I have found some interesting threads while searching but still left me somewhat confused - possible age
I udse NotePerformer 5 for my orchestral pieces and trying to get to grips with things.
For exapmle;
From my understanding there are, on average, between 20 - 30 violins in an orchstra split between Violins I and Violins II. So if I want 16 Violin 1’s and 14 Violin 2’s playing in NotePerformer I go to the Play tab, expand the Addition Editors, select Violin I and under Playing Techniques travel to CC104, use the Draw tool to make a mark at 16 then do the same for Violin II but this time making the mark at 14. Have I got this right?
If so, then I can do this for all other instruments that have more than one player?
If the above is correct should I have Violin III for a solo or just make Violin I CC104 to 1 for the length of that solo part?
I’m worried bout having too many staves and making the entire score difficult to read and manage?
NotePerformer allows you to set a full/half/solo for strings. No mention of total numbers. The cc104 modifier only ranges between 2 and 8. Which I guess would apply only to solo instruments.
I had forgotten about that option but still a little confused - sorry.
So, do I still need to select a Section Player initially while in Setup Mode in Dorico then in NotePerformer 5 Select Violins Full/Half or whatever?
From what I have read there seems to be no definitive number of full/half players as it seems to depend on ‘how the score is interpreted’. Have I got that right?
@Janus Thank you. It seems that I can drop the CC104 and just do as arco has suggested.
There is scant information in the NotePerformer manual.
You can override (as it says) any sound in the NotePerformer mixer instrument setting, changing it to anything else. However it would get confusing I should think, if you venture too far outside the instrument/stave you have created in Dorico Setup as you are presumably using the staff labelling in the score and mixer as reference to the sound of that instrument.
If you create a Violin Section, in Dorico setup, then you can choose full or half in the NotePerformer mixer. You could choose Solo violin, however if you return to Setup, it will still be showing as a Section of Violins and labelled as such.
Going back to your original post, if I understand it correctly, if you want solo string player(s) as well as a normal section (sections, Violin I and II.) I would create them as single players in Setup. You can choose from Solo (soloist) or Solo (section member) for its sound in the mixer.
Then as you already know, for a Section player in Setup, you would normally choose from full or half.
I do not know any details related to the exact numbers/resulting sound related to “how the score is interpreted”, other than divisi which should work (presumably even when set to half.) What other “interpretations” are you referring to exactly?
@Wallander might like to review this discussion and comment if you have a moment, Thank you.
It has bewildered me as to why you would want to, say, change a violin to a saxophone surely you’d just create a saxophone staff then copy/paste.
Thank you for you explanaitions and help in all the above, much appeciated.
At present I don’t envisage any of my compositions being played by an actual orchestra (but you never know) but I would like to get the sound s close as I can to what it should be in an auditorium so am yet to investigate mixing, channel positioning and reverb.
If you are orchestrating, but want to trial different sounds, then you well might set up an instrument and change it in the NotePerformer mixer to various possible instruments.
For example, you might like to trial a Xylophone, Vibes, Harp, Glock before committing. This would save you having to create all those instruments for “real” in Setup, copy/pasting notes then playing around with mutes/soloing etc. so you can audition.
Best wishes with your composing, let’s hope you find a friendly orchestra (or even a reluctant one??) to play your pieces!
