User manual

Staff labels
Staff labels are used to identify staves in music containing multiple players, and are positioned to
the left of systems, before the initial barline of each system. Staff labels indicate the instrument
or instruments currently playing the music on the staff or staves to which they apply.
It is usual to show instrument names in full in the staff labels for the rst systems in each ow,
and abbreviated instrument names in the staff labels of subsequent systems. Using abbreviated
instrument names saves horizontal space, allowing you to include more music in each system.
Examples of staff labels on the rst system in a ow
In Dorico SE, staff labels use the instrument names set for each instrument in the Edit
Instrument Names dialog. In the dialog, you can specify singular and plural names for each
instrument, and singular and plural abbreviations for each instrument.
TIP
You do not need to number instruments in staff labels manually, as Dorico SE automatically
numbers instruments when there are multiple players of the same type playing instruments of
the same type.
Part layouts by default do not show staff labels, as most parts only contain a single staff whose
identity is clear from the context and the layout name. The layout name is shown at the top left
of the
rst page in part layouts by default.
NOTE
Layout names are different to the instrument names used for staff labels.
For players holding multiple instruments, the staff label shows the instrument they are currently
playing. If the player changes instrument partway through a system, the name of the new
instrument is shown above the staff at its rst note and the staff label is updated at the start of
the next system.
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Dorico SE 3.1.10