Re: Absolute Beginners

[Geoff Horton]

> If you are using a Mac, be glad and open a new LilyPond window.

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say here, but "be glad and
open a new LilyPond window" is not a very idiomatic English
expression. Perhaps you meant, "please open a new LilyPond window"?

> Then write this inside:

"type" instead of "write"?

> The so-called "curly braces"
<snip>
> are essential. You must always write your music inside such brackets.

It would be better to call them "brackets" or "braces" consistently,
rather than switching.

> Then, LilyPond has certain pre-set values, called "defaults", which
> will apply whenever you do not ask for something different.

Stylistically, I would drop the "Then," here.

> You can, of course, change these and all other defaults, indeed you
> can engrave old plainchant, contemporary notation, orchestral scores,
> do MIDI files, and more.

This is a comma-spliced sentence--it contains two independent clauses
without a conjunction. Either insert a period/full stop after
"defaults" and capitalize "Indeed", or change the comma after
"defaults" to a semicolon: "defaults; indeed"

> In our example, we have written each note with an octave
> denomination: one apostrophe:

"Octave denomination" is clear only if one only knows what it means
already. Can you rewrite this paragraph?

> You can analyze the exercise and see that a third has been preferred
> to a sixth, a fourth to a fifth, etc.

This also is confusing. I know what you mean, but it doesn't come out
clearly. Perhaps pointing out a specific instance in the example where
the behavior is different with \relative than without it would be
better.

> Don't worry just yet about the naturals. We'll come to it in a moment.

It is not clear from the context what "it" refers to in the second sentence.

> You change the clef changing the denomination "treble" for

You're using "denomination" here (and elsewhere) in a way that is not
common in English.

> You can amuse yourself writing all possible and also impossible
> examples of simple melodies, and see what happens. Don't worry,
> whatever you type, you can't break it...

What does "it" refer to?

> Working fine? Then let's go for sharps and flats. Just name the notes:

In this section: If you're writing for native English speakers, I
would also teach the use of \include "english.ly" and use the English
notation for sharps and flats; I would venture to guess that most
amateur English-speaking musicians do not know what "is" and "es"
mean.

Geoff