[Feature Request] Per Full-Score Layout option to put pianos below all other players.

Dorico
1

Yesterday I talked to some instructors on our campus and confirmed that “putting piano beneath all other players in some full-scores” is at least a convention in Japan but not all conductors prefer it.

Suppose that one Dorico project produces full scores meeting both this convention and the western convention, then I guess that this feature request may works: Per Full-Score Layout option to automatically sort pianos below all other players on the score.

(Before ignoring this convention, maybe it needs to be considered that Steinberg is a sub-company of YAMAHA, Japan. To my intuition, some composers in Japan may just give up switching to Dorico due to lack of supporting this convention.)

2

So… some composers will refuse to switch to a superior notation program because it doesn’t put pianos at the bottom of the layout by default?

For goodness sake. Swap the instruments as you wish them to appear and hit export.

3

I have my strong enthusiasm to promote Dorico to anyone I know. Both you and I know that Dorico is the best choice for producing modern Western sheet music for at least tonal composition (The current version can also do atonal notation well). However, most of those who already get used to Finale in Japan, according to my observation, won’t even have a little motivation to consider whether they can have a better choice. They just use what their professors told them to use till the end of their foreseeable future, even after their graduation. Worsely, they may blame their students (or even hit the roof) for using music engraving softwares other than Finale. Promoting Dorico in Japan requires infiltration to all possible music conservatories and other community music education institutions as deep as possible, which requires sufficient capital power from YAMAHA Japan and carefully prepared persuation to those teachers / instructors who are believing that “Finale is the god”. This needs Dorico team at Her Majesty’s doorstep to respect local music engraving conventions as much as convenient. I believe that this promotion work can be a long-time warfare, making most music engravers in Japan to take “apparently painful” learning of a software they haven’t yet familiar with. The productivity of the entire music engraving industry in Japan may get hindered during these years. The great irony is: it is such hinderence that can be sensitive to Japanese culture, hence (I guess) YAMAHA Japan’s possible hesitation.

I rewrote the above paragraph in Japanese in a softened tone for reference:

こちらは誰にもDoricoを推奨する情熱を持っています。Doricoの素晴らしさはお互いに存じていると思います：調性の有無を問わず、凡ゆる管弦楽譜の作成について、今頃最も良い選択。

だが、個人の観察によって、Finaleに既に慣れている人たちには、殆どの（楽譜作成ソフトを使っている）人が「Finaleより良い（かもしれないの）選択」その存在を知ることさえ、そのやる気、その意欲、そのモチベーションは微塵も持っていないと見えます。残念ながら、連中はただ自分の先生にFinaleを推奨されて、（先生に興醒めさせないために）その先生の意思に従うべきだっただけのため、Finaleを使い始めました。それより悲しいのは、連中は自分の教え子たちにも、このままFinaleを推奨し続けてしまうことです。もっとも悲しいのは、仮にFinaleを使っている先生自分の教え子がFinale以外の選択の考えさえをしただけだとしても、その先生に激怒させてしまう恐れがあります。

日本でDoricoを売り込む事は難しいと見えます。そのために、先ず、日本で音楽の教育を行っている凡ゆる学校・機関（音楽大学、専門学校なども全部含む）の人々（特にその中にFinaleを宗と扱う人たち）に、Doricoの素晴らしさを普及させること。そのために、ヤマハ本社の資本の力と「その普及手段の丁寧さ」は両方必要です。故に、英国でのDorico開発チームの側で、日本の洋楽譜浄書の習俗（コンベンション）に尊重するための機能開発をなるべくする必要性が見えます。

日本でDoricoを売り込む事は、数年かかる必要があるかも知れません。「急に、知るつもりのない、知りたくないソフトを最初から勉強するなんて、辛いよ」と考えている人が多いかもしれませんので、日本の楽譜作成・浄書・管弦作曲業界に、数年連続の社会的な邪魔・迷惑と見なされてしまう恐れがあります。特に、わざと邪魔・迷惑を大勢な人たちにかけるなんて、日本の文化に敏感な話ですから。おそらくヤマハ本社の人たちは「難しいな」と考えていますかしら。

[Off Topic] Similar cases in Japan and in China are due to different reasons. In China, engravers stick to Sibelius because of: an easier initial learning curve + a strongly made Chinese localization + easily fetchable cracked versions.

4

You can already use the ‘Custom player order’ option in Layout Options to put the piano wherever you want in each layout. We have no plans for any greater functionality to support this convention than that existing feature.

5

Thank you so much. It helps me a lot.