Cents tuning to single notes

Dorico
1

Hello,
I understand that Dorico works with tuning systems which makes sense from a compostional perspective. However, it is not very comfortable if one wants to use cents for microtonal music . I would like to know it is also possible to tune single notes from write mode. It would be great to have a note parameter for cents to be able to do it manually, and the option to show the cents over the note.

Best

2

To tune notes differently from 12 EDO in Dorico, you need a tonality system that sets the desired intervals between the “white” notes and defines the needed accidentals. Dorico comes with quarter-tones (24 EDO) built-in. Custom accidental definitions include the pitch difference in terms of the number of EDO. For example a ¼-tone flat is –1/24.

I have done extensive work in just intonation. For that I just use a very large number of EDO – for example, 12,000 EDO makes 0.1 cent precision.

There is not currently a way to automatically show cents differences for each note; you will have to enter those as text. The workflow you describe sounds much more like what I used to do in Sibelius, which can only use pitch bends for detuning.

Say a bit more about what you want to write, and maybe I can be more helpful. This video (50 minutes) shows how things work in Dorico in much more detail.

2 Likes
3

Hello Mark,

Thanks for the quick reply. I am familiar with Dorico’s tuning systems and it’s great overall.
I was wondering about cents for two applications:

  1. Contemporary string quartets that use a cent tuner for microtonal music. So it would make more sense to think and notate the music directly in cents.
  2. I have a symphonic piece with a soloist that plays a middle eastern mode with in one section, the orchestra doesn’t play any microtonal notes. So the solution is to add a custom key.signature only for the soloist , or use 24 EDO overall (which is what I will probably do). However, since it’s a short section it could be easier just to add the few 1/4 tones of the mode manually for the soloist. …

Best!

4

It’s easy to give a soloist an independent key signature. If you put it at the same place as the global key sig it will look the same, but allow you to use the accidentals.