At the same time, after the major update to version 2, I feel ready to adopt Dorico as the main software for all of my own scoring work. I deeply appreciate the dedication and accessibility of the persons collaborating on this project, and look forward to the program’s future transformations and refinements. The program, to its great credit, is both ambitious, and at the same time openly presenting itself as an evolving work-in-progress. One starts with an unmetered “flow”, graphic representations of sounds, possibly numerous parallel fragments or sketches, which may be trimmed or inserted as a word processor might edit text, allowing these to be formed gradually into phrases, pieces, movements, songs, cues graphic materials which actually, as symbols, may later be formatted for publication and also be interpreted by computer instruments and/or live musicians. The most radical and, to my mind, positive development offered by the newest music engraving and playback software, Steinberg’s Dorico, is a bold attempt to follow the human musical workflow. The fresh sonorities emerging therefrom in musics of sound cultures worldwide are drawing today’s musicians to explore the beauties of various microtonal systems and to find instruments and notations suitable for these new and rediscovered tonalities. In spite of this colonisation of our collective imaginations, the desire to explore finer gradations of harmonic differences is alive and well. It has led, in effect, to the seemingly commonplace acceptance of a tempered (out-of-tune) “system” which pianos, harmoniums and later MIDI keyboards have propagated worldwide. Just as the art of engraving and printing music has changed the appearance of written manuscripts, scoring software and the possibilities it offers us composers today is radically transforming our work, shaping and sometimes limiting our expressions and imagination.įor example, the decision to ignore certain fine differences (commas) of tuning in Western notation, in spite of numerous proposals for possible notations debated in the mid-16th century, has profoundly affected the course of European music. As writing evolves, it establishes a grammar of its own, a lexicon of that which may be written, shaping composition. New musical materials and ways of combining sound are continually stimulating new forms of notation, which, in turn, allow these constellations to be reinterpreted by other musicians. The next article, by Thomas Nicholson, reviews microtonal playback.
Compose or arrange for ensembles of up to 12 players.Quick to learn – comprehensive video tutorials and on-screen help.
Step up to the tool that is trusted by professional musicians around the world and take your scoring to the next level. With a simple user interface that is quick to master, Dorico Elements provides fluid input and editing, beautiful graphical results, and great-sounding playback.
Boasting many of the powerful and time-saving features of Dorico Pro, Dorico Elements is the perfect starting point for composers, arrangers and students. Dorico Elements is the simple, streamlined music notation software that helps you write, print and play back music notation to the highest professional standards.