multiple <clef> elements in single <attribute>?

[lemzwerg]

Looking into the MusicXML 4.0 specification I see that almost all children of <attribute> may occur more than once. Why? For example, what would it mean if I have two <clef> children? Testing with Finale and MuseScore I see that only the last of those children gets used (which is sensible IMHO).

I could imagine that having multiple elements makes sense if the final value is the accumulative of all elements (i.e., defining some properties in element A and some others in element B), but this is definitely not the case...

AFAICS, there is no clarification in MusicXML of such situations.

[mscuthbert]

A part can have multiple staves. The number attribute of clef and other objects defines which staff the clef belongs to.

[lemzwerg]

Ah, ok, thanks! Didn't think of that.

Is there a (complete) example MusicXML file somewhere that demonstrates this?

[mdgood]

Besides lots of examples in the clef element documentation, this page has many larger examples: https://www.musicxml.com/music-in-musicxml/example-set/

[lemzwerg]

Thanks again.

For other people who are reading this, the MusicXML standard example for <part-symbol> shows a use case.