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1.4 Repeats

[image of music]

Repetition is a central concept in music, and multiple notations exist for repetitions. LilyPond supports the following kinds of repeats:

volta

The repeated music is not written out but enclosed between repeat bar lines. If the repeat is at the beginning of a piece, a repeat bar line is only printed at the end of the repeat. Alternative endings (volte) are printed left to right with brackets. This is the standard notation for repeats with alternatives.

unfold

The repeated music is fully written out, as many times as specified by repeatcount. This is useful when entering repetitious music.

percent

These are beat or measure repeats. They look like single slashes or percent signs.

tremolo

This is used to write tremolo beams.

1.4.1 Long repeats  
1.4.2 Short repeats  
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1.4.1 Long repeats

This section discusses how to input long (usually multi-measure) repeats. The repeats can take two forms: repeats enclosed between repeat signs; or written-out repeats, used to input repetitious music. Repeat signs can also be controlled manually.

Normal repeats  
Manual repeat marks  
Written-out repeats  
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Normal repeats

The syntax for a normal repeat is

 
\repeat volta repeatcount musicexpr

where musicexpr is a music expression.

A single repeat without an alternate ending:

 
\relative {
  \repeat volta 2 { c''4 d e f }
  c2 d
  \repeat volta 2 { d4 e f g }
}

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An ‘opening’ repeat mark is not, by default, printed in the first full measure. However it is possible to add one by using \bar ".|:" before the first note.

 
\relative {
  \repeat volta 2 { \bar ".|:" c''4 d e f }
  c2 d
  \repeat volta 2 { d4 e f g }
}

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Alternative endings can be produced using \alternative. Each group of alternatives must be themselves, enclosed in a set of braces.

 
\repeat volta repeatcount musicexpr
\alternative {
  { musicexpr }
}

where musicexpr is a music expression.

If there are more repeats than there are alternate endings, the earliest repeats are given the first alternative.

A single repeat with one alternate ending:

 
\relative {
  \repeat volta 2 { c''4 d e f | }
  \alternative {
    { c2 e | }
    { f2 g | }
  }
  c1
}

[image of music]

Multiple repeats with one alternate ending:

 
\relative {
  \repeat volta 4 { c''4 d e f | }
  \alternative {
    { c2 e | }
    { f2 g | }
  }
  c1
}

[image of music]

Multiple repeats with more than one alternate ending:

 
\relative {
  \repeat volta 3 { c''4 d e f | }
  \alternative {
    { c2 e | }
    { f2 g | }
    { a2 g | }
  }
  c1
}

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Note: If there are two or more alternatives, nothing should appear between the closing brace of one and the opening brace of the next in an \alternative block, otherwise you will not get the expected number of endings.

Note: If you include \relative inside a \repeat without explicitly instantiating the Voice context, extra (unwanted) staves will appear. See (usage)An extra staff appears section ‘An extra staff appears’ in Application Usage.

If a repeat that has no alternate endings starts in the middle of a measure, it will usually end at a corresponding place in the middle of a later measure (so that the two ends add up to one complete measure). In this case the repeat signs are not ‘true’ bar lines so neither bar checks nor \partial commands should be placed there:

 
c'4 e g
\repeat volta 4 {
  e4 |
  c2 e |
  g4 g g
}
  g4 |
  a2 a |
  g1 |

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If a repeat that has no alternate endings starts with a partial measure, then the same principles apply, except that a \partial command is required at the start of the measure:

 
\partial 4
\repeat volta 4 {
  e'4 |
  c2 e |
  g4 g g
}
  g4 |
  a2 a |
  g1 |

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Ties may be added to a second ending:

 
\relative {
  c''1
  \repeat volta 2 { c4 d e f~ }
  \alternative {
    { f2 d }
    { f2\repeatTie f, }
  }
}

[image of music]

The \inStaffSegno command can be used to generate a composite bar line incorporating the segno symbol with the appropriate repeat bar line when used with the \repeat volta command. The correct type of repeat bar line, viz. start repeat, end repeat or double repeat, is selected automatically. Note that the corresponding “D.S.” mark must be added manually.

