Watching the latest (belated) evaluation for the 2023 Orchestration Challenge, I saw the following outcry/request from Thomas Goss, addressed at the Dorico team, and @dspreadbury in particular, which I hereby relay on behalf of him (starting at 36:00 in):
This is a distinction between jazz and concert practice. It is not difficult to change the noteheads for a cymbal. I might wish, however for a more concert-sounding sound, combined with regular noteheads for the concert instrument.
As a user, firstly you have to know that the default is wrong at all. With so much of the software based on âbest practicesâ and very sensible defaults (and sold as such) that is not a trivial consideration. And then, the way to actually globally change the notehead is also tricky to findâyou have to know that itâs even an option. Only then does it become easy to make the change.
As a percussionist, I see NO issue with the X note head. It is a very common practice in the last 100-ish years to use the X note head for âmetallicâ non-pitched instruments. As a percussionist changing between multiple instruments (snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, etc.) the X note head is one more reminder of the instrument I am supposed to be holding.
I have personally been in situations where every note head was the standard note head, and by page 3 no one knew what was supposed to be played, due to poor part layout and thought.
Just my 2 cents.
Robby
One has to know the software and one has to have some idea of musical conventions up to a point. If one doesnât, and one lets the wrong style noteheads slip through, itâs not the end of the world.
I have a fairly long history with the Orchestration Challenges and Thomas Goss. If one follows his site, one will likely pick up a good grasp of how concert cymbals should be notated (along with a lot of other valuable information).