Sounds in Dorico

Dorico
1

I am a newbie here. I’m very frustrated with the sound bank that version 5.1 is using. I’m writing a very simple piano/soprano piece. The soprano sound is enough to make me want to quit music and it’s flat to the piano pitch. I need a better soprano sound, or at least switch it to ooo and not ah. Please assume I know nothing, because it’s true.

2

Welcome to the forum, @joanjohnsondrewes. I agree that the Olympus Choir Micro choir sounds are a bit sour when mixed with sounds from other libraries included with Dorico. You might find that simply switching to an instrumental sound is better – that’s what I often do, even when working with unaccompanied choral music, as I find having a variety of timbres helpful in checking the harmonies and the sonorities.

To do this, the basic steps are as follows:

  1. Switch to Play mode by clicking the Play button in the toolbar at the top of the window, or by typing Ctrl+4 (Windows) or Command-4 (macOS).
  2. Select the soprano instrument in the track overview on the right-hand side.
  3. Now look at the Routing section of the Track Inspector panel on the left-hand side.
  4. Click the little e button to show the HALion Sonic window.
  5. In the HALion Sonic window, you’ll see that Sustain Ah is loaded: select that in the slot rack on the left, and then using the MediaBay panel at the right-hand side of the window, browse for another instrument.
  6. I recommend you first click on Iconica Sketch, then click e.g. Flute 1 from the list of patches. This will replace the Sustain Ah sound with the Flute 1 sound.
  7. Now you can close the HALion Sonic window.
  8. Back in the Routing section, change the Ex. map drop-down to choose Iconica Sketch Picc, Fl, Ob, Cor, Cl, Bsn, Tpt, Euph.

This final step is required, because Dorico doesn’t “know” that you’ve changed the sound in HALion Sonic, and it doesn’t know how to play back dynamics etc. for the flute patch you’ve loaded. Setting the appropriate expression map helps Dorico to drive the new sound correctly.

3 Likes
3

Thank you! With the holidays here, I actually haven’t had a chance to proceed with your suggestions, but I wanted you to know I truly appreciate it.

4

Thank you, again, dspreadbury. I just followed your very clear instructions and can now listen to the flute instead of the “ah”. Thank you!
Happy New Year.