LaTeX Music Typesetting: MusiXTeX, LilyPond, and ABC Notation

Introduction

LaTeX can typeset musical notation through several packages and tools. For simple notation embedded in documents, MusiXTeX works directly in LaTeX. For professional-quality sheet music, LilyPond is the gold standard and integrates cleanly with LaTeX via lilypond-book. This guide covers both approaches.

MusiXTeX: Music Notation in LaTeX

MusiXTeX is a LaTeX package for typesetting music directly in your document. It’s complex but powerful for embedding musical examples in academic papers.

Setup

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{musixtex}
\usepackage{musixlyr}  % for lyrics

\begin{document}

Basic Notes

MusiXTeX uses a pitch-based notation system:

\begin{music}
\instrumentnumber{1}
\setstaffs{1}{1}
\setclef{1}{\treble}
\startextract

% Notes: \qu{pitch} = quarter note, \hu{pitch} = half note, \wu{pitch} = whole note
% Pitches: c d e f g h(=a) i(=b) and uppercase for higher octave
\notes \qu{c}\qu{d}\qu{e}\qu{f} \bar \qu{g}\qu{h}\qu{i}\wu{j} \endbar
\endextract
\end{music}

Note Duration Reference

\wu{c}   % whole note (semibreve)
\hu{c}   % half note (minim)
\qu{c}   % quarter note (crotchet)
\cu{c}   % eighth note (quaver)
\ccu{c}  % sixteenth note (semiquaver)

% Rests
\wr      % whole rest
\hr      % half rest
\qr      % quarter rest
\cr      % eighth rest

Chords and Beaming

\begin{music}
\instrumentnumber{1}
\setstaffs{1}{1}
\setclef{1}{\treble}
\startextract

% Chord: \zq stacks notes
\notes \zq{c}\qu{e} \zq{d}\qu{f} \zq{e}\qu{g} \zq{f}\qu{h} \endbar

% Beamed eighth notes
\notes \ibu0c0 \qb0{cde} \tbu0\qb0{f} \endbar

\endextract
\end{music}

Clefs and Key Signatures

\setclef{1}{\treble}   % treble clef
\setclef{1}{\bass}     % bass clef
\setclef{1}{\alto}     % alto clef

% Key signatures (number of sharps/flats)
\generalsignature{2}   % 2 sharps (D major)
\generalsignature{-3}  % 3 flats (Eb major)

% Time signatures
\generalmeter{\meterfrac{4}{4}}
\generalmeter{\meterfrac{3}{4}}
\generalmeter{\meterfrac{6}{8}}

A Complete Example: C Major Scale

\begin{music}
\instrumentnumber{1}
\setstaffs{1}{1}
\setclef{1}{\treble}
\generalmeter{\meterfrac{4}{4}}
\startextract

\notes \qu{c}\qu{d}\qu{e}\qu{f} \bar
       \qu{g}\qu{h}\qu{i}\wu{j} \endbar

\endextract
\end{music}

LilyPond: Professional Sheet Music

LilyPond is a dedicated music engraving program that produces publication-quality sheet music. It integrates with LaTeX via lilypond-book.

LilyPond Syntax Basics

% A simple melody in LilyPond
\version "2.24.0"

\relative c' {
  \clef treble
  \key c \major
  \time 4/4

  c4 d e f |
  g a b c |
  c b a g |
  f e d c2 |
}

Note Syntax

% Pitches: c d e f g a b
% Octave: ' raises one octave, , lowers one octave
c'   % middle C
c''  % C one octave above middle C
c    % C below middle C

% Durations: 1=whole, 2=half, 4=quarter, 8=eighth, 16=sixteenth
c4   % quarter note C
d2   % half note D
e1   % whole note E
f8   % eighth note F

% Dotted notes
c4.  % dotted quarter (= 3/8)
d2.  % dotted half (= 3/4)

% Rests
r4   % quarter rest
r2   % half rest

Chords and Dynamics

\relative c' {
  % Chord: notes in angle brackets
  <c e g>4 <d f a> <e g b> <f a c> |

  % Dynamics
  c4\p d\mp e\mf f\f |
  g4\ff a\fff b\ffff c |

  % Crescendo/decrescendo
  c4\< d e f\! |
  g4\> a b c\! |
}

Integrating LilyPond with LaTeX (lilypond-book)

% In your .lytex file (LaTeX + LilyPond)
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

Here is a musical example:

\begin{lilypond}
\relative c' {
  \clef treble
  \key g \major
  \time 3/4
  g4 a b |
  c2 b4 |
  a2. |
  g2 r4 |
}
\end{lilypond}

The melody above is in G major.

\end{document}

Compile with:

lilypond-book --output=out document.lytex
cd out
pdflatex document.tex

LilyPond for Piano (Grand Staff)

\version "2.24.0"

upper = \relative c'' {
  \clef treble
  \key c \major
  \time 4/4
  e4 f g a |
  b c d e |
}

lower = \relative c {
  \clef bass
  \key c \major
  \time 4/4
  c4 d e f |
  g a b c |
}

\score {
  \new PianoStaff <<
    \new Staff \upper
    \new Staff \lower
  >>
}

ABC Notation: Simple Text-Based Music

ABC notation is a plain-text music format that can be converted to sheet music or MIDI:

X:1
T:Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:C
C C G G | A A G2 | F F E E | D D C2 |
G G F F | E E D2 | G G F F | E E D2 |
C C G G | A A G2 | F F E E | D D C2 |

Convert to PDF with abcm2ps or include in LaTeX with the abc package:

\usepackage{abc}

\begin{abc}
X:1
T:Simple Melody
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:C
C D E F | G A B c |
\end{abc}

Choosing the Right Tool

For most academic papers needing musical examples, LilyPond + lilypond-book provides the best quality with reasonable effort. For standalone sheet music, LilyPond or MuseScore are the best free options.

Resources

• MusiXTeX Documentation
• LilyPond Official Site
• LilyPond Learning Manual
• lilypond-book
• ABC Notation Standard
• MuseScore (free)