First Steps
The Steinberg Documentation Team: Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Lillie Harris, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Matthias Obrecht, Sabine Pfeifer, Benjamin Schütte, Marita Sladek Translation: Ability InterBusiness Solutions (AIBS), Moon Chen, Jérémie Dal Santo, Rosa Freitag, Josep Llodra Grimalt, Vadim Kupriianov, Filippo Manfredi, Roland Münchow, Boris Rogowski, Sergey Tamarovsky This document provides improved access for people who are blind or have low vision.
Table of Contents 4 4 6 7 8 Introduction Tour of the user interface Functions of the modes Dorico projects Key commands 9 9 10 11 Setting up the project Starting a new project Adding a solo piano player Deleting the spare layout 12 12 13 14 15 16 16 18 21 22 25 27 28 30 33 34 36 37 38 41 42 43 45 47 48 50 51 Writing music Popovers Adding a key signature Adding a time signature Adding bars Caret Inputting the melody on the top staff Inputting the chords on the bottom staff Adding accidentals Adding anot
Introduction Welcome to this First Steps guide, which we have created to help you get started with Dorico by taking you through all the steps necessary to create and prepare a short piano piece followed by an extract of a blues song. We hope that the principles and techniques you learn as part of this guide help you become familiar with common operations and feel more confident when working on your own projects.
Introduction Tour of the user interface 1 Toolbar The toolbar is located at the top of the project window. On the left of the toolbar, there are the buttons for the different modes. By changing the mode, you change the workspace and the available panels. The button for the current mode appears highlighted. You can find out more about modes in the next topic. NOTE Dorico Elements and Dorico SE do not have an Engrave button as they do not have Engrave mode.
Introduction Functions of the modes In Play mode, this area contains an event display, in which every note is displayed as an event on a piano roll or drum editor, and shows the effects of manipulating the playback of your music. In Print mode, this area becomes the print preview area, which shows a preview of how layouts will appear when printed onto paper or exported into a graphics file format. TIP Scores and instrumental parts are known as “layouts” in Dorico.
Introduction Dorico projects available toolboxes and panels allow you to input all the notes and notation items that are most commonly used. By design, you cannot move notes and items graphically on the page in Write mode. Graphical adjustments are only possible in Engrave mode. Engrave mode (Dorico Pro only) In Engrave mode, you can make fine adjustments to the music that you input in Write mode and determine how the pages of your project are laid out.
Introduction Key commands Key commands Key commands are sets of keys that perform defined tasks when pressed together. They are also known as “keyboard shortcuts” or “hotkeys”. Many key commands are the same on different operating systems but some are not, and this guide distinguishes them. When key commands use equivalent modifier keys depending on the operating system, the modifier keys are indicated separated by a slash, with the Windows modifier key first and the macOS modifier key second.
Setting up the project To walk you through setting up the project for this solo piano piece, the following tasks cover starting a new project, adding a piano to it, and deleting the spare part layout. Starting a new project The first step in producing a piece in Dorico is to start a new project. These steps describe starting an empty project so you can learn how to add individual instruments and players yourself. PREREQUISITE You have installed and opened Dorico.
Setting up the project Adding a solo piano player On the right, the Layouts panel shows a Full score layout card. This layout is automatically created in every new project. At the bottom of the window is the Flows panel. All the flows in your project are shown here. TIP Dorico provides project templates with different sets of players already included, such as a string quartet or SSAATTBB choir.
Setting up the project Deleting the spare layout Deleting the spare layout As this piece only involves one player, you can delete the part layout created by default and just keep the full score. In projects that contain a single player, you might find that having only one layout makes it easier to keep track of your work. PROCEDURE 1. In the Layouts panel on the right, select the Piano layout. 2. Press Backspace or Delete .
Writing music Now that you have set up your project, you can start writing the music. The following tasks take you through inputting the notes and notation items required for this piano piece, with a separate task for each item for clarity, although Dorico is designed so that you can also input most items at the same time as inputting notes and other notations: you don’t have to stop note input to add a dynamic, for example.
Writing music Adding a key signature Adding a key signature All new projects in Dorico start with no key signature, which is treated as atonal, that is, without an implied tonality. This piece is in A♭ major, so you need to input a key signature. PREREQUISITE ● You must be in Write mode. If you are, Write in the toolbar appears highlighted. If you are not, press Ctrl/Cmd-2 or click Write in the toolbar to switch to Write mode.
Writing music Adding a time signature TIP You can also add key signatures using the Key Signatures, Tonality Systems, and Accidentals panel on the right of the window, which you can show by clicking Key Signatures, Tonality Systems, and Accidentals in the Notations toolbox. Instead of opening the popover, you can click the down arrow in the Key Signatures section until the display has four flats, make sure Major is selected, and then click the key signature to input it.
Writing music Adding bars Adding bars Dorico automatically creates bars when you reach the end of the last bar as you input notes. However, it can be helpful to have all the bars you will need in advance. PREREQUISITE You must have input the time signature so Dorico knows how long the bars should be. PROCEDURE 1. Select the rest on the top staff. ● You can select items by clicking them or by using the keyboard.
Writing music Caret Caret During the following tasks, you will be using the caret to input notes. In Dorico, the caret is a vertical line that shows the rhythmic position at which notes, chords, or notation items are input. The caret has a note symbol beside it, which indicates the stem direction and type of the currently selected voice. It has a + symbol if the voice is new. The appearance and behavior of the caret changes depending on the input mode and the currently selected voice number.
