Relative octave entry

Absolute octave entry requires specifying the octave for every single note. Relative octave entry, in contrast, specifies each octave in relation to the last note: changing one note’s octave will affect all of the following notes.

Relative note mode has to be entered explicitly using the \relative command:

\relative startpitch musicexpr

In relative mode, each note is assumed to be as close to the previous note as possible. This means that the octave of each pitch inside musicexpr is calculated as follows:

• If no octave changing mark is used on a pitch, its octave is calculated so that the interval with the previous note is less than a fifth. This interval is determined without considering accidentals.
• An octave changing mark ' or , can be added to respectively raise or lower a pitch by an extra octave, relative to the pitch calculated without an octave mark.
• Multiple octave changing marks can be used. For example, '' and ,, will alter the pitch by two octaves.
• The pitch of the first note is relative to startpitch. startpitch is specified in absolute octave mode. Which choices are meaningful?

  an octave of c

  Identifying middle C with c' is quite basic, so finding octaves of c tends to be straightforward. If your music starts with gis above c''', you’d write something like \relative c''' { gis' … }

  an octave of the first note inside

  Writing \relative gis''' { gis … } makes it easy to determine the absolute pitch of the first note inside.

  no explicit starting pitch

  The form \relative { gis''' … } serves as a compact version of the previous option: the first note inside is written in absolute pitch itself. (This happens to be equivalent to choosing f as the reference pitch.)

  The documentation will usually employ the last option.

Here is the relative mode shown in action:

\relative {
  \clef bass
  c d e f
  g a b c
  d e f g
}

Octave changing marks are used for intervals greater than a fourth:

\relative {
  c'' g c f,
  c' a, e'' c
}

A note sequence without a single octave mark can nevertheless span large intervals:

\relative {
  c f b e
  a d g c
}

When \relative blocks are nested, the innermost \relative block starts with its own reference pitch independently of the outer \relative.

\relative {
  c' d e f
  \relative {
    c'' d e f
  }
}

To use absolute mode inside of \relative, put the absolute music inside \fixed c { … } and the absolute pitches will not affect the octaves of the relative music:

\relative {
  c'4 \fixed c { f'' g'' } c |
  c4 \fixed c'' { f g } c
}

\relative has no effect on \chordmode blocks.

\new Staff {
  \relative c''' {
    \chordmode { c1 }
  }
  \chordmode { c1 }
}

\relative is not allowed inside of \chordmode blocks.

Music inside a \transpose block is absolute unless a \relative is included.

\relative {
  d' e
  \transpose f g {
    d e
    \relative {
      d' e
    }
  }
}

If the preceding item is a chord, the first note of the chord is used as the reference point for the octave placement of a following note or chord. Inside chords, the next note is always relative to the preceding one. Examine the next example carefully, paying attention to the c notes.

\relative {
  c'
  <c e g>
  <c' e g'>
  <c, e, g''>
}

As explained above, the octave of pitches is calculated only with the note names, regardless of any alterations. Therefore, an E-double-sharp following a B will be placed higher, while an F-double-flat will be placed lower. In other words, a double-augmented fourth is considered a smaller interval than a double-diminished fifth, regardless of the number of semitones that each interval contains.

\relative {
  c''2 fis
  c2 ges
  b2 eisis
  b2 feses
}

In complex situations, it is sometimes useful to get back to a certain pitch regardless of what happened before. This can be done using \resetRelativeOctave:

\relative {
  <<
    { c''2 d }
    \\
    { e,,2 f }
  >>
  \resetRelativeOctave c''
  c2
}

See also

Music Glossary: fifth, interval, Pitch names.

Notation Reference: Octave checks.

Snippets: Pitches.

Internals Reference: RelativeOctaveMusic.