I need two strings sounding simultaneously. One note is an open string, the other is as you see here. I tried to set them apart some way, but I can’t figure out how.
In Write mode, click the upstem (in order to select only one of the two notes). Then go to Engrave Mode, and set the voice column index to 1:
Once they’re separated this way, you’ll be able to adjust their positions independently in Engrave Mode, if you wish.
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Great! Thanks for this.
Now, not to be too picky, I wonder is there is a way to line things up? I’ve been trying to find a way, but no joy so far… (Still, much better than before.)
I’m not sure to understand what you’re looking for, but just in case, you can tweak the fingering position in Engrave Mode:
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Not being a string player, I don’t know how common it is (or accepted, for that matter), but one way I have seen this notated is to have two noteheads on the one stem as in the attached image. To achieve this, after entering one note select it and input an interval of a unison (shift-I, 1, Enter).
To add fingerings, it is possible to select each notehead individually and add a fingering but the numbers will be aligned vertically (e.g. a 2 above a 0). The fingering numbers can be moved independently in Engrave mode.
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As a cellist, I’d say this notation (the prime interval on the same stem) is perfectly fine. The open string is implied, and doesn’t even really need the 0 digit. So I’d recommend leaving out the 0 and just notate the 2 for the fingered note on the G string (assuming bass clef). Or if you really think you need them both, maybe a stacked 0 and 2 above if you’re afraid to be incomplete… In any case, better don’t separate the noteheads by putting the fingerings inside the staff. Do this only for complex chords.
Notating it as two voices (stem up/down) is also OK, especially if the context is slightly polyphonic.
(BTW Boccherini often uses this trick to add an open string in his cello parts to thicken a forte.)
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I’d say these are the two most common notations for double stops unisons.
E.g Ravel:
Or Paganini:
But I assume @spencered (could be for pedagogical reasons) wants to reproduce exactly the notation with two distinct notes.
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I found this thread while trying to line up two identical notes written in two different voices, as in the Paganini example shared by charles_piano, above. In Finale it was really easy to do such a thing; in Dorico, it turns out you need some configuration. In case it’s useful for anyone: after inserting both notes in the Write Mode, one per voice, you have to go to Engraver Mode, select both noteheads and then, in the Properties panel (Ctrl/Cmd + 8), you should turn on the Voice Column Index feature in the Notes and Rests section and attribute one same index number to both noteheads. Voilà.
Hi @fnicknich and welcome to the forum!
Normally it shouldn’t be this difficult. Perhaps your two unison notes are both entered in the same voice type (upstem or downstem)? If both stems go in the same direction (and therefore the noteheads don’t overlap), select one of the notes and press F — it works in Write Mode.
Otherwise, when entering unisons, you can for example use the Paste Special function:
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In addition to what charles_piano wrote, you can achieve this using the following setting in Notation Options/Voices. The advantage to this is that you can have a different setting for each flow.
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Hey @charles_piano and @Vaughan_Schlepp, thanks for the warm welcome and for the tips as well! It looks much simpler than what I described above, indeed. I created the new voice using the Shift + V shortcut, I’m not sure if there is a more efficient way of doing it. I’m just getting started with Dorico after long years with Finale, so I’m definitely still missing a lot of its features. I’ll take a look at the options you mentioned. Thanks again!
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This is actually the way to do it!
What I was showing with Paste Special is simply a way to avoid having to re-enter the notes of the second voice when you need to write unisons - and can be quicker if you need to enter several of them at once.
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Got it, Charles. Glad to know that I’m on the right track, then. Copying and pasting in a different voice is a great feature, in fact, when both voices are identical or very similar interval-wise. Great tip. Thanks for sharing!
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There’s another route you might like to do this. Imagine you want to create notes a third below…
Select the original. Then do shift-I -3 followed by V (or shift-V if you need to create the voice).
It works for any interval (eg. shift-I -dim5 or shift-I -m7)
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Nice, Janus! I don’t think I have tried this yet. I’ll check it out. Thanks for sharing!