makes Lilypond more robust against layout changes, which when I used Sibelius always came with the risk of ruining my score and requiring hours of cleanup. (6) Show off a simple macro example. Another time-saving feature of Lilypond is the ability define a specific set of instructions once and apply it multiple times. Back when I used Sibelius, I had a several-step process, which involved disabling and renabling magnetic layout and alternating between Ctrl+Up/Down and Up/Down, plus several clicks, in order to create an acceptable glissando, and I use a *lot* of glissandi in my music. Doing this over and over again wasted countless hours of my life. I'm sure many other composers/engravers have their own tedious workarounds that they would automate with a macro if they could. (7) Also show off some fancy, Ferneyhough-esque or otherwise specialist examples, perhaps including some of the wackier stuff from the LSR, http://lsr.di.unimi.it/LSR/Item?id=1007 but without the Lilypond source code, in order to demonstrate what Lilypond is capable of without overwhelming people with too much code. Only include enough code on the poster to demystify how Lilypond is actually used. (8) As free software, Lilypond does not require a subscription or a EULA or any other loss of autonomy over the ability to access your work now or in the future. Moreover, Lilypond files are human readable/editable without even having a copy of Lilypond. Both are advantages in terms of long-term sustainability and preservation. (9) Include some of the information from here, http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.18/Documentation/essay-big-page#engraving-details in order to show off Lilypond's attention to detail. (10) The ability to use LyLuaTex, Edition-Engraver, and version control also come to mind as huge advantages of using Lilypond, but they might be too much to explain briefly on a poster. (11) Even without the knowledge of scheme needed to extend Lilypond yourself, someone the mailing list can often provide an include snippet to achieve what you want. Good luck convincing AVID to implement a new feature just for your unique use case. The helpfulness of Lilypond's community might be something to mention on the poster. (12) Describe some ways in which Lilypond has been used in large projects. Some of Urs's work comes to mind. MediaWiki/Wikipedia integration might also be something to mention. https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Score (13) Include one full page of a complex and highly-polished score. I'll let you know if I think of anything else. I wish I could help a little more directly, but I'm in the middle of a few very busy weeks. I would like to be involved in some way next year. Best, Mason
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