[rant warning]
sure, we can relax rules, and then the new generation won’t even know the difference between an F# and a Gb.
To me this is sort of like the ‘usage is the rule’ concept in language. I’m all for the addition of new words to the language, but not so enthusiastic about the deterioration of rules and structures, especially when it makes communication somehow clumsier or less efficient. Though this doesn’t mean that both processes are unavoidable, it means that I’ll do what I can to slow down the latter.
I think we agree on this more or less; the rules of music notation are for the most part intended to preserve clarity and effectiveness. We would like to slow down the deterioration of rules and systems, as well as facilitate the addition of new methods and notations as they are created.
However, I don’t know of any rule or guideline suggesting that tuplets in grace notes are NOT allowed, nor do I really see why they shouldn’t be, if our goal is clarity and efficiency.
Performers certainly play notes in triplets differently than notes without — Gérard Grisey has been known to make extensive use of this, but I think it probably goes much farther back (I wish we could search IMSLP by note value as well as motif). So why shouldn’t it extend to grace notes?
In the piece in question (Café 1930 in Histoire du Tango), Piazzolla makes a distinction between three grace note 16ths and a grace note 16th triplet, as well as between quintuplets of the same. So unless the conclusion is that Piazzolla and his editors were haphazard or unobservant enough to miss them, these were intentional differences.
FWIW, Wagner uses triplet grace notes in Götterdämmerung.
I’m grateful for this citation (although I loathe the usage).
This is why Andras makes an excellent suggestion for using Dorico’s text function to display what you want. I might prefer to use a custom playing technique to attach it to the individual note rather than a position on the page or in the measure.
I expect the question is less whether you should be able to create the notation than it is whether Dorico should program it into the software as a feature.
1 Like
More recent John Williams uses tuplet grace notes for the snare drum in the Raider’s March bar 145-147
To me that seems silly. Any snare drum player will recognize 3 grace notes as a ruff.
(But again thank you for the citation!)
Yes indeed the percussion library I use has good flam and ruff samples, in fact 1,2,3 and 4 upbeats are available for the snares and some other instruments but they cannot be activated through the typical score upbeat format as far as I know.
How are they activated?
I am using a compromise between good playback and correct scoring. So for now I am using the one stroke tremolo to activate the flam samples, two stroke for a ruff, three stroke for a roll and the Z stem buzz roll tremolo stem for a press roll. That leaves two of the upbeat sample options not used for lack of tremolo options in the Dorico setup. (the 4 stroke tremolo is for unknown reason not available in the precussion techniques setup).
Sorry, I was unclear. What do you have to send to your VST to activate each technique? Keyswitch? Something else?
Yes the keyswitch combination for the techniques in the percussion map + the score related indications I mention above. I don’t remember but I might also have added flam and ruff in the playing and playback techniques .
What would of course be very nice if a certain grace note combination could be used instead to activate these upbeat combinations for percussion instruments.
I am not sure if this use of 1 and 2 stroke tremolo linked to a specific percussion technique works if you also indicate in the playback options that you, e.g. for strings, want Dorico to play tremolo samples for 1-2 stroke tremolo and not as from 3 strokes (default). I have to test that.