I am new to Dorico. I am trying to open a midi file of a guitar duet, in other words 2 guitar parts. I can only get it to open (or even import) with the guitar parts each converted to piano parts. Have tried quite hard to get it to open as guitar parts but to no avail. Probably I just don’t know the system well enough yet but can’t find a solution in the manual or anywhere else. Any help much appreciated. Roger Green
Welcome to the forum @rogergre! After importing the MIDI, if the instrument isn’t right you should be able to change the instrument into something else. Are you able to convert the piano into a guitar this way? Although as you’ve got 2 guitars being interpreted as 2 staves belonging to the same piano instrument (?) it might be easier to add 2 guitar players and copy the notes etc across. There are various large selection tools available to make this a fairly quick process.
Sometimes what the relevant channel is called in the source affects how Dorico interprets the instruments, I believe.
Many thanks, Lillie, for this quick response. I have actually just tried simply unticking the Use Split Point For Grand Staff Instruments option which you are given when you click Open. This gave me the two single staves I wanted. They are flutes rather than guitars but the notes are all correct. Now I just need to find out how to change the instrument linked to a stave. That should be straight forward, but I am on the sharp end of a steep learning curve! Thanks again - Roger Green
Sounds like both guitars are on the same MIDI channel in the MIDI file. That’s an ‘error’ in the file, rather than in Dorico’s handling.
Dorico’s ‘default’ instrument for incoming files (in the absence of any other information) is a flute. So it sounds like the MIDI file doesn’t have the correct Program Change data for guitar.
… Which I have now successfully done after following your excellent link. Getting quite excited now! Thanks so much. Roger
Downloading scores
When I download guitar ensemble scores they are always pitched much too high, and when I lower them they do not preserve the Key information and any accidentals are lost. This is when using MIDI or MRX files and Opening them or Importing them. What am I doing wrong?
Roger Green
How are you lowering them - are you e.g. selecting everything (including key signatures) and using the Transpose dialog?
Thanks for your response. Short but useful. I have since had a harder look at the Transpose function and tried again. I have downloaded a midi file (taken from an Encore score). I have then added all the key changes (3 of them in 90 bars). I have then done “select all” and used the transpose function to lower the whole score by 1 octave. The score now plays correctly. However it now has a lot of odd notation. For example, sometimes a C natural is notated is a B sharp, or a G natural is notated as an F double sharp. Not always, but often enough that it takes a good deal of time to go through and correct them.
Another issue is that when the score downloads, all repeat bars are lost and repeated passages are simply written out twice. Is that usual?
So I feel closer to a solution, but not there yet. Does this have anything to do with the fact that I have always used Encore in the past, and perhaps Encore is corrupting the score it exports to MIDI. I have never been entirely happy with Encore. Hence the move to Dorico!
I hope you can help me get these things sorted.
Many thanks for your help
Roger Green
Yes. The MIDI file created by Encore is simply a record of the playback. To avoid the repetitions, just switch off ‘playback repeats’ in Encore before creating the MIDI (also I’d recommend switching off Swing Playback too).
That said, you will probably get better results exporting your Encore files as XML, rather than MIDI (that will preserve your repeat structures, dynamic markings and any text in your scores!)
There is an option in the Transpose dialog to avoid double/triple sharps and flats - was that activated? There are of course some keys that semantically require some double sharps/flats.