Wish list for Dorico 7

[Serioso]

With Dorico 6.2 released three weeks ago, and the concomitant announcement that subsequent development will focus on the next major version (6.5 or 7?), I considered this a good time to drop in with what I would like to see in that next version.

I had a wish list a while back, but that was when Dorico was still on version 5 (and I had yet to upgrade from even farther back). Now, of course, I’m using the latest and greatest. I’m glad to see that many of my past concerns have been addressed since then. But some are still there, and I’ve noticed some new ones since. (Side note: Are we going to get a new version of Online Help and Operation Manual PDF for version 6.2? Right now I can still see only version 6.1 of each on the support Web site.)

1. Allow “repeated” slurs when condensing.* To my knowledge, this is impossible without using down-stem voice—which is something I don’t think I should need for this—and my attempts at restoring natural stem directions manually haven’t worked. The near-impossibility in implementing even a manual work-around is why I listed this first.
2. Fix instrument numbering to be on a per-player basis. Details are in this recent thread. The point is that numbering for instrument/transposition changes should not be handled in the same way as numbering for different players—especially if said different players also change transpositions! There are manual workarounds, yes, but they are painful.
3. Greater flexibility with staff labels in general: for example, with mixing languages. Right now, we have some ability to mix instrument names with note names: respectively, German with English (B-flat, B), and French with Italian (Do). Many classic scores use Italian and German; my personal preference is Italian and English. (Some past versions of Dorico always used English note names.) I have other wishes here as well, but this is the biggest one.
4. Batch syllabic beaming, as is already available in Sibelius and Finale. Yes, I know you’ve heard this before!
5. Rastral size presets and size reset for breaks. We get some very nice rastral size presets when starting a new layout. I’d like the same presets to be available when inserting a system break or frame break. For example, if I’m using size 6 by default, I’d like to be able to choose size 7 from a drop-down menu with the system break. This also makes it easier to switch back to size 6 later (before a new flow), although I think an explicit “reset size” at breaks would be a good idea, too.

This list isn’t exhaustive; I have other wishes such as bug fixes and new instruments, but the items I listed above are the most significant and, for me, the most urgent. Finally, not exactly a feature request, but I hope you continue supporting Windows 10 for at least your next major release.

*For item 1, here’s an example of what I mean:

Dorico always amalgamates rhythmically similar slurs when condensing, even if amalgamation is supposed to be prevented “for all slurs”. To me, that only makes sense for pianos or other (single) instruments capable of playing chords. I want the slurs amalgamated only when the musical phrase is exactly the same for both players; that is, where an “a 2” direction can be applied, as in the second measure of the above example.

[Serioso]

I just upgraded to Dorico 6.2.10, so I decided to make a quick check of it. None of the issues I listed were addressed by the new version, at least officially. However, I found a workaround for my first issue. I assume that it also works for at least some prior versions of Dorico, so I’m including it here. At the same time, I haven’t been able to find this workaround mentioned previously, even where other users had a request similar to mine.

1. Add two slurs in each part. You have to do this in both parts; otherwise, you will end up with a down-stem voice, which we are trying to avoid. This will give you four slurs in the parts, which will be condensed to two slurs in the score.
2. In Engrave mode, flip one of the two slurs. You have to do this in Engrave mode, where you can tweak with the results of the condensing in Page view. If you use Write mode (e.g., in Galley view) to flip slurs in the parts, this will have no effect on the condensed slurs, which will all still point in one direction until you use Engrave mode.
3. You’ve been working on the full score, regardless of mode or view, up to this point. But what about the extra slurs in the part layouts? Go to the part layouts—you can type W to get there quickly—and make the second slur in each transparent by customizing the color and setting the alpha channel to 0. You have to do this in the part layouts; altering the color in the score layout will have no effect on the parts.

Sample file: Condensing Slurs.dorico (2.3 MB)

The result is a score where the “identical” slurs are not amalgamated, without having to use the down-stem voice in a condensing change:

So, there is a manual workaround for this issue, after all. Still, it’s hard to implement, so I would like a Notation Option to achieve slurring like this in the future. I think that I actually “hid” the extra slurs in the score Galley view as well, but in principle, I have noticed that a change in one spot will not automatically lead to a change in the other. Of course, it is still the part layouts that need just one slur each.

[Kevin_Polson]

Here is my wishlist

1. Orchestral Reduction

I do realize there is a reduce funtion for simple and small scale scores, and it is good for what it is. The current reduce feature can often times be really messy if there is too much going on.

What I am proposing is something where a dialogue window opens up, allowing for specification and flexibility.

Basically a window opens up showing two columns; a “from this” and a “to this”. The “from this” column would show all current instruments/players in the current flow (or add a checkbox to do this function to the entire score). And in the “to this” column you would select HOW you want instruments combined. For example; all woodwinds reduced to one staff labeled “woodwind”, all brass reduced to one staff labeled “brass”, all strings reduced to two staffs labeled “strings”, but percussion and keyboard/harp all left alone as is. This was a really weird example just to get my explanation across, but hear me out and let me explain further how this would be useful.

This wold come in extremely handy when making orchestral reductions for say a piano solo performance. But it would be so much more than that! Because you can choose to reduce and not reduce specific instruments and combinations of instruments, it would allow you to very quickly take a concerto/aria and reduce every instrument, EXCEPT the solo instrument, to a piano part so you can create a piano accompaniment for practice and auditions. Think of a stage musical/broadway, you might want all of the instruments reduced to a piano part, except the solo and background chorus to be kept as is, This would allow for this to work seamlessly. Or even when creating orchestral reductions to a piano, you could exclude percussion (depending on how elaborate it is) as it might not translate well to a piano performance.

It would also be great if this system used smart decision making to not just simply reduce ALL notes as many are often repeated phrases and redundant. For example; if I wanted an aria to be reduced to a piano and solo voice, a real pianist can realistically only play 10 notes at a time and cannot play massive stretches in each hand. If there was somehow a way to have the system decide to omit what was redundant, ensure nothing was beyond an octave reach for each hand, etc. Almost like having an internal “checklist” of criteria a real orchestrator/arranger might go through to create a solid arrangement that fits the occasion.

2. Orchestral analysis (see attached photo)

I see educators and students using these ALL OF THE TIME and they are super great for learning from while listening to the score. Creating these in Dorico (or any notion platform) is very time consuming and not easy. I wish there was either a template or dialogue box for creating these more easily.

I could also see the above request for orchestral reductions tying into this very well

3. Improved human playback

In Dorico 5 the team introduce pitch contour. This was a great addition to make things sound way more realistic, however it only makes “struck” instruments like keyboard, harp, and percussion sound good. Wind, brass, and strings still sound rough. You could incorporate the same pitch contour to the midi cc data but use a smooth curved line instead of a stagnate one. See attached picture; I used the already in place dynamics, however I connected them SMOOTHLY so an instrument with flexible dynamics transitions smoother and more natural.

These are just some ideas and things not only that I personally have been hoping for, but also have noticed in the music community as a need.

My fingers are crossed!

[Rafasax]

Dorico need playback for Turns, mordents and other articulations asap. Another great new feature would be the ability to change articulations directly in the piano roll, just like in Cubase and other DAWs, and immediately apply that articulation to the score.