First of all, thank you so much for adding pitch before duration note entry. As a Finale user since version 3.5, I never really got along with duration before pitch. It just feels unnatural to me and slows me down a lot. 
Since I regularly use Speedy entry only with a computer keyboard, e.g. when traveling by train, and also transcribe music notated in many different clefs, I prefer using the arrow keys to select the pitches rather than entering their names. In this case I donât really need to know the actual pitches and can keep one hand on the number keys, the other one on the arrow keys.
However, Dorico requires to press Alt together with the arrow keys in order to change the pitch of the shadow note. Thatâs a bit cumbersome. I can understand that the key combination is consistent with the other contexts where notes can be moved vertically, but in this case it slows down note entry. Itâs a good idea to use Alt in order to prevent accidental changes, but I think the shadow note doesnât need this âprotectionâ here.
Is there already a way to change the key bindings from [Alt+arrow up/down] to [arrow up/down] only? I couldnât find a corresponding setting yet.
Martin
Thatâs possible, but changing it does potentially come at a cost:
The arrow up/down keys are by default set up to move the caret up/down. Youâll have to change that command first, search for âMove Downâ and âMove Upâ in the key commands editor. The actual command to change the shadow notes in pitch before duration mode is âLower/Raise Pitch by Stepâ. Reassign the arrow keys to those commands instead, or consider some other single key that would work for you.
Thanks for the quick reply and the information, Stefan. I guess, I have to play around with a global change of Alt+arrow vs. arrow only and see if it works for me. It probably has some other downsides. Unfortunately, I donât have many unmapped keys on the right side of my laptop that could be used as alternatives for the arrow keys.
Unless there are some really weird clefs that I havenât come across, the trick for reading all of them is that middle C is always on a line (even if that is a leger line, as in the modern F and G clefs).
So just read the notes below that line like an F clef, and above it like a G clef. Simple, with a bit of practice.
Yes, thatâs true. I actually learned and practiced to sight-read scores in various clefs a lot in college. Over the time Iâve become a bit rusty with it, though. However, entering pitches using the arrow keys where the right hand can stay in place is much faster for me than having to use 7 different letter keys on the computer keyboard.