3.6. Notes and rests

Notes are the most common elements in the score. Rests can be considered as notes with no pitch, so in LDP notes and rests are instances of a more general concept: noterests. A noterest is either a note or a rest.

note                ::=   (n pitch duration [abbreviatedElements*] [noteOptions*]
                             [noterestOptions*] [staffObjOptions*] [attachment*])
rest                ::=   (r duration [abbreviatedElements*] [noterestOptions*]
                             [staffObjOptions*] [attachment*])
abbreviatedElements ::=  abbreviated elements 'tie' (l), 'beam' (g), 'staffNumber' (p),
                         'tuplet' (t) and 'voice' (v)
noteOptions         ::=   { tie | stem | slur | lyric }
noterestOptions     ::=   { beam | tuplet | timeModification | voice | octaveShift }
staffObjOptions     ::=  { staffNumber | printOptions }
printOptions        ::=  { visible | location | color }
pitch               ::=   label (see explanation)
duration            ::=   label (see explanation)

The minimum information required to represent a note is its pitch and its duration. For rests only their duration is needed:

(score (vers 2.0)(instrument (musicData
    (clef G)
    (n c4 q)    //a C4 quarter note (C of octave 4, the central C)
    (r q)       //a quarter rest
    (barline)
)))

After duration we can find old abbreviated elements: tie (l), beam (g), staffNumber (p) and voice (v) in any order.

3.6.1. Duration

Durations are written as a letter (from following table) followed by optional dots.

Letter	Duration
l	long (longa)
b	breve (double whole)
w	whole (semibreve)
h	half (minim)
q	quarter (crochet)
e	eighth, 8th (quaver)
s	sixteenth, 16th (semiquaver)
t	32th (demisemiquaver)
i	64th (hemidemisemiquaver)
o	128th (semihemidemisemiquaver)
f	256th (?)

Examples:

e..     double dotted eighth note
o       128th note
q.      dotted quarter note

3.6.2. Pitch

The pitch is represented by an string combining the note name (step), the octave and the accidentals:

pitch ::= string accidentals-step-octave

The step is a lower case letter that represents the diatonic step:

step ::= { c | d | e | f | g | a | b }

The octave is an integer number indicating the octave of the note, where octave 4 is the central one (a4 = 440Hz). All octaves start with note name c and ends in note name b, so note c4 is the c note just below the a4 note. Octaves range is 0 to 9.

Accidentals are represented by combinations of the signs plus (+), minus (-), equal (=) and the letter x (x). They represent, respectively, sharps, flats, naturals and the double sharp symbol. So, for example, ++ represents two sharps, x a double sharp, and =- represents a natural flat.

With all this, the pitch is just the combination of the previous signs. Examples:

(score (vers 2.0)(instrument (musicData
    (clef G)
    (n +c4 q)   //a sharp C4 quarter note (C of octave 4, the central C)
    (n --b3 h)  //a double flat B3 half note (B of octave 3, the B immediately below C4)
    (n xe4 e)   //a double sharp E4 eighth note
)))

Important

Accidentals are relative to the context. That is, you have to write only those accidentals that are not implied by the key signature or that are not implied by a previous accidental in the same measure. This is as if you were writing the notes on manuscript paper.

Therefore, in the following example:

(score (vers 2.0)(instrument (musicData
    (clef G)(key F)(n f4 q)(n b4 q)(barline)
)))

the quarter b4 note will be a flat b4, as it is in F major key, but no flat sign is displayed before the note, as it is in the key signature.

3.6.3. Stem

Stem direction and size will be automatically computed by the rendering program, according to usual engraving rules. Nevertheless, the stem of a note can be fully specified by using the stem element. It forces stem direction (values ‘up’, ‘down’) or suppresses the stem (value ‘none’); in this case, also the flag will be supressed and only the notehead will be rendered.

stem ::=  (stem { up | down | none })

Example:

(score (vers 2.0) (instrument (musicData
    (clef G)
    (n c4 q)
    (n c4 q (stem down))
    (n c5 q)
    (n c5 q (stem up))
    (barline)
)))

3.7. Selecting the staff

When an instrument has several staves (e.g. the upper and lower staves in a grand-staff) it is necessary to specify in which staff a note, rest, clef, or other object must be placed. For this purpose, a staffNumber element is used.

staffNumber ::=  (p num)

It can be abbreviated by omitting the parenthesis and joining the p and the number. Example: (p 2) is equivalent to p2.

The staves for each instrument are numbered from top to bottom, starting at staff 1. The staff number is inherited by all coming elements until a new p notation is found.

Example: a scale across two staves:

(score (vers 2.0)
    (instrument (staves 2)
        (musicData
            (clef G p1)(clef F p2)(key C)
            (n g3 w p2)(n a3 w)(n b3 w)(n c4 w)(n d4 w p1)(n e4 w)(n f4 w)(n g4 w)
            (barline end)
        )
    )
)

G clef is placed on first staff (p1) and F clef on second staff (p2). The key is common to all staves of the instrument so no staff is specified. First note (G3) is placed on second staff and consecutive notes inherits this, until note D4 for which first staff is specified (p1). Remaining notes inherits this.