Invisible random key-switches

When all else fails in dealing with more complex plugins that require a lot of ‘key-switches’…I simply create what I’ll call a ‘supplemental playback stave’.

I personally just make a fresh new ‘key-switch’ stave from an instrument using a clef/range as close to the needed key-switches as possible. I’ll use this new stave to draw in my key-switches directly as if they are notes on a page. By keeping them on a stave of their own, it’s easy to isolate them to specific score Layouts, or even filter them in and out of sight in our write and engrave views.

Since Dorico provides an interesting drum kit building system, one might also experiment with using a percussion stave as a visually pleasant/organized medium for serving up this sort of playback information as well, since that presents a lot of options on how one might keep key-switches displayed and organized on the master score. Over a little time, I could create the ultimate ‘control stave’ for dropping supplemental playback information easily into my work-flow.

In the play tab, I direct my special new stave to the relevant plugin and channel needing the key-switches.

When I get ready to design my layout and such for engraving, I have some options in terms of how to ‘hide’ my ‘special playback staves’ from being included in the engraving.

One way is to simply create a custom score layout that doesn’t include these special ‘supplemental playback’ staves. When working with that Layout, if I start the score playing, obviously the key-switches will be missing from the playback-stream and their effects will not be heard.

It’s also possible to enter Engrave mode, and set up Master Page filters that will hide the ‘supplemental playback’ staves while still allowing them to be ‘heard’ when playing things back. In ‘galley view’ one can still see and work with such ‘filtered’ staves…

Thanks for that Brian, I have indeed been using the additional stave method, I hadn’t noticed, however, that specific staves can be hidden on the master page - works a treat in combination with galley view. I also reduce the size of the key-switch staves by 45%.

A great solution would be to be able to add ‘invisible’ (key-switch) notes in the piano roll. This would be particularly good in instances when a number of overlapping key-switches are needed but played in a specific order.

I do hope that the D. Team will consider this option.

The only thing needed now to complete the set (control-wise) is individual adjustment of MIDI velocities.


To be fair, with my current project I nearly ‘got-there’ using expression maps. Allocating a non-functional key-switch to ‘nat’ certainly helped but I did have problems creating my own KS style articulations (KS24, KS25 etc, etc) most of them only appeared as blank spaces in the articulation list and I couldn’t access them from within the expression maps I was trying to build. The ones that worked did work well though but I was ultimately thwarted by the fact that slurs seem to trigger an unwanted key-switch - a function which apparently can’t be turned off.

The score looks great, though!

If slurs are causing an unwanted keyswitch, I’d check my expression map for ‘legato’ entries. I think slur marks call up a ‘legato’ node.

Yes, you would have thought it would, but in the absence of a ‘legato’ entry it seemed to trigger the ‘nat’ key-switch. Given that was a switch intentionally not recognised by the instrument it shouldn’t have been a problem, but in this case the effect was to re-trigger the current ‘articulation’ - again not normally a problem but in this case it was because of the individual way the instrument (Cinesamples Voxos) uses key-switches - that is to select pre-programmed sequences of syllables. (Voxos is a Choir library)

Hi, I am trying to create an expression map, starting with the violins, in Dorico 4. I looked at many videos and read many things and did this:

  1. Assigned my violin track to be EW (EastWest) play, Master Keyswitch file.
  2. Copied the Halion Violin Combi Expression map, renamed it.
  3. Changed the techniques, like legato, to the correct key switch note, like C0
  4. Make init the legato (C0)
    Then, I played it solo. It keeps switching spontaneously between pizz. and legato, and vibrato every few notes. I have absolutely no techniques in there now, so it should be defaulting to legato.
    What did I do wrong? What would cause random switching?
    When I go to Playback techniques, nothing is assigned for legato. However, I can’t find a good video on the playback techniques part, and there is not a Play Mode section in the new Dorico 4 manual, is there?. Maybe that is the problem? Still don’t see why it would switch around all the time. I will add project, just an exercise.
    Thank you for any thoughts.
    Julie
    Newdoll Strings_V2test.dorico (731.6 KB)

Hi Julie.
I opened your file, checked in the routing (Play mode, left panel), clicked on the cog to check that you’ve chosen the right expression maps and… well, there’s Default Expression Map everywhere, which is certainly not what you want, since you’re working on your own EW Expression Map.
I didn’t go further in the exploration. If you want your expression map to be active, you have to choose it in that window (press the cog, and in the expression map list, double click and choose your new EM)
Hope it helps!

Hello Marc,
I only assigned the violins so far, so the rest are default or nothing. Did you look at the violins? I did select EW key switch as the instrument. Once you set up the expression map, do you then also have to tell the violin track to use that expression map, in addition to setting the instrument to the EW Violins Master Keyswitch? In face, the file is working, because I hear all the different sounds coming out of the violins as it plays. I hear pizz, vibrato, etc. It changes every third note or so.
Do you have East West?
Thanks,
Julie

Hello Marc,
So, I found the additional box, the Endpoint Setup box, and set the violins to my EW violins combi. Same result, bounces back and forth between techniques every few notes. I attach here.
Newdoll Strings_V3test.dorico (731.5 KB)

Hello again,
OK, so I

  1. Assigned my violin track to be EW (EastWest) play, Master Keyswitch file.
  2. Copied the Halion Violin Combi Expression map, renamed it.
  3. Changed the techniques, like legato, to the correct key switch note, like C0
  4. Make init the legato (C0)
    THEN
  5. Clicked the gear, got the Endpoint Setup dialogue
  6. Gave it a new name. Made sure my Violin 1 was using my EW Violin Combi expression map and saved the Endpoint Setup.
  7. Went to the Play menu and selected Playback Template
  8. Pressed the plus button to make a new Playback Template
  9. Gave it a name EW Violins Combi Playback. Used Add Manual, my Endpoint Setup was there, yeah! Picked EW Violin Combi End.
    10 Renamed the Playback Template to EW Violins Combi Playback.
    11 Added Halion Sonic SE to the bottom, in case instruments other than violins not dealt with yet.
  10. Clicked apply and close

Then, player back, still get variety of playback techniques. When you open EastWest Play using the “E” button, you can see that along with the note in question on the white key, there are one, sometimes multiple, blue/keyswitch keys being played. Where are they? What did I miss?
Newdoll Strings_V4test.dorico (731.5 KB)

Update - even though I pressed “S” for solo in play, it was playing the other instruments, which were behaving erratically because, of course, I hadn’t dealt with them yet. I could not get the violin to solo. Is this perhaps a bug?

Anyway, when I deleted all the other instruments, it worked! I am hoping if I do all of this for the other instruments all will be well, but it would be nice if solo worked. Perhaps you could check the above file for yourself and see if anything solos.
All the best,
J

All is not well. How do you specify which key switch file an instrument uses? Only one Play comes up, and all instruments use it. I can add all the keyswitch files but it does not know which one to use for a particular instrument, or which instrument to use.

You match the expression map you need for an instrument to its MIDI channel.
endpoints

Thank you, found it! Now, though, I have a note that will not turn off, even when I quit the project and start over. Any way to fix this in Dorico 4?
Thanks!

I am so close. It was all working perfectly. Then, I wanted to see if I could lower the volume on a divisi track. I must have clicked something. Now there is noise in addition to the instruments. I am going to throw project out there, in case anyone has thoughts.
Newdoll_Week4_FinalEX_V3.dorico (1.2 MB)

I figured out how to make this happen. Go into automation, lower one of the volume bars, instant noise, not fixable. Luckily had older saved version to go back to.