I spent 28 years working in Finale and began learning Dorico this past summer (2025). After six months, I’m a total convert. Dorico is an outstanding piece of software and absolutely worth its fairly steep learning curve.
That said, I’m curious how other users feel about the tie chain concept. For my workflow, it only seems to slow me down. I don’t use Dorico for recording—I have a studio and musicians for that. I rely on it for arranging and engraving, and I’m struggling to see the advantages of tie chains compared to the extra steps they require. Maybe I’m missing something.
Either way, I’ll continue singing the praises of this very smart software.
Could you explain in more detail what problems you have? Dorico only creates a tie chain when, according the options you have set, it cannot notate the note as a single notehead.
I’m trialling Dorico Pro and am really enjoying it. I hadn’t previously used any notation software; studied theory in HS and am not much of a sight-reader. Frankly, Dorico really helps me with reading because I’m reading notation most days while “writing” or inputting.
What I found that immediately brought me the rhythms I intend to input is to edit basic notes/ chords using the piano roll, rather than mess around with editing note values…and bang switch back to Write mode and tie chains galore. So, I just kind of assumed I’ve been doing it wrong all along. Nevertheless, there are many, many set-up possibilities with Dorico. I haven’t necessarily found my fave way to display tie-chains yet…I’ve just been going with the default. I think it says a lot about interpretation of music notation as far as how Dorico default is set and the actual music the composer intends to accomplish.
Basically, I’d like to know as well how the veteran sight-readers and composers feel about the tie-chains too, just like @tpmnashville.
One thing is for sure, I will likely purchase Dorico at the conclusion of the trial, cuz it is brilliant. I might not purchase Pro, might deep dive into CuBase 15 first and then try Dorico Elements if I find CuBase lacking. I know I’m going to want custom chord diagrams, tho…and I believe those only come with Pro.
When inputting notes, duration before pitch with a midi keyboard, it slows me down at times. For example, to input an eighth note on the & of beat 4 tied to a dotted quarter in the next bar, I must forgo the tie, select force duration, input a quarter in the next bar and add the dot, then return to me previous measure and add the tie while making sure force duration is still active.
Unless I’m misunderstanding something here, the scenario you’re describing is exactly why Dorico’s tie chains work brilliantly. To achieve this notation, all you need to do is enter a “half note” with the carat positioned on the & of beat 4.
As others have noted, the way Dorico notates the beat and a half in the next measure will depend on your settings in Notation Options > Note Grouping, as well as the rest of the material in the bar. Most likely, if you enter an eighth note in the bar after the tied quarter and eighth, the tied notes will turn into a dotted quarter.
This is in 4/4:
If you’re using duration before pitch, though, you should also be able to enter these rhythms just as expected: eighth note, tie, dotted quarter – except that, as above, the dotted quarter may initially display as a quarter tied to an eighth.
To answer your initial question, I have mixed feelings about tie chains; I think there are pros and cons. When I started with Dorico, after many years with Finale, I really disliked them, but I came to appreciate some of the things they can do well and for the rest to just accept them as part of how Dorico is designed.
If you can train yourself to think in effective duration rather than in written notation, that’s an area where tie chains can save some time. Think of a syncopated passage like this:
In Finale, that would have been half note, quarter tied to quarter, half note, etc. In Dorico, it’s just a succession of half notes – and if you’re doing duration before pitch, you never have to change the duration, just select half note and enter the pitches.
In my case, the dotted quarter was the only note in the measure, just followed by rests. But, thank you for your concise explanation and animated examples! What a great group this is. I’m glad
I found it.
Bad idea to print your phone number (or web address) in a post here unless you are inviting spam. I’ll leave it up to whether to edit your messages to eliminate it.
thank you.