Chord diagrams

Dorico
1

Hello,

I found the way to create your own chord diagrams for a particular chord, i.e. Cmaj9, It is really great the editing window.
Is it possible to add that chord diagram to the library for later use? I have not found the way to do so yet.

Thank you for any help

2

Any chord diagram you add will be saved in the project so that it can be used elsewhere in that project, but you cannot yet do ‘Save as Default’ to save them for future projects, but this is coming.

3

Thank you Daniel,

But, say that I make a diagram for Cmaj9, can I use it for Dmaj9 in the same project?

Also, do I need to erase one of the default diagram, or can one add a new diagram?

Thank you

4

Yes, if you set the shape you create to be moveable up and down the neck, it will be offered up for Dmaj9 as well as Cmaj9. You can’t erase any of the default diagrams in the library.

5

I’d put in my vote for user-controlled chord diagram libraries. For example, I’d never use the standard G chord, (the one with the low B). Just like I’d never use Alpenhorn. At least it would be nice to be able to hide these away until “restore” or a similar command summoned them back from the underworld.

6

Thank you Daniel,

Somehow I cannot achieve this. I’ll send you some pictures in a minute so you can see what I am doing.

the diagram does not appear for Dbmaj7

7

Carlos, I suspect the problem is that you’re missing the fifth in your diagram, so Dorico doesn’t think your shape is a close enough match.

8

Thank you Daniel,

Then, for this kind of voicing the diagram would have to be recreated for every root. Am I correct?

9

Yes, at least for now.

10

Here is another example that is not working for me.

A few bars ahead, the same root, the chord diagram used before doesn’t show.

11

I can’t read chord diagrams very well (I’m not a guitarist) but I imagine that again not enough notes that Dorico considers vital in a 13 b9 chord are present.

12

Just like to mention that a lot of the default chord diagrams do not have the 5th of the chord. This is common practice in jazz voicing as you know.

13

Thank you Daniel for the technical answer. But from a jazz guitar player’s view that is not something helpful because that is the way the jazz guitar is played. Dorico’s chord diagram editor is so beautiful and simply done, that it invites to make guitar charts with the correct chord diagrams for the first time in the history of music notation software. It would surprise me that we would have to work every root for the technical reason you explained.

I would like to mention that the default chord diagrams are very correct and common practice. Many of them are incomplete but they appear for every root.

I hope that this will be revise.

14

Please create some examples of the kinds of voicings you think should appear for other roots in a project file and send it to me, and we’ll examine it further.

15

Hello Daniel,

I’ll be very happy to send you some voicings and I will after I check more the ones have being included. The ones included are great, never seen anything like it (If you open a chord diagram book, say from Joe Pass, you’ll see that many have been included in Dorico). But it is imposible to include in any software all voicings a composer may wish to write for a guitar player. On the other hand is great to be able to write a guitar part with chord diagrams with any voicing they have to play, may that be two notes, three notes, etc.

As I said before a lot of the default voicings have the same type of structure, i.e. root, b7,3,13,b9 - or say, b3,b7,9,11, and those transpose fine to any root. To have a chord editor that can memorise any of this chord diagram in relation to a root would be great.

But Dorico’s 3 chord editor is already great even if we have to create the same chord diagram for every root! Thank you for bringing such a beautiful update and for your constant support.