7.1.2 Manual staff switches

Voices can be switched between staves manually, using the command

\change Staff = staffname music

The string staffname is the name of the staff. It switches the current voice from its current staff to the Staff called staffname. Typically staffname is "up" or "down". The Staff referred to must already exist, so usually the setup for a score will start with a setup of the staves,

<<
  \new Staff = "up" {
    \skip 1 * 10  % keep staff alive
    }
  \new Staff = "down" {
    \skip 1 * 10  % idem
    }
>>

and the Voice is inserted afterwards

\context Staff = down
  \new Voice { ... \change Staff = up ... }