I know the question was asked before about the relationship between the dynamics lane and the individual CC lanes. If possible, I’d appreciate ideas for this specific use case or consideration for FR.
Here’s the workflow:
notes are input via MIDI keyboard
written dynamics are input via popover
played durations are adjusted as needed
specific CC controllers are recorded for the mockup (typically dynamics, vibrato, etc)
Naturally, there is a big gap between the controller values that Dorico would produce playing the written dynamics and any physically recorded controllers. When I first started recording the controllers, the gaps were huge. Working with curves, ranges and practicing “playing” the controllers allowed me to get quite a bit better at it.
However, there is no way that I know of that would let me use my recorded controllers for humanization instead of absolute dynamics, which is how I understand the process is working currently - where recorded values simply override the Dynamics Lane.
FR #1: It would be wonderful to have an option where the recorded controllers can be brought in line with the predominant value in the Dynamic Lane (p, mf, fff, etc) based on Dorico’s mode of distributing MIDI range between them. I don’t believe simply dragging CC selections up and down is a good solution and some kind of compression or averaging out should take place instead.
Additionally, the CC lanes do not show any values whatsoever. Some VST instruments (SWAM) show me every controller value as I play them. But Dorico won’t tell me the values it uses, and so I don’t have a “target” to aim for. In some cases, I can see the CC value if I move the mouse. Of course that means I have to release the controller (e.g. Leap Motion), which of course defeats the purpose. Therefore, FR #2: show 3 controller values per bar (starting, highest, lowest) in the Key Editor so that they are visible without any additional user action. Possibly similar to how bar numbers are shown in Galley View.
“Guide” is a great way of describing it and overlaying the specific CC lanes with the curve of the Dynamics Lane would be very intuitive and elegant. Thanks
The MIDI CC editors that correspond to the controller(s) used for dynamics do of course already show the effect of dynamics on that controller by way of the grey line that shows the automatic profile for that controller.
I am making a distinction between manually drawing controller values and recording them to the click (using Leap Motion and TEControl, for example). The automatic grey line in the controller lane is replaced with the actual data once the controller is recorded.
The consequence of this is that it’s not a very easy task to orient yourself with any precision in the currently active dynamics. For now, I am stacking the Dynamics Lane on top of the CC lane (and most of the time Velocity as well):
This gives me some idea - but the space between two dynamics levels (say, p and mp) is hard to guess visually - and it seems that guessing at where those boundaries are is the only option I have for the time being. Recording the expression controller in particular creates all kinds of problems with the balance in my mockup template because I haven’t yet found a way to reliably bring them in line with Dorico’s values and ranges, which (naturally!) I customized and then used to balance my template.
I understood Derrek’s idea to be as simple as merging the Dynamics Lane with the individual CC lanes, resulting in that curve being always present in the background of each CC lane. That’s far better than anything I’d thought of and simply brilliant. Plus, it saves a lane’s worth of screen space.
But perhaps I missed another way of approaching this whole thing?
Perhaps an even simpler solution might be to have a grid in the background that shows the MIDI values of the dynamic levels that are in use by the given instrument based on its expression map.
Indeed, and sorry for being a bit slow (might be holiday related!).
I wonder if these lines might be most practical if they are presented as bands that show the actual boundaries or the width of the dynamic marking.
The issue I have most often is that the recorded controller curves spill too widely over the intended dynamic - for instance too many f peaks in a controller curve that’s supposed to stay mostly in the mp range. The result is an expressive but very uneven and unbalanced sound in the mockup. It also takes forever to fix by manually redrawing every peak.
Seeing the controller curve against the background that shows the boundaries (or the height, to be precise) of the dynamic band would allow me to constrain the range of the controller in a much more meaningful way and still retain its original humanized quality. It’s also a 100 times faster if I could do it on a selection.
Daniel - thanks, again, for the consideration and any input/insight into any better way to handle this currently.
