[REQUEST] Creating a Solo playing technique

Is there a way to create a Solo playing technique (or just the label) other than entering it as Text? If not, could such a technique be added to the Techniques tab?

This isn’t the way that switching between solo and tutti is intended to work in Dorico: rather we intend to handle this as part of the forthcoming work on divisi.

Along with ‘a2’, ‘a3’, ‘split’, ‘principles’ etc?
Will this also be implemented in playback?

Thank you for the quick response. My situation is to let a clarinet player know that I want a few notes brought out as a solo rather than blended into the other woodwinds. As long as you are working on a solution, I’ll wait.

Wouldn’t the text markup “Solo” do? :smiley:

That’s what I am using now as a work-around, but I thought it odd such a basic option was not included somehow (if only to save me repeatedly correcting size and position of the mark), but now I know the option is set to appear in due course.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I’m not sure what is planned but usage as I understand it is thus:

In a section, an indication for only one player to play:
‘solo’, ‘one’, ‘one player’, ‘1’, ‘1.’ ‘a1’, ‘principle(s)’

In a section, an indication for a particular player to play:
‘2nd’, ‘3rd player’, ‘2’, ‘2.’

In a section, an indication for multiple players to play:
‘two’, ‘a2’, ‘2,3’, ‘2nd, 4th’

For all to rejoin:
‘tutti’, ‘all’, ‘all play’, ‘a3’, ‘a4’ etc.

For all to divide:
‘divisi’, ‘divide’, ‘split’

For all to split in a specified manner:
‘1’ written above, ‘2,3’ written below etc.

In a single player part, an indication that a part is prominent, a ‘solo’, or the melody:
‘Solo’, or ‘solo’

‘Soli’ is used two ways:

  1. to indicate that a part is prominent, a ‘solo’, or the melody, but to be played by all in the section.
  2. to indicate that one player (the principle) should play, but that there are other prominent or ‘solo’ parts (for example, in an orchestral piece a principle string trio - vln, vla, vlc - could be marked ‘Soli’).

@steveparker, I guess we want shortcuts for all the above…?

These are possible right now just by adding normal text markup (hence my original suggestion above).

You could use normal text markup for everything, but that is not good from a workflow point of view, nor from Dorico’s semantically aware mission statement. Also, normal text markup doesn’t behave the same as the playing directions.
Maybe a ‘divisi’ popover would allow all of these, especially as the playback requirements are similar to those for switching instruments in a multi-instrument part. The positioning is fairly easy, above or below.
I certainly don’t require keyboard shortcuts for any of these.

@SteveParker yes, that makes total sense.

It struck me earlier that the “Player” based concept could be related to this question and how it’s supported by the UI.

If we ignore the case of string sections where 10+ people may be on the same music, but think of a brass band.

We have 4 cornets doubling the part called “solo” and two of each on “cornet 2” and “cornet 3”. Euphoniums and both bass parts also double. Then within those parts there’s often splitting, perhaps into four individual voices for the Solo Cornet, though rarely. More common is a “solo” line supported by a tutti (“rest”).

So if there’s two players on the line, we should see the options (“Both”, “1.”, “2.”, “ONE”, “TWO”, “Solo”, “Soli” etc). For four players – well we can extend this logic…

Does the current “player” logic support this idea? Would we ever wish to assign the same music to two or more players?

CJBrewer, that is an interesting idea for the ‘Player’ concept.

So, our brass band template would have four actual created players but all playing the ‘solo cornet’ instrument, with usually only one ‘solo cornet’ layout (although this could be 1,2 and 3,4 etc.).
Directions such as ‘one’ would then shut three players down.

This would be very flexible!