GNU LilyPond is a computer program for music engraving. One of LilyPonds major
goals is to produce scores that are engraved with traditional layout rules,
reflecting the era when scores were engraved by hand. It uses a simple text
notation for music input, which LilyPond interprets and processes in a series
of stages. In the final stage, music notation is output to PDF (via
PostScript) or other graphical formats, such as SVG or PNG. LilyPond also has
the facility to generate MIDI files that correspond to the music notation
output.

LilyPond is a text-based application, so it does not contain its own graphical
user interface to assist with score creation. It does, however, have a
flexible input language that strives to be simple, easing the learning curve
for new users. LilyPond adheres to the WYSIWYM paradigm; the workflow for
typesetting music notation with LilyPond is similar to that of preparing
documents with LaTeX.

LilyPonds primary goal is to produce output comparable to professionally-
engraved scores instead of output that looks mechanical and computer-generated