Spellings/Enharmonics

Perhaps Dorico will actually be able to help you in this area, jamieboo.

An academic researcher by the name of David Meredith developed an algorithm called PS13 that calculates the most appropriate pitch spellings for tonal music, even without reference to a key signature, and our own implementation of that algorithm (with a few modifications, dare we say improvements) is implemented in Dorico’s engine, though it is not yet exposed in the user interface of the software.

A possible workflow for you would be for you to compose and orchestrate your music as you normally do, then run the spelling algorithm over the music, which would result in the enharmonic spellings of the notes being adjusted where necessary to follow the traditional conventions for such things.

However, in order to verify that Dorico is doing something sensible and to limit possible embarrassment when giving your music to musicians, it’s worth spending a bit of time getting your head around the conventions of pitch spelling. It’s always best not to have to rely completely on the computer to save your blushes, as the people who write the software are human and therefore fallible too!