I’ve only just started using Dorico to notate my scores. I’m currently finishing an orchestral score and I’m adding hairpins.
The attached image shows a fragment of two flugelhorns playing in unison. I’m trying to add similar hairpins in two places in both parts (bars 117-118 and 119-120). In 117, the cresc. hairpin begins one beat later, but otherwise it’s identical to the one in 119.
In bars 119-120, I managed to get it exactly how I wanted. But before that, in 117-118, I can’t. The two flugelhorn parts show two different incorrect results. In both parts, I tried (with a different applroach) to achieve a result comparable to the correct notation in 119-120. Also, a copy/paste operation from measures 119-120 to 117-118 didn’t work either; the notation remains quite different. (Frustration!)
Of course, there’s the different starting point of the cresc. hairpins, but in my opinion, that shouldn’t affect the result. The key is the point where the cresc. hairpin stops (just past the barline) and the dim. hairpin starts (early in the note). The player needs to understand that the swell lasts until that (first) note (of measures 118 and 120) and that from then on, the volume should decrease again. This seems like a pretty basic concept to me. But why can’t I get this right in measures 117-118?
Can you share the original project file, or a duplicated version that only contains enough bars to demonstrate the issue?
I suspect you have dragged hairpins in Engrave mode to achieve the desired graphical result, rather than using the dedicated options for allowing hairpins to cross barlines, for example.
And even stranger. While trying to perform yet other ways to get the hairpins in 117-118 right, all of a sudden I noticed that the notation of de hairpins in 119-120 had been changed, without me touching them… What happens here ?
How can I make an extract of just a few bars? (Please remember I’m a beginner with Dorico). And I suppose you don’t need all of the 36 staves of the full score neither…
B.T.W. please also read my second comment about how the hairpins in bars 119-120 changed without me touching them.
Also, I composed this work in Cubase Pro 14 and performed a MIDI export/Import. Now, I’m putting the score right in Dorico. And no, I did’t dragg the thairpins in Engrave, but indeed in Write mode.
Oh, and how/where do I send this to you?
You can save the project as a copy. Then, in Setup mode, delete all the other players who aren’t part of the issue. In Write mode, select a bar or two before this section and do Edit > Select to Start of Flow and then Edit > Delete Bars. Select a bar or two after this section, and do Edit > Select to End of Flow and then Edit > Delete Bars.
As long as what you wind up with still demonstrates the issue, that should be all we need! (As @Lillie_Harris indicates, you can also share the whole file if that’s easier for you.)
It’s also helpful to go to Play > Playback Template and apply the Silence template, to keep the file size down a little.
Then you can upload the project file right here – drag it into the edit box where you’re composing your reply, or click the upload button in the edit box tool bar.
Please find the requested fragment in attachment.
Astrocyte_Hairpins extract.dorico (3.8 MB)
It looks to me like the hairpins in bars 7 and 8 (which I think are the previous 119-120) are correct.
The reason things look odd in bars 5 and 6 is that hairpins have duration. If you copy the hairpin from bar 7, it lasts for 2.5 beats; paste it onto the third beat of bar 5, and it will extend to beat 1.5 of bar 6 (and overlap with the dim. hairpin that starts on beat 1).
The hairpins on the bottom staff in bars 5 and 6 look mostly correct to me. To fix the upper staff, you can select that hairpin and drag its right-hand endpoint to the left, to beat 1.
In both staves, you might want to also select the right-hand endpoint of the diminuendo and drag it a little to the right, so that it anchors to the C 8th note and matches the length of the dim. in bar 8.
If you’re entering these hairpins from scratch, you can select the start and end points for each, and Dorico will do the right thing.
Thank you for your reply, dear Ash. But apparently, this doesn’t work quite as well for me as it does for you. I’m sending you some images to illustrate what’s happening.
This first image shows that I selected the notes, opened the input field with Shift + D, and typed < in it.
In the second image, you can see what I got after pressing Enter: the hairpin extends one quarter note too far.
