Steinberg has generously provided a playback template, kit definition, and percussion map for the Simon Phillips Jazz Drums, which I’ve recently started exploring.
I’m particularly interested in learning how to implement specific techniques that are listed in the percussion map but don’t currently respond to notation. For example, a variety of snare roll articulations are available (see image below), but they don’t seem to trigger playback as expected.
How can I link a specific technique, such as a snare roll, to the appropriate notation in the score?
I’m right at the beginning of my journey with percussion maps in Dorico, so any advice or guidance would be very much appreciated!
Have a look at the videos on the Dorico channel by Tim Buel. Here all requirements to make the drum kit sound correctly are clearly explained. There are also numerous posts in this forum explaining the procedure.
Apart from the Percussion Map you also have to link the techniques which you defined in the map to the score in the setup mode . This link is probably missing in your setup.
A roll playback technique is probably triggered by a three strokes tremolo. Try selecting a quarter note in the snare, shift-R, 3, enter and make it play. Does it trigger it? If it does not, add it in the Percussion playing techniques editor (there’s a button for this at the bottom of the kit editor window).
I’ve spent time watching the videos @mavros recommended and (re-)reading the manual. While I feel slightly more confident in my understanding of how the various parts of percussion kits/maps link together, getting roll to play back escapes me.
I’ve added roll playing technique via the Edit Percussion Playing Techniques:
Despite my best efforts, I cannot find the place where these are connected and various conditions are considered (eg there are samples for short and long rolls).
You don’t have to create a new notehead thing for that. You could have used the natural one, and in the bottom left panel, press + twice (one for the natural, and the next where you put your roll, as a Replace playing technique). But what you’ve done should work.
You don’t want to use any roll or cresc. (decresc.) that are timed This only works for DAWs, not notation software.
It seems that the roll sample isn’t being triggered, perhaps because there are multiple roll articulations, and Dorico doesn’t know which one to select?
I understand the limitations of using timed samples in a notation program, but I’m still curious if there’s a way to achieve more convincing roll playback. Oddly, neither the default Studio Kit (supplied with Groove Agent) nor the Simon Phillips Jazz Drums render rolls in a realistic way. For example:
NotePerformer’s drum set handles rolls better, but the cymbals lack vibrancy, and as far as I know, there’s no way to control the dynamics of individual kit elements.
Has anyone found a workaround for this, or a VST that offers better integration for expressive drum rolls in Dorico? I’d also like to be able to use the choke articulation, which doesn’t seem to work with NotePerformer.
To add dynamics to individual Kit instruments, display the kit (temporarily) on individual lines/staves and apply the individual dynamics there; they will not show up when the kit is once again displayed as a five-line staff, but the dynamics should persist.
You are perfectly right. I did not look at the percussion map. Clearly, this cannot work. There can be only one key for a given [instrument+playback technique] combination. I don’t know who produced this percussion map but it clearly looks wrong to me (and I’ve built my share of percussion maps in all those years…)
[Edit] I could discuss this issue with John Barron (he created the map) and he explained to me that he clearly knew that those four keys could not be functional at the same time, but that it was quite easy for the user to delete the three versions they liked less. So that there’s only one present (otherwise, it’s always the lowest number that wins, here key 24).
The thing with rolls is always wich roll you want. If the samples exist in the library it should be able to let them play, but in my experience it is easier to forget proper notation.
For example this file wich uses Allen Morgan Signature Drums (packed with Dorico). It somehow triggers an press roll on the rimshot. You can use that to make an long roll. It is not proper notation but for playback it can work.
Like Marc above mentioned you should define different terms in your percussion map for your 5 or so rolls for the snare. If they are all full rolls, so not buzz role, flam, ruff etc., you probably have to create unique names for them in the playback techniques list. Alternatively keep only one to at least check if it works in principal.
If you decide to keep all 5 with unique names, you also have to allocate each the technique with that name in the setup best with different note-heads.
Well, for what it’s worth, it cannot work (at least for rolls). How would Dorico decide which key to play, when there are four different keys available (so four sample sound types) for one combination? I think the Team should correct this. (@John_Barron_2 ?)
[Edit copied from former post] I could discuss this issue with John Barron (he created the map) and he explained to me that he clearly knew that those four keys could not be functional at the same time, but that it was quite easy for the user to delete the three versions they liked less. So that there’s only one present (otherwise, it’s always the lowest number that wins, here key 24).
I recently emailed John to ask if he might consider updating the map to include rolls—at the time, I wasn’t aware they were already part of it. Unless I’m mistaken, rolls don’t play back by in the Studio Kit that Steinberg includes with Groove Agent SE.
I think it always will be difficult because rolls have an movement. They are repeated double, single strokes or repeated buzz notes. So if you want a specific sound of roll you somehow have to notate it in a way that you don’t notate it for a real player.
Also would be nice to have posibillity of an legato setting. So when you repeat an buzz you can adjust how much they blend.
HiMaarten, I agree that it is impossible today to use one of the standard drum notations to activate those techniques without going to enormous efforts like defining a voice just for those techniques. and then suppressing the playback of the grace notes. I never tried this but it might work.
As mentioned in another post I use 1 stroke tremolo for a flam, two for a ruff (and 3 for a roll which is more common). Unfortunately Dorico does not recognize the typical notation using grace notes for flams and multiple note upbeats and I don’t think that will be the case in the future as it is very instrument specific. For VSL SY Snares and bass drum I experimented with the more common grace note notation and it actually sounds OK in an orchestral piece even-though it does not activate the recorded ornament samples.
Buzz roles do have a commonly used notehead (with the Z).
