Flute does not audition when notes clicked on

[dko22]

Recently in a project I’ve just completed, when I click on a note (or try to transpose it with arrow keys) in the flute part, I hear nothing. All other instruments are fine, the part plays back correctly and MIDI keyboard auditioning and input also works without a problem.

As I’m using VE Pro for this project, I thought I might have accidentally changed something there but if I create a test project with exactly the same VEP setup, the problem does not exist. What are the possible causes of such behaviour which I don’t remember ever having seen before in Dorico?

Attaching a project probably won’t help here as it’s very context-specific but if no-one has any quick ideas of things to test, I’ll be happy to do so in due course.

[dspreadbury]

I very much suspect this issue is the same as the one described here:

Very low volume on note input and selection with HSO Playback Templates

Prior to updating to Dorico 5.1.50 I had occasionally noticed this issue, but since the update it seems to have become much more pronounced. After selecting and applying a Playback Template which includes HSO (any one of those highlighted in the four attached screenshots), inputting a note using either a MIDI keyboard or the computer keyboard and selecting an existing note using the mouse or arrow keys produces a very low volume level for the note. Playback volume level is as one would expect a…

This problem is fixed in this morning’s Dorico 5.1.51 update.

[dko22]

unfortunately, the latest fix has not made a difference in this case. A test version which on my machine still exhibits the problem can be found here The Little Mermaid - Act 1- longing to meet humans.dorico

Of course without the same libraries, it probably won’t be possible to replicate the fault but it’s possible that something odd may be found in the score itself which sheds some light.

[dspreadbury]

I don’t have your libraries, so I can’t say for sure what’s happening beyond the MIDI events that Dorico is generating, but it’s correctly finding the switch in the expression map that provides the Natural technique and the “medium” note length, and it’s outputting the required MIDI CC values to set the dynamic, followed by the note itself. So everything looks like it’s happening as it should be.

[dko22]

many thanks for your efforts, Daniel. It’s not a major issue because it only seemed to start a little before the end of completing this specific project and I’m at a loss to understand what could have changed. I’ll look into it a little more myself and if I do find out what’s happened, I’ll post again in case it might help others in the future.

[dko22]

I seem to have isolated the issue – for whatever instrument is on the first VEPro channel which in the project is the flute, Dorico tries to output the key F1 when clicking on any note. As F1 is below the range of most instruments, it’s only heard when I assign channel 1 to something like the contrabassoon. Why on earth would Dorico be using a fixed note - and that one in particular and why only on channel 1?

As it doesn’t occur with a new project – even with the same VEP template – it’s probably not worth bothering about unless something springs to mind!