Writing music Inputting the melody on the top staff with smaller numbers used for smaller durations and larger numbers used for larger durations. ● 4. Press Space twice to advance the caret two eighth notes. ● 5. 6. The caret is still at the beginning of the bar, but the first note in the melody is on the second beat. However, you don’t need to input rests to get there. During note input, Space advances the caret by the note duration currently selected in the Notes panel.
Writing music Inputting the chords on the bottom staff TIP Alternatively, you can press Esc to stop note input, select bars 1-2 on the top staff (including the quarter note rest), then press R to repeat the material directly after itself. 9. Press Esc or Return to stop note input. RESULT You have input all the notes required in the first four bars for the top staff.
Writing music Inputting the chords on the bottom staff ● 4. Press A to input an A♭. ● 5. 8. Alt/Opt-Down Arrow transposes notes down by staff position, that is, by step. Adding Ctrl/Cmd transposes notes down a larger amount, that is, by octave. Press E to input an E♭. ● 7. Because this is the first pitch on the staff, Dorico has no reference for register and chooses the A♭ closest to middle C, but this piece requires the A♭ below.
Writing music Inputting the chords on the bottom staff ● 9. Dorico automatically selects notes the smallest interval away from the previous note. Pressing Shift-Alt/Opt as well as the letter for the note inputs that note above the previous note, regardless of the interval. For a lower note, it’s Ctrl-Alt (Windows) or Ctrl (macOS) plus the letter for the note. If you’re not sure whether you need to specify the register, you can always transpose notes up/down octaves after inputting them.
Writing music Adding accidentals AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK Continue inputting chords on the bottom staff up until beat 1 in bar 6, as accidentals are required on beat 2 in bar 6. Adding accidentals So far, all the notes you have input have followed the accidentals in the key signature of A♭ major. However, the chords in bar 6 include B♮ and D♮, so you need to add accidentals.
Writing music Adding another voice to the top staff 8. Press D to input a D♮. 9. Press Space to advance the caret. 10. Press F , then B , then D to input the corresponding pitches. ● Because accidentals last for the rest of the bar by default, the next B and D are also input as B♮ and D♮ automatically. 11. Press Esc or Return to stop note input. RESULT You have input chords each containing two notes with natural accidentals.
Writing music Adding another voice to the top staff ● Currently, the note symbol shows you are inputting notes into the first up-stem voice on the staff, but this bar requires a down-stem voice. 3. If chord input is active, press Q to stop chord input. 4. Press Shift-V to create a new voice. ● A + sign appears beside the note symbol, whose stem now points down. This indicates a new down-stem voice. 5. Press 7 to select half notes (minims), then .
Writing music Adding another voice to the top staff ● 9. V cycles through all active voices on the staff. As there are currently only two voices on the top staff, pressing V switches between the up-stem and down-stem voices. Press 5 to select eighth notes (quavers). 10. Press E , G , F , then E to input the pitches E♭, G, F, and E♭ as eighth notes into the up-stem voice. 11. Press 7 then . (period) to select dotted half notes (dotted minims). 12. Press Q to start chord input. 13.
Writing music Adding slurs AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK Input the notes in bar 13 on the top staff using what you have learned in this task, or copy them from bar 11. Adding slurs Most phrases in this piece have slurs. This task starts by adding slurs to the phrases you have already input, then describes inputting a slur alongside new notes. PROCEDURE 1. In bar 1, click anywhere on the eighth note beam on the top staff to select all notes in the beam. 2. Press S to add a slur across the selected notes.
Writing music Adding slurs 7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the other cross-voice slurs in bars 11-13. ● If you have Dorico Pro, in a later task you can flip these slurs and adjust their shape so they start on the rests. ● This is as far as you have input notes, so now you can input notes and slurs together. 8. Select the rest in bar 14 on the top staff. 9. Press Shift-N to start note input. 10. If the note symbol beside the caret is down-stem, press V to switch to the up-stem voice. 11.
Writing music Inputting a tie 21. Press Shift-S to stop the slur. 22. Press Esc or Return to stop note input. RESULT You have added slurs to existing phrases, including cross-voice slurs, and input slurs alongside inputting notes. AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK You can copy the music on both staves in bars 3-4 into bars 19-20. Inputting a tie There is a tie that joins two notes on the bottom staff across the barline between bars 14 and 15. In these steps you will input that tie. PROCEDURE 1.
Writing music Adding dynamics 7. Press 6 to select quarter notes (crotchets). 8. Press F , then Space to advance the caret. 9. Press - to select a flat accidental, then F to input an F♭. 10. Press Esc or Return to stop note input. RESULT You have input a half note (minim) that is displayed as two tied quarter notes (crotchets). Dorico treats it as a single note, meaning if you click either notehead, both are selected.
Writing music Adding dynamics 4. Press Return to close the popover and input the dynamic. 5. In bar 5, click the eighth note G on the top staff. 6. Press < (that is, Shift - , ) to input a crescendo hairpin that spans the selected note, that is, an eighth note in duration. 7. ● Dorico uses the < and > characters for crescendo and diminuendo hairpins respectively due to their similar appearance. ● This hairpin should actually be longer, so you need to lengthen it.
