I disagree. “Layer” is simply term that was used in Finale. And confusing there because it was already in use in graphics programs, where layers are indeed layers.
I’m not sure what you mean by “rating”. In Preferences > Colors, you can see the colors in the order in which they are assigned.
The tricky thing is that there is a slight disconnect between the way the voices are labeled here and the way they’re labeled when you’re working with them. Dorico calls voices “Upstem voice 1”, “Downstem voice 1”, etc., to help indicate their function. But as you can see, the voice colors don’t say upstem or downstem. They are assigned to voices simply in the order in which those voices were created within an instrument.
For a one-staff instrument, the first voice is normally upstem voice 1 and is colored blue (by default). For a grand staff instrument, the first voice created is normally upstem voice 1 in the treble staff, and the second voice created is normally upstem voice 1 in the bass staff. So treble upstem voice 1 is colored blue, and bass upstem voice 1 is colored pink.
Here’s an experiment you can try. Take some music with one-staff instruments with one voice, and turn on voice colors. In one instrument, select some music and do Voices > Change Voice > New Downstem Voice. That music will now be in downstem voice 1 and will be pink, since it’s the second voice created for that instrument.
Now select some music in a different instrument, and do Voices > Change Voice > New Upstem Voice. That music, in upstem voice 2, is also pink, since it’s the second voice created for that instrument. The color simply designates “second voice created” and is not tied to how Dorico names that particular voice.
Here’s an image illustrating the outcome of the experiment. The music for Trumpet 1 is in downstem voice 1, and the music for trumpet 2 is in upstem voice 2. The piano uses upstem voice 1 in each staff. The pink does not indicate that music is in the “same” voice — in fact, it’s in a different voice in each instrument. It’s just to differentiate voices within an instrument.
Great, thank you; this helps already.
Hey John,
Not to challenge you on this but I ask simply for clarification and (my) edification: In a string quartet, if the violin (or other, or multiple parts) were to have double stops, would that (single) instrument be playing one voice or two (or more – if triple stops)?
I can see that the term may be used differently for a piano score where non-homophonic movement would be more prevalent. Layers, as others have noted, carries its own baggage of meaning for those of us who have encountered the term in graphic design and engineering. Maybe we (I) need another term or more flexibility in the usage of existing ones.
— Jim
Phil,
I avoid voices or layers as Finale calls it if at all possible in Dorico. I don’t do much grand staff stuff but I do sometimes put alto sax 1 and 2 , clarinet 2&3, horn 1&2, etc., on a single staff. When, if, the rhythm is different, I need voices or layers. It’s just like other little quirks in Dorico for instance hairpins on a tied note, time sig change in the middle of a piece, not impossible just an interruption in train of thought. Nothing destroys composing more than that. Just that little, where is that or how do you or why did Dorico do that pauses.
Maybe explained poorly but you get the drift.
A string instrument playing double, triple stops etc. is playing several voices at the same time. It’s interesting that In Bach’s solo sonatas and suites for violin and cello, you will see a separate stem on each note in a chord, even if there is only one “chord” in the entire piece. Bach was always writing in multiple voices, even it they are consecutive rather than simultaneous and not as apparent to the eye because they are all written in the same “layer”.
To avoid further confusion, let’s not talk about the voicing of organ pipes..
There are many things that take me some time to accomplish, whether in Dorico, Finale or by hand. (Even by hand, when I had notes of different rhythms, I had to use a different “voice” with its own stem! 
(Yeah, perhaps that wasn’t the best example to make your point! I just got a chuckle out of it but then, I often have a warped sense of humor. No offense to you was intended.) Seriously though, the things that take time, if used often enough, can usually be automated with a macro or key command — the worst part being learning (and remembering) the new convention. I did get your drift and I sympathize. Have patience, ask questions here, and take the time to get used to the differences.
I see that your profile says you’re from Spring Hill; I spent a couple of years going to school at Baker in Baldwin City. Being originally from NJ, I had to learn to ask for a “pop” rather than “soda” or they’d put a scoop of ice cream in it. (There were a number of other confusing and amusing shifts in how we used the same language.) The point is, we can learn new terminology and how to do things differently!
— Jim
Yes I have done a lot of work for Dr Frank Perez, Director of Bands at Baker U. Good friend of mine.
Dorico always seems to have a “something “ to fix the jankies. And that is both a blessing and a curse. I am committed to Dorico now but I will still criticize it. I am sure it makes perfect sense to the designer and creator but to a lot of us mere normal mortals it doesn’t.
What’s a janky?
^^^^That.
Ah. So what in Dorico is “of extremely poor or unreliable quality”?
I suspect he just meant something like, “Dorico always seems to have some way to fix up things that don’t turn out the way you would expect.”
I wonder if “janky” is not a combination of “junky” with a hint of a “yank”, that is, something badly designed that yanks or “jerks” you around, as a badly-designed computer program might.
Your guess is as good as mine! It is not a commonly-used word here in Australia. I don’t know anybody who uses it and/or knows what it means. That’s why I posted a dictionary definition - I had to look it up for myself. And, as I suggested earlier, words can differ in meaning/usage/interpretation, etc. depending on where you live.
I had never heard it either and my first encounter with it was hearing it a certain infamous review of Dorico.
Exactly! The problem becomes how to know.
Janky is not used in Australia. I posted this comment in another thread where it was used recently. It’s an Americznism.