Galley view instrument changes - option to not show mult. staves per player (or at least a bracket)

Dorico
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Hello! Unless I’m missing something, this is a feature request… or is there a workaround?

I’m composing for an ensemble of individuals many of who both sing and play (not at the same time). I love the ease with which I can create a soprano/violin, hurdy-gurdy/percussion player etc. in Dorico and how good it looks in Page View.

However I am a stickler about composing in Galley view. I need to scroll and not have the layout shifting on me, so I can quickly see what relates to what. Sudden visual changes can lose a lot of time and focus for me. A year ago I would have called this stubborn preference, now I know it’s a quirk of my neurology (shout out to other Dorico users with adult ADHD!).

So I would absolutely love to be able to see each player in Galley view represented by either 1) a single staff with signposts for instrument changes, or 2) at the least, a bracket or other visual connection between their multiple staves.

Another point: There is a clear notational dividing line between a player holding multiple instruments, and a “kit”. However my singing instrumentalists might well sing and play for a bar here or there, or overlap at transitions. Could instrument changes ever implement auto-divisi at those moments? Or is there a workaround with ossias? Layers?

Thanks as always!

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When a player holds multiple instruments, if there is overlap between the music on each instrument at that point, Dorico will show two staves for that whole system automatically; there’s no way to specify that the extra staff should appear only for part of the system.

We’re unlikely to add an option to galley view to show all instruments held by a player on a single staff. You might find using instrument filters a helpful way to narrow down your focus to the staves belonging to just one or two players.

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Thank you, I’ll try instrument filters.

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Some folks have been asking the same question as they’re transitioning over from Finale. Stewed on it last night, thought of something this morning.

Create a duplicate score layout called something like Galley Score. In Page Setup, change the width of the page to something wild like 8000mm. In Staves and Systems – Casting Off, disable “fixed number of systems per bar” if it’s active. Voila. Galley view, with page-view-accurate staff spacing and no extra instruments.