Writing music Adding articulations 10. If chord input is active, press Q to stop chord input. 11. Press 5 to select eighth notes (quavers). 12. Press Space to advance the caret one eighth note, then press F to input an F. ● If you have not already input the phrase in bars 19-20, the F might be input in the wrong octave.
Writing music Adding articulations ● You can also select articulations by clicking the corresponding button in the Notes panel on the left of the window. The key commands for articulations use the four keys to the left of the Return key on the computer keyboard, matching their arrangement in the Notes panel. Combining Shift with these keys allows you to access the lower four articulations in the panel. 3. Ctrl/Cmd -click the quarter note Fs on beat 3 in bars 6, 8, and 22. 4.
Writing music Adding articulations ● Articulations are sticky in Dorico, which means all notes you input have the selected articulations until you deactivate them or stop note input. This is different to accidentals, where the selected accidental only applies to the next note you input. 12. Press ] again to deactivate staccatos. ● The next steps skip ahead in the piece to demonstrate inputting consecutive notes with tenuto marks. 13.
Writing music Adding arpeggio signs to chords Adding arpeggio signs to chords Most of the chords in this piece are played straight, but a number are rolled, which is indicated with an arpeggio sign. You can add arpeggio signs to existing chords as well as inputting them alongside inputting notes. PREREQUISITE You have input all the chords in the bottom staff up to the end of bar 11. PROCEDURE 1. In bar 9, click the stem of the chord on beat 1 on the bottom staff to select all notes in the chord.
Writing music Adding tempo marks ● When you input the A♭, a short arpeggio sign appears to the left of the note. ● Based on the previous pitches in this voice on the staff, Dorico inputs the A♭ at the top of the chord. 13. Press Ctrl-Alt-E (Windows) or Ctrl-E (macOS) , then Ctrl-Alt-A (Windows) or CtrlA (macOS) to input the corresponding pitches below the top A♭. ● When you input the E♭ then another A♭ below, the arpeggio automatically extends across all three notes. 14.
Writing music Adding tempo marks 3. Press Shift-T to open the tempo popover. 4. Enter poco rit. into the popover. 5. Press Return to close the popover and input a poco rit. gradual tempo change that spans the selected range. ● A continuation line is automatically shown for its duration. The circular handles at the start and end control its rhythmic start and end positions. 6. In bar 13, select any of the notes or the rest on beat 1. 7. Press Shift-T to open the tempo popover. 8.
Writing music Adding clef changes RESULT You have added a gradual tempo change and an absolute tempo change. Dorico automatically aligns the ritardando continuation line with the “A tempo” marking. TIP You can also add tempo marks using the Tempo panel on the right of the window, which you can show by clicking Tempo in the Notations toolbox. AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK Using the tempo popover ( Shift-T ), input a Grazioso tempo mark at the start of bar 1.
Writing music Deleting rests ● When you add a chord in the down-stem voice on beat 3 in bar 29, rests appear on beats 1 and 2. In the next task, you can delete them. 10. Press Esc or Return to stop note input. 11. In bar 30, select the rest on the top staff. 12. Press Shift-C to open the clefs and octave lines popover. 13. Enter treble into the popover. 14. Press Return to close the popover and input a treble clef at the selected rhythmic position.
Writing music Inputting tuplets 2. Choose Edit > Remove Rests. RESULT All rests within the selection are removed. This is done by automatically activating the Starts voice and Ends voice properties in the Notes and Rests group of the Properties panel on the required notes so that no rests are shown in the selected region. Inputting tuplets In bars 30-40, there are several different tuplets that you must input. Dorico allows you to input tuplets with any ratio, including over barlines. PROCEDURE 1.
Writing music Inputting tuplets 7. Press 4 to select 16th notes (semiquavers). ● 8. 9. You can input notes of any duration inside tuplets of any ratio. If the note is too long to fit, any extra duration is notated beyond the tuplet. Press F , D , Ctrl-Alt-G (Windows) or Ctrl-G (macOS) to input the G below, Shift-Alt/Opt-D to input the D♭ above, then F . ● Tuplets are sticky in Dorico, which means you continue to input the specified tuplet until you stop tuplet input or note input.
Writing music Inputting tuplets 18. Press Return to close the popover and input an eighth note triplet. 19. Press 5 to select eighth notes (quavers). 20. Press A to input an A♭. ● Based on the preceding pitches, this inputs an A♭ that is two octaves too high. 21. Press Ctrl/Cmd-Alt/Opt-Down Arrow twice to transpose it down to the correct octave. 22.
Writing music Adding a grace note 29. Press Esc or Return to stop note input. RESULT You have input two different types of tuplets and an additional clef change. In a later task, you can change the direction of stems in bars 30-31. Adding a grace note In bar 32, there is a grace note before a chord on the top staff. In this task, you will input the chords on the top staff in bar 32 including the grace note. PROCEDURE 1. In bar 32, select the rest on the top staff. 2. Press Shift-N to start note input.
Writing music Adding an octave line 10. Press / to stop grace note input. ● The caret gets larger and appears to advance a little as it returns to normal note position. It had stayed at the grace note position because chord input was active. 11. Press 7 to select half notes (minims). 12. Press Ctrl-Alt-C (Windows) or Ctrl-C (macOS) , E , then A . 13. Press Esc or Return to stop note input. RESULT You have input a grace note alongside the required chords on the top staff in bar 32.
