I’m a 30-year+ Finale veteran who has been using Dorico for about 3 months. After spending $600+, I’m ready to give it up and try some other software because my work flow is maybe 25% of the speed I had with Finale speedy entry. I prefer to work with the computer keyboard, because I need to be able to use the software while traveling. When I make a rhythm errors (easy to do with this software), is it possible for me to remove only the second part of a tied rhythm while leaving the first on intact? Here is the example.
I wanted to tie the 8th to a quarter note on beat 3. When I try to delete my mistake, the first part of the tied value goes with it. I know I could have put in a dotted quarter originally, but this is totally counterintuitive to any trained musician who understands the concept of imaginary bar line.
I’m not quite sure what you mean but if you want to untie the note then you can just select any note in the tie chain and press U.
The other thing you can do is just select any note in a tie chain (they’re all the same note) and press the duration you want e.g. if you want that G natural to be an 8th note, select it and press 5.
Is that the solution you’re after or is the issue something else?
PS hang in there - once it clicks you’ll be super-fast. Especially with the keyboard.
Thank you for the answer. I forgot about the untie option. I’m not at all convinced that anyone can input single note melodies in Dorico with the computer keyboard as efficiently what professionals could do with Speedy Entry in Finale. Everyone says to use the musical keyboard, but when I am trying to write a class assignment on a train or I’m composing on a plane, I can’t pull out a keyboard and an interface. There should be a more efficient option without a musical keyboard. Rant over. Thank you.
Another simple way is to select the G (not the entire chord) and press SHIFTALT/OPTION ← . This shortens the note by the duration of the rhythmic grid (default is quaver/8th note).
… And with the right notation options, that would render the 8 tied to a 4 that you want. You probably already know that, but I just mention it in case.
I respectfully disagree. I barely use the mouse in Dorico, never use a MIDI keyboard…using the computer keyboard to enter single-line melodies is a breeze, once you get used to it.
I’ve never used Finale (opened it a couple of times in the late 90’s as it was installed on the computer at the school I taught at, and gave up because I found it to be completely unintuitive); being a 25+ year Sibelius user, I don’t get the nostalgia for Finale’s Speedy Entry. When I read descriptions here about how it works, it seems convoluted to me.
As many here have said: don’t try to make Dorico act like Finale. It’s a different program.
I’m not exactly sure what you’re trying to do, from our description, but I will say this:
Firstly, if you type a duration that goes across beats 2 and 3, Dorico will sort out the correct duration and ties for the metre (e.g. the invisible barline), based on the settings in Notation Options. So you can enter single durations, even for durations that are longer than the remaining beats in the bar – and Dorico will create the tie into the next bar.
Secondly, you can extend or shorten the duration of any selected note, using Shift Option Left / Right. The note will grow/shrink by the current grid value. You can also just select any note and press the duration number to make it that length.
Also, you might like to try using the ‘virtual’ piano keyboard in the lower panel, to set the pitches while entering notes.
I don’t think there’s any speed advantage in using Duration AFTER pitch, rather than Pitch after Duration, particularly if you’re not using a MIDI keyboard. And actually, many of the default settings for Note Entry may give a faster result. I’d recommend watching the YouTube series of videos on Note Entry to see how it all works.
I’m certainly much faster in Dorico than I was in Finale, so I’d hang on in there.
Did you not take the $150 Finale crossgrade offer…?
Also, take a look at the “First Steps” video. It is a quick orientation to how Dorico “works” (— i.e. helping you understand the design philosophy behind it). It’s well worth the little time it takes to review it and will pay dividends it the time it saves you.
Once you get the hang of it, you may want to use the virtual keyboard, as @benwiggy suggests, or go a more complex route of setting command keys for a more convenient layout as others have done. I, myself, just struggle through the oddity of note names (a–g) on the keyboard but that is even stranger to those who name them “do”-“si” (or “ti”)! I set up Stream Deck (mobile) to use a tablet or phone for note entry but rarely use it.
— Jim
(EDIT: Perhaps this could be accomplished using macros within Dorico as well….)
I set up Stream Deck (mobile) to use a tablet or phone for note entry but rarely use it.