I am exploring Dorico 3 to see how robust it is for guitar notation, specifically electric guitar. I have been using Guitar Pro 7 and am not happy with bend notation, especially if there are double stop bends. I am attaching an example screen shot of something I did in Dorico with a double stop bend in measure 3. In that measure, there is a bend and release involving double stops. Is there an easy way to do this in Dorico? I had to manually adjust the bend/release symbol as the maximum point of the symbol didn’t correspond to the maximum point of the 1/2 step bend. I am also trying to find out how to notate slides properly. I had to add the “sl.” notation myself. Is it possible to set this up in Dorico 3 easily so I don’t have to manually do it each time.
In general, I am interested in understanding how well Dorioco is suited for electric guitar notation, especially where there are unusual playing techniques.
The way you have notated the double-stop bend and release here is not the way we have approached it in Dorico; we’ve followed the publications of e.g. Hal Leonard and other publishers who have done a lot of guitar publications over the last few decades, where you would need to notate two bend lines here: one from the D to the E, then another from the E back down to the D. Then you’ll see the expected bend notation in tablature.
In terms of how well-suited Dorico is for electric guitar notation, we hope it will become increasingly well-suited. Dorico 3.0, which was released about six weeks ago, is the first version to feature any tablature and already features pretty robust features for tablature, harmonics, slides, and bends. Indicating hammer-ons and pull-offs with the expected H and P notation is coming soon; so too is support for tapping, and we are working on vibrato arm notation at the moment. We are of course open to feedback about other things that you would find helpful.
Just out of interest, how would I notate a double stop bend where the B string is moving up a half step at the same time as the G string is moving up a whole step on the same beat? This is a common technique in blues/rock and in modern country music.
I’m still having trouble with the bends. I’ve attached another screenshot. I want a bend and release with the symbol going up and down over the course of the bend and release. Can’t get it to work for a double stop bend. More detailed instructions would be appreciated.
Here is a new screenshot. This seems almost correct. Except the bend symbol should not go up and down for the bend and release alone. It should go up and down over the entire span of the bend and release. Please provide comments if possible
I’m making some progress, but there is yet another issue. In beat 3 of the second measure, I want the b to be played on the same beat as the tied d note, but it won’t let me add a harmony on top of the b that just appears on that beat. Is there a way to do that? For complex bends, often there is a lot of inner voice moment and ties between notes. I’ve attached a screenshot.
Sorry, do you mean the third bar, rather than the second? You can add notes halfway through a tied note if you wish by positioning the caret there, choosing the appropriate duration for the note to add, hitting Q to activate chord input, and then typing the pitch of the note you want to see. Any existing notes in the same voice will be split with ties as necessary to accommodate the new pitch.