Writing music Inputting the music in bars 33-35 2. Press Shift-C to open the clefs and octave lines popover. 3. Enter 8va into the popover. 4. Press Return to close the popover. RESULT An 8va octave line that spans the grace note and chord is input. All notes within the span of the octave line are automatically notated an octave lower than before you input the octave line.
Writing music Inputting the music in bars 33-35 8. Press D to input a D♭, then Ctrl/Cmd-Alt/Opt-Down Arrow twice to transpose it down two octaves. 9. Press Shift-Alt/Opt-A to input the A♭ a fifth above, rather than a fourth below, the preceding D♭, then D to input the D♭ a fourth above that. 10. Press : (that is, Shift - ; ) to stop tuplet input. 11. Press 3 to select 32nd notes (demisemiquavers). 12. Press F , A , D , then F to input the corresponding pitches. 13.
Writing music Crossing notes to the other staff 19. Select everything in bar 33 then press R twice to repeat it in bars 34 and 35. 20. Select everything in bars 33-35 then choose Edit > Remove Rests. ● A quick way of selecting everything in bars 33-35 is to click on the bottom staff in bar 33, but not on the notes, then Shift -click on the top staff in bar 35, also not on the notes. RESULT You have input the notes and chords required for bars 33-35 and removed the rests.
Writing music Crossing notes to the other staff 2. Press Alt/Opt-N to move the note so it belongs to the top staff. ● The A♮ is merged into the up-stem voice with the existing E♮. However, this removes the marcato articulation. 3. Press ' to re-input the marcato articulation. 4. In bar 33, select the 32nd note (demisemiquaver) D♭, then Shift -click the chord on beat 3. 5. Press N to cross the selected notes to the staff above. 6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for bars 34-35. 46 Dorico 3.5.
Writing music Respelling notes RESULT The notes are crossed from the bottom staff to the top staff with centered cross-staff beams and appropriate stem directions automatically. Notes crossed to other staves still belong to their home staff, but appear on the other.
Writing music Adding indications for left/right hands RESULT The A♮s are respelled upwards and the D♭ is respelled downwards. TIP ● The key commands for respelling notes use the same keys as adding accidentals, plus the Alt/Opt key: respelling upwards ( Alt/Opt-= ) and sharp accidentals ( = ) both involve raising notes, while respelling downwards ( Alt/Opt-- ) and flat accidentals ( - ) both involve lowering notes.
Writing music Adding indications for left/right hands 5. Press Esc or Ctrl/Cmd - Return to close the text editor. 6. Select the “l.H.” text and press F to flip it below the staff. 7. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for the “r.H.” indication, but in step 1, select the C on beat 3. 8. Ctrl/Cmd -click both text objects, then Alt/Opt -click the staff on beat 2 in bar 31 to copy them at that position.
Writing music Adding the repeat ending Adding the repeat ending Repeat ending structures in Dorico automatically incorporate the lines above the staff and the repeat barline. In the original edition, the second ending has a closed hook end so you can also replicate that. PROCEDURE 1. In bar 39, select any note on the first beat. 2. Shift -click anything that lasts until the end of bar 40, such as the note on beat 3 on the bottom staff or the bar rest on the top staff. 3.
Writing music Finish writing the music ● If the Properties panel isn’t shown, press Ctrl/Cmd-8 to show it. RESULT You have added the repeat ending, lengthened the duration of the second ending, and changed its end so the second ending has a hook. Dorico inputs a repeat barline at the end of the first ending automatically.
Writing music Finish writing the music ● ● To input a note above the previous note, press Shift-Alt/Opt plus the letter for the note, for example, Shift-Alt/Opt-A . To input a note below the previous note, press Ctrl-Alt (Windows) or Ctrl (macOS) plus the letter for the note, for example, Ctrl-AltA (Windows) or Ctrl-A (macOS) . ● To raise notes by staff position, such as C to D, press Alt/Opt-Up Arrow . To lower notes by staff position, such as D to C, press Alt/Opt-Down Arrow .
Laying out and formatting pages Once you have input all the notes and notations required, you can lay out and format pages to produce practical sheet music. The following tasks take you through the steps required for this process. You can do most of the top-level changes in any mode and product version, but some tasks are only possible in Engrave mode in Dorico Pro.
Laying out and formatting pages Adding the title and composer Adding the title and composer You need to add title and composer information for the project. On page 1, there are two different titles: the project title (“Untitled Project 1”, most likely) and the flow title (“Flow 1”). The project title and flow title are separate because Dorico allows you to have multiple separate pieces of music, known as “flows”, in the same project.
Laying out and formatting pages Master pages and tokens Because the project title and flow title are referred to in different places using tokens by default, sometimes it is easiest to give both the project and the flow the same information in Project Info, rather than changing the tokens used in different places.
Laying out and formatting pages Hiding the flow heading Master pages function like templates in Dorico, allowing the same page formatting to be applied to multiple different pages and in different layouts. All pages in your scores and parts inherit their page formats from master pages. Whenever you create or change anything on master pages, this is automatically reflected on the pages that use these master pages. The project title and composer are both on the First master page.
