Is it possible to zoom the MIDI pitch bend editor, both horizontally and vertically? I see another post on this topic but don’t understand the answer. I need finer control over the pitch variation than I’m able to get with the default X/Y axis dimensions.
I’m used to working in Apple Logic Pro, where I can zoom as large as I like when I’m entering such details. I know, I know. Dorico is not Logic. I’m just relating a comparison to indicate where I’m coming from.
Absolutely. For horizontal there is a small slider with + and - buttons on each end in the bottom left of the playing techniques lane of the key editor (the window where you would edit pitch bend)
For vertical, you may first need to expand the size of the entire key editor by dragging the separator bar between the key editor and score. Then between the piano roll and playing techniques lane there is a line with four dashes in the middle. Drag those dashes to expand or contract. It that’s not clear I can get to my machine and make a screen shot.
Ah, good. Yes, I was able to follow that. Tricky, but at least it works. THANK YOU!
One more problem I’m having is regarding the vertical scale on the pitch bend.
What I’m trying to accomplish at this moment is I have a flute part that plays a Db above the treble staff followed by what’s marked as a “quasi gliss” to Bb a minor tenth below. The untampered-with playback doesn’t give me any pitch variation here, i.e. nothing like a gliss., so I’m trying to add some with the MIDI Pitch Bend and the Draw button. The first time I tried, it actually dropped the pitch below the range of the instrument and then started playing clarinet sounds instead, an octave lower than written, and continued that to the end of the piece, which I obviously had to undo.
I’ve figured how to undo my Draw, and may need to try this another dozen times to get it right, but I don’t know how far to drop it, i.e. I start it where the number on the left says 0, and it goes from there to 100, but I don’t know how that scales against actual pitch, e.g. against an octave. I don’t know if I’m making that clear. Probably not. FWIW, good flute players can play a pretty impressive gliss. (This isn’t music for beginners.)
I’ve got an idea for an experiment I’ll try and maybe I’ll hear something back in the meantime.
Assuming you are using NotePerformer, in order to hear the flute play a quasi-glissando from the D♭ above the treble staff to the B♭ a minor tenth below, you can enter a B♭ above the staff and use the MIDI pitch bend lane to set the pitch bend to 25 before that note begins and drop to -100 before that note ends. You will need to set the pitch bend to zero before the flute plays its next note.
Once you are satisfied with the playback of the glissando, you can select the B♭ and hide its accidental, stem and notehead in engrave mode. In write mode in a different voice, you can enter the D♭ and B♭ you want to see and the glissando line connecting them. Then select these two notes and the glissando line and suppress playback of all three.
@johnkprice, that’s pretty sneaky stuff! Although there isn’t a lot of pitch bending in the score I’m working on, if I get too fussy about it, it’ll take hours. As everyone knows, flutes (and clarinets) aren’t really built to do smooth or precise glissandos. The case in point is more like a fall-off or a smear, just a little broader in this case, and if flies by in less that a second. In fact, most of the pitch drifting I’ve notated falls within a minor third of variation, with various approcimate microtonal target points in between.
But this suggestion is educational and alerts me to the reality that I can do some pretty sophisticated things in playback, which I’ll try to keep in mind for future reference.