So, I’ve been using Dorico for quite a while - inputting notes etc. from my keyboard/mouse. I love the program but …
I’m still very much a ‘beginner’ and half the stuff I see and read about Dorico is incomprehensible to me. My bad, I guess! (Possibly a case of creeping old-timers too?)
Recently, I thought I’d invest in a small midi keyboard for note input - an Akai LPK25 (please don’t laugh).
I thought I would just be able to hit the notes and they’d appear in the score but it doesn’t seem to work like that. It seems that things have to be ‘real time’ (not good for a non-keyboard player) and, even worse, 'real time ‘to me’ does not synchronize with real time ‘to Dorico’.
I’ve read stuff about ‘latency’ and none of it gets my two time-frames synched.
Does anyone have a SIMPLE, BEGINNERS explanation of how I can get the notes from my Akai into my score without a lot of FAFfing about? I’d be quite happy doing note durations with the mouse and the pitches from the midi keyboard.
Thanks for any help.
Les.
In Write mode, double-click on a rest to invoke the caret (caret = non-flashing cursor), select the note value with the mouse and type the pitch on the keyboard.
I tend to use the top row numbers on my qwerty keyboard for rhythmic values and the MIDI keyboard (an LPK25 when I’m on the move!) for pitches - it really is this simple.
There are also settings where you can select to input the pitch and then tap a key for the rhythm, or select the rhythm you want and then press a key (as many times as you want). It’s possible you aren’t seeing notes appear because it’s waiting for you to press a number key to indicate the rhythm. But you definitely do NOT have to record real time.
I also have an LPK25! They’re very useful and ideal to enter pitches in Dorico. As Leo describes, you don’t have to do real-time input at all.
If you have any questions about incomprehensibilities, do ask here. I presume you’ve worked through the Quick Start Guide (or watched John Barron doing it!); and read through the documentation and watched the many videos on every topic.
… same here, I use this keyboard while on tour, and ten-thousands of notes have been entered with this little thing. I would also suggest, not to use real time input, but instead preselect the note values with the numbers on your computer or laptop keyboard (after invoking the caret).
I have an LPK25. It doesnt feel like any other keyboard, and the key width takes a bit of getting used to, but it was cheap, works reliably, and does not take up significant space on my already over-crowded desk. The only problem is that the first note I type is invariably in the wrong octave, no matter how smart I try to be; but it is a minor problem that one can correct quickly. It is particularly useful when there is a series of notes of the same value (scales, etc): I can rattle through them at speed.
David
Thanks to everyone who responded to this ‘beginner’s whinge’! I’m a lot more comfy now and I can see how to work the way I had intended with the LPK25. Nothing to do with Dorico, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what’s what with the App shipped with the Akai. Ah well, it’s a minor thing compared with getting to work with Dorico.
Once again, thanks for your support.
Les.