Re: instrumentName and polyphony

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hi Charlotte,

> Where in the syntax, or even in the .ly file do I put the \set  
> instrumentName?

The good news is, there's no one answer for that.
The bad news is, there's no one answer for that.
=)

> I need to label each vocal line because some scores are SATB whilst  
> others
> are SSTT or other combinations. However, I can only get one  
> instrumentName
> to appear (the lower of each pair of voices). (example code below)

The InstrumentName property is set at the Staff level, whereas you  
are including (e.g.) the S and A music as two *Voice* contexts within  
a single Staff context. Therefore, you need to set the (one) value to  
display *both* pieces of text you want to show on the one staff, i.e.

          \set Staff.instrumentName = \markup { \column { "S" "A" } }

or

    \new Staff = women
        \with { instrumentName = \markup { \column { "S" "A" } } }
        <<
            \new Voice = "sopranos" { \voiceOne << \global \sopMusic  
>> }
            \new Voice = "altos" { \voiceTwo << \global \altoMusic >> }
        >>

Of course, adjust the sample markup (baseline-skip, alignment, etc.)  
as desired.

> I'd also like to chance the default font settings for instrumentName,
> to make the font smaller and sans-serif. Can I do this
> globally, or do I have to do it for each \score in the .ly file?

Use

    \layout
    {
        \context
        {
            \Score
            \override InstrumentName #'font-size = #-2
            \override InstrumentName #'font-family = #'sans-serif
        }
    }

Off the top of my head, I can't remember the exact font style code:  
look it up in the docs.

Hope this helps!
Kieren.