The first is to have the option of establishing the outer margin with respect to the names of the instruments belonging to the group, rather than the totality of names. In particular, with long names (as on the first page with full names), the group name is particularly distant.
The second is the request to implement labels to the entries as described on p. 470 of Behind Bars (Characters Label).
The names of the character appear in the top left-hand corner of the stave with each new occurrence.
This is an effective solution as it allows singers to easily identify where their part begins.
In Ricordi’s opera editions, by the way, this request is unconditional and the only solution is absolutely involuted (making a copy of the unnamed staff and alternating it with the left named one depending on the situation via the staff visibility property).
There isn’t independent control over this, so if you’re showing multiple group labels, there’s not much flexibility, but if you’re only showing one, then it’s easy to move it closer.
Thank you for taking your time about the matter.
Unfortunately, this is not an optimal solution, as the property fixes the position regardless of the staff names involved (and once and for all.).
As you can see, in the first system (with full names) everything works,
but in the later systems, which use abbreviated staff labels, it doesn’t:
Frankly, I would like a solution that is individual to each group. Just having two groups called ‘Choir’ and ‘Offstage Choir’ would alone create discrepancies in alignment.
I would like to add another request, the need for which arose during a job for a major publishing house: the possibility of eliminating instrument numbers, again on the basis of the individual staff and system.
The editorial preference is for indications within the staff (and the condensation does the job), without reiterating the numbers to the left of the staff itself.
The only way to meet the customer’s request was to edit the final pdf.
