Table of Contents
Notation reference
Staves
A staff is a line or group of lines on which musical notes are notated to indicate the pitch and rhythm of music. Pitched instruments use the traditional five-line staff and unpitched instruments often use a single-line staff.
Ossia staves
Ossia staves are smaller staves shown above/below the main staff of an instrument. They are used to show alternative phrases that can be played instead of the original phrase, such as suggestions for ornaments, alternative notations from other sources, or an easier version.
Ossia staff labels
Ossias can show staff labels like normal staves, the only difference being that staff labels on ossia staves are typically drawn within the system to the left of where the ossia starts, even if this is in the middle of a system, rather than behind the initial barline.

Ossia staff labels

Ossias can show staff labels like normal staves, the only difference being that staff labels on ossia staves are typically drawn within the system to the left of where the ossia starts, even if this is in the middle of a system, rather than behind the initial barline.

Ossia staff labels use the Ossia Staff Label font style, which you can edit in the Edit Font Styles dialog.

Figure 1. An ossia staff with the default staff label

Ossia staff labels are positioned according to the distances set in the Ossias section of the Staves page in Engrave > Engraving Options. There are separate options for labels before single ossias and braced two-staff ossias.