I would like to create a score with all the correct HEJI accidentals for a Midi piano piece that is playing through Pianoteq using La Monte Young Well Tuned Piano tuning.
I’m not fluent in musical notation, but I would like if this is possible in Dorico, to generate at least the first one or two pages of the score.
Actually, I’m struggling with the right way of creating a new Tonality System in Dorico 5 Pro for this specific tuning using the HEJI notation, according to the information I found in this document on the Plainsound website: theWellTunedPiano.pdf (226,7 Ko)
I also noticed that the Septimal comma doesn’t have the same value in cents compared to the following document on the same website: The Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation (HEJI), 2020 - LEGEND - update 6.2023.pdf (251,2 Ko)
Once the new Tonality System is correctly set up, will the imported Midi automatically map to the right notes, as they are played with standard Midi notes which are then retuned in the Pianoteq plugin?
In Pianoteq the tuning keyboard mapping has been set up in a way that is not totally chronological if that is something that matters. See the following screen capture:
Dorico won’t create the expected accidentals when importing MIDI, I’m afraid. You’ll be able get the basic notes in, but you’ll have to add the accidentals yourself.
Would there be maybe a script that could do this kind of translation in Dorico?
After all, all the midi notes played through Pianoteq are actually the standard equal temperament notes but repitched to their new frequencies.
Could maybe something like filter a selection for a specific pitch and make the correction for the correct accidental to all the selected notes. Then repeat for all the pitch. Maybe a little better than doing it all manually.
Or maybe there is a tool that would work better for this purpose?
I’m not sure how you could do this, as I would guess that the same MIDI pitch needs to have different accidentals applied to it based on context, so I don’t know how you would be able to filter the right set of notes having imported the MIDI file, sorry.
The cents values for septimal commas are egregiously wrong in the von Schweinitz PDF.
21.5 cents is obviously the syntonic comma, 81:80.
64:63 ≈ 27.26 cents. (64:63)² = 4096:3969 ≈ 54.5 cents.
If this tuning uses the same pitches in every octave, it is much better to just scale-tune the synth and have Dorico send it 12-EDO pitches. You can define the HEJI symbols to shift by entire semitones and use the PDF references to match them to the “played” notes, enharmonically if necessary.
I believe this tuning uses the same intervals in every octave.
I’m already using a scales-tuned synth (Pianoteq) in Ableton where I played and recorded the piece.
I’m trying to turn this piece into a score in Dorico, with the right accidentals for an LP cover project, using HEJI but it could also be another microtonal notation system if that might be better.
Since I’m not fluent at all in musical notation, I was hoping Dorico might do part of the job, and then have it checked to see everything is as it should be.
So you have a midi file that plays just the 12 regular notes without pitch bends? Following the Well-Tuned Piano guide, I would use the D^ transcription because it’s simpler. You can make a copy of 12EDO in Dorico, change the symbols for sharp and flat to the HEJI septimal barbs, and (for played B) add a new “natural” (±0/12) that displays as a down-barb plus a flat. If you need to display regular naturals on C, D, E, G & A, there is a notation option for that, so you don’t have to do it manually.
After you import the midi you can repeatedly Select All and:
• filter to select any E♭s, B♭s and Fs and change them enharmonically to sharps
• filter to select any C♯s, F♯s and G♯s and make them flats
• filter to select all B♮s and apply the special “natural”
Depending on what you played, I suspect the rhythmic notation may be the bigger challenge! If you would like help with this, post the midi file and I’ll be glad to assist.
I confirm I have a midi file that plays just the 12 regular notes, without pitch bends.
I tried to follow your instructions, but I’m not sure I’ve made the enharmonic changes correctly. I’m not sure about the key signature either. I left it untouched as it was imported from the midi file.
I can see what you mean with the rhythmic notation !
Only a 1 min part of the whole piece that has been imported as midi into Dorico and it’s already 38 pages long !, the whole piece is about 9min.
I actually only need maybe two correctly transcribed into sheet music for this.
Maybe you can have a look and let me know what you think, especially for the rhytmic part, and if I didn’t do anything wrong before that.
