Identifying chord tone members

Dorico
1

Hi all,
New to Dorico Pro 5. Wow, what a program.
I am wondering if there is a setting or PopOver that will help me streamline the following process for identifying each chord tone as a R, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, etc.

The attached .jpg shows my initial attempts and here is the input sequence I used to accomplish this labeling.

Question for Dorico Forum Nov 30
Question for Dorico Forum Nov 30449×329 66.5 KB

  1. In WRITE mode I selected the note to label
  2. Selected the TEXT icon on the right side of the screen and the Text menu appeared
  3. Reduced the FONT size to 8.0
  4. Input “7th”
  5. Changed to ENGRAVE mode and moved the text “7th” to where I wanted it.
  6. REPEATED 1-5 steps for the “b3”, and “R”.

This feels like a very labor intensive process. Does Dorico have yet another magic set of keystrokes that will allow me to input the chord tone for each note?

I thank all of you in advance…this forum is so incredible.
Mark

2 Likes
2

That’s a cool idea, @markmusic2! It’s basically the harmonic-analysis equivalent of adding fingers on the sides of notes.

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So now I’m wondering if the fingering symbols can be customized…

EDIT: Looks like indeed under Library > Music Symbols… custom fingerings can be made. It looks like you’d have to write over the default ones, as there isn’t an add button. (Incidentally, you could get proper # and b glyphs in there.) And I wonder how it well if at all it would work with getting the many different variants you’d want (I’m imagining that’s at least: R, 2,b3, 3, 4,#4,b5, 5,#5, 6,b7, 7,b9, 9,#9, 11,#11, and 13, and possibly others as well, like b6,b13, etc.)

The trick as I understand it is that each fingering needs both a RH and LH version in the library (though this is not an area of expertise in Dorico for me). I’m also not sure if there’s an automated way to place fingerings on the right sides of notes, as your image shows.

1 Like
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Well, I tried one, and it look nice…:

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You can set those all in a project, and save as template.

EDIT: You have thought only two variations per number: normal and italic, as the plain is a global setting…

1 Like
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@Christian_R, am I correct that if the basic list I typed out (18 chord member values) was desired, there would need to be 36 slots in the library available to be customized, or am I way “off base” on that?

Also, are negative X values available, so they could appear to the right?

5

Thanks for your quick reply. I’m familiar with the LH and RH input process for Fretted Instruments…

image
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I have not tried using that process to enter, as you suggested, R, 2, b3, 3, 4, #4, 4, b5, etc. Unfortunately I won’t be able to try that until later today…but I will try it and post my results here.

Thanks so much.
Mark

6

Also, I don’t specifically need the analysis numbers on the right side of the notation. I just want to be able to help explain the suggestions and theory of voice leading.
Mark

7

Mhh, yes many more variations are needed as the (only 2) that the fingering offers: normal and italics (being plain a global setting you cannot use it for this really…).

And an extreme global offset to the right of the fingering produces bad behaviour (the notes disappear)…

I was also trying with Playing techniques or vertical invisible lines with glyph annotation, but it doesn’t help on the positioning side…

I think a future built-in functionality is needed here.

1 Like
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Also, I’ve recently downloaded and started to play around with MusAnalysis software program that provides a great font for Dorico. I’ll post that test as well…later today.
Mark

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Hi @markmusic2, did you think about using something like MusAnalysis font?

[EDIT: opps, just noticed that you mentioned it already.]

You can then use lyrics to write below the upper staff you intervals.
Here an example. A kind of voice leading figured bass where you can write your intervals in the vertical order that appear in the music:

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Building off of Christian’s suggestion, I was just coming back to ask about whether you’d want instead to use figured-bass-style analytical symbols (for which the MusAnalysis font is great) w things as actual voice leading of guide tones, etc.

That’s the way I often made such exercises, to deëmphasize the vertical “slice-and-dice” view.

11

Christian_R,
Yes, your suggestion is a possibility. I would prefer to be able to put the designated chord tone number to the right or left of the actual note. Thanks for all the suggestions…
Mark

12

:slight_smile: Yes, I’ve watched the tutorials on MusAnalysis, and you are right. That program allows one to separate out each note with line indicators to the next voice for a nice visual of voice leading. I’d still prefer to have the chord tone numbers next to the specific note. It’s a better visual for me…:slight_smile:

1 Like
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Understood. For me, I found that each had its place, depending on the exercise.