Inputting dynamics in the Key Editor

Dorico
1

I will acknowledge I’ve never previously really used Play mode so this may be a very obvious question.

Dorico is unable to hide gradual dynamics in the score, and apparently the solution to this when a dynamic is needed for playback is to enter it in the Dynamics key editor. So I want to input a repeating “p > pp” pattern marked “sim.” in the score but I can’t figure out how to actually do it: attempting to copy and paste the existing lines creates a visible hairpin in the score and doesn’t match the previous dynamic levels, and when “drawing” a dynamic it seems impossible to match the existing lines with precision, but more relevantly, the lines I draw disappear as soon as I release the mouse button. Am I stupid? (ok yes, but possibly for unrelated reasons)

3

To hide a gradual dynamic, select it and change its Color property by setting Opacity on macOS or Alpha channel on Windows to zero. This will also hide other dynamics which are grouped with this gradual dynamic.

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4

When you copy and paste data in the dynamics editor in the Key Editor, if that data corresponds to a printed dynamic, then yes, you’ll also be copying and pasting that printed dynamic. You should, however, be able to add data to the dynamics lane using the line tool and get the resulting dynamics to match automatic playback very closely. Make the editor nice and tall to give yourself more room. It’s probably no bad thing if the playback has slight variation from phrase to phrase anyway, since that’s how a human would do it.

5

Do you have any ideas for why that doesn’t seem to be happening for me? (at least in this one project)

6

Can you cut the project down to just a few bars in the relevant instrument(s) and attach it here?

7

Sure. I’m trying to add dynamics for the viola and violoncello staves in this case.

excerpt with problems.dorico (1.8 MB)

8

I find that provided I have one or more of the independent voices chosen in the instrument selector in the Key Editor, but do not have the main (say) “Violoncello” instrument chosen, the edits I make are correctly persisted.

9

Ok this is weird: in the cut-down excerpt file I can not only input dynamics that persist, but also a lot of the attempts I made to change the dynamics in the original file, that did not show up there, now appear.

The only way I can reproduce the problem is by retaining at least some music from the other flows. Do Key Editor dynamics persist in Flow 2 for you with this file?

concerto for strings copy.dorico (1.5 MB)