Can Dorico change the start point of the tuning in the “Divisions per octave” as it is shown on the picture? For example, to change position from A-A to F-F.
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No, it cannot. But that shouldn’t make any practical difference in any case: you are always specifying the number of divisions between each pair of notes, and the order in which they are listed in the dialog makes no difference to anything.
We appreciate your response to our question, Daniel. We would like to make our message clearer so perhaps you can help us.
Traditional Georgian music has a unique tuning system and is quite old. The Georgian modes are descending and the first step from the top defines the mode. Consequently, the first step from the top can be a different note in different cases. If we write a certain pattern in such a way that the first step is note A, in this case, Dorico will do fine. However, if we have to write a pattern where the first step is a different note (G, F, E …), we encounter the barrier of note A, which doesn’t allow the first step of the tuning to be a different note. In the picture, we’ve provided an example: in the first measure note A is the first step and the tuning starts from this note; in the following three measures the first step is changed (G, F, E …) and we can’t maintain the order of the desired tuning due to the barrier of the note A.
I’m sorry, I must still be misunderstanding something. You can define the number of divisions between each pair of pitch names, regardless of which note you consider to be the first step. The notion of which pitch is at the root of the scale doesn’t matter at all from the point of view of defining the number of divisions.
I think what he’s saying is that as you modulate between Key Signatures, ‘A’ might not always be at exactly 440 Hz or what ever pitch you tune at.
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Craig is right. That’s what we are talking about. Now we will bring one more example: in the first example presented in the image (octave A-A), note A is 440 Hertz, which is normal for us. However, when the first step is a different note (as shown in the image: G, F, E), the frequency of A must be changed (of course, due to the peculiarities of the Georgian musical system). Nevertheless, in the second, third, and fourth examples shown in the image, the frequency of A remains 440 Hertz, i.e., it is not changed. As we can see, the frequency of A is constant in Dorico, while any other note is subject to change.
What about using Playback Options > Tuning to change the frequency of A? This looks like a project-wide setting, so it wouldn’t help if you need different tunings in different flows in a project.
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The issue raised by us has been resolved using Accidentals and Custom Key Signatures, but in this case, we have quite a lot of work to do. If Divisions per octave could provide the possibility of dividing the octave with any note, as shown in the first image, everything would be much simpler. Nevertheless, the main thing is that we have found a way to record the original Georgian tuning on a five-line staff notation system. We are very grateful to the creators of Dorico, who have developed this wonderful program with versatile capabilities. We wish them more and more success! We also thank the users for their feedback!
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