Instrument names - GNU LilyPond
Description: GNU LilyPond

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#### 8.2.5 Instrument names

In an orchestral score, instrument names are printed at the left side of the staves.

This can be achieved by setting Staff.`instrumentName` and Staff.`shortInstrumentName`, or PianoStaff.`instrumentName` and PianoStaff.`shortInstrumentName`. This will print text before the start of the staff. For the first staff, `instrumentName` is used, for the following ones, `shortInstrumentName` is used.

>          \set Staff.instrumentName = "Ploink "
>          \set Staff.shortInstrumentName = "Plk "
>          c1
>          \break
>          c''

You can also use markup texts to construct more complicated instrument names, for example

>          \set Staff.instrumentName = \markup {
>            \column { "Clarinetti"
>                      \line { "in B" \smaller \flat } } }
>          c''1

If you wish to center the instrument names, you must center all of them

>          { <<
>          \new Staff {
>            \set Staff.instrumentName = \markup {
>              \center-align { "Clarinetti"
>                \line { "in B" \smaller \flat } } }
>            c''1
>          }
>          \new Staff {
>            \set Staff.instrumentName = \markup{ \center-align { Vibraphone }}
>            c''1
>          }
>          >>
>          }

For longer instrument names, it may be useful to increase the `indent` setting in the `\layout` block.

To center instrument names while leaving extra space to the right,

>          \new StaffGroup \relative
>          <<
>            \new Staff {
>              \set Staff.instrumentName = \markup { \hcenter-in #10 "blabla" }
>              c1 c1
>            }
>            \new Staff {
>              \set Staff.instrumentName = \markup { \hcenter-in #10 "blo" }
>              c1 c1
>            }
>          >>

To add instrument names to other contexts (such as `GrandStaff`, `ChoirStaff`, or `StaffGroup`), the engraver must be added to that context.

    \layout{
      \context {\GrandStaff \consists "Instrument_name_engraver"}
    }

More information about adding and removing engravers can be found in Modifying context plug-ins.

Instrument names may be changed in the middle of a piece,

>          \set Staff.instrumentName = "First"
>          \set Staff.shortInstrumentName = "one"
>          c1 c c c \break
>          c1 c c c \break
>          \set Staff.instrumentName = "Second"
>          \set Staff.shortInstrumentName = "two"
>          c1 c c c \break
>          c1 c c c \break

##### See also

Program reference: InstrumentName.

Next: Instrument transpositions, Previous: Bar numbers, Up: Preparing parts

This page is for LilyPond-2.10.33 (stable-branch).