I know this problem has been discussed many times along the years, but I feel the need to insist on the importance of ornaments playback in a educational context.
Students benefit much from a simple ornament playback, which is something everybody knows: no real need to refer to different composers, style, period, etc. We all know that there is a basic understanding of what a short trill or a turn is, etc. Even the free Musescore plays a lot of ornaments well enough to understand the student’s idea.
The turnaround of the hidden extra stave for playback is something too shameful, I would not dare to mention to students when talking about such an expensive and professional software.
This flaw and the lack of roman numeral analysis makes still Dorico a poor solution in basic composition and analysis classes.
I really hope this will change soon, meanwhile, I see students sticking to Musescore, a free solution which can play ornaments. This is a huge userbase Dorico is losing right now.
We’re well aware of the desire for Dorico to play back ornaments, and it’s on our backlog for future versions. There is significant effort required to make this work as it should, because ornaments first need to be accounted for in the calculation of accidentals (in the way that trills already are), e.g. if a turn written on a G shows a flat above it, then we also need to consider that any further notes of pitch A in the same octave will be flattened. Only once we have this musical logic in place can we start to work on the playback side of things.
I hope it is understood that this is just a question of specific needs: cutaway scores? never used one, but many people was so excited when they came to Dorico.
Ornaments and roman numerals? Been using them daily the last 20+ years teaching analysis and composition to hundreds (or a few thousand) of students. That’s why I find them so important, and I can’t explain my students why the most professional notation software is lacking in these areas.
Everybody wants what they need most. Surely Dorico will keep improving.
Thanks, I know that, but the most professional (and expensive) notation software should be capable of that basic (for me) functionality without the need of third-party aids. Finale had it in two clicks: Chord>Roman. Even the free Musescore has simply Add>Text>Roman numerals.
Why? I am a professional engraver and have never needed roman numerals.
I write this to make a point that it is a matter of personal preference of what a tool should be able to do.