Voice colors on two stave instruments - better way?

[michaelstarobin]

I started using voice colors after resisting it. For me the solution was to make voice 1 BLACK. That way I could see more quickly see when I had written a passage in a lower voice accidentally - but not have my score look like a rainbow flag.

But I was surprised to find that the up-stem notes in the lower staff of a piano start at voice 3 and the down stem notes are voice 4. So my piano’s lower stave can never be in the primary up-stem voice (voice 1.)

I understand the reasoning here - it is a single instrument for making sound. But in everyday use the notation is more like two instruments since 95% of the time it’s corresponding to two hands.

Would it be possible to allocate the voices on the two staves differently so they both could be in the primary up-stem voice (voice 1) at the same time?

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Also - While composing and sketching I find that the playback of dynamics cannot be different on the two staves of a piano - if I’m in a mp passage and add a f marking to the lower staff, the upper staff plays back at f as well. Not sure this is a case that many would want solved (playback of different dynamics from the same piano instrument.)

So for my sketch work I made a single staff piano and am working with three of them bracketed together. This way I can have separate dynamics and they can all in be in voice 1. They all go to the same VST using different MIDI channels, and the VST is set to OMNI.

[Janus]

@michaelstarobin

But I was surprised to find that the up-stem notes in the lower staff of a piano start at voice 3 and the down stem notes are voice 4. So my piano’s lower stave can never be in the primary up-stem voice (voice 1.)

Dorico considers each stave of a grand staff instrument to be separate.
This makes perfect sense when you consider the ability to have cross-stave notes.

[asherber]

@michaelstarobin

But I was surprised to find that the up-stem notes in the lower staff of a piano start at voice 3 and the down stem notes are voice 4.

Voices are colored according to the order in which they are created for an instrument. By default, on a grand staff instrument, upstem voice 1 in the treble staff is created first and gets the color for Voice 1, and upstem voice 1 in the bass staff is created second and gets the color for Voice 2. The Voice 3 color could go to either staff, either stem direction, depending on where you create the next voice.

@michaelstarobin

So my piano’s lower stave can never be in the primary up-stem voice (voice 1.)

Yes, correct.

@michaelstarobin

Would it be possible to allocate the voices on the two staves differently so they both could be in the primary up-stem voice (voice 1) at the same time?

This would be a new feature.

@michaelstarobin

While composing and sketching I find that the playback of dynamics cannot be different on the two staves of a piano

By default, dynamics entered on a grand staff apply to the whole instrument. If you want a dynamic to apply to just one staff, then close the popover with Alt/Opt+Enter to make it a local dynamic instead of a global one.