Does anyone have any tips for a good work flow when doing large scale rearrangements?
I have a large full orchestra work and I’m thinking about doing a wind ensemble rearrangement. I’m trying to think about how to approach this in Dorico while keeping my sanity. The thought of having almost double the number of instruments and staves is quite intimidating. Is there a better approach for this?
Hello, I would add your wind ensemble in Setup Mode and may be group them.
Then switch to Write Mode - Galley View for the arranging bit. You can make use of individual filters to only display the instruments you want to see. You can also make use of the Paste Special menu (to reduce many instruments into fewer instruments for example).
I usually work with two projects: a “source” file with the original, and a separate file with the arrangement. I keep them side by side on separate screens (or even on split screen on my laptop when I’m on the road). You can copy/paste from one file to the other. I highly prefer that over keeping everything in the same file, that tends to turn into chaos eventually (but that might just be me). Keeping separate files also prevents (or delays) the project from becoming slow.
After opening a user created wind ensemble template I would do File-Import-Flows and add the original orchestra piece as a new flow. Then I’d follow the other tips already mentioned. I’ve also had some luck, depending on the complexity of the original with copying say all the high strings then paste special->reduce onto a high wind staff then use filter top/bottom note and move as needed. (Then do the same reducing for other combinations of instruments).
A couple of thoughts…
(On your copy of the original) You might consider reducing the strings/brass onto sketch grand staves, then deleting the individual string/brass players.
Much will depend on the complexity of overall score and what you want your arrangement to sound like.
Hi @user450, besides all useful suggestions above, for such arrangements done in the same project (which has many advantages) I find very useful visually to create a “dummy” 1-line staff with slash region for its whole length, between the two groups (the original, and the new arrangement), as a visual separator (so I know exactly where I am 
).
(At the end of the arranging process, just create a new Full Score Layout with just the desired Players checked):
Dorico file example:
SEPARATOR staff for arrangements.dorico (1.2 MB)
Thanks so much for all the thoughts here.
I think the most valuable one is from @Zalde which is to have the two scores as separate files, open side-by-side. Original orchestra on the left, new wind ensemble on the right. This gives me the maximum flexibility to look at the full orchestra, measure-by-measure, and then copy/paste parts into the relevant instruments of the wind ensemble arrangement, thereby easily making sure all the essential parts in the original make it over to the arrangement.
Thanks to all in the thread – this has been really helpful.
It depends a lot on the power of your computer.
I found that switching between two project files, even with my M4 processor, takes some time at every switch, it’s lagging..That’s why I still recommend the one file procedure. It feels a lot faster. You can still open two windows with dedicated layouts.
Just my 2 EuroCents..
I have also done the 2-file thing with xml imports into dorico. The xml is 1 file, and the other is my new setup. Being able to see and work on both (and copy & paste 
) is nice.
Re: switching between 2 files. I wonder if it’s faster if you don’t activate playback in one of the two files, that way Dorico is not constantly switching sound palettes… I will experiment with this.
This is extreme recommendable!
Yes! I forgot to mention that but indeed I only keep 1 project activated. That way even on my rather basic Windows laptop the switching between the two files is always pretty smooth.
Indeed. I only have one score active for playback at a time.
I am a bit late in the day but I thought the method I use might be relevant.
I do a lot of arranging for clarinet choir from orchestral scores. I have two 24” screens attached to a moderately powerful i5 intel pc.
The system that works for me is to have the orchestral score on screen1 (usually input as a PDF or scanned using Photoscore ultimate). I then add the clarinet choir instruments to the orchestral score on screen 1 to get a composite layout and create a separate (custom) clarinet choir layout which I put on screen 2. I then remove the clarinet choir (display only) from screen 1 to get a layout of the original file. With the original file on screen 1, I can then create the arrangement, copying and pasting from screen1 to screen2.
The advantage to me is that it is all stored in the one Dorico file and yet I have the original file layout, a composite file layout and the clarinet choir file layout all at my fingertips.
Very helpful, thanks Joe.
