# Xml import nested tuplets problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Dorico\ **Created:** [February 1, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697 "2026-02-01T15:38:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/1 "2026-02-01T15:38:53Z")
Hello everyone, I’ve been scratching my head over this for an hour or so now and can’t explain it. I’m importing an xml file with nested tuples and it’s not displaying what I’d expect. Here’s what I’d expect (excuse my handwritten notation on an iPad): ![hand](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/8/d/0/8d07976335822ed777ab46e49bb8ea04ad93f6eb.png) and this is what Dorico displays: ![dorico](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/f/8/3/f831229f644569eec53e33e698ac3663487f9c5e.png) I’ve been staring at the xml code (attached) and can’t find the error (no guarantee that it’s correct 😉 I’ve attached it here. If I sum all the durations in the file (9 9 9 18 10 5 10 5 5 10 15 15 15 30), I get 165, which is what I’d expect, at least, for a 3/4 bar where the divisions tag specifies 55 (per quarter note, as far as I understand). Ok though, this is Dorico 5.1.81 (must update) so maybe some kind soul could import into Dorico 6 and post what they see. Maybe the upgrade will solve the problem. If not I’d be very happy and grateful if someone with music xml chops could take a look and tell me what I’m overlooking. All the best, Michael [faulty.xml](https://forums.steinberg.net/uploads/short-url/jCOhyozfovzdlfRfhHkCu4zTACT.xml) (9.6 KB) ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/2 "2026-02-01T15:40:14Z")
BTW I’ve played with the various xml preferences and as yet they don’t make a difference ---
**Author:** ![Janus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@Janus](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Janus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/3 "2026-02-01T15:53:04Z")
Dorico has calculated your bar length as 3.136364 beats ![bar](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/2/c/c/2cc1ecb699fa931d10041567b907cf539fe73eb2.png) (And your calculation is wrong on the handwritten image … the trailing rest will be a dotted quaver because your intermediate rest is a quaver rather than a semi.) ---
**Author:** ![asherber](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/asherber/32/277014_2.png) [@asherber](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/asherber)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/4 "2026-02-01T15:59:26Z")
> [@Janus](#): > > Dorico has calculated your bar length as 3.136364 beats And if you change that so it just reads `3/4`, you’ll get rid of the extra rest at the end. And then you can use force duration and beam together to get the look you want. ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/f/3/b/f3b899f441a3154e2d80fac73b72b2b8f8b56fac.png) ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/5 "2026-02-01T16:09:43Z")
\>(And your calculation is wrong on the handwritten image … the trailing rest will be a dotted quaver because your intermediate rest is a quaver rather than a semi.) I admire your confidence in deeming it ‘wrong’ 😉 but I would certainly challenge that: there are 11 quavers in the time of 6; in the 5:3 tuplet we have 3 quavers, in the second simpler triplet there are also 3 quavers (9 semiquavers in the time of 6), leaving 5 quavers to fill the 11, hence 3 of those plus the crotchet rest. There are however, with these kinds of tuplets, often more than one way of displaying things. ---
**Author:** ![asherber](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/asherber/32/277014_2.png) [@asherber](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/asherber)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/6 "2026-02-01T16:14:52Z")
> [@mdedwards](#): > > in the second simpler triplet there are also 3 quavers (9 semiquavers in the time of 6) Ah, I think this got lost in translation in the XML. The file has – and Dorico reproduces – a `3:2e` tuplet covering the first 4 notes, leaving the G# semiquaver and the quaver rest out of the tuplet. ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/7 "2026-02-01T16:15:38Z")
Thanks for this. Although it’s nice to be able to force a fix, I’d prefer Dorico to import things correctly. For instance in the xml file that triplet (2nd bracket) should extend over 5 notes and the next rest. It’s surely incorrect to stop at an earlier bar position than that given in the xml file? ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/8 "2026-02-01T16:19:11Z")
I can see why it might get confused but 3:2 is mathematically correct given 1/8 + 1/16 (quaver + semi) three times in a row. And if Dorico respected the tuplet stop tag on the 10th item in the bar, all would be well. ---
