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[Roger Hare]

Using various ABC...music software, at one time I tried to make it 4 bars per line/staff, which made clearer the similarities
of the phrases. Then with 1st and 2nd time bars the formatting all goes doolally.

The correlation between written music and audio music only goes so far. Use it to learn a tune and discard it asap is my
thoughts on this.

Many musicians, most famously The Beatles, are horrified that their music is put onto manuscript. So two-dimensional
(and also largely incomplete and wrong) but of course a great aid to kick start learning a piece of music.

Apropos your first point:

That's pretty much the strategy I have adopted when creating ABC scripts, for just the purpose you outline,
(even to the extent of editing downloaded scripts into that general format). I've found the strategy pretty
successful for my purposes. I'm a little puzzled by the phrase 'all goes doolally'. What is it that is going 'wrong'
for you?

Edit: I should have said that I agree pretty much with your 2nd and 3rd points, particularly the idea that ABC
scripts are 'a great aid to kick start learning a piece of music', particularly for those like me who do not have
a strong background in music theory/notation, and who are not sight-readers.

[Pete Dunk]

Am I the only Melnetter who thinks employees,  when they read the word staff? It was always a stave when I was at school, and although I do know staff is equally valid, I'm still misled every time I see it.

Sir John

You obviously paid attention to music lessons when you were young.  Stave is UK English usage and staff is US English usage so both are correct, the misleading thing in the thread title is the mention of 'staff breaks' instead of bar lines. I'm not a big fan of grammar policing or pouncing on spelling errors (goodness knows I make enough mistakes myself) and it's obvious that this is simply a case of not knowing the correct terminology, which in turn is all part of music theory. I too thought this would be an off topic thread when I first read the title especially as it mentioned the city where the coffee/lunch/comfort breaks were occuring. 

Sheet music very often contains far more detailed information about dynamics, phrasing and variations in volume and tempo than we commonly see written in the 'tune books' and ABC files we use and discuss on here  (usually non-existant to be honest). The more information you add to a piece music the more daunting and incomprehensible it becomes to those with a modest ability when it comes to reading music. Far better to present the bare bones to get the melody across accurately and allow the player to interpret the tune according to their ability, which of course increases over time.

I think it's great that people have the confidence to ask questions on this forum, knowing that they will get knowledgeable and helpful replies rather than the jeering and heckling so often seen on internet message boards and social media. Long may it remain so.

[Winston Smith]

Where's the "like" button??/

[Steve C.]

Musical ignoramus am us.  Bar lines it is.
(that is where one waits for the brewskis...)
But ON TOPIC, thanks all again for the education re: the dots vs. the "music". 
When one learns from beginner method books, one gets the idea that dots = music.  Not the case in real life.
Credit given to method book authors, though, for so often making the dots = music, as it makes learning easier.

[vof]

Where's the "like" button??/

Whey man, why d'yee need it like? 

[Winston Smith]

That's fo' me te knaa an' ye te wunda; nosy beggar!

[Tone Dumb Greg]

Musical ignoramus am us.  Bar lines it is.
(that is where one waits for the brewskis...)
But ON TOPIC, thanks all again for the education re: the dots vs. the "music". 
When one learns from beginner method books, one gets the idea that dots = music.  Not the case in real life.
Credit given to method book authors, though, for so often making the dots = music, as it makes learning easier.

That is, without doubt,  the most important lesson about notation you will ever learn.
You need a lorra lorra experience to get something like the actual music a piece of sheet music models  without hearing a decent rendition.

[playandteach]

Notation isn't something to be scared of. Most music that is notated is meant to be notated. The rest is just a good attempt to put notes into a format that others can access.