User manual

Playing techniques
The term “playing techniques” covers a wide range of instructions intended to tell performers to
modify the sound of the notes they are playing, for example, by changing their embouchure or
changing the position of their bow, or by modifying their instrument, such as adding a mute or
depressing a pedal.
In Dorico SE, there are the following types of playing techniques:
Glyph playing techniques
Playing techniques that display symbols, such as up bow or down bow markings.
Text playing techniques
Playing techniques that display text, such as pizz. or con sordino.
You can nd all available playing techniques in the Playing Techniques panel in Write mode,
organized by instrument family. For example, you can nd pedal lines in the Keyboard section of
the Playing Techniques panel.
NOTE
Because pedal lines have additional, unique requirements that do not apply to other playing
techniques, such as retakes, start signs, and continuation lines, they are documented separately.
Pedal lines also have their own group of the Properties panel that is separate from the
Playing
Techniques group.
Playing techniques can change how instruments play back. For example, inputting a pizz. playing
technique on a violin staff activates a key switch that changes the sound produced by the VST
instrument.
Dorico SE uses playback techniques to produce the required sounds in playback
for the playing techniques you input, provided your sound library includes the corresponding
samples.
Many playing techniques that only appear once in the music nonetheless imply that the playing
technique continues. For example, pizzicato usually appears once but applies until the next
playing technique, such as
arco. In Dorico SE, you can show continuation lines after and between
playing techniques to convey clearly to performers the notes to which you want them to apply.
You can also group multiple playing techniques together.
Playing technique texts use a plain font, neither bold nor italic, so they are not confused with
dynamics and expressive text.
NOTE
Pedal lines use a separate font style to other playing techniques.
Some of the playing techniques in Dorico SE
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Dorico SE 3.5.12