**Author:** ![jesele](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/jesele/32/1542_2.png) [@jesele](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/jesele)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/9 "2026-02-01T16:21:45Z")
This is what it looks like in MuseScore. Jesper ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/1/c/1/1c19f258b7669693acae9818bb3c9d7dfb94969a.png) ---
**Author:** ![asherber](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/asherber/32/277014_2.png) [@asherber](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/asherber)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/10 "2026-02-01T16:22:16Z")
> [@mdedwards](#): > > For instance in the xml file that triplet (2nd bracket) should extend over 5 notes and the next rest. It’s surely incorrect to stop at an earlier bar position than that given in the xml file? As I read the XML, it doesn’t have that `9:6x` tuplet, just a `3:2e` in that spot, which is what Dorico displays. In any case, you can fix it up, and then the display is correct (and the last rest is a crotchet). ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/3/4/2/34281e8d633b753b0ad1023c5a0bf9c07c59c1b2.png) > [@mdedwards](#): > > I can see why it might get confused but 3:2 is mathematically correct given 1/8 + 1/16 (quaver + semi) three times in a row. I don’t think this is correct. Yes, 9:6 and 3:2 are the same ratio, but the base of the 3:2 would need to be a dotted quaver, and tuplets don’t work that way in Dorico – the base needs to be a plain note value. **Edit:** Dorico can in fact use dotted base notes – seen John Price’s [answer](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/26). ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/11 "2026-02-01T16:22:23Z")
Thanks. Not at all what I want to see 😀 ---
**Author:** ![jesele](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/jesele/32/1542_2.png) [@jesele](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/jesele)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/12 "2026-02-01T16:23:24Z")
Sibelius: ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/b/a/e/baef59e0ee582bd9a7f84e1e16d433cd75408bfe.png) ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/13 "2026-02-01T16:23:46Z")
Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![jesele](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/jesele/32/1542_2.png) [@jesele](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/jesele)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/14 "2026-02-01T16:27:07Z")
And Finale: Definitely a faulty XML. ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/8/3/2/832aba92403444a29e10998b53accd0d67f4f982.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/15 "2026-02-01T16:29:17Z")
The XML might be faulty but I’d appreciate it, if you know, why that is so? As I wrote, the durations sum correctly, to my knowledge. I might be missing something though. ---
**Author:** ![jesele](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/jesele/32/1542_2.png) [@jesele](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/jesele)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/16 "2026-02-01T16:31:02Z")
How did you create the XML? Jesper ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/17 "2026-02-01T16:31:46Z")
BTW that’s damned close to what I’d expect and notated by hand. I can’t see where the second triplet bracket ends but it only has to run to the 1/8 rest and it would be perfect. ---
**Author:** ![asherber](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/asherber/32/277014_2.png) [@asherber](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/asherber)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/18 "2026-02-01T16:32:35Z")
I indicated why, above. For the `9:6x` tuplet, the XML has: ```xml 3 eighth 2 eighth ``` It’s indicating `3:2e`, which is not correct. And both Finale and Dorico render the tuplet as specified. It’s true that Dorico does give you extra time in the measure, which is probably a result of trying to make things add up that don’t. Finale doesn’t do that, but because it leaves the G# semi and the quaver rest out of the tuplet, I think its bar doesn’t have the right number of beats either. **Edit:** A `3:2e` tuplet would be correct if it contained three `3:2x` tuplets. ---
**Author:** ![mdedwards](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mdedwards/32/123398_2.png) [@mdedwards](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mdedwards)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/19 "2026-02-01T16:32:49Z")
created with [slippery chicken documentation - slippery chicken](https://michael-edwards.org/sc/) using RQQ rhythm notation ---
**Author:** ![jesele](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/jesele/32/1542_2.png) [@jesele](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/jesele)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697/20 "2026-02-01T16:36:48Z")
Didn’t know about that. I’m using Opusmodus. Jesper [Next page](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/xml-import-nested-tuplets-problem/1022697.md?page=2)