Dorico 5 with MacOS 12.6.8 (Monterey) : I’ve never worked with large scores in Dorico before, but this is puzzling. I also have screen shots if these will help, let me know if I should send them:
(A) I have full score, but I entered Piano first, then Flute. So, I clicked on Flute and Piano so just those would show. Now, over in Layouts, the Piano has changed to Flute & Piano, and I see just those parts.
(B) Now I want to change this, so I unclick the Layout that says Flute & PIano, and now “Piano & Flute” changes back to just “Piano” in layout.
(C) Now I want to go back to seeing Flute & Piano (or other layout), and so I check Flute and PIano again.
(D) Now my Flute and Piano parts have dropped down ONE OCTAVE!
What’s going on??
If one wants to see a layout with flute and piano together but leave the Piano and Flute layouts intact, one can create a separate layout in Setup and add the flute and piano to it.
OK, but that does not explain why my Flute and Piano parts dropped down one octave (?) I’m nervous because I have never used Dorico for a large score, and if this is happening with only two instruments, it’s going to be a huge mess with 25 instruments! By the way, this file also crashed at least once, maybe twice. If my file is corrupt, maybe I should copy and paste the two parts into a new file, before things get worse (?)
It’s highly unlikely there is any corruption (I’ve never heard of anybody’s scores going “corrupt” like this) and more likely that you are unfamiliar with the program and did something that dropped them down one octave. Dorico has quick hotkeys for octave transposition of any music - you might have hit it by mistake without realizing.
Feel free to upload the screenshots, and even better, the project.
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That suggests that you’ve either added the Piano player to the Flute’s Layout; or that you’ve got one Player holding both instruments.
As ever, some screenshots or the actual project, would help work out what’s going on.
When you select a Layout, then the Players have checkboxes, which allow you to assign them to the Layouts. When the Players are selected, then the Layouts will have the checkboxes.
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I agree - I think there could be some confusion re Layouts vs Players
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Thanks everyone! I made some screenshots, but I had closed the file without saving, to avert any possible corruption. In reading your suggestions, I agree, I must have gotten confused and checked “octave down” without really knowing what I was doing, in the “Players” menu. The screen shots won’t help, so I won’t bother sending them.
While on this topic, I have another question: When I started my Orchestra project, I used the Classical Orchestra, not realizing that there would be a difference between a “Solo” instrument (ie, Flute) and a “Section” instrument (ie, Flute 1,2,piccolo). So, my question is two-fold: (1) Can I change my “solo” player to a “section” player? Or must I create a new Section Flute part and then copy/paste my existing Flute 1.2. part into it? (2) What happens if I just keep Solo Flute part even though it has 2-part harmony? Does this make a difference using NotePerformer as a playback system? (3) I also have a Piccolo part, but the player is switching between Flute and Piccolo. I think I am reading that one can have the Piccolo part appear on a second stave (of the Flute part) just for the moments when it plays, so how wold I set that up? Thanks!
Winds should be solo players, because each gets a separate part. Strings are most often section players because multiple people get copies of the same part, and sometimes they may have divisi. Though you have multiple Flutes, etc., you don’t write them for one section player, you create a player for each part. Then use the Condensing feature to combine those parts on one staff in the score.
(When you do want to change the type of a player, you can’t do it directly, but you can create a new empty player and move an existing instrument to it.)
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- yes you will have to create a new player and copy/paste
- I’m not sure about note performer but the 2-voice situation you describe will remain. It will copy/paste without alteration
You can actually add a new player of the desired type (section/single), don’t give them an instrument (leaving them “empty-handed”), then drag an existing instrument to the new, empty-handed player. No mass-selection and copy/paste required.
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Nice!
But if I am writing for concert orchestra, I am assuming that there are 4 flutes, with one doubling on piccolo. In this score, I have parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, and Piccolo. I am actually re-copying a piece from “the old days” where you might have a real orchestra with 2 players playing flute 1, and 2 players playing flute 2, and one player switching to piccolo when there is a piccolo part. Are you saying that I should create a Solo Flute 1 part, Solo Flute 2 part, and Solo Piccolo part? (PS- I notice when I write a Piccolo part, it will not “Condense” into the Flute (Condensed) part.
Instrument doubling such as Fl./Picc. is handled in Dorico like this: Give the ‘solo’ player both instruments, whatever they will physically play. All staves will show separately in galley view, but only the staff with entries will show in page view. Write the music on the staves for the appropriate instruments, and Dorico handles all the switching and labeling automatically, including “To Picc.” etc.
The limitation with this for the score is that only the first instrument held by a player will participate in condensing. Workarounds for this have been discussed here in the forum multiple times; a search will yield some.
If you have extra wind players, of course you can print multiple copies of Flute 1, etc., if needed.
As per @Mark_Johnson’s post - the limitation should almost be exactly what you need anyway? ie Flute 2/3 condensed with Fl 3 changing to Picc here and there but not condensed?
You need to think about the parts (Layouts) that you want to create, and what will be in them. If the Flute 1 part is for one person to switch instruments, then you want one Dorico Player, holding two instruments.
Yes, so the reason I am obsessing about this is because I want to use NotePerformer to render this piece when I am finished. It is a five movement piece. Some of the time, there may be solo flute, oboe, clarinet, or whatever; other times I will want a tutti section. When I finish the piece, I may want to change my mind about a couple sections, etc… I haven’t used Noteperformer yet, but I see that it makes the distinction between solo instruments and section instruments.
Is this a band arrangement that uses tutti clarinets, etc.?
Sort of. The first movement is a march and it is supposed to sound like a concert band. But my overall concept is symphony, orchestra with four flutes, four oboes, four clarinet, etc…