After using Dorico for a couple of months I think the main thing I struggle with is figuring out how all the various ways dynamics, articulations, and such interact and affect the final outcome. Methods such as entering the actual dynamics in the score, Expression maps, dynamics lane in Play mode, velocity and automation in Play mode, etc.
There are a lot of options and most of the time it seems I don’t really get the results I want.
Are there any detailed resources on this? Thanks
I can’t cover everything that is covered in the operation manual or in the version history PDFs, which is really where you need to look for chapter and verse on this material. But I can at least provide you with an outline.
The primary way of determining dynamics is via creating immediate, gradual and force dynamics using the Shift+D popover or the Dynamics panel in Write mode. These are translated into note velocities or continuous controller values according to the requirements of the specific sound being used, as defined in the expression map. Dynamics can also be transitorily affected by articulations, primarily the accent. Articulations can both trigger different sounds (if defined to do so in the expression map) and also change the dynamic for the note on which they appear (as defined on the Dynamics page of Playback Options).
You can see the effect of the dynamics written in the score in the dynamics lane in Play mode. This is an abstract representation of the dynamic level, so it does not show the micro adjustments made from note to note by the humanisation of dynamics that Dorico performs (also controlled on the Dynamies page of Playback Options). This abstract representation also does not show the transitory effect of articulations such as accent.
You can create overrides to the performed dynamics by editing existing points or creating new points in the dynamics lane in Play mode. These dynamics do not appear in Write mode. However, like dynamics created in Write mode and shown in the score, overrides that you create in the dynamics lane in Play mode are translated into note velocities or continuous controller values in the same way as dynamics that appear in the score.
In general, then, you should write the dynamics you want your performers to see in the score in Write mode. If you want to tweak those dynamics, you should do so first by adjusting the settings in Playback Options where possible, and where that does not provide the desired result and you need to override it on a situational basis, make further adjustments or add new dynamics using the dynamics lane in Play mode.
You should not in general need to add explicit data to the specific MIDI controller that is used to control dynamics in the dedicated automation lane for that controller. It should be sufficient to specify the dynamics in the abstract in the dynamics lane, and you will see in the faint grey outline shown in the automation lane for that controller what Dorico is actually outputting; this will also show the micro adjustments from note to note caused by humanisation. However, if you do choose to add further controller data to the automation lane, then that data will take precedence over the automatically generated data that comes from the dynamics lane.
Thanks that was very helpful. I think I was a little confused because some changes don’t appear in some modes
Thanks Daniel, very helpful
You should not in general need to add explicit data to the specific MIDI controller that is used to control dynamics in the dedicated automation lane for that controller. It should be sufficient to specify the dynamics in the abstract in the dynamics lane, and you will see in the faint grey outline shown in the automation lane for that controller what Dorico is actually outputting; this will also show the micro adjustments from note to note caused by humanisation
This is a key point. It indicates that for those of us doing a full workflow (e.g. we need to output finished stems), then it would be a clean approach to only edit the Dynamic track in Dorico, and in the DAW do any CC tweaking necessary.
Given this it would be a treat if we had some control over the phrasing, as that would largely complete Dorico’s excellent automated playback system. Phrasing isn’t notated but rather managed by the player, and so far I find I need to automate the CC to get some nice lines out of the system (especially solo for obvious reasons). If you folks could come up with some system for this - automated or not, that would really polish the playback system. For example, some non printing way of indicating the phrase high and low points of a phrase.