slippery chicken documentation - frequently asked questions

## FAQ

1. Where's the graphical user interface (GUI)?
   There isn't any. To use slippery chicken you have to programme in Common Lisp. See the installation page for where to get a Common Lisp environment and Getting ready for the workshops for some Lisp programming links.
2. Do I have to be a programmer to use slippery chicken?
   No, but it helps. You do have to programme slippery chicken in Lisp but you don't have to be an expert programmer to get started and make music with it. You can start by modifying the demo compositions. See Getting ready for the workshops for some Lisp programming links.
3. What's the simplest call to slippery-chicken?
Some of the simplest calls are found in the workshop examples and exercises, e.g. the core usage example. There's also a template file to help you get started on simple new slippery-chicken pieces.
4. My piece compiles fine, and I can generate CMN and MIDI files OK, but I'm getting Lilypond errors like error: unknown escaped string: `\pno' { << \global #(set-accidental-style 'modern) \pno1rh >> }; what gives?
Lilypond can't handle number characters in players names. If you change e.g piano1 to piano-one, all should be fine. See core usage for more details.
5. Where can I see the version history (i.e. all the changes that have been made to the software between different releases)?
version-history.txt