Given we already have “Notes from Chords”, and Figured Bass is implemented in Dorico as a kind of chord, then we’re not a million miles away from that possibility.
(Stands in a field during thunderstorm, cursing the gods…)
well, I can’t say I’m excited about the idea of notation software identifying parallel intervals in harmony exercises for students.
the idea is to learn to identify them yourself.
to me, this bears an uncomfortable similarity to ChatGPT-generated term papers.
I don’t see it as a “learning tool”, but as a cheating tool.
but that’s me.
I went through learning to identify those 5ths and octaves. the “hard way”.
apparently, we now live in a world where this type of learning is no longer valued.
so be it.
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The funny caveat is the fact that the tools to identify these things already exist elsewhere. So if students want to cheat, they will cheat. I honestly think that should have little-to-no bearing on Dorico’s development.
(The sad irony is that there are students who would write a bespoke app, just to solve this simple task, just because they didn’t want to do the simple task, lol.)
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Speaking as a student/amateur composer, I have to say I disagree. This sounds like a too-easy-to-cheat tool to me. I’d rather not face the temptation!
Learning (and formal education) are certainly changing because of computers. There is little value in learning facts now (which can all be obtained instantly), except as grist for understanding , reasoning and critical thinking, which are much more important.
The value in learning about consecutives is knowing that you shouldn’t (or rather when you shouldn’t). If you use a computer to check, as said, that’s not much different from a spell checker. Spending a term writing exercises until it’s drummed out of you is of no value if you plan to write like RVW or Debussy.
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Better to search for failure, perhaps? 
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I would go as far as to say there is no point in even teaching harmony unless it is of historical interest to analyse how certain composers composed. The very few living composers who are actually performed nowadays by our professional orchestras have nearly all thrown out the rule book of so-called common practice. And quite rightly so – anyone who is musical will be able to hear the appropriate harmony for what he is she is trying to express – that’s what notation software and virtual libraries are for so you can learn by trying things out, not following (often outdated) rules. And of course listening to and internalising lots of great works which inspire your own particular vision. I’ve never believed you can teach composition though of course there are practical things worth knowing like technical limitations of instruments and how they balance in an orchestral context.
I wouldn’t go that far. Like Picasso, you have to know the rules before you break them.
If you ignore the experience of the past – well, look what’s happened to architecture! 
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Sorry, but modern architecture has nothing to do with not following rules but is to a large extent about saving money and all too often a lack of vision compared to the past. I myself don’t in general know the rules but I can hear them by listening to composers who are worthwhile. But that means I’m not a real composer – fair enough.
I definitely don’t agree with this, but it does raise the very interesting (to me anyway) issue of what it means to be an educated musician in the 21st century. Every 4 semesters I teach a master’s level class in Jazz Pedagogy, and I assign a bunch of readings and devote a lot of class discussion time to that subject. The College Music Society had a task force to study this culminating in their 2016 publication of “Transforming Music Study from Its Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music Majors,” which has some thought-provoking recommendations. They certainly recommend teaching harmony, but they do address the issue of many prevailing educational pathways for harmony that “focus on harmonic practices of distant eras at the exclusion of melody, rhythm, and harmony in contemporary contexts.” I find it a very interesting topic to discuss!
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yes, I was being perhaps a bit provocative here but that is sometimes my way 
. I tend not to accept “truisms” without questioning them first Certainly there are widely differing views as to what can and what cannot be taught and I know of composers who share my view that if they had been forced to study formally (or in some cases dropped out) would never have been able to write anything of any value. But we’re all different and of course I accept that.
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This is gorgeous, @Romanos!
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Probably most students are using Musescore, and thus have access to plugins like https://musescore.org/en/project/check-parallel-fifths-and-octaves. The cat has been out of the bag for quite some time. I get it, computers and the internet have ruined lots of things from the old days. Some of my favorite secret hiking trails are now mobbed with tourons!
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On the bright side: it’s also never been easier for teachers to check students’ homework, or search to see if they’ve plagiarized. 
Perhaps the most important teaching method for composers throughout the past centuries has involved studying and even copying the works of composers from their own past. Has today’s music world become such a different spawning ground for aspiring composers that this is no longer necessary?
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Yes, but it’s still helpful.
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I’ve certainly gleaned a TON by copying the choral works we sing into Dorico. It forces you to synthesize each part one-by-one. Perhaps not quite as much as writing by hand, but it still teaches you a lot. I rather enjoy it. I haven’t had the time (or need) but I’d love to do some larger orchestral works for this very reason. Or a Brandenburg or something.
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There seems to be a lot of elitism in this thread. I suppose none of them use spell check either. For me when I am writing densely textured orchestral scores, this would be a handy tool… not that I can’t detect consecutives myself, but when something sounds not quite right, it would simply be much faster than me going through every stave. Further, I can choose to ignore the result if I think what I have written sounds good, but if I have included consecutives by accident, and fixing them sounds even better, then why not have a tool that detects them quickly, giving me the option without the tedium?
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This is why scripting exists. Create the plugin, and enjoy.
I don’t have to say it, but proof-reading will still be required even if you have a tool for this purpose.
And spell check works SEW well… 
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