Re: Feature request

[Mats Bengtsson]

> A few questions about the best music typesetting program I've seen.
> 
> 1.
> Would it be possible to create full support for MIDI output, so that 
> Lilypond could be used as a professional MIDI sequencer (I personally  find 
> this the best way to use Lilypond). The manuals say that MIDI output is not 
> quite fancy, lacking many features that MIDI would provide.

If you know some C++, you are welcome to improve the MIDI 
output. I think this falls fairly low on the priority list
of the main developers.

> 2.
> I have problems with /repeat commands. As "/repeat volta" does not affect to 
> the MIDI files, I have tried the unfold-type repeats, but they won't do the 
> job. I can get voltas to work (at least I see the results on the PS file) 
> but the outputted MIDI files don't respond to unfold-repeats when I add them 
> (and nest them with volta-repeats, since I want to have both).

I don't know of any way to choose "unfold" repeats for MIDI output
and "volta" repeats for paper output. Of course you could use some
preprocessor (see earlier mails today and yesterday on this list).
Both \repeat volta and \repeat unfold work well for themselves, though
(try the example files input/regression/repeat-*.ly).

> 3.
> About time signatures... Shouldn't "/time 4/4" print "two fours" (just like 
> the 3/4 prints 3 and 4, for example). For me "/time 4/4" prints that "e" 
> (which I haven't seen to be used that much).

See the reference manual, section "Staff notation", subsection
"Time signature". The "C" is so common that it was chosen as the
default time signature style.

> And yeah, the last note, I'm using Lilypond 1.4.7 in Linux.

There's now a 1.4.8 with some bug fixes. 

  /Mats