Re: Sibelius user looking for the easiest way to learn LilyPond

[David Bobroff]

On 3/13/2012 10:01 AM, David Kastrup wrote:
> Stjepan Horvat<address@hidden>  writes:
>
> > Did you try to press number 3 in sibelius..i think it would create a
> > third interval..and so on..i'm not sure..
> Now this is actually a great example about what makes LilyPond so much
> better to work in the long run with than Sibelius or other GUI/WYSIWYG
> programs.
>
> It supports culture, the transfer of knowledge.  If you get a score from
> a great LilyPond master, you don't have to ask "how do you do that?".
> It's all in there.

Yes, it's all in there!  A significant part of my experience with 
becoming better at coding LilyPond input files has been a series of 
small epiphanies.  I was converting some Finale ETF files (there used to 
be an etf2ly converter) and I was puzzled by the LilyPond code that was 
produced.  Upon closer examination I learned something valuable about 
the power and flexibility of LilyPond.  I think it was then that I 
really never went back to commercial music printing software.

>    Of course, the question "why did you do that?" is
> not answered, but as long as you have the same task to solve, you can
> use the same solution.  You can type it off, or copy&paste and it works.
> And if the master cared about the question "why did you do that?", he
> can add _comments_ to the source.

Sometimes the "why" is actually evident in the how/what.

-David

> No "did you try to press numner 3..i think it would create a third
> interval".  If you want to do small changes, you do them.  No magically
> disappearing chords refusing to accept additional notes.
>
> There is a community of people exchanging and creating _knowledge_
> instead of fellow sufferers.