Laying out and formatting pages Hiding staff labels RESULT All flow headings in the layout are hidden. However, this doesn’t hide the running header at the top of pages 2-4. TIP ● For projects with more than one layout, make sure you select the required layouts in the list on the right before changing options.
Laying out and formatting pages Changing the page size and margins Changing the page size and margins The next thing you can do to increase the available space on each page for music is to change the page margins. You can also change the page size to A4 so it’s the same as in our example. In Dorico, there are the following types of margins: ● Page margins for all four edges, which control the available area for frames. Frames cannot go beyond page margins.
Laying out and formatting pages Deleting the copyright text frame (Dorico Pro only) 5. 6. In the Music Frame Margins section, change the music frame margins: ● For Top, enter 12 mm or 0.473 inches. ● For Bottom, enter 8 mm or 0.315 inches. Click Apply, then Close. RESULT The margins on all pages in the layout are changed and the page size is set to A4.
Laying out and formatting pages Deleting the copyright text frame (Dorico Pro only) 3. Select the copyright text frame at the bottom of the page on the right. ● Master pages in Dorico act as page pairs, allowing odd-numbered, right-hand pages to look different to even-numbered, left-hand pages if necessary. You could select the copyright frame on the left page as well, but then in step 7 you would need to click the other button. 4. Press Backspace or Delete to delete the frame. 5.
Laying out and formatting pages Changing the staff size ● 7. At the top of the music area, click Copy right to left ● 8. You can also press Ctrl/Cmd-Alt/Opt-Down Arrow until it reaches the bottom page margin. . If you deleted the copyright frame on the left page, click Copy left to right instead. At the top right of the music area, click Apply, then Close. RESULT The copyright text token is removed from both sides of the First master page, and the music frame now extends to the bottom of the page.
Laying out and formatting pages Changing vertical spacing settings Changing vertical spacing settings Next, you can reduce the default vertical spacing settings to reduce the minimum amount of space Dorico allows for staves and systems. Dorico automatically performs collision avoidance calculations for high or low notes, dynamics, text, and so on. These gaps change the spacing in addition to collision avoidance. PROCEDURE 1. Press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-L to open Layout Options. 2.
Laying out and formatting pages Changing note and cross-staff beam spacing Changing note and cross-staff beam spacing In order to fit the remaining music on page 3 onto pages 1-2, you can reduce the minimum note spacing to fit more bars in each system. At the same time, you can make the gaps between stems equal for the cross-staff beams. PROCEDURE 1. Press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-L to open Layout Options. 2. Click Note Spacing in the category list. 3. For Default space for crotchet/quarter note, enter 3 1/4.
Laying out and formatting pages Starting on a left-hand page Starting on a left-hand page As this layout now fits on two pages, it makes sense to set it up as a two-page spread with the first page on the left and the second page on the right. PROCEDURE 1. Press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-L to open Layout Options. 2. Click Page Setup in the category list. 3. In the Page Numbers section, enter 2 for Initial page number. 4. Click Apply, then Close.
Laying out and formatting pages Changing stem directions ● If you have Dorico Elements or Dorico SE, you could create a title page in another application then combine it into the exported PDF of the project so that the resulting document has three pages. If you have Dorico Pro, instead of changing the initial page number, you could insert an empty page at the start of the layout and create a title page using text and graphics frames.
Laying out and formatting pages Changing beam grouping NOTE We don’t recommend flipping the direction of stems when instead you should change notes to an up-stem or down-stem voice. Where rests aren’t shown, Dorico automatically changes the stem direction of notes according to their pitch regardless of their voice. Changing beam grouping Dorico automatically beams notes according to the prevailing meter (time signature).
Laying out and formatting pages Aligning dynamics 6. Choose Edit > Beaming > Split Beam, or right-click and choose this option from the context menu, to split beams to the left of the selected notes. RESULT You have changed the default beam grouping in the selected bars. TIP If the beam grouping changes you want are consistent across many bars, you can specify them as part of the time signature, such as by entering [2+3+2]/8 into the popover for a 7/8 time signature grouped in 2+3+2.
Laying out and formatting pages Adjusting the shapes of slurs (Dorico Pro only) 2. Choose Edit > Dynamics > Group Dynamics, or right-click and choose this option from the context menu. RESULT The selected dynamics are grouped together and automatically align. When you select any dynamic in a group, the other dynamics in the group appear highlighted.
Laying out and formatting pages Adjusting the shapes of slurs (Dorico Pro only) 2. Press F to change their curvature direction so they curve upwards. 3. If you are not already in Engrave mode, press Ctrl/Cmd-3 to switch to Engrave mode. 4. Select the start handle of the flipped slurs. ● 5. Press Ctrl/Cmd-Alt/Opt-Up Arrow until the endpoints are positioned above the quarter note (crotchet) rest. ● 6.
Laying out and formatting pages Moving items graphically (Dorico Pro only) ● The poco rit. does not automatically move out of the way of the slur as this is arguably a creative choice of slur placement. You can select the poco rit. and A tempo markings and press Ctrl/Cmd-Alt/Opt-Up Arrow to move them graphically upwards. RESULT You have changed the curvature direction and shape of the slurs, and optionally moved the tempo marks in bars 11-12 out of the way of the slur’s new position.
