Partly as a learning exercise for Dorico, I am trying to reprint Darrol Barry’s arrangement for brass band of Bohemian Rhapsody, some of the parts of which are very hard to read.
There is a tempo marking which I don’t seem to be able to replicate. In Dorico language I would enter it like this:
L’istesso tempo (e=q)(q=160)
I can achieve this:
However, when I add the (e=q) part, Dorico decides I don’t want what I’ve typed and instead does this:
Is there a setting I can change somewhere which would avoid this? If so, I can’t find it.
You could use system attached text (shift-option-X) to input the e=q thing (use MusGlyph or Metrico fonts) and the tempo popover for the rest of it. You cannot have those three markings as tempo indication in the exact same spot, it’s impossible (as for now).
In a way it’s a shortcoming of Dorico’s tendency to have everything make semantic sense. Tempo indications come in multiple flavours:
Gradual: e.g. rit.—they have a duration and are defined (in Properties) by a % tempo change across this duration Absolute: e.g. Allegro or q=160—defined by a BPM value Relative: e.g. L'istesso tempo or e=q—defined in terms of a previous tempo, either with or without a % increase/decrease.
Depending on what you type in the popover, it gets parsed as exactly one of these, to avoid semantic contradictions. If the preceding tempo happens to be anything other than precisely q=80, (e=q) and (q=160) cannot be true at the same time, so Dorico will never show both. You also can’t switch the type of the tempo mark without re-inputting it.
Of course, in the real world, Darrol Barry’s marking makes perfect sense. There are many more examples where you have to fool Dorico into displaying the right thing. The aforementioned custom fonts tend to help with this enormously.
Thankyou both. I had thought of adding the e=q as text and I spent a while unsuccessfully trying to find out how to enter the glyphs. I still have to learn a lot about SMuFL fonts.
Whether that’s a good or bad thing I’m not sure. I want a notation program that can print whatever I decide, whether it makes semantic sense or not. Proofreading in Dorico is a great idea - why can’t my “mistakes” be flagged there instead of ignoring what I’m trying to enter? I find it very infuriating when any software, not just Dorico, decides I’m wrong and refuses to do what I wish. Grrrr….
Indeed, a message with an explanation would be a great help, instead of ignoring simply what you entered. I guess that’s why this forum is so important! Now you know it’s a limitation of the software, and not some mistake you’ve done.
As for the glyphs, I told you to use MusGlyph or Metrico fonts. You’ll find them as donationware at Notation Central. It’s as easy then as selecting one of those fonts, and input (e=q) as system attached text.
