I have a problem that is probably just me not pushing the right buttons.
I want my strings to change playing technique to artificial harmonics. What kind of notation does Dorico recognize as artificial harmonic? Or is it not implemented yet?
I then try using the small o (the one is labeled “harmonic”) in the playing techniques menu, but that doesn’t change my playing technique in the “Play” section, as in my expression map, there is no such thing as a harmonic technique. Only Artificial and natural harmonics.
I created my own expression map for my instruments.
Am I overlooking something?
Thank you for your reply.
No, I thought so.
I’m creating my own expression maps, so each playing technique is sending a program change message. I then have UVI Workstation with the Ircam Solo Instruments inside Plogue Bidule as VST. Bidule just translates program change to change of midi channel as that is the easiest way to have UVI change between different techniques.
But maybe I’m not doing the expression maps-thing properly. I’m just going into the Play menu, and then edit expression maps… And from there i add my instruments and assign each technique the program change according to the midi channel that particular technique is on in UVI.
At this time, my understanding is that Dorico doesn’t send Program Changes.
Since you have Bidule you can get what you’re going for, but instead of using a Program Change bidule, use a key switching or CC bidule and have Dorico send those.
Bidule has a MIDI Key Switch bidule that will change the channel according to a key-switch that you set for each channel; so, a MIDI Key Switch into a Splitter bidule set to split by channel mode should do the trick.
If for some reason you need more than 16 key-switches, you could build a bidule group to covert CC messages into Program Changes.
It is sending program changes just fine, the thing is that when I want to create a new expression map for for example my violin, there is only the option to choose the technique “artificial harmonic” and “natural harmonic”, but nothing called harmonic “harmonic”. And while writing, there is no notation called artificial harmonic or natural harmonic, only harmonic.
So in the one part i can write harmonic but “play” doesnt understand that. In “play” (and in the expression map") i can have it receive artificial harmonic, but i can’t send that from the write part.
The work around so far has been to use the half-harmonic as my notation for harmonics. That works so that every time i notate a half harmonic it sends a program change that changes to the midi channel on which my violin artificial harmonic is on in UVI…
Sorry if this is a bit confusingly written, it is a lot back and forth to describe
Can you use a technique not really related to strings, like snares on/off techniques strictly for playback purposes, but hide it from view in the score? Drop those techniques into the score so the events needed to call your instrument(s) are there. To ‘hide’ them change the alpha mask of the technique.
That is what i have done so far, but haven’t hidden them, but that sounds like a good idea. Just wondered if there was a way to just get it to recognize harmonics…
But hopefully I’ll get to create my own playing techniques in the expression maps and notation and write harmonics in a future update.
I am facing similar issues. For now, as I understand it, it is impossible to combine articulations, for instance: tremolo sul ponticello. Being able to create my own techniques could resolve the issue. I hope will be included in the next patch, whenever that is?
Actually you can build multi-techniques, but they all must come from the existing techniques already provided for us.
Example:
Imagine you want the notes living under slurs that also have staccato marks to do something special with your expression map, then you’d hold the ctrl key while selecting both legato and staccato in the expression map editor. A technique would get created that is legato+staccato.
If you look in the play tab you can always see what techniques are active at any given moment. That makes it easier to know what should be triggered, and if you might need to build a redundant technique to force things to play back as expected.
In Expression Maps You can find “Natural harmonic 1”, “Natural harmonic 2” and “Artificial harmonic”. Using the “o” from the articulations-instructions tab on the right side, the samples are triggered. I tried to trigger the Samples writing artificial harmonics (in 4ths with square notehead) but this does not work (yet).
I lose a lot of time trying to set my own Expression Maps only because I never know what works and what doesn´t and it seems to me that I am not the only one. To leave us with a “trial and error” procedure is not fair, steinberg just should be able to give us better information about this very important topic.
It is also very difficult to find the articulations in the selection inside Expression maps. I would suggest that there You should be able to filter all the articulations by categories.
Maybe it would be a solution if in this selection list You could tell the articulations name (or the combination of them) by what articulation in the score it should be triggered.