Laying out and formatting pages Moving items graphically (Dorico Pro only) 4. Press Ctrl/Cmd-Alt/Opt-Up Arrow once to move the hairpin upwards. ● 5. The bottom staff automatically moves upwards slightly with the reduced pressure on vertical spacing. In bars 33-35, select the end handle on each hairpin (the middle handles at the end). ● You can show handles on all items, not just selected items, by choosing Engrave > Show Handles > Always.
Laying out and formatting pages Moving items graphically (Dorico Pro only) RESULT You have deactivated collision avoidance for the “l.H.” text objects, allowing them to be positioned between the staff and the hairpin, and moved both whole hairpins and individual hairpin handles to change their angles. To provide a stable result, most graphical edits in Engrave mode do not affect the positions of other items.
Playing back music The next step in the process is listening to how the music sounds in playback and making changes if required. There are many different ways you can adjust how your music sounds in playback; the following tasks cover a few simple adjustments. Although you can start and stop playback in any mode, most playback-related work happens in Play mode.
Playing back music Applying a playback template 5. 6. If you want to edit settings for the device, click Device Control Panel to open the settings dialog. ● Windows users: To allow sound from other applications alongside Dorico, such as online videos, deactivate Allow ASIO host application to take exclusive control of selected port configuration. ● macOS users: If you don’t want Dorico to set the audio output volume to maximum automatically, deactivate Set Device Attenuation To 0 dB.
Playing back music Playing back the piece RESULT The selected playback template is applied to the project. If it was already applied, it is re-applied, resetting the playback template back to its defaults. In the VST and MIDI Instruments panel on the right of the window, a plug-in instance is loaded with sounds for the piano. If you want to open the VST instrument window, click Edit Instrument . Playing back the piece With piano sounds loaded, you can now listen to the whole piece played back.
Playing back music Changing dynamic levels in playback AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK If you want to change the overall tempo, switch back to Write mode (press Ctrl/Cmd-2 ), select the Grazioso tempo mark at the start, and change the value for Tempo (bpm) in the Tempo group of the Properties panel. RELATED LINKS Changing the audio output device on page 73 Changing dynamic levels in playback You can change the levels of dynamics in Play mode without affecting their appearance in the music.
Playing back music Changing dynamic levels in playback 5. Click and drag the crescendo end handle downwards until the readout displays 0. ● 6. Press D to select the Draw tool. ● 7. You could also do the same for the next crescendo in bar 25, but the current phrasing with the third crescendo sounding a bit louder feels quite natural. When you release the mouse after lowering the crescendo end in bar 24, the crescendo in bar 25 also lowers accordingly.
Playing back music Changing dynamic levels in playback ● 8. Click Show the MIDI note velocity editor ● 9. The next steps involve the velocity lane, so you can hide the dynamics lane by clicking Show the dynamics lane again. to show the velocity lane. Velocity controls the dynamics of non-sustaining instruments, including the piano. Press L to select the Line tool. ● You can also click Line in the Play toolbox on the left of the window. 10.
Playing back music Changing the poco rit. final tempo AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK ● To listen to just the affected bars to check the result, you can click in the ruler at the top of the event display to move the playhead to that position and press Space or Enter to start or stop playback from that position. ● You can continue changing dynamic levels elsewhere if you like. Changing the poco rit. final tempo The poco rit. in bars 42-43 sounds like it needs a little more time.
Playing back music Changing the played duration of notes back into the starting material. You can change the played duration of notes in Dorico without affecting their notated duration. These adjustments are subjective, but we suggest making the quarter note (crochet) sound a little shorter and the eighth notes (quavers) sound a little longer to create the effect of a breath before the start of bar 43.
Playing back music Changing the played duration of notes 4. ● They don’t have to line up; in fact, having them end at slightly different times creates a more natural effect. ● Overriding the default played durations removes the start offsets on the arpeggiated notes so you need to delay their starts. Click and drag the left end of the B♭ and G on the bottom staff to the right a little, with the G starting later than the B♭.
Playing back music Changing the played duration of notes also applies to moving or lengthening/shortening note events with Notated Durations selected in the Play toolbox. 82 Dorico 3.5.
Printing and exporting Once you are happy with how the piece looks on the page and sounds in playback, you can print and export it in a variety of formats, including graphics and audio files. The following tasks cover a few common printing and exporting operations. In Print mode, the area in the middle of the project window becomes the print preview area. The panel on the right is the Print Options panel, where you can find all the printing and exporting options.
Printing and exporting Exporting to PDF 5. In the Job Type section, select the appropriate print arrangement from the menu. ● If your printer can only print A4, select Normal. ● If your printer can print A3 and you have not added a title page, select 2-up. ● If your printer can print A3 and you have added a title page, select Booklet. 6. If you selected Normal or 2-up, choose All Pages. 7. In the Page Setup section, choose the options appropriate for your printer and job type.
Printing and exporting Exporting to PDF 4. Click Choose Folder beside the Destination folder field to open the File Explorer/macOS Finder. 5. Locate and select the destination folder you want. 6. Click Select Folder (Windows)/Open (macOS) to insert the new path in the Destination folder field. 7. If you want to change the file name recipe (the naming structure used for the exported PDF), click File Name Options to open the Export File Names dialog and change the file name recipe for PDF files.
Printing and exporting Exporting the audio Exporting the audio You can export the audio of projects as MP3 or WAV audio files, for example, to share how a piece sounds with someone who does not have Dorico. PROCEDURE 1. In any mode, choose File > Export > Audio to open the Export Audio dialog. 2. At the top of the dialog, choose Export Compressed MP3 (.mp3). 86 Dorico 3.5.