Away from a repeat:

 
\relative {
  e'1
  \inStaffSegno
  f2 g a b
  c1_"D.S." \bar "|."
}

[image of music]

At the start of a repeat:

 
\relative {
  e'1
  \repeat volta 2 {
    \inStaffSegno  % start repeat
    f2 g a b
  }
  c1_"D.S." \bar "|."
}

[image of music]

At the end of a repeat:

 
\relative {
  e'1
  \repeat volta 2 {
    f2 g a b
    \inStaffSegno  % end repeat
  }
  f2 g a b
  c1_"D.S." \bar "|."
}

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Between two repeats:

 
\relative {
  e'1
  \repeat volta 2 {
    f2 g a b
  }
  \inStaffSegno  % double repeat
  \repeat volta 2 {
    f2 g a b
  }
  c1_"D.S." \bar "|."
}

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Alternative bar line symbols can be obtained by setting (in the Score context) the properties segnoType, startRepeatSegnoType, endRepeatSegnoType or doubleRepeatSegnoType to the required bar line type. The alternative bar line types must be selected from the pre-defined types or types previously defined with the \defineBarLine command (see Bar lines).

 
\defineBarLine ":|.S[" #'(":|." "S[" "")
\defineBarLine "]" #'("]" "" "")
\relative {
  e'1
  \repeat volta 2 {
    f2 g a b
    \once \set Score.endRepeatSegnoType = ":|.S["
    \inStaffSegno
  }
  f2 g \bar "]" a b
  c1_"D.S." \bar "|."
}

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Selected Snippets

Shortening volta brackets

By default, the volta brackets will be drawn over all of the alternative music, but it is possible to shorten them by setting voltaSpannerDuration. In the next example, the bracket only lasts one measure, which is a duration of 3/4.

 
\relative c'' {
  \time 3/4
  c4 c c
  \set Score.voltaSpannerDuration = #(ly:make-moment 3/4)
  \repeat volta 5 { d4 d d }
  \alternative {
    {
      e4 e e
      f4 f f
    }
    { g4 g g }
  }
}

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Adding volta brackets to additional staves

The Volta_engraver by default resides in the Score context, and brackets for the repeat are thus normally only printed over the topmost staff. This can be adjusted by adding the Volta_engraver to the Staff context where the brackets should appear; see also the “Volta multi staff” snippet.

 
<<
  \new Staff { \repeat volta 2 { c'1 } \alternative { c' } }
  \new Staff { \repeat volta 2 { c'1 } \alternative { c' } }
  \new Staff \with { \consists "Volta_engraver" } { c'2 g' e' a' }
  \new Staff { \repeat volta 2 { c'1 } \alternative { c' } }
>>

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Setting the double repeat default for volte

There are three different styles of double repeats for volte, that can be set using doubleRepeatType.

 
\relative c'' {
  \repeat volta 1 { c1 }
  \set Score.doubleRepeatType = #":..:"
  \repeat volta 1 { c1 }
  \set Score.doubleRepeatType = #":|.|:"
  \repeat volta 1 { c1 }
  \set Score.doubleRepeatType = #":|.:"
  \repeat volta 1 { c1 }
}

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Alternative bar numbering

Two alternative methods for bar numbering can be set, especially for when using repeated music.

 
\relative c'{
  \set Score.alternativeNumberingStyle = #'numbers
  \repeat volta 3 { c4 d e f | }
    \alternative {
      { c4 d e f | c2 d \break }
      { f4 g a b | f4 g a b | f2 a | \break }
      { c4 d e f | c2 d }
    }
  c1 \break
  \set Score.alternativeNumberingStyle = #'numbers-with-letters
  \repeat volta 3 { c,4 d e f | }
    \alternative {
      { c4 d e f | c2 d \break }
      { f4 g a b | f4 g a b | f2 a | \break }
      { c4 d e f | c2 d }
    }
  c1
}

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See also

Music Glossary: (music-glossary)repeat section ‘repeat’ in Music Glossary, (music-glossary)volta section ‘volta’ in Music Glossary.

Notation Reference: Bar lines, Modifying context plug-ins, Modifying ties and slurs, Time administration.

Installed Files: ‘ly/engraver-init.ly’.

Snippets: (snippets)Repeats section ‘Repeats’ in Snippets.

