I am trying to import a midi file that includes a brush kit part. I have crafted a custom kit tailored for the VST I want to use (Soniccouture Moonkits), but I cannot get the import to go to that instrument.
I have tried renaming the track in various ways, but if I label the MIDI file’s drum track ‘Moonkit’, Dorico reads this to a sketch treble staff. I can select a standard kit instead, but not my custom one (so far as I can see).
There doesn’t seem to be a set of drum-specific articulations in the Track Settings pane, and I don’t know how to get things like swirl and snap assigned to the snare line with the appropriate articulation.
When I tried attaching ‘swirl’ with Start swirl End natural, I got a crash.
I should read some documentation, or watch a video, so suggestions welcome…
If you import into a project that already contains your custom drum kit assigned to an existing player, are you able to choose it as the target instrument in the MIDI Import Options dialog?
No, I don’t think so. I mean, it is there, assigned to a playback channel, but the …
Back up a minute: the first flow is a previous import of the same material, in a prior version, so the kit in that flow is the original, and the kit I created is additional to that.
When I import the new version, the import dialog assigns all the other instruments to existing players, but creates a new drum part. I cannot assign that to either of the pre-existing kits.
Side question: the MIDI file, when I edit it in Cubase, has a track name and also clips associated with that track have names in addition, which may or may not correspond exactly to the track name. When splitting a multi-channel track to its constituent channels, for instance, the track and clip names can diverge, and similarly if one explodes a polyphonic track in score view. So: what does Dorico look at for information about how to parse the track when it comes in? In one attempt I had the custom kit named “moonkit”, and also the corresponding track & clips in the midi file. But Dorico identified that, as I think I mentioned, as a sketch treble clef staff.
If you want to import it via MIDI as a single kit then you need to create a Percussion Map for it, in the same way as described in this thread: How might I import midi to transcribe drum parts? The percussion map defines the relationship between MIDI notes and the individual percussion instruments they represent. You need to specify the percussion map for the MIDI track.
I think if you have a project that contains a player for your new custom drum kit (as well as the new Percussion Map) then you can import the file into the current project (rather than a new project) and route it to that player.
Yes I was following that thread, thanks, and tried applying the percussion map. It is essentially a simplifed GM layout, with just the one rack tom and floor tom.
Moon kits.zip (1.4 KB) percussion map
Moon kits.zip (4.6 KB) exported kit
In part, I don’t know what I’m expecting to see – it appears that the D#1 & E1, which are snare swirl and snap in the GM brush specification, are all going to the snare line undifferentiated. Should Dorico be clever enough to find the appropriate technique notation and apply it to these?
(A small complication is that Moon Kits doesn’t have a snare snap as such, and it has a palette of swirls a couple of octaves above)
[edited to add kit]
To be honest, I’m sure what to expect in this situation, as importing of MIDI files for custom percussion maps that have playing technique overrides is quite a niche use case.
hope you mean not sure 
– would a midi file help?
ah, yes, sorry, you are quite correct. If you can attach a MIDI file then this is something we can log to look at in the future.
OK. These are before and after editing in Cubase.
mftm 1-2-Paris+8 Django.zip (21.4 KB)
For this particular attempt I duplicated the drum track and split the second into individual instruments.