Happy: I’m very happy with Dorico. Even taking the somewhat schoolmaster-like tendencies and the time lost from in some scenario’s constantly having to switch between Write and Engrave mode (tick tock, tick tock) into account, the results are gorgeous and easy to make look beautiful.
Small frustration 1: they say it takes 60 days to get used to a new habit, but this one is stubborn: using 6 for a quarter note instead of 5 during note entry. If I haven’t used Dorico for two days, I get it wrong again automatically on the third day. From the beginning I promised myself I wouldn’t customize the shortcuts, but wow, I’m tempted so often.
Small frustration 2: during note entry I constantly need Shift+N — why does that important one in particular have to be a two-key combination?
Feature request: it would be so nice if, alongside “Make Into Frame,” there were also an option called “Make Into Spread”…
For page turning, I often have to adjust the right page to end on a proper place, and then the left page to even out the stretch/compression made. I think this is very common, and in a lot of cases the only reason to want to tweak with the ‘make into frame’ in the first place I guess.
If your muscle memory is still remembering Finale shortcuts, why not make a custom key command? I’ve done that with several ingrained Sibelius shortcuts…
My thinking is that the program makes these choices for a reason; if I change everything to match “what I’m used to,” then the moment I’m working on someone else’s computer, or there’s a major update, it will keep coming back to haunt me.
I could also easily put everything on a Stream Deck with icons, but I’m afraid that kind of “convenience” will eventually work against me.
As to why it’s Shift N – all the “adding notation” commands are SHIFT something that starts with a relevant word. SHIFT L for Lyrics, O for Ornaments, D for dynamics, C for Clefs, etc. This makes it easy to learn and to remember.
As a former Finale user, this did take a while, but it did stick eventually. Even if it doesn’t, you can use Insert mode and press the correct numbers to change the durations of selected notes. I find this is quicker than deleting and re-entering.
You can change the key commands, of course, though I’d argue that it’s better to persevere.
Exactly this is my frustration: I hoped this ‘eventually’ had been given me already So no, nothing has to be changed, I think I’m mostly curious if I’m in good company with this smashing-me-head-again
I have used different notation programs, I usually marked the 8th note, sellotape on top of that key or a dot sticker and that was enough of a reference, either side is double or half. Eventually it falls off and you don’t need it anymore.
Otherwise, actually [brain] practice by looking at some music (away from Dorico) and every time you see a quarter, say 6, just scan through quickly and say 6. Once that is reasonably automatic, choose another like 16th and say 4. Don’t overload, just one or two might be enough, but practice only one to start with until it’s automatic.
So while we’re at it: when I select a note, enter shift-D, dynamic, enter, then afterwards the dynamic is selected. How can I go back to the note, without using the mouse, to navigate to the next note instead of the next dynamic? My workaround is shift-left, right, but it should be a one-key-thing.
All shift-things give a popup except for shift-N, so it’s already an exception. I think this is a good example of where practical use should win over conceptual purity. Just like, for example, placing tremolos under repeats rather than articulations — defensible, certainly, but still something you have to learn, so not necessarily easier.
That said, from now on I’m going to train myself to use Return!
Honestly, what I’d really like is a red warning light mounted on my desk that turns on whenever note entry is active. The number of times I start typing while note entry is off — or, the other way around, casually try something out on the MIDI keyboard and suddenly all kinds of things appear in the score…
My fault, obviously, thus the schoolmaster: the program is sound; the user is fallible
I did this very thing – after changing the shortcuts and resetting them for the very same reasons you gave. I found that, while I sometimes forget, I have mostly gotten used to Dorico’s settings and use the keypad as designed. (The thing that trips me up is the letter names for notes being different than Finale’s pseudo keyboard!)
— Jim
I think there’s no shame in customizing shortcuts – that’s why Dorico gives you that option, after all. As you noted, the only real issue is if you find yourself using Dorico on some other computer, where your shortcuts aren’t available. (I suppose you could carry your shortcuts file around with you on a flash drive!)
Personally, I remapped the number keys to Finale durations very early on, my one big concession to muscle memory. I think it would be nice if Dorico offered a preference to use Dorico, Finale, or Sibelius duration keys, but it takes just a couple of minutes to remove the existing duration key commands and add your own.
So no, nothing has to be changed, I think I’m mostly curious if I’m in good company with this smashing-me-head-again
