Is it possible to have different chords for different instruments (Let’s say the piano has A7 but the guitar has Ebm)? All the chord behavior seems to be global instead of staff based.
It is not possible (yet).
(don’t know where to answer…)
The proposition by piano_jochen to implement it with
“Shift+Alt+Q” would be very nice!
Regardless of how it’s implemented at a user level, conceptually there are two common semantic uses of chord symbols. One is an indication of the prevailing harmony in a bar of music. For instance a chord symbol over a bar of stemless slashes, or a chord symbol over the melody line in a lead sheet. This use case is clearly what Dorico currently handles. The other use case is as an abbreviation. For example, a guitar or piano part with a rhythm notated with slash notheads, where each note has a chord symbol over it. As an abbreviation, the symbols are not global entities, but entirely local to the individual part. This case Dorico does not yet capture. And, of course, the two could occur together as in the attached example. The piano is told to improvise over a prevailing Eb harmony while the guitar has a specific rhythm to play.
Yes, we definitely understand the need and the requirement, and we plan to tackle this. I can’t say with certainty when that will be, however.
Can’t you accomplish that by entering the D and E chords, and then simply hiding them in the piano part?
The case I find more troublesome is where I want to use a simplified spelling of the chord for some players, most often the bass, but include all the suffixes for the piano and/or soloist.
Yes I have that same issue as well (simplified chords). In fact that is a more common scenario for me.
There are workarounds for my example as well as the simplified chord example. Workarounds waste time, and most everything I do is rushed and time dependent.
In case you’re not aware, the workaround for simplified chords is to add the alternates a grid mark off from where you really want them. Then hide/show as necessary. The positioning will be close enough for most cases.
My most common use is to leave out one or other element of a slash chord for bass or guitar (or soloist), whilst requiring it for piano or guitar.