When instrument is changed (via "Change Instrument" in Staff Properties"), initial clef is not changed (as seen in Instruments)

• Jun 8, 2016 - 23:06
Reported version
2.1
Type
Functional
Severity
S4 - Minor
Status
closed
Project

1. Create a new score with any instrument—say, electric guitar.
2. Go into Staff Properties, click the "Change Instrument..." button, and make it a different instrument—say, trombone.
3. Note that the clef has not changed.
4. Press [i], and see in the instruments dialog that the instrument is actually still electric guitar, not trombone, and still is assigned to treble clef 8vb, not bass clef. Apparently, nothing you can do will change this.


Comments

First, at step #4, the instrument dialog display Trombone, not electric guitar (don't know how you obtain a different result)
Trombone.jpg
Secondly, for the clef: simply change to the right clef into the score (as you guess), and/or if you want the same result in the instrument dialog: simply "Add a staff" (as you see image below) and remove the first staff (with treble clef 8vb).
And so, all is right now, into the score, and in the instrument dialog.
Add.jpg

Title When instrument is changed (via "Change Instrument" in Staff Properties"), instrument is not changed (as seen in Instruments) When instrument is changed (via "Change Instrument" in Staff Properties"), clef is not changed (as seen in Instruments)

Hmm. The name of the instrument not changing only seems to happen with one file, so never mind that for now.

But the clef is a problem. Changing the clef in the score is not a solution, because if the clef is deleted, the wrong clef replaces it. Everything else about the instrument obeys when you change it; it seems only the clef does not.

The thing is, clefs are part of the *content* of the staff, not a property of the staff. After all, there might be clef changes within the score too. Should we go through and delete these? What about staves that start right off with a clef change - like say a trombone part that starts out high and thus uses tenor clef? Not saying we couldn't elect to do this, but there are reasons why the difference exists: clefs are unlike staff properties.

Not sure what you mean about changing the clef yourself not being a solution. Why would you then delete it? And if if the old clef replaces it, can't you replace it again? It's definitel;y a solution, just not a *perfect* one.

Title When instrument is changed (via "Change Instrument" in Staff Properties"), clef is not changed (as seen in Instruments) When instrument is changed (via "Change Instrument" in Staff Properties"), initial clef is not changed (as seen in Instruments)

But the initial clef is not part of the content of the staff, but a property of it—as you can see in the Instruments dialog. A different clef that you add to the beginning is part of the content, though, and thus you may recall that when deleting the first measure, the added clef goes with it—leaving behind the clef that is a part of the staff, which fails to change when the instrument is changed.

It's both, actually. There is the property, and there is the actual clef. Arguably, the "right" behavior is to change the property but leave the actual clef alone. Although I have no doubt that in the easy cases at least, most people would prefer we change the actual clef as well.