here’s an update on Dorico handling of chord symbols in music parts. I’ve confirmed that when using Dorico, you are limited to the chords provided by their library. While you can edit the appearance of these chords, you cannot create new ones or duplicate existing ones. If you edit a chord, the changes will overwrite the original chord used by the program.
To create a new chord, you need to find an existing chord in the library that you don’t plan to use (by trying different names until you find one, since there is no available list of Dorico’s chords) and rename it. However, when entering this chord into the score, you must still type the old name. For instance, if you select “C(b9)” and rename it to “CMA7(#9,#15),” you will still need to type “C(b9)” in the score. This requires you to remember all these associations.
After editing the chords to your satisfaction, save them as the default and save the project you’re working on. These edited chords will be available in any new projects you create. However, they won’t be available in older projects made before these changes, and there’s no way to import or copy them between projects. So, if you want to use these custom chords in an older project, you’ll need to redo the process or start over.
There are clearly several shortcomings in this approach. This isn’t about making minor improvements; we’re talking about basic functionality that needs to be addressed. I hope Dorico will consider this feedback, rather than just stating, “Despite having the most sophisticated support for chord symbols in any music notation software, there is always more to add!”.
I just discovered something even more frustrating: when you edit a chord symbol, the changes only apply to that specific root. For example, if you modify the “C major 7” chord to your liking, the edited version won’t automatically apply when you enter “D major 7.” You would have to manually edit each chord for all 12 keys, one by one.
Can someone please tell me I’m wrong about this?