Internals Reference: (internals)VoltaBracket section ‘VoltaBracket’ in Internals Reference, (internals)RepeatedMusic section ‘RepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference, (internals)VoltaRepeatedMusic section ‘VoltaRepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference, (internals)UnfoldedRepeatedMusic section ‘UnfoldedRepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference.

Known issues and warnings

Slurs that span from a \repeat block into an \alternative block will only work for the first alternative ending. The visual appearance of a continuing slur in other alternative blocks may be simulated with \repeatTie if the slur extends into only one note in the alternative block, although this method does not work in TabStaff. Other methods which may be tailored to indicate continuing slurs over several notes in alternative blocks, and which also work in TabStaff contexts, are shown in Modifying ties and slurs.

Also, slurs cannot wrap around from the end of one alternative back to the beginning of the repeat.

Glissandi that span from a \repeat block into an \alternative block will only work for the first alternative ending. The visual appearance of a continuing glissando in other alternative blocks may be indicated by coding a glissando starting on a hidden grace note. For an example, see “Extending glissandi across repeats” under Selected Snippets in Glissando.

If a repeat that begins with an incomplete measure has an \alternative block that contains modifications to the measureLength property, using \unfoldRepeats will result in wrongly-placed bar lines and bar check warnings.

A nested repeat like

 
\repeat …
\repeat …
\alternative

is ambiguous, since it is not clear to which \repeat the \alternative belongs. This ambiguity is resolved by always having the \alternative belong to the inner \repeat. For clarity, it is advisable to use braces in such situations.

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Manual repeat marks

Note: These methods are only used for displaying unusual repeat constructs, and may produce unexpected behavior. In most cases, repeats should be created using the standard \repeat command or by printing the relevant bar lines. For more information, see Bar lines.

The property repeatCommands can be used to control the layout of repeats. Its value is a Scheme list of repeat commands.

start-repeat

Print a .|: bar line.

 
\relative {
  c''1
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'(start-repeat)
  d4 e f g
  c1
}

[image of music]

As per standard engraving practice, repeat signs are not printed at the beginning of a piece.

end-repeat

Print a :|. bar line:

 
\relative {
  c''1
  d4 e f g
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'(end-repeat)
  c1
}

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(volta number) … (volta #f)

Create a new volta with the specified number. The volta bracket must be explicitly terminated, or it will not be printed.

 
\relative {
  f''4 g a b
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta "2"))
  g4 a g a
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta #f))
  c1
}

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Multiple repeat commands may occur at the same point:

 
\relative {
  f''4 g a b
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta "2, 5") end-repeat)
  g4 a g a
  c1
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta #f) (volta "95") end-repeat)
  b1
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta #f))
}

[image of music]

Text can be included with the volta bracket. The text can be a number or numbers or markup text, see Formatting text. The simplest way to use markup text is to define the markup first, then include the markup in a Scheme list.

 
voltaAdLib = \markup { 1. 2. 3... \text \italic { ad lib. } }
\relative {
  c''1
  \set Score.repeatCommands =
    #(list(list 'volta voltaAdLib) 'start-repeat)
  c4 b d e
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta #f) (volta "4.") end-repeat)
  f1
  \set Score.repeatCommands = #'((volta #f))
}

[image of music]

See also

Notation Reference: Bar lines, Formatting text.

Snippets: (snippets)Repeats section ‘Repeats’ in Snippets.

Internals Reference: (internals)VoltaBracket section ‘VoltaBracket’ in Internals Reference, (internals)RepeatedMusic section ‘RepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference, (internals)VoltaRepeatedMusic section ‘VoltaRepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference.

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Written-out repeats

By using the unfold command, repeats can be used to simplify the writing out of repetitious music. The syntax is

 
\repeat unfold repeatcount musicexpr

where musicexpr is a music expression and repeatcount is the number of times musicexpr is repeated.

 
\relative {
  \repeat unfold 2 { c''4 d e f }
  c1
}

[image of music]

In some cases, especially in a \relative context, the \repeat unfold function is not the same as writing out the music expression multiple times. E.g,

 
\repeat unfold 2 { a'4 b c }

is not equivalent to

 
a'4 b c | a'4 b c

Unfold repeats can be made with alternate endings.

