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<a name="Absolute-note-names"></a>
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<h4 class="subsection">2.5.4 Absolute note names</h4>
<p>So far we have always used <code>\relative</code> to define pitches.
This is the easiest way to enter most music, but another way of
defining pitches exists: absolute mode.
<p>If you omit the <code>\relative</code>, LilyPond treats all pitches as
absolute values. A <code>c'</code> will always mean middle C, a
<code>b</code> will always mean the note one step below middle C, and a
<code>g,</code> will always mean the note on the bottom staff of the
bass clef.
<blockquote>
<pre class="verbatim">
{
\clef bass
c' b g, g,
g, f, f c'
}
</pre>
<p>
<a href="../f0/lily-abb5c9bc.ly">
<img align="middle"
border="0" src="../f0/lily-abb5c9bc.png" alt="[image of music]">
</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here is a four-octave scale:
<blockquote>
<pre class="verbatim">
{
\clef bass
c, d, e, f,
g, a, b, c
d e f g
a b c' d'
\clef treble
e' f' g' a'
b' c'' d'' e''
f'' g'' a'' b''
c'''1
}
</pre>
<p>
<a href="../f5/lily-2e516ee5.ly">
<img align="middle"
border="0" src="../f5/lily-2e516ee5.png" alt="[image of music]">
</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As you can see, writing a melody in the treble clef involves a lot
of quote <code>'</code> marks. Consider this fragment from Mozart:
<blockquote>
<pre class="verbatim">
{
\key a \major
\time 6/8
cis''8. d''16 cis''8 e''4 e''8
b'8. cis''16 b'8 d''4 d''8
}
</pre>
<p>
<a href="../a3/lily-d9c11da0.ly">
<img align="middle"
border="0" src="../a3/lily-d9c11da0.png" alt="[image of music]">
</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>All these quotes makes the input less readable and they are a source
of errors. With <code>\relative</code>, the previous example is much
easier to read and type:
<blockquote>
<pre class="verbatim">
\relative c'' {
\key a \major
\time 6/8
cis8. d16 cis8 e4 e8
b8. cis16 b8 d4 d8
}
</pre>
<p>
<a href="../a6/lily-b035139e.ly">
<img align="middle"
border="0" src="../a6/lily-b035139e.png" alt="[image of music]">
</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you make a mistake with an octave mark (<code>'</code> or <code>,</code>)
while working in <code>\relative</code> mode, it is very obvious – many
notes will be in the wrong octave. When working in absolute mode,
a single mistake will not be as visible, and will not be as easy
to find.
<p>However, absolute mode is useful for music which has large
intervals, and is extremely useful for computer-generated LilyPond
files.
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