Universe

A Typst package for typesetting Indian Classical and Semi-Classical music notations. Swaralipi allows you to write music notations and lyrics using regular English letters and renders them into a beautiful rhythmic grid (Taal).

Features

  • Intuitive Notation: Uses standard English letters for Swaras (S, R, G, m, P, D, N, r, g, M, d, n).
  • Rhythmic Grid (Taal): Automatically generates grids for various Taals with beat numbering and symbols (+, 0, 2, 3, etc.).
  • Bibhag Separation: Use the vertical bar | to separate different bibhags (measures).
  • Lyrics Support: Easily align lyrics with musical notes.
  • Ornaments: Supports Meend (slurs), Kan (grace notes), and octave markers.
  • Customizable: Options for wrapping, matra numbering, and more.

Installation

Import the package into your Typst file:

#import "@preview/swaralipi:0.2.0"

Notation System

Swaras

  • Suddha (Natural): S, R, G, m, P, D, N (Note: m is Suddha Ma)
  • Komal (Flat): r, g, d, n
  • Tivra (Sharp): M (Tivra Ma)
  • Rest/Long Note: -

Octaves

  • Lower Octave: Add a dot . after the note (e.g., S., N..).
  • Higher Octave: Add a single quote ' after the note (e.g., S', G'').

Ornaments

  • Meend (Slur): Wrap notes in parentheses: (S R G)
  • Kan (Grace Note): Wrap grace notes in curly braces before the main note: {R}G
  • Offset Marker: Use the > prefix at the start of a bibhag to start notation from the next beat (prefills empty beats).
  • Stroke Notation (#S): Use the #S prefix for a line to specify instrument strokes (e.g., da, ra, dir). These align with the beats just like lyrics and are translated into the target script.
  • Horizontal Separator: Use three or more hyphens --- on a line by itself to create a horizontal rule (separator) between rhythmic rows.
  • Lists: Lines starting with + are automatically numbered sequentially. Lines starting with - are rendered with bullet points (•).
  • Phrase Markers: Use , (comma) or ; (semicolon) at the end of a note to mark the end of a musical phrase, such as in a Tehai (e.g., GM P,G MP, GM).

You can use the apply-swaralipi function to automatically render all note raw blocks.

#import "@preview/swaralipi:0.2.0": apply-swaralipi
#show: apply-swaralipi

Examples

Yaman Vilambit (Tintal)

```note[taal: tintal]
                      |                           |           >   GG  | R    SS    N.D.D.    NR
G      G    G    RR   | G     MM    P      MM | G    R    S       |
                      |                           |           >   RR  | S    N.N.  G.        P.
D.     N.   S    RR   | G     MM    P      M   | G    R    S       |
```

Yaman Taan

```note[taal: tintal]
D.N.SR  N.SRG   SRGM    RGMP   | GMPD   MPDN   PDNS'   DNS'R'| G'R'S'N  R'S'ND  S'NDP  NDPM | DPMG  RS,GG  R-,SS  N.-,R-
```

Song with Lyrics (Ektal)

```note[taal: ektal3, wrapped: false]
   G  -  G  | G  Gm -R | GD   P -  | - M  P | {S}N. - - | -S -R -G | RSN. -S -  | - S  S
#L এ  -  ম |  নি  হা  র |  আ  মা  - | য় না  হি  |  সা  - - | -  -  - |  জে   -   - | - এ  রে
-------
   N.RS. - R| R  R  -  | R  R - | - R RG|  SR -SRG G| G  G  -  | G -  -     | - -  -
#L প  র তে |  গে  লে   - |  লা   গে   - | - এ   রে |  ছ   র   তে    | গে  লে  - |  বা  জে   -  | - -  -
---
```

Supported Taals

Many popular Taals are included out of the box:

  • dadra: 6 beats rhythmic cycle with 3/3 divisions.
  • rupak: 7 beats rhythmic cycle with 3/2/2 divisions.
  • tivra: 7 beats rhythmic cycle with 3/2/2 divisions.
  • kaharba: 8 beats rhythmic cycle with 4/4 divisions.
  • jhaptal: 10 beats rhythmic cycle with 2/3/2/3 divisions.
  • sultal: 10 beats rhythmic cycle with 2/2/2/2/2 divisions.
  • ektal: 12 beats rhythmic cycle with 2/2/2/2/2/2 divisions.
  • ektal3: Rabindrik ektal 12 beats rhythmic cycle with 3/3/3/3 divisions.
  • chautal: 12 beats rhythmic cycle with 2/2/2/2/2/2 divisions (often used for Dhrupad).
  • dipchandi: 14 beats rhythmic cycle with 3/4/3/4 divisions.
  • dhamar: 14 beats rhythmic cycle with 5/2/3/4 divisions.
  • adachautal: 14 beats rhythmic cycle with 2/2/2/2/2/2/2 divisions.
  • tintal: 16 beats rhythmic cycle with 4/4/4/4 divisions.

Options

Options can be passed in brackets after the note tag:

  • taal: Specify the taal name (e.g., [taal: tintal]). Defaults to none (renders as a standard notes block without a grid).
  • matra: Control the appearance of the beat/matra underlining:
    • show: Only show the underline for multi-pitch beats (default).
    • hide: Hide all beat underlines.
    • always: Show the underline for every beat, including single-pitch ones.
  • wrapped: Set to true (default) or false to enable or disable automatic line wrapping for long compositions.
  • lang: Specify the musical notation script and system:
    • en: Standard English notation (default).
    • bn: Bengali script notation.
    • hi: Hindi/Devnagari script notation.
    • bn_a: Akarmatrik notation style in Bengali script.
  • taal-separator: Control how vertical lines for bibhag separation are displayed:
    • none: No vertical lines are displayed at all for bibhag separation.
    • between: Only vertical lines between bibhags are shown; outer-most boundary lines are hidden (default).
    • all: All vertical lines, including the left and right-most boundaries, are displayed.
  • taal-header: Control the appearance of rhythmic markers at the top of the grid. Combine multiple values using the + sign (e.g., matra+bol):
    • none: Do not show matra, bol, or bibhag markers at all, including the horizontal line below them.
    • bibhag: Show only bibhag markers like Sam (+), Tali (2, 3), and Khali (0) (default).
    • bol: Show the rhythmic syllables/bols (Dha, Dhin, etc.) extracted from the taal definition.
    • matra: Show only matra/beat markers (1, 2, 3, etc.).
    • all: A shorthand to show all markers together (bibhag+bol+matra).

Happy Composing! 🎵