Previously, I wrote an article titled “What you can't do with Finale: From recent cases in Finale tech support”. This is a sequel to that article, and I would like to share the results of my research into whether the things I covered back then are possible in Dorico.
In conclusion, of the following six items, 1 to 5 are possible in Dorico.
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1. Applying different sizes of rehearsal marks in the score and parts
In Finale, the score and parts are linked, and when changes are made to one, the changes are automatically reflected in the other. However, this function has a negative effect on rehearsal marks, and it is not possible to set their size separately for the full score and parts.
As a result, especially in large-scale compositions, if you make the rehearsal marks in the full score large, assuming that they will be printed out on large paper such as A3, the rehearsal marks in the parts become too large, and as a result, it is necessary to recreate one of them as a separate file or to prepare dummy rehearsal marks separately, which is a hassle.
In Dorico, the size of many objects, including rehearsal marks, can be set individually in the properties in the bottom panel, so this problem does not occur.
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2. Individual notehead color changes
Finale does not have the ability to change the color of individual noteheads. For example, the ability to make C noteheads red is available in the Score Manager and in Document Options > Notes/Rests, but in that case, all C noteheads will be red, and it is not possible to make only C3 red, for example.
In Dorico, you can change the color of individual noteheads in the properties of the bottom panel. In measures 1 and 2 of this example, the color of the noteheads is changed individually using this method.
In Dorico, it is possible to set “all C noteheads red”, although it is not as flexible as in Finale. In measures 3 and 4 of this example, color noteheads are set in this way. *
*This is set in the Engraving Options, but unlike Finale, the color cannot be changed by user settings because it involves selecting a special color port based on a system called Figurenotes.
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3. Fretboard’s horizontal placement
In Finale, the fretboard can only be placed vertically, and it cannot be placed horizontally, which is common in Japanese published scores. Therefore, if you really want to place it horizontally, you have to cut it out as an image file, rotate it, and then place it again with the Graphics Tool, as in the CMaj7 example.
In Dorico, the default is vertical, just like Finale, but it can also be set to horizontal. This can be done in “Engraving Options > Chord Diagrams”.
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4. Adjusting the vertical position of horizontal lines in fractional chords
In Finale, when entering chord symbols that separate the numerator and denominator symbols with a horizontal line, an underscore “_” is inserted between the chord symbols, but the vertical position of the horizontal line entered in this way is biased toward the numerator, making it difficult to read, and the thickness and vertical position of the line cannot be adjusted.
Therefore, in order to express practical fractional chord symbols, it was necessary to create the chord symbol each time using the Line Tool in Smart Shapes.
*The polychord in bars 1 and 2 of this example was also created using the Line Tool because Finale does not have a direct function for inputting it. See the next section for details.
In Dorico, you can create a well-balanced and easy-to-read fractional chord by setting the line width and vertical position of the horizontal line in the Engraving Options.
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5. Entering the polychords
Finale did not have a direct function for entering polychords, such as “G/CMaj7” and “Em7/FMaj7”, which are triads or 7th chords placed on top of other triads or 7th chords. Therefore, it was necessary to create the polychord symbol each time using the Line tool in Smart Shapes, as shown in the example in the previous section.
In Dorico, these can be written on the score by entering “G|CMaj7” and “Em7|FMaj7”.
*These chord symbols can also be played back, but the voicings must be entered on a MIDI keyboard, and editing after entry is not possible like in Finale.
6. Changing the line width of ledger lines with grace notes
In Finale, grace notes are entered by changing the magnification of normal notes, but this magnification cannot be controlled separately for notes and ledger lines. As a result, when grace notes are used frequently on ledger lines, the difference in line width between normal notes and grace notes becomes noticeable.
This specification was the same in Dorico. There is no mention of this in the user manual, and no settings can be found on the UI, so I think it is probably not possible to unify this in Dorico either.
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In addition to the previous article “Dorico's features for advanced editing: Comparison with Finale's Special Tools and Plug-ins”, the results of this test have reaffirmed that Dorico is a product with performance that is in no way inferior to Finale.
Personally, I feel that Dorico is still a little weak when it comes to chord symbols compared to Finale, which has extremely advanced functions other than fractional chords and polychords. I would like to summarize the current situation and issues on this matter and write another article someday.
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