automation lane query

Dorico
1

Just looking at automation for the first time (in Dorico; used it previously in Sonar). I’m working with the Kontakt symphony series, trying to discover whether I can control the repetition/arpeggio features.

Now, when I look at the CC list in Dorico/Play, I notice asterisks against some CC numbers, and these differ between the various instruments I have patched. First question then: does Dorico poll these instruments for a response?

Second, when I right-click certain spots on the Kontakt interface, I get “learn MIDI CC automation”. This seems to be software-independent, meaning that I also see this in Cubase or Sonar. What, then, is doing the learning, and how? I can’t find any documentation.

I selected this for solo flute/ attack, moved the slider, and on re-selecting found that it had apparently assigned CC#74. I drew a curve for CC#74 in Dorico, and played back; nothing happened. I cleared it, re-selected ‘learn’ (without moving anything) and re-started the playback. On re-selecting I found that it had responded to my CC#74 curve by ‘learning’ CC#64!

2

The asterisks just mean that you have created or imported MIDI data for this CC for the current instrument. Dorico (or any other host) has no way of knowing whether the plugin will respond to the CC in any way, so there’s no kind of polling. If you select a control in a plugin and do ‘learn’ you are just telling it to listen for the very next MIDI event and use that to automate this control

3

Yeah. Thanks, I figured eventually that I need to work with my MIDI controller (it’s a Samson Graphite 49, which handily has a software editor to help with setting up). It’s a different way of thinking about the process.