I’ve recently discovered that Dorico does not allow you to insert the same fingering for two notes in a chord in a row. This makes perfect sense—how can anybody press F and B-Flat with the same finger, for example—but it becomes an impediment during mano destra/sinistra passages.
In case anybody doesn’t know, mano destra is an indication for a passage to be played with the right hand, and mano sinistra is an indication for a passage to be played with the left hand. Mano destra is usually reserved for notes in the bottom staff of a piano score, and vice-versa for mano sinistra.
So if, for example, you have a chord in the left hand and another chord above in the same staff marked with “mano destra”, but the top note of the left-hand chord has a “1” (thumb) fingering and the bottom note of the mano destra chord also has a “1” fingering, you can’t insert those fingerings in Dorico. They’re for the thumbs of each hand, but Dorico doesn’t seem to pick this up. The two chords must be in different staffs.
I hope you’re following this, and is there a setting for this anywhere?
You can do it on one staff if the chords are in different voices (which probably isn’t a restriction in practice).
- Select the right hand chord and enter the fingering 1.
- Select the left hand chord and enter a different fingering, say 2.
- In the Properties panel, move the 2 below the staff, and edit the “Finger or position” property to 1.
I agree the “input validation” seems to be a bit over-enthusiastic here. Sometimes you can (and do) play simultaneous notes in two different voices with the thumb of ONE hand, let alone two.
Absolutely. Thumb for multiple notes is more common than you might imagine, if you’re not a pianist. Here’s Chopin Polonaise Op.40 No.1, for instance (Peters Edition):
Yes, it works. Thank you, and sorry for the late reply. I went out for a walk.
Beechside, thank you for clarifying that thumbs for multiples notes do exist. It must be said that your example has two adjacent notes, A and B. I guess I was thinking of notes that are far apart, like F and B-Flat. Good luck pressing those two notes with the same thumb, unless your thumbs are enormous.
BalancingScales, 1 on two white notes is perfectly viable - you hold your thumb sideways.
Reading my last post again, I realise it comes off as rather condescending. That wasn’t my intention, but I will apologise for it anyway.
F and Bb is a bit over the top, but Bb and Db is possible, if you don’t have a better alternative.
Not just thumbs. Also, something like F octaves plus a top Gb, played with the knuckle of ‘5’.
And I misread your post and gave an equally condescending response - I apologise! Of course F to Bb isn’t possible with one thumb.