Printing and exporting Exporting the audio ● 3. As part of these steps, we suggest exporting as MP3 because the resulting MP3 file size is much smaller than WAV files. Deactivate Export each selected flow as a separate file. ● If this option were activated, the resulting MP3 file would be inside an additional folder named after the flow.
Further notations Congratulations! You have completed the Dora Pejačević “Walzer-Capricen No. 2” piano piece project. We hope you enjoyed the process and learned useful Dorico operations along the way. In the following tasks, you will build on the inputting techniques you’ve already learned and extend them to other common notations, including lyrics, chord symbols, and rhythm slashes.
Further notations Adding lyrics ● 5. Enter so into the popover, then press Space . ● 6. Pressing Space tells Dorico the lyric you input was a complete word, or the final syllable in a multi-syllabic word. The next word comprises three syllables, so you must advance the popover differently. Enter un into the popover, then press - . ● The hyphen between syllables does not appear until you input the next syllable. 7. Enter hap into the popover, then press - . 8.
Further notations Adding fermatas 13. Continue inputting the lyrics until the end of bar 26. A-bout this let-ter, that I will write, I hope he will re-mem-ber, when he re-ceives it, See, see, ri-der, see what you done done, Lawd, lawd, lawd, You made me love you, now your gal done come. You made me love you, now your gal done come. ● The lyrics lawd, on beat 3 in bar 20 and come. at the end of bar 22 require two Space presses. All other lyrics only require a single Space press.
Further notations Adding a mute playing technique RESULT You have input two fermatas on the last two beats in bar 16. Dorico automatically shows fermatas on all staves, including adjusting the note or rest they appear on according to the contents of each staff. Selecting a fermata on one staff selects it on all staves, because they are all representations of the same, single item.
Further notations Adding chord symbols 3. Enter con s into the popover. ● Because the playing techniques popover requires exact popover entries in order to create specific playing techniques, a menu with valid playing techniques appears when you start entering into the popover. 4. Press Down Arrow to select con sord. 5. Press Return to close the popover. RESULT A con sordino playing technique is input. It has an associated “Muted” playback technique.
Further notations Adding chord symbols 2. Press Shift-Q to open the chord symbols popover. 3. Enter C7 into the popover. 4. Press Space four times to advance the popover to the start of bar 2. ● Each time you press Space , the chord symbols popover advances one beat according to the current time signature, which is one quarter note (crotchet) in this song’s 4/4 time signature. 5. Enter G7/D into the popover, then press Space twice. 6. Enter C7 into the popover, then press Space twice. 7.
Further notations Adding rhythm slashes AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK ● Continue inputting chord symbols for the rest of this excerpt, remembering that Return closes the popover and Space advances it by one quarter note for each press. ● Some chord symbols collide with barlines, such as the Fdim7 in bar 5.
Further notations Adding rhythm slashes ● However, in the recording, only the clarinet plays on beat 4 in bar 4. 7. Select any part of the slash regions in bars 1-4 on the trombone, banjo, and piano staves. 8. Press Shift-Alt/Opt-Left Arrow to shorten the slash regions back to the end of beat 3. ● 9. The number of presses required depends on your rhythmic grid resolution In bar 5, select the bar rest on the trombone staff. 10.
Further notations Adding rhythm slashes ● You should now have rhythm slashes throughout bars 1-16 for the cornet, trombone, and banjo. However, the fermatas in bar 16 do not appear automatically in slash regions. 14. Select any part of the slash regions in bars 5-16 on both the trombone and banjo staves. 15. Press Shift-Alt/Opt-Left Arrow to shorten the slash regions back to the end of beat 2. ● The number of presses required depends on your rhythmic grid resolution . 16.
Further notations Adding bar repeats RESULT You have input slash regions and input notes into stemless slash voices. Using a combination of slash regions and slash voices can be useful, for example, if some bars have particular rhythms you want to specify using rhythm slashes. TIP You can also add slash regions from the Repeat Structures panel on the right of the window, in the Notations toolbox.
Further notations Showing chord symbols above different staves 6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for bars 10 and 14. RESULT You have input bar repeat regions for single bars on both piano staves. TIP You can also add bar repeat regions from the Repeat Structures panel on the right of the window, which you can show by clicking Repeat Structures in the Notations toolbox. Showing chord symbols above different staves Chord symbols automatically appear above rhythm section instrument staves.
Further notations Adding a drum set TIP You can also use this context menu to change which layouts chord symbols appear in. Adding a drum set This song did not originally include any percussion, but in order to demonstrate how Dorico handles percussion kits including drum sets, in this task you will add a hypothetical drum set to the project. PREREQUISITE You are in Setup mode (press Ctrl/Cmd-1 ). PROCEDURE 1. Press Shift-P to add a new solo player and open the instrument picker.
Further notations Adding a drum set bottom of the ensemble when they read from the score, you need to move the drum set above the piano. 4. Click and drag the drum set player until the insertion line is above the piano. 5. Release the mouse to move the drum set player to the position of the insertion line. ● Because bracket grouping is set to Small ensemble for the full score, the drum set is now included in a bracket with the other instruments.
