Start by entering some information applying to the entire song:
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<li>Enter the <i>title</i>, <i>composer</i>, and, if applicable, the <i>lyricist</i> of the song in the appropriate text fields.</li>
<li>Choose the <i>key</i> of your song from the popup menu. Major and minor keys are ordered by the number of accidentals (flats or sharps) in the key. Generally, jazz musicians will prefer flats to sharps, and a small number of accidentals, in key signatures of lead sheets.</li>
<li>If you select a different key from the popup menu, you will be presented with the choice of keeping your melody unchanged and just changing the key, or transposing your melody and accompaniment to the new key.</li>
<li>If the transposition leaves the melody in an unsuitable range, you can transpose it up or down by an octave through the <i>Octave Up</i> and <i>Octave Down</i> menu items in the <i>Song</i> menu.</li>
<li>To repeat a section of the song, select it and use the <i>Repeats→Repeat...</i> menu item in the <i>Song</i> menu to specify the number of repeats.</li>
By default, Lilypond will choose where to start new lines and new pages. To override these decisions with explicit line and page breaks, click on a bar line and select <i>Line Break</i> or <i>Page Break</i> from the <i>Song</i> menu.
By default, the <i>key</i>, <i>meter</i>, <i>subdivisions</i>, and <i>groove</i> settings you choose apply to the entire song. If you need to change these in the middle of a song (e.g. to alternate between swing and latin in a song like Green Dolphin Street), click on a bar line and select <i>Section Break</i> from the <i>Song</i> menu. From then on, changes to the above settings only apply to the sections partially or wholly contained in the selection.