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.
Changing the padding on ossias that start/end mid-bar
You can change how far staff lines extend beyond the left/right of ossia staves that begin/end in the middle of bars. Padding such ossia staves ensures that notes, accidentals, rhythm dots, and other items are always shown on staff lines.

Changing the padding on ossias that start/end mid-bar

You can change how far staff lines extend beyond the left/right of ossia staves that begin/end in the middle of bars. Padding such ossia staves ensures that notes, accidentals, rhythm dots, and other items are always shown on staff lines.

Procedure

Press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-E to open Engraving Options.
In the category list, click Staves.
In the Ossias section, change the values for the following options, individually or together:
- Extend staff lines at start of ossia
- Extend staff lines at end of ossia
Click Apply, then Close.

Result

The padding before and/or after ossia staves that start/end mid-bar is changed project-wide.

Example


Figure 1. Ossia staff with no padding	Figure 2. Ossia staff with padding set to 3 both at the start and end