I’d like to find a way to place a dynamic in a score and have it send CC data along with velocity values as the Garritan Jazz & Big Band library uses both CC#1 and velocity data to affect volume/attack/timbre. Is this what the “Volume dynamic:” and “Use secondary dynamic:” sections are for in Expression Maps? It would be nice to be able to specify a certain CC#1 value for each dynamic marking (i.e. mf = CC#1 (63), etc.
Also, is there a list of how dynamic markings affect velocity values or is it just based on the Velocity Curve in Playback Operations?
Hoping to avoid editing dynamics much in Play Mode.
Welcome to the forum, Josh. You’ve correctly interpreted what the two dynamic options are for in the Expression Maps dialog. You can’t specify precise values for particular dynamics, I’m afraid; Dorico will translate them into velocity and continuous controller values based on the dynamic power curve value (either specified on the Dynamics page of Playback Options or overridden in your expression map).
Am I correct in assuming that velocity and CC#1 values move in lock step in this scenario? If I want them to be independent in an instance (i.e. sharp attack [ high velocity] and low volume [low CC#1]) I would need to manipulate in Play Mode?
And when you refer to velocity and CC values “overridden in your expression map” how does that work? Add a separate CC action?
Yes, velocity and CC1 move together, and if you want them to diverge you can do that in Play mode. To override playback options in your expression map, see the Playback Options Overrides section in the Expression Maps dialog; it is closed by default. See here.
the dynamic curve power applies exclusively to the primary dynamic controller as far as I’m aware (if wrong then someone please correct) which is not necessarily velocity. It is, in effect, Dorico’s replacement for the Sibelius function of specifying fixed values for written dynamics and there are pros and cons to both methods.
The other thing you can do is to scale the controllers in the EM so they are not in lock step. Velocity will usually have a range from silent to very loud whereas timbre dynamics (typically CC1) may be much more restricted depending on the library. If the Garritan Big Band library uses sharp attack with velocity and volume with CC1 as you suggest, then that is the reverse of the most common practice. Setting both to the same value can make for too extreme contrasts so it’s worth experimenting a bit.
There will inevitably remain some situations where there is either too much or too little attack for the corresponding volume. Then you’ll need to drag the velocity bars up and down or draw in an individual point or line in the controller lane as appropriate.
To me it would be great if there could be individual dynamic curve settings for the two different controllers (and within them greater configurability). This could help reduce the need for individual adjustments.
