I would like to kindly suggest a small feature that I think could be very useful for composers: a simple “scratchpad” or small notepad within Dorico, where one could jot down brief musical ideas while composing.
It could be a space where users can quickly write small musical notes, motifs, chord progressions, reminders, or other ideas without necessarily having to add them to the actual score or switch between documents. Something very simple and unobtrusive (with the option of having it always on top as a small window) would be enough—essentially a little musical notebook always available within the project to copy and paste without the need to navigate to other flows or bars
I believe this could be particularly helpful during the creative process, when ideas often come to mind that we want to keep somewhere visible without interrupting the flow of composition.
For text, there is the ability to make comments.
For musical ideas, why not add a “scratch staff” to the top (or wherever) of your score. You can de-select it from your layout or create a separate layout so that it won’t print (or export). You can even “hide unused staves” or do “cutaways” if you want. It’s not a musical “sticky” note but it should work. There are even ways to change the background to make it look “highlighted”!
— Jim
Thanks @jaskarbong Well, yes it’s possible. For now I usually make a separate flow and split screen. The idea is to keep all material concentrated in one place without the need to scroll
Hey @maronidis :
While not perhaps as elegant as what you describe wanting, I usually create a sepraate flow for projects I am working on, label it “sketch” or whatever and use it to work out harmonies, ideas, failed orchestrations, etc. You can also have different instruments on different flows so you could have a piano, ensemble patches etc as well.
Again, not what you asked for but perhaps a workaroun in the meantime?
Take care
Shore
Or even a separate document and just switch to it.
However, this has certainly been asked for before, so the developers will know about it.
Are you imagining this as a space with material entered in normal Dorico ways and capable of being copied from? Also capable of playback? (I’m imagining, by contrast, iPad users might enjoy a simple visual frame to write on with their Apple Pen.)
that is a nice idea as well! Why not?
Well, I imagine it as a fast way to have a small window where on can copy paste / write / erase any sort of Dorico material. Just to avoid having to make a separate flow, split window and waste (usually) so much space on the screen