I understand there are programmers currently working on improvements to chord symbol implementation, so any request voiced here could have a solution that’s already in the works– the developers here really do an incredibly thorough and thoughtful job with each feature being addressed. I still think it may be worthwhile to mention needs that have required the most amount of work on my part, in hopes it may contribute to the issues being considered.
I’ve made fair use of Dorico’s ability to successfully build a custom chord appearance library to achieve my publishers’ desired look for a number of chord qualities, but there are a few specific categories of chords that I would like to see addressed as preferences in Engraving Options > Chord Symbols.
- We have good Engraving Options controls for chords with a suspended 4th or a suspended 2nd, but there is not an appearance preference that allows for adjustment to the display of a chord that contains both a suspended 4th and 2nd. I understand this can be named in various alternate ways– Csus2add11, Csus4add9, C(add9,11)no3, etc. Any of these lengthy chord names can contribute to awkward horizontal spacing issues, especially when combined with an alternate Bass note. When creating this chord as a custom appearance, Dorico uses this description for it: Csus2sus4. The preferred appearance among my publishers is would be Csus4/2 (with the 4 and 2 stacked vertically similar to one of the options for 6/9 chords–example below). I’d like to see a set of preferences that addresses this set of notes (and allows for this kind of appearance as an option).
As a note– there also needs to be a similar appearance for a chord with tones 1,2,#4,5… ex.: Gsus#4/2 as shown below. It seems the naming convention that Dorico responds to naming this chord quality would be Gsus2(add#4) – which can also make for an awkwardly long chord appearance if not displayed using this kind of a modified, shorter version.
- A second category of chord which has contributed to work for me is the 2 chord suffix (meaning ‘add2’). In social media there have been discussions (with some adamant conflicting opinions) about what a ‘2’ chord signifies. Dorico provides a display option for those who subscribe to the view that it’s a substitute name for a chord with a suspended 2nd (chord tones 1,2,5). Almost all publishers I’ve serviced have been unambiguous in the other interpretation: that a 2 suffix (ie. C2) signifies an added 2nd (1,2,3,5) in the exact same way that a C6 chord indicates a normal triad with an added 6th scale tone (1,3,5,6). They’ve also commonly asked for me to use this suffix with minor chords: Cm2 instead of Cm(add9) or Cm9(no7). I can respect those whose experience guides them toward different views; and admit legitimate reasoning behind both interpretations, but my bottom line is that I need to be able to give publishers what they editorially ask for. Granted, I have been able to accomplish what I need with custom chord appearances, (21 of them for flat, natural, and sharp scale roots) but because this is not addressed as a preference, anytime an alternate bass note is added, it requires creating an additional custom chord appearance, and I see this chord suffix in practically every piece I engrave. It’s an issues that has required significant extra work. (Side note: Yes, typing Csus2 makes it possible to generate a correct appearance for that chord, but it doesn’t change the displayed chord diagram and what then do you type to generate a Csus2 symbol? )
Because there are differing perspectives on the issue, I wish I could make a (document or default) choice in Engraving Options > Chord Symbols between these choices: A ‘2’ chord suffix indicates: a suspended 2nd chord -or- indicates: a triad with an added 2nd. I don’t really need to subscribe to either opinion, but I do need to be able to give different publishers their preferred chord appearance. And this appearance choice also needs to affect chord diagrams– should the Chord Diagram for a C2 include tones 1,2,5 or 1,2,3,5?
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One other chord modified in my default library is the ‘suspended 2nd’ suffix, for which some in my circle of clients have preferred to use ‘2(no3)’ or I have also been asked to describe it as ‘add2(no3)’ along with ‘sus2’. With different clients preferring different choices, a customized default chord appearance library doesn’t work for every client. I’d love to have those options as a preference rather than creating custom chord appearances when switching between clients.
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As a small note, when ’Text’ is selected in the Edit Chord Symbol Component dialog box, the text Style category alphabetically defaults to Bar Repeat Count rather than the font currently selected for Chord Symbols Font or Chord Symbols Music Text Font. It’s easy to overlook this and spend time creating custom chord appearances that contain unintended fonts.
Also, appreciation to active forum member @FredGUnn who has shared a substitution element for the vertically stacked version of the 6 9 chord suffix displayed without any separator line. I would like to see this configuration included as a most common choice in Dorico’s appearance elements for 6/9. (As mentioned, I’d hope for the program’s ability to generate similar stacked elements for sus4/2, and sus#4/2 without separator lines in some future release.)
I feel confident that Dorico’s developers are working on solutions that will be much better and more comprehensive than anything I’ve suggested here. You have my thanks. I find I’m continually grateful for the insight and responsiveness of the entire Dorico staff.