 
\relative {
  \repeat unfold 2 { c''4 d e f }
  \alternative {
    { c2 g' }
    { c,2 b }
  }
  c1
}

[image of music]

If there are more repeats than there are alternate endings, the first alternative is applied multiple times until the remaining alternatives make up the total number of repeats.

 
\relative {
  \repeat unfold 4 { c''4 d e f }
  \alternative {
    { c2 g' }
    { c,2 b }
    { e2 d }
   }
  c1
}

[image of music]

If there are more alternate endings than repeats then only the first alternatives are applied. The remaining alternatives will be ignored and not printed.

 
\relative {
  \repeat unfold 2 { c''4 d e f }
  \alternative {
    { c2 g' }
    { c,2 b }
    { e2 d }
  }
  c1
}

[image of music]

It is also possible to nest multiple unfold functions (with or without alternate endings).

 
\relative {
  \repeat unfold 2 {
    \repeat unfold 2 { c''4 d e f }
    \alternative {
      { c2 g' }
      { c,2 b }
    }
  }
  c1
}

[image of music]

Chord constructs can be repeated by the chord repetition symbol q. See Chord repetition.

Note: If you include \relative inside a \repeat without explicitly instantiating the Voice context, extra (unwanted) staves will appear. See (usage)An extra staff appears section ‘An extra staff appears’ in Application Usage.

See also

Notation Reference: Chord repetition.

Snippets: (snippets)Repeats section ‘Repeats’ in Snippets.

Internals Reference: (internals)RepeatedMusic section ‘RepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference, (internals)UnfoldedRepeatedMusic section ‘UnfoldedRepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference.

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1.4.2 Short repeats

This section discusses how to input short repeats. Short repeats can take two forms: slashes or percent signs to represent repeats of a single note, a single measure or two measures, and tremolos otherwise.

Percent repeats  
Tremolo repeats  
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Percent repeats

Repeated short patterns are printed once, and the repeated pattern is replaced with a special sign.

The syntax is

 
\repeat percent number musicexpr

where musicexpr is a music expression.

Patterns that are shorter than one measure are replaced by slashes.

 
\relative c'' {
  \repeat percent 4 { c128 d e f }
  \repeat percent 4 { c64 d e f }
  \repeat percent 5 { c32 d e f }
  \repeat percent 4 { c16 d e f }
  \repeat percent 4 { c8 d }
  \repeat percent 4 { c4 }
  \repeat percent 2 { c2 }
}

[image of music]

Patterns of one or two measures are replaced by percent-like symbols.

 
\relative c'' {
  \repeat percent 2 { c4 d e f }
  \repeat percent 2 { c2 d }
  \repeat percent 2 { c1 }
}

[image of music]

 
\relative {
  \repeat percent 3 { c''4 d e f | c2 g' }
}

[image of music]

Patterns that are shorter than one measure but contain mixed durations use a double-percent symbol.

 
\relative {
  \repeat percent 4 { c''8. <d f>16 }
  \repeat percent 2 { \tuplet 3/2 { r8 c d } e4 }
}

[image of music]

Selected Snippets

Percent repeat counter

Measure repeats of more than two repeats can get a counter when the convenient property is switched, as shown in this example:

 
\relative c'' {
  \set countPercentRepeats = ##t
  \repeat percent 4 { c1 }
}

[image of music]

Percent repeat count visibility

Percent repeat counters can be shown at regular intervals by setting the context property repeatCountVisibility.

 
\relative c'' {
  \set countPercentRepeats = ##t
  \set repeatCountVisibility = #(every-nth-repeat-count-visible 5)
  \repeat percent 10 { c1 } \break
  \set repeatCountVisibility = #(every-nth-repeat-count-visible 2)
  \repeat percent 6 { c1 d1 }
}

[image of music]

Isolated percent repeats

Isolated percents can also be printed.

 
makePercent =
#(define-music-function (note) (ly:music?)
   "Make a percent repeat the same length as NOTE."
   (make-music 'PercentEvent
               'length (ly:music-length note)))

\relative c'' {
  \makePercent s1
}

[image of music]

See also

Music Glossary: (music-glossary)percent repeat section ‘percent repeat’ in Music Glossary, (music-glossary)simile section ‘simile’ in Music Glossary.

