User manual

Transposing instruments
While most instruments produce notes at concert pitch, transposing instruments produce a note
that is different to the one that is written. For example, two common orchestral transposing
instruments are clarinet in B
♭ and horn in F.
When a clarinet in B♭ plays a C, the sound produced is a B♭, one tone below. When a horn in F
plays a C, the sound produced is an F, a
fth below. Other instruments that conventionally
produce a pitch different to the one notated include the piccolo (sounding an octave above
written), double bass (sounding an octave below written), and glockenspiel (sounding two
octaves above written).
Dorico Elements stores all note information in concert pitch and automatically transposes notes
as appropriate for the transposition of the instrument. This means notes, key signatures, and
chord symbols are automatically changed in transposing layouts compared to non-transposing
layouts. You can also change instruments at any time, and the music is adjusted automatically to
ensure the correct pitches are shown.
RELATED LINKS
Instrument picker on page 93
Instrument numbering on page 108
Concert vs. transposed pitch on page 134
Making layouts transposing/concert pitch on page 133
Setting different clefs for concert/transposed pitch on page 550
Changing instruments on page 113
Hiding/Showing clefs according to layout transpositions on page 550
Fretted instrument tuning
Fretted instruments can have different numbers of strings and frets. In order to display tablature
for fretted instruments in Dorico Elements, you must specify information about the tuning of
fretted instruments.
Dorico Elements requires the following information to display tablature:
● The number of strings the instrument has
● The open pitch of each string
● The number of frets
● The fret number at which each string starts, such as for the fth string on a banjo
● The pitch intervals between frets
When you assign a fretted instrument to a player or change an existing instrument, any available
tunings for that instrument are shown in the instrument picker.
You can also customize all aspects of fretted instruments in the Edit Strings and Tuning dialog.
NOTE
Any fretted instruments in projects created in earlier versions of Dorico Elements are
automatically assigned the standard set of strings and tunings associated with that instrument
when the project is rst opened in Dorico Elements 3. The quickest way to change their tuning is
changing the instrument type in the instrument picker.
RELATED LINKS
Instrument picker on page 93
Changing instruments on page 113
Edit Strings and Tuning dialog on page 123
Setup mode
Instruments
111
Dorico Elements 3.1.10