This might seem silly to some people, but can someone tell me how to change the default wording Clarinet in Bb as the instrument label on the first system to Bb Clarinet? I’ve looked around in both Setup and Engrave mode and don’t see where that’s done.
It’s not just that it will that save me a quarter of an inch horizontally on the first page, which is unimportant. The score I’m working on is atonal, and the term Clarinet in Bb implies tonality. Anyone capable of playing it will know exactly what’s meant and will never think one second about about it. But to me, calling it simply a Bb Clarinet means a clarinet that is pitched at that level for reasons that were considered important two centuries ago. That’s become the standard clarinet, which I have no problem with. Whereas to me Clarinet in Bb means a clarinet that plays in that key. And in the score it’s not playing in that or any other key.
I’ve also changed the short names for all four instruments in the score to two-letter abbreviations with no period—unapologetically because I like it that way. Except I still get Cl in Bb. I want to fix that, too. I’m assuming it’s in the same place as the long name, but mention it just in case.
I know it’s got to be easy. Thanks for your patience and indulgence.
I don’t think any Clarinetist would share your confusion, but I respect that the nuance is important to you – I think everyone has their own specific way they like to present their scores and instruments. I for one refuse to use “clash cymbal” in place of “piatti” for reasons that are largely personal and not necessarily logical. The nice thing about Dorico is how deep the preferences are to satisfy all of us highly particular musicians!
for my part, I think “clarinet in Bb” says that it is pitched in Bb, not that it plays music in Bb. So I have no issue with using that nomenclature with non-tonal music.
@charles_piano — I’ve found where you’ve shown but don’t see what to change.
I tried changing the player’s name for Clarinet in Bb but whatever I typed in it still added “in Bb”. E.g. Shakuhachi in Bb. Not quite.
Thanks for the vote of confidence on my being picky.
I thought it was cRash cymbal, not cLash cymbal. Are there both now? I’ve been away.
And I asked once early in my association with this forum how to type a real sharp and flat character rather than # and b, and someone replied, but I neglected it to write it in my “must memorize and internalize” file so of course I’ve forgotten. Can someone remind me please?
Still looking for a path on this one, refusing to admit defeat.
Yep, this confusion is exactly the issue for me. Clash cymbal is Dorico’s default nomenclature for Piatti, two cymbals “clashed” together. I don’t recall having seen it in any score prior to using Dorico and after changing the defaults I hope to never see it again haha
This gives me Bb Clarinet on the first system and just Cl on all subsequent systems. I figure Cl is enough to show it’s a clarinet and who cares that it’s a Bb clarinet? BTW the part will be untransposed. (With Dorico I can do it either way.) The original performer worked off an untransposed part. (I asked him before copying it. In those days everything was done by hand.)
It’s very satisfying to solve a problem exactly as I want it to appear!
No, what I’m looking for is simply how to insert a musical flat or sharp in a forum post rather than a b or # character. As I said, someone told me about a month ago but I haven’t needed it and now I’ve forgotten.
OK, but would a pianist who happens to have a harpsichord next to him that is never, ever used in the composition need to be reminded that this is a piano part on every system? I hope not.
To quote Pontius Pilate: “What I have written, I have written.”
Wouldn’t range be an issue? I take it to the bottom and push the upper end beyond what even most professionals can play. Even in 1966, when I wrote and performed the piece, the clarinet player acknowledged that any player in the category of those who can play this piece will have no problem reading an untransposed part.
With a tool like Dorico, transposition is a no-brainer.
If you insist in having an untransposed part for Bb Clarinet (Sure, I can read that but why? As you say, creating a transposed part when writing on a computer is trivial.) then you should at least label it “Bb Clarinet in C”. Anything else is both wrong and confusing.
(Side note: Clarinet in Bb does not mean that it plays in Bb major. Unlike, say, a set of bagpipes or a tin whistle, it’s a fully chromatic instrument. As you know. Noting that a part is “in C” means that it’s not transposed.)
Of course, if your music will only ever be performed by your friend that knows what you mean then it doesn’t really matter. You could notate it in whatever way you like and as long as the performer understands you, the notation has served its purpose. I’ll shut up now.
Comments on terminology noted. I was sure I might provoke a response from someone who disagreed.
In the old days, before there were even Xerox machines, hand copying was all there was, particularly if you were a starving student in the crunch of getting something ready for performance.
In most atonal works I’ve seen, the master score is written untransposed. It’s tough enough for conductors to read scores at pitch without also having to transpose at sight. (Although as a trombone player I’m pretty capable of reading B-flat parts as though they are in tenor clef.)
As I said previously, I’m doing this mostly for my archives. At least three of the original players of this piece are long dead, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the fourth one is as well.
Since most orchestral scores are transposed, conductors get very good at reading them. In fact, I would say that most conductors prefer transposed scores.
Not quite.
