Hi Peter, > I've just thought of another reason not too use \mark for placing text for > tempo changes and expressive text: what happens if it's not at the beginning > of the bar?
I think you’ve misunderstood. Using \mark doesn’t mean you stop using precise timing placement — of course you still need to do that! Here’s what I (and most serious Lilypond engravers I know) do: you have a completely separate variable that includes all score-level items (tempi, rehearsal marks, etc.), which are set using skips (so that they are placed at the correct point in the score, regardless of what’s contained in other voices). Then you add that variable to whatever context(s) need it (e.g., above the top staff, also above the string group in a full score, etc.). Hope that helps! Kieren.
