At the end of January I was fortunate enough to meet Hollywood composer Alan Silvestri while he was recording the music for “Avengers: Endgame”, which was composed in Cubase and Dorico. Read my recap of the experience, and watch an in-depth interview with Alan about his compositional process:
Endgame Changer: Alan Silvestri on using Cubase and Dorico to score “Avengers: Endgame” (26 April 2019)
As usual, Philip Rothman and team are first on the scene with an in-depth review of all of the new features in Dorico 3 at Scoring Notes:
Scoring Notes: Dorico Pro 3 changes the game with automatic condensing (5 September 2019)
The most innovative advancements in desktop music notation software today are coming from the Steinberg scoring team. This much is abundantly clear. It’s not just the ever-growing list of features that sets Dorico apart, but it’s the quality of those features and the care with which they are developed.
Philip and team have also written the first of a series of in-depth reviews of specific features:
Scoring Notes: Dorico 3 feature: Condensing (5 September 2019)
Automatic condensing of vocal staves promises to be game-changing for large choral works (including musical theater), as it will be possible to maintain a full score, vocal score, and the instrumental parts all in the same Dorico project, with all layouts kept automatically up to date and in sync with each other. It is hard to overstate what a revolution this will be for music preparers.
The next article in the series of detailed reviews of Dorico 3 features from Scoring Notes comes from Leo Nicholson (our very own pianoleo) as he takes in the improvements to lyric editing:
Another review in Scoring Notes’s series of reviews of specific Dorico 3 features arrives, with Claude Lapalme taking a close look at smart harp pedaling:
Scoring Notes: Dorico 3 feature: harp pedaling (13 September 2019)
In short, the harp tool is top-notch. There is nothing comparable to Dorico for sheer elegance and usefulness when it comes to dealing with the thorny issue of harp pedals.
Dr. Dave Walker returns with an in-depth look at the guitar-focused features in Dorico 3:
Dr. Dave on Music: Guitar in Dorico 3 (12 September 2019)
The great minds who have created such depth and detail in so many areas of music notation have turned their skills to the guitar and what an amazing result we have. Dorico 3 IS the program I have been waiting for since I started to write out guitar music.
Mark Sealey has provided a typically in-depth review of Dorico 3 for MyMac.com:
MyMac: Dorico Pro 3 – Review (6 October 2019)
Dorico 3 now leads the pack… Dorico 3 retains an unmistakable sense that you are working with a piece of software which has been planned holistically. It’s not a collection of tools. It’s an all-in world in which composers, arrangers and performers come almost to “live”.
Ask Audio: Review: Steinberg Dorico 3 (22 October 2019)
Insanely fast and responsive. Easy to navigate and use, condensing tool is a game changer, guitar tools are most welcome, playback templates allow for external instrument use with ease
Garrett Hope interviews Lillie Harris about her work on the Dorico manual, her composing career, and her advocacy for the environment in her copying and music preparation business, The Green Copyist.
The Portfolio Composer: Episode 22: Lillie Harris on The Green Copyist (8 November 2019)
YouTuber Saher Galt has posted a short video on his YouTube channel outlining his favourite Dorico 3 features, including harp pedaling, guitar tab and harmonics, and condensing. He concludes that Dorico is the most innovative music notation software that is disrupting the space and developing at a breakneck pace.
Saher Galt: Why is Dorico 3 special? (27 November 2019)
Tony Cliff reviews Dorico 3 in the December 2019 issue of Music Teacher magazine, and says:
There are now three professional-level notation programmes available: Sibelius Ultimate, Finale and Dorico. However, the only one of the three under significant development is Dorico, whose design team responds directly to the needs of users…it is important to realise that Dorico is the notation programme racing ahead of the pack, with huge plans for the future.
Dorico is currently considered to have the best automatic music engraving of any notation software and has a user-friendly interface that makes scoring and notation intuitive – ideal in an educational environment.
Music Teacher: Dorico 3 Review (December 2019 issue)
Philip Rothman and his merry band of reviewers have an in-depth look at the new features and improvements in Dorico 3.1:
Once again, Dorico continues its unbroken impressive streak of updates. Condensing — the marquee star of the show — deserves a rousing ovation, but the supporting cast of lines, brackets, the dynamics lane, and all of the other improvements each merit a hearty curtain call in their own right.
Scoring Notes: Dorico 3.1 is out with condensing changes, lines, and much more
Mark Nowakowski reviews Dorico 3 in the February 2020 issue of Sound on Sound magazine, and concludes:
With Dorico 3, potential has been fulfilled, while the architecture of the software seems open to considerable continued innovation. Fast, smart and intuitive, it will doubtless become the cornerstone of many a composer’s creative process.
Sound on Sound: Dorico 3 review (February 2020 issue)
(The whole article is not available at the link, but can be purchased as a PDF for a small fee.)
