MIDI export of staccato notes is a mess

Dorico
1

When I export a piece with dotted notes (stacato) to midi, the result is completely unpredictable. For example:

  • I have bars with two eighth notes both with a dot. The first note then gets the length of a normal eighth never (without a dot) and the second note half of that (what I would expect).
  • If I have a measure with two eighth notes both with a dot, in the midi file sometimes the length of the first eighth note is the lenghth of a nite without a dot and the second note is half of that (what I would expect for both notes).
  • I have bars with four eighth notes, all with a dot. In the midi file, all the notes have the length of a regular eighth note.
  • I have bars that begin with an eighth note with a dot, followed by a rest. These notes are ultra short in the midi file so they are virtually inaudible.

I work with the latest version of Dorico Elements (5.1.81.2225).

2

I think I understand, but referring to staccato notres as “notes with a dot” immediately makes one think of dotted eighths, something different than I think you mean.

To what extend may a humanization option be varying the lengths of your staccato notes? Can you turn that off and check your MIDI again?

3

Yes, I’m sorry, English is not my native language, but I’m actually talking about notes with a dot above them, indicating that the note should be played staccato. The humanization option makes no difference. And these are not minor differences - as you might expect with humanization - but clearly audible differences. By the way, I just noticed that you can also hear it clearly when playing the piece in Dorico itself.
Could this problem be due to the fact that I put this piece into Dorico by importing a midi file (I got this piece as a pdf, converted it to midi online, then imported and edited it in Dorico)?

4

When you import MIDI data (or record in real time from your MIDI keyboard), Dorico will preserve your played performance. Note durations preserved from MIDI import or real-time recording will take precedence over written staccato notes.

Exported MIDI will match exactly what you hear when you play back in Dorico. If you want to remove the original recorded performance, select the affected notes and do Play > Reset Playback Overrides.

1 Like
5

Thanks! That solved my problem. Never thought that Dorico would give the midi-data preference over the written notes.

6

Would you rather have a perfect MIDI recording automatically quantized? The score will be quantized anyway and isn’t this how every DAW works?

Jesper

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7

Jesele, I don’t know exactly what you mean. I use Dorico as an intermediate step to convert music from a pdf file to midi. When I convert a pdf online to midi, it often results in a file with errors. By importing this back into Dorico, taking out the errors and then exporting it to midi, I get a good playable file, which I can then further edit in a DAW (Ableton in my case). So I want in Dorico a file that is played as it is there, and not as the original midi sounded. With the Play > Reset Playback Overrides option that dspreadbury described, I can achieve that just fine.

8

I mean that for people working different ways, it’s good to have the option
to play the recorded MIDI if you want. Then you can always quantize as you did.

Jesper

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