Further notations Inputting notes on a drum set TIP The voice is in its own group for the same reason. In Dorico, a percussion kit is a set of multiple unpitched percussion instruments that can be presented in different ways: each instrument on its own line, in a grid, or on a five-line staff. The same percussion kit can appear on a five-line staff in the full score but with single-line instruments in the part layout. You can identify percussion kits by their green instrument labels in Setup mode.
Further notations Inputting notes on a drum set PROCEDURE 1. In bar 4, select the bar rest on the drum set staff. 2. Press Shift-N to start note input. ● On percussion kit staves, the caret appears shorter. The current instrument name is also shown in addition to the caret and the rhythmic grid. 3. Press Space three times to advance the caret to beat 4. 4. Press Up Arrow until the caret is on the hi-hat. 5. Press 5 to select eighth notes (quavers). 6. Press Y until the end of beat 1 in bar 8.
Further notations Inputting notes on a drum set 11. Make sure quarter notes (crotchets) are selected, then press Y . ● The default drum set in Dorico is already set up with the most common percussion playing technique noteheads, so the side stick snare drum note appears with a cross notehead.
Further notations Adding tremolos AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK You could select bars 5-8 and press R to repeat those four bars until the end of the excerpt, or instead you could use a bar repeat region indicating the player should repeat the four-bar phrase. The popover entry for that is %4 in the repeats popover ( Shift-R ). Adding tremolos In bars 8 and 12 in the verse, the vocal part stops early in the bar. To fill in the space a little, you can add tremolos to the drum set part. PROCEDURE 1.
Further notations Enabling swing playback for the drum set 2. Press Shift-T to open the tempo popover. 3. Enter swing into the popover. ● Like for the playing techniques popover, a menu with valid rhythmic feels appears when you start entering into the popover. 4. Press Down Arrow until you have selected 2:1 swing 8ths (fixed). 5. Press Alt/Opt-Return to close the popover. RESULT Swing playback with the selected swing ratio is input for only the drum set part.
Further notations Removing the drum set from the full score Removing the drum set from the full score One of Dorico’s strengths is the flexible relationship between players, layouts, and flows. To demonstrate this, you can remove the drum set from the full score, because it was not in the original song, but keep the player and their music in the project for reference. PREREQUISITE You are in Setup mode (press Ctrl/Cmd-1 ). PROCEDURE 1. In the Players panel on the left, select the drum set player card. 2.
Final tips We hope that you have enjoyed this guide and have learned some useful ways of working in Dorico. To finish, we would like to leave you with some final tips for maximizing your time and output, and to let you know where you can go from here. ● You can find comprehensive documentation on steinberg.help, including separate PDFs for popover entries and text tokens. There are quick reference cards for common key commands available on the Dorico blog and video tutorials on the Dorico YouTube channel.
Index A copyright 59 cross-staff beaming 45 crotchets. See quarter notes a tempo 34 abbreviated instrument names 57 accelerando 34, 51 accents 30 acciaccaturas 41 accidentals 21, 22, 36, 38, 43, 51 spelling 47 adding. See inputting alignment 67, 88, 92, 107 angles 68, 70 appoggiaturas 41 arpeggio signs 33 articulations 30 audio exporting 86 output 73, 75 D deleting flow title 56 frames 59 instrument names 57 layouts 11 rests 37 staff labels 57 staves 106 demisemiquavers.
Index inputting (continued) chord symbols 92, 98 chords 18 clefs 36 dynamics 28 grace notes 41 key signatures 13 notes 16, 18, 22, 38, 41, 43, 101 octave lines 42 repeats 97 rests 16 slashes 94 slurs 25 tempo marks 34 ties 27 time signatures 14 tremolos 104 tuplets 38 voices 22 instruments 10 names 57 VST 74 interface 4 italics 48 flats 21, 22, 36, 38 flipping 48, 51, 65, 70 flows 7 numbers 55, 56 swing playback 104 titles 54–56, 73 font styles 55, 84 formatting pages 53, 58, 61–64 forte 28 frames 55, 58,
Index Play mode 6, 73–75, 79 playback 73, 75, 76 muted sounds 91 note durations 79 repeats 50 swing 104 templates 74 tempo 75, 79 players 7, 10, 88, 99, 101, 104 chord symbols 98 groups 99 layouts 10, 11, 106 playhead 73, 75, 76 playing techniques 91, 101 poco 34 popovers 12 bars and barlines 15 chord symbols 92 clefs and octave lines 36, 42 dynamics 28 key signatures 13 lyrics 88 ornaments 33 playing techniques 91 repeats 94, 97, 104 tempo 34 time signatures 14 tuplets 38 portrait orientation 83 Print mod
Index ritenuto 34, 51, 79 rolls 33, 104 ruler 73, 76, 79 templates pages 55 playback 74 tempo marks 34 moving 51, 79 playback 75, 79 swing playback 104 tenuto 30 text 48, 59 font styles 55, 84 lyrics 88 moving 51, 70 title and composer 54–56 watermarks 84 thirty-second notes 16, 43 ties 27 time signatures 14, 66, 92 titles 54–56, 64, 73, 83 tokens 54, 55 tom-toms 101 toolbar 4 toolboxes 4 tracks 73, 76, 79 transposing 18, 42, 51 treble clef 36 tremolos 104 triplets and tuplets 38, 66, 104 two-up 64, 83 S
