LilyPond Notation Reference: 5.6.1 Substitution function syntax

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5.6.1 Substitution function syntax

Making a function that substitutes a variable into LilyPond code is easy. The general form of these functions is

function =
#(define-music-function
     (parser location arg1 arg2 …)
     (type1? type2? …)
   #{
     …music…
   #})

where

`argN`	`n`th argument
`typeN?`	a scheme type predicate for which `argN` must return `#t`.
`…music…`	normal LilyPond input, using `$` (in places where only Lilypond constructs are allowed) or `#` (to use it as a Scheme value or music function argument or music inside of music lists) to reference arguments (eg. ‘`#arg1`’).

The parser and location arguments are mandatory, and are used in some advanced situations as described in the ‘Extending’ manual (see Music functions). For substitution functions, just be sure to include them.

The list of type predicates is also required. Some of the most common type predicates used in music functions are:

boolean?
cheap-list?  (use instead of ‘list?’ for faster processing)
ly:duration?
ly:music?
ly:pitch?
markup?
number?
pair?
string?
symbol?

For a list of available type predicates, see Predefined type predicates. User-defined type predicates are also allowed.

5.6.1 Substitution function syntax

See also

LilyPond — Notation Reference v2.18.2 (stable-branch).