Questions about MIDI Import Options in Dorico (using Note Performer for ultimate playback)

[PaulWalmsley]

@robjohn9999

So I presume that with “preserve note positions” NOT checked, the start times of the actual underlying MIDI notes will be quantized on import identically to the start times of the actual music notation (which itself, as Daniel says, is subject to Paul’s “adaptive quantization method”)?; and the end times of the actual underlying MIDI notes will also be quantized, but using some sort of internal algorithm to determine exactly in which manner?

That’s correct. This option doesn’t affect the quantization. It just remembers the original positions of the notes, and then once the quantised position has been set, it applies a start and end offset so that it should play with the same timing as the original MIDI file. Note that if notes have modified start or end times then they are excluded from lots of other processing. eg marking such a note as staccato won’t shorten the playback. Also the option to set the default note playback durations won’t apply, so perhaps this explains some of the things you’re seeing with NotePerformer: if you’ve imported a MIDI file and preserved note offsets (or modified them by dragging in the piano roll editor) then this ‘finalises’ the position and duration and the Playback Options note duration settings will have no effect.