What is the dynamic?

Dorico
1

Several bar and pages after setting a dynamic level for an instrument, I want to select a note to see at what dynamic it is being played. Is there a way to view the dynamic of a selected note without scrolling back to see when it was first set?

2

It’s not ideal, but yes.
The Dynamics track of the Key Editor shows the dynamic level as a faint line.

3

I wish the faint line would have a letter dynamic marking. I come to a new section of the piece, and I want to make sure that an instrument will play forte, but I have to go back to see if it is already playing forte, so as not to duplicate a dynamic marking.

4

Duplicating dynamic markings is common practice (and helpful to players). Just mark the new section forte.

5

I guess so, but Dorico’s Proofreading Function flags duplicating dynamic marks as errors. Maybe it’s okay.

6

You can choose to ignore them (click the ‘ignore’ icon and they will disappear)

7

True.

8

What would really be ideal is if the dynamics were pinned to the left (when viewing dynamics in the key editor, that is), much like player labels are pinned to the left in galley view. Regardless where you scroll, you always see the prevailing dynamic.

4 Likes
9

I agree totally! I do see that a change of dynamic is indicated with the letter dynamic (mf, ff, etc), but it is shown only when the change occurs. If one scrolls on, the dynamic letter disappears. Pinning the dynamic on the left in the key editor, regardless of where one scrolls, would be ideal.

10

I don’t disagree, except that you are allowed to “draw in” dynamics levels that don’t correspond to mf, f, ff (etc.). How would those be indicated?

11

@Janus, you have a point if you’re using Dorico for its MIDI playback, but if you are using Dorico for creating a written score, I don’t know how you would indicate in the written score that a change of dynamics was drawn in. But you’ve raised another issue: how would derAbang’s solution indicate the last dynamic marking if there were a hairpin crescendo occurring after that last dynamic? Perhaps the pinned dynamic would show “mf<“ meaning, the last dynamic was mf, but there has been a crescendo since then.
I would still find that useful, especially since I’m writing a score for strings plus 23 instruments. It’s hard to keep track.

12

Perhaps it could have a + or underlined or similar, meaning it is overridden?

13

As @home4ward writes, mf< mf> would be sufficient. There are many ways to go about it. I could even imagine a Y axis of the dynamics in that lane.