When I try to shorten the hairpin with the right endpoint, I find that it only happens in quarter-note increments. FYI: the grid (bottom left) is set to 1/32, but I don’t know if that has any effect on this.
I also tried shortening the hairpin with Shift + Alt + ←, and then the hairpin does indeed shorten by the value set in the grid (I tried both 1/32 and 1/16).
Third image. I then shortened the hairpin, in the here above described way, to the start of the D in measure 118. This is also the point that corresponds with my musical intention. I do notice that the hairpin extends graphically a bit further than I’d like, and clearly further than in the last two images you posted.
The fourth image shows how I want to place a closing hairpin over the first two beats of measure 118, using Shift + D and > in the input field.
In the fifth image, you can see the result: the first hairpin is shortened quite a bit, and the overall image isn’t the same as what your images show. The right hairpin is also a bit too long. I can correct this by pressing Shift + Alt + ← twice (in a grid of 1/32), which I did before taking picture 6.
Sixth image. This is what I got after selecting both hairpins and shifting them both 1/32 to the right with Alt + →.
Finally, I’ll give you a seventh image. I have moved the first hairpin 1/32 to the left and shortened the right one by 1/32. It’s not the same perfect result as what you got, but it’s the closest I can get. The first hairpin now starts at the correct position, and the second ends correctly. But the point where they meet is placed too far to the right.
I don’t want to nitpick, but I work hard on my compositions, and that’s why I strive to deliver a perfect score. It’s clear to me that this is acting strangely, and that to get a result, as close as possible to the intended one (as in your images), I have to perform far too many actions.
So I’m wondering:
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Am I doing something wrong?
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Is there a setting wrong somewhere?
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Is there something wrong with the/my program?
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Is there another reason, one I can’t think of at the moment?
Oh, I didn’t mention yet: my Dorico version is Pro 6.1.10.6078 (Oct 8 2025).
Select only the first two notes in in the first measure, then insert the cresc. hairpin
Be sure that you have the following setting in Engraving options>Dynamics>Horizontal position so hairpin crosses the barline
Dear John, thanks to you as well for making an effort to help me! I’m gonna place four images hereunder. You will see on it what I performed, in 4 steps.
Of course I also read your second remark about the setting. But please remember that I’m a beginner in Dorico. I didn’t find those settings. Hereunder, you can see where I looked, after switching from Write to Engrave mode.
Would you be so kind to clearly explain the path towards these setting?
Thanks in advance!
All options are under Library… So Library>Engraving Options>Dynamics>Horizontal Position…
There is also a setting in Preferences>Note input and Editing:
Preferences are under the Edit menu, or press Ctrl/Cmd+,.
Checking that setting will give you the crescendo you see below when selecting the C and F#. Leaving it unchecked will extend the hairpin until the end of beat 1. I believe it’s unchecked by default (it was one of the first things I changed when starting with Dorico).
The above is the result I get without the need to edit any Engraving options for hairpins (apart from barline interaction which I have set to stop before barline, but I don’t remember if that’s the default).
Thanks, Zalde, I learned an interesting setting today.
Sorry, I didn’t realize that you were a complete beginner. You need to become very familiar with the items under Library in the top menu you showed in your last picture. Very important stuff.
Library>Engraving Options>Dynamics>Horizontal Position>Relative to Barines
To all of you: sorry for my rather late reply — I just got back to my desk to try this out. But it works!
I’d like to express how wonderfull I think this forum ‘society’ is. I’m told that my project is actually too complicated to handle as a ‘beginnersproject’ in Dorico, but you guys really help me a lot! AND… pretty fast as well! Thanks a lot to you all!
Just to add to all the great tips for settings you already got: you can also add the pair of hairpins at the same time by typing “< >” in the popover, have a look:
Thanks, Lae.
I see you selected the second-to-last note as the end point, and the hairpin extended one note furhter, so eventually it appeared correctly. May I assume that’s the recommended approach—selecting one note before the actual end?
That’s what that checkbox in Preferences does that I mentioned above.
edit: again ninja’d by Charles. 
I didn’t reread everything, so I forgot you’d already mentioned it earlier — so you beat me to it!