Column index

[ObiwanKenobi]

A little experiment for today (to better understand Dorico’s commands).

I don’t understand very well the principle of column indexes.

In the example below, with three voices, I want to move the A a little, as I find it too close to its neighbor. In Engrave mode, Properties, I try to adjust the note column index, but it doesn’t change beyond the number 1 (only 0 or 1 have any effect). Why do the numbers 2…5 have no effect?

As an aside, I would also like to see a command added to future versions of Dorico that would reset any changes to note spacing (Engraver mode) in one go. I haven’t found any other way to achieve this (but I’m probably not very good at it) than to select each square and press the Delete key, which is not very quick if there are several changes to be made.

[jesele]

@ObiwanKenobi

reset any changes to note spacing

@ObiwanKenobi

I want to move the A a little

I think you have to use the note spacing tool.

Jesper

[charles_piano]

@ObiwanKenobi

Why do the numbers 2…5 have no effect?

The number of usable Voice Column Indexes is the same as the number of voices used at a given spot, I believe. However, you can adjust the position of a given voice column index using the Voice Column Spacing Offset (which moves the voice column and the other notes accordingly) or Voice Column X Offset (which moves only the voice column). Or otherwise, as @jesele mentioned, you can use the note spacing mode.

[asherber]

Adding on to @charles_piano’s answer, Voice Column Spacing Offset is the same as moving a column’s square handle in Note Spacing mode.

Adjusting note spacing at individual rhythmic positions - Dorico Pro - 6.1

And Voice Column X Offset is the same as moving the circular handle.

Adjusting the spacing of individual notes/items independently of their...

[ObiwanKenobi]

Thanks @charles_piano and @jesele

This demonstrates that it is always worthwhile to ask a question on this forum, where Dorico’s elite gather, because PDF 6.1 did not teach me that.

[jesele]

Didn’t know that. Thanks @asherber and @charles_piano

Jesper

(so much for elite)

[ObiwanKenobi]

@jesele

Didn’t know that. Thanks @asherber and @charles_piano

Yes, of course : Thank you to @asherber too ; but he has posted after mine.

[asherber]

Are you talking about resetting all note spacing changes? Take a look at the TIP just under the section you screenshotted:

[charles_piano]

@ObiwanKenobi

PDF 6.1 did not teach me that.

Don’t you have this just below? (here in the 6.0 pdf manual)

Ninja’d by @asherber!

[ObiwanKenobi]

@asherber

Are you talking about resetting all note spacing changes? Take a look at the TIP just under the section you screenshotted:

Evidemment… suis-je bête !

One last quick question before we wrap up this topic: why does adjusting the spacing between notes cause an automatic system break?

[charles_piano]

It creates actually two system breaks (one on the current system and another on the next one), in order to lock the system you’re working on.

Note Spacing Tool adds system breaks

The assumption is that if you’ve got the level of tweaking note spacing, you want that system to be kept together (as obviously if the casting off subsequently changed, your tweaks would be in a different context and also in previous versions would have been lost entirely).

If you want to adjust the spacing without locking the system, you can insert a Note Spacing Change instead.

[ObiwanKenobi]

Thank you for these valuable details, Charles.

And while I have my musketeers on line, I would like to ask one last question.

When I first entered this measure, I got this.

Which is not very pretty and does not correspond to the Bärenreiter edition of Schubert’s Lieder in the Neue Schubert Ausagbe.

After exploring the manual, so as not to tinker with it haphazardly, I realised that requesting the inversion of voices in the Edit>Notations>Voice menu placed my dotted crotchets in the right place; without really knowing how, incidentally, because this note still belongs to the right voice (3rd).
After the explanations provided by all of you, the result :

I also explored all the options (Notation Options>Voices and Engraving Options>Notes>Voices) without this having the same effect as swapping the voices.
You who know every nook and cranny of Dorico, could there be a hidden setting (which I haven’t found) so that this dotted crotchet note in the third voice is immediately placed to the right of the other notes when entered?

[charles_piano]

Or copy Peters instead

[hrnbouma]

I don’t think there’s any setting in Dorico which would automatically allow ledger lines to intrude into another voice column like the Bärenreiter. As you can see, the first ledger line on the low A in the first bar is even a bit shortened to avoid the collision—it’s a virtuosic bit of very manual engraving.