Snippets: (snippets)Repeats section ‘Repeats’ in Snippets.

Internals Reference: (internals)RepeatSlash section ‘RepeatSlash’ in Internals Reference, (internals)RepeatSlashEvent section ‘RepeatSlashEvent’ in Internals Reference, (internals)DoubleRepeatSlash section ‘DoubleRepeatSlash’ in Internals Reference, (internals)PercentRepeat section ‘PercentRepeat’ in Internals Reference, (internals)PercentRepeatCounter section ‘PercentRepeatCounter’ in Internals Reference, (internals)PercentRepeatedMusic section ‘PercentRepeatedMusic’ in Internals Reference, (internals)Percent_repeat_engraver section ‘Percent_repeat_engraver’ in Internals Reference, (internals)DoublePercentEvent section ‘DoublePercentEvent’ in Internals Reference, (internals)DoublePercentRepeat section ‘DoublePercentRepeat’ in Internals Reference, (internals)DoublePercentRepeatCounter section ‘DoublePercentRepeatCounter’ in Internals Reference, (internals)Double_percent_repeat_engraver section ‘Double_percent_repeat_engraver’ in Internals Reference, (internals)Slash_repeat_engraver section ‘Slash_repeat_engraver’ in Internals Reference.

Known issues and warnings

Percent repeats will not contain anything else apart from the percent sign itself; in particular, timing changes will not be repeated.

 
\repeat percent 3 { \time 5/4 c2. 2 \time 4/4 2 2 }

[image of music]

Any meter changes or \partial commands need to occur in parallel passages outside of any percent repeat, e.g in a separate timing track.

 
<<
  \repeat percent 3 { c2. 2 2 2 }
  \repeat unfold 3 { \time 5/4 s4*5 \time 4/4 s1 }
>>

[image of music]

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Tremolo repeats

Tremolos can take two forms: alternation between two chords or two notes, and rapid repetition of a single note or chord. Tremolos consisting of an alternation are indicated by adding beams between the notes or chords being alternated, while tremolos consisting of the rapid repetition of a single note are indicated by adding beams or slashes to a single note.

To place tremolo marks between notes, use \repeat with tremolo style:

 
\relative c'' {
  \repeat tremolo 8 { c16 d }
  \repeat tremolo 6 { c16 d }
  \repeat tremolo 2 { c16 d }
}

[image of music]

The \repeat tremolo syntax expects exactly two notes within the braces, and the number of repetitions must correspond to a note value that can be expressed with plain or dotted notes. Thus, \repeat tremolo 7 is valid and produces a double dotted note, but \repeat tremolo 9 is not.

The duration of the tremolo equals the duration of the braced expression multiplied by the number of repeats: \repeat tremolo 8 { c16 d16 } gives a whole note tremolo, notated as two whole notes joined by tremolo beams.

There are two ways to put tremolo marks on a single note. The \repeat tremolo syntax is also used here, in which case the note should not be surrounded by braces:

 
\repeat tremolo 4 c'16

[image of music]

The same output can be obtained by adding :N after the note, where N indicates the duration of the subdivision (it must be at least 8). If N is 8, one beam is added to the note’s stem. If N is omitted, the last value is used:

 
\relative {
  c''2:8 c:32
  c: c:
}

[image of music]

Selected Snippets

Cross-staff tremolos

Since \repeat tremolo expects exactly two musical arguments for chord tremolos, the note or chord which changes staff within a cross-staff tremolo should be placed inside curly braces together with its \change Staff command.

 
\new PianoStaff <<
  \new Staff = "up" \relative c'' {
    \key a \major
    \time 3/8
    s4.
  }
  \new Staff = "down" \relative c'' {
    \key a \major
    \time 3/8
    \voiceOne
    \repeat tremolo 6 {
      <a e'>32
      {
        \change Staff = "up"
        \voiceTwo
        <cis a' dis>32
      }
    }
  }
>>

[image of music]

See also

Snippets: (snippets)Repeats section ‘Repeats’ in Snippets.

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