As a Dorico user utilizing the software for music theory, composition, and analysis, I am writing to express my deep disappointment regarding the current handling of figured bass.
In France, and across many French-speaking conservatories, the teaching of classical harmony relies on specific graphical conventions. Two highly common examples illustrate the current limitations:
The dominant seventh chord: This requires a number 7 with a plus sign + (indicating the leading-tone) positioned strictly below it.
The diminished fifth and sixth chord: This requires a 6 stacked directly on top of a French-style slashed 5.
While Dorico’s engine is incredibly powerful, its current algorithmic rigidity does not allow the input of these standard French figures. Dorico has proven its ability to adapt to cultural specificities across various notation styles worldwide. It is unfortunate that the French harmonic tradition, taught to thousands of students, is currently left behind. Introducing a simple “literal input without analysis” mode, or a dedicated “French Style” engraving option within the Shift+G popover, would completely solve this issue.
I truly hope your team will consider adding this to your upcoming roadmap so that Dorico can finally become fully adapted to French-speaking musicians and students.
Thank you very much for your time and for considering this feedback.
I am surprised to learn so late in life that extent to which figured bass is used for harmonic analysis, having spent years using the Roman numeral system (Walter Piston) to indicate chords and inversions.
Apparently figured bass (which I also learned, just not for harmonic analysis) is much more widely preferred/accepted for this role than I had supposed.
This is how chord analysis is taught in France, in every Conservatoire — there are videos of Nadia Boulanger using some of those — especially to describe inversions. Thanks to this forum, I learned it was not the universal way to describe them: everybody learns!
Comme d’habitude, notre maître Jedi @charles_piano a livré la solution.
Je ne puis, en effet, que recommander la police GoFigure fournie par Ben ; en fait, il s’agit de l’ancienne police Figurato, nettoyée de quelques problèmes d’affichage dûs à la mise à jour depuis la versions 4 (je crois) de Dorico. Toutefois, il semble me souvenir que la gestion du signe “+” était plus un problème relié au clavier français qu’à la police utilisée in se.
As usual, our Jedi Master @charles_piano has come up with the solution. I can’t help but recommend the GoFigure font provided by Ben; in fact, it’s the old Figurato font, with a few display issues ironed out following the update from Dorico version 4 (I think).
However, I seem to recall that the issue with the ‘+’ symbol was more to do with the French keyboard mapping than with the font used per se.
