Dorico doesn’t seem to know that alto saxes can play outside its assumed range.
How do I get Dorico to play a Saxophone note outside what it thinks its range is?
The ability to play a note outside the range is more dependent on the playback template / sample library you are using. If you go into the play tab and click the ‘E’ button you can look at the relevant instrument loaded to see how it is mapped across the keyboard. What you are describing sounds like a note outside this keymapped sample range. The ability to change this and extend the range would depend on the VST/sampler you’re using, if it’s possible or easy to do or not. I am going to assume you are using a default playback template such as Halion?
The note colors which turn pink and red when out of range do not affect actual playback, and mostly exist as a warning. For example when working with NotePerformer which lets you play any note across the range, you can in fact hear impossible notes which Dorico will show as bright red - because NotePerformer allows this.
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Ah. the template. Didn’t think of that. I’m using Dorico wizard and the VSL. For composing purposes I can switch to Halion and I will check the ranges. this was very helpful, as I am still new to Dorico. Thanks!
It’s been a while since this thread was active, but I just purchased Dorico 6 so I could have accurate playback of my orchestral scores. In my first project I have notes for the horn up to concert Eb5 (their written Bb above the staff). This note is really reasonable for any teenage horn player, but does not sound on playback.
I’m using default HALion Sonic and I’m just looking for the easiest way to get the playback to actually sound the pitches I’m writing.
I know NOTHING about VSTs, how to download them, where they might live on my computer after I download them, or how to change them in Dorico. I could not find a thread that spoke to any of these things on the beginner level where I currently reside! The manual and Dorico YouTube also came up empty.
I’ve pressed the magic E button and attempted to change some things, but nothing has worked.
THANKS for any guidance!
Welcome to the forum, Thomas. The range of the French horn sample in Iconica Sketch tops out at concert D5. The range in HALion Symphonic Orchestra goes up to concert G5, so that’s probably the thing to use.
The simplest way to adjust this is to go to Play > Playback Template, select HSO, HALion Sonic Sel., Olympus from the list of templates, and click Apply and Close. This will use HSO sounds instead of Iconica Sketch sounds everywhere.
Perfect!! Thank you for your clear and easy instructions! I know I’ll have 1000 more questions when I get deeper, but this is all I needed for now. I appreciate your response time, too!