Can I set Dorico to NEVER display double flats?

(just curious). I’m finding for more jazz-based stuff I’d prefer to always spell such notes more simply.
Thanks for any help!

  • D.D.

No, there’s no such option in the program.

Then consider it a suggestion (on top of your extensive list), if anyone else also finds that this might be helpful.
Best!
D.D.

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Would you consider a “filter by pitch” and then select all double flatted notes to respell them a viable solution?

I’ve tried that and it’s certainly better than nothing but it would be great to not have to make note of all of the double flats, select all, choose the appropriate filtered notes and add them to the list, etc. etc. – by that point I might as well simply manually change them as I go as I’ve been doing. Having a global setting would prevent them from ever occurring in the first place which would save a lot of time (since they are rare in more jazz-oriented charts, I’ve found)…I should add that this is relatively nitpicky since Dorico is otherwise so fast, but that’s also why I wanted to suggest it (I’m spoiled by how fast things are :slight_smile:)…
Best!
D.D.

Dear D.D,
You do not really have to be careful about the notes involved, since you don’t want any double-flat. It’s the time it takes to add four or five notes to the list (Bbb, Ebb, Abb, Dbb, Gbb) — C and F are less likely to be double flatted — and respell. I think it’s faster than doing it manually!
But to be honest, I understand your request. But as you probably know now, in those early days of Dorico (still a young software), thedevs give more time and energy to create tools that allow us to notate impossible things rather than easing some already feasible tasks.

True – this is definitely a minor/future wish list item to get to if they so choose, when they have time down the line :slight_smile:…I will add that I think the filter idea is definitely one solution but I am encountering the problem mostly when I’m copying things like jazz charts in situations in which I wish I didn’t have to go back to constantly correct as I go, etc. (vs. leaving things when they are spelled with double flats until the entire score is done and then filtering and changing at that point, which feels like the more logical use of the filter approach but which doesn’t happen to fit into my workflow)…
D.D.

For me this is not a minor issue. Dorico is striving to be as much an environment for composition as it is for engraving. Given a properly spelled hand written score, you can easily enter it. If however, you are composing and want to transpose some selection, you will quickly discover that Dorico makes some really unfortunate spelling choices. Having to fix crazy enharmonic spelling is a workflow detour I’d rather avoid while composing.

It is not hard to reproduce the unfortunate spelling behavior in atonal scores. Enter the tone row of your choice, and then shift-alt-up/down arrow to transpose it one semitone at a time. It won’t be long before the double accidentals and other awkward spellings start to appear. To contrast: Enter a tone row numerically in this online matrix calculator Matrix Calculator and then select either the flats or sharps option. In either case, all transpositions are spelled in a reasonable manner. No double flats/sharps, no F or C flats, no B or E sharps.

The best workaround I am aware of is not very good. If you configure filter->filter notes by pitch to match A-G double flats, Fb and Cb, in any octave, that selection can be fixed by alt minus. I’m not aware of a way to store this filter for future use, and a corresponding one for double sharps is needed. Recording a macro would seem like a promising approach, but it does not record interactions with the filter notes by pitch dialog. I am a new Stream Deck user, and was hoping it could help with this, but I don’t think Stream Deck has any way of interacting with the filter notes by pitch dialog either.

Stream Deck can certainly do this. Look at the “Multi” command. You can program a whole series of keystrokes; essentially a macro.

Dan, I already have macros on my G13 for “respell flats as sharps” and “respell sharps as flats”. Dorico doesn’t have filters for double flats or double sharps, though. Can you think of a good way of getting Stream Deck to do this?

Edit: “resplendent”? “Resell”? Thanks a bunch, iPhone autocorrect…

Multi-command:

(After selecting a range of bars)
Alt
E
L
Down arrow x4
Enter
Shift-Tab
Shift-Tab
Space
Shift-Tab
Space
Down arrow
Down arrow
Enter
Tab
Tab
Space

This adds Dbb in any octave. Adding the others is much less involved. Tedious, sure, but a lot easier than doing it manually.

You may need to add a Delay here or there.

Eurgh. Bearing in mind that the Filter Notes by Pitch dialog remembers previously-selected pitches, am I right in thinking that, having manually constructed one SD multi-command that filtered ALL double flats, and another for filtering ALL double sharps, you’d then need a third multi-command to clear any existing pitches from the dialog?

Dan, I do not understand that “program” of yours… why (and how) alt, in the first place, and then why E, L… Can you explain in plain words what the idea of this program is ?
Leo, I gave some thoughts about it, and I think it is not possible, using StreamDeck, to use the filter by notes function. There is no access to untick the octave with the keyboard, and since we cannot save a list of notes to filter, a third party (fourth party) macro program would have to be used only to create the list that the Stream Deck would use… This does not feel right to me.

Windows users could auto-hotkey a script to click the specific places on screen although programming it would be a pain. That said, at my old job I took the pains to program ahk scripts and it was worth the front end effort; once I had programmed it all my workflow was so much faster I’m sure I gained back the time I spent putting into it.

Yea… I’ve tempered some of my requests (or kept quiet all together) because I’ve had the same thought. XYZ would be nice, but I know I can ultimately get what I’m after in the program even if it is not easy. It is just that the devs work on the “big fish” issues first.

Dan, I just stumbled across your op-ed for ScoringNotes the other day about the stream deck. I’m seriously considering taking the plunge now that they’ve updated the software to 2.+
I have a midi kb with 48 assignable midi buttons (more if you count the synth pads) so for the time being I’m doing alright, but I’m still intrigued, especially since I could leverage it for other programs too that don’t accept midi button input.

“Alt” exposes the menu to key-command navigation. The letters are quick way to jump to a particular selection. There’s a tiny underlined letter in the menu title when it’s an option.

At least on an English language keyboard, Spacebar checks or unchecked the box.

I agree it’s not elegant, but it’s certainly faster than manually adding each one.

You could always shorten the Stream Deck macro by having it start once the dialog box was open.

Sure, but in that case, just select all pitches in the list and delete. Macros aren’t the answer to everything, just the tedious, repetitive stuff!

It’s so flexible. I’m doing a lot of exploding parts these days, as well as little things like adding a page number change… so my home screen looks different for each project. Here’s my current top level (page up and page down are “move viewing area left and right”).

Little things, but it probably speeds up my workflow by 15-20%.
C42FFAC0-32EE-4ECA-804F-54133130474E.jpeg

Dear Dan,
On mac, alt does not expose the menu to keyboard navigation, and Streamdeck does not accept alt as a single key — it has to be used as a modifier exclusively. Nor does the space bar uncheck the box… That explains why I could not understand your program !