General placement conventions for pedal lines

The default placement of pedal lines is below the bottom staff, even if there are only notes in the upper staff for the right hand. They are placed outside all other notations, including octave lines, slurs, and articulations.

If one pedal is used, it is placed as close to the bottom of the staff as possible, while remaining outside of all other notations.

If multiple pedals are used simultaneously, they are organized below the bottom of the staff as follows:

  1. Sustain pedal: closest to the staff

  2. Sostenuto pedal: below the sustain pedal line

  3. Una corda pedal: furthest from the staff

The beginning of the glyph/text that indicates the start position of pedal lines aligns with the note to which it applies. If you are using a line end hook to indicate the end of pedal lines, the hook aligns with the note or rhythmic position to which it applies.

You can change how pedal lines appear project-wide on the Pedal Lines page in Engrave > Engraving Options.