Time signature and metronome markings

Tried searching the forum for this but didn’t see anything.

Perhaps I’m missing something here, but if I create a custom 2/2 time signature, I get some odd results.

For example, if I create a custom 2/2 time signature with a pickup of 1 beat, that pickup measure is a quarter note long, not a half note. I have to create a custom 2/2 time signature with a pickup of 2 beats in order to get what I want. I can work around that, but it’s odd.

More troubling is that with the same time signature, I seem to only get metronome markings in terms of quarter notes, not in terms of half notes. I can change the beats per minute displayed but not the unit, which I’m assuming should be determined by the time signature. Or maybe there’s a way to specify that which I’m not seeing.

Not sure if this is a bug or a lack of understanding on my end. Appreciate any pointers here.

It’s true that Dorico should adapt the metronome mark unit according to the prevailing time signature, and it doesn’t yet do that, but you can influence the unit shown by what you type into the popover, e.g. type Shift+T to show the tempo popover, then type e.g. “Allegro h=120” to create a metronome mark that uses a half note (minim) as its unit.

Regarding the creation of a pick-up, that’s also a bit of a problem with the UI as it stands; the length specified in the drop-down menu in the right-hand panel is always specified in quarter notes (crotchets) rather than the unit of the time signature. Again, if you use the Shift+M (for meter) popover and type e.g. “2/2,1” you will get a 2/2 time signature with a one beat, i.e. one half note, pick-up.

We will work to smooth over these rough edges as and when we can.

Ah, great. Thanks for the workarounds. Are the tempo/meter popovers documented yet? I hadn’t seen anything about them, so their existence was news to me.

Dear AaronGiles,

Check Cantilena’s posts about popovers, they are plenty of useful information — we wait for Daniel’s post about those popovers :wink: