Is Dorico 5 the BEST Notation Software?

[@stevenvandermerwe3442]

Thanks so much - just what i needed to hear! I’m a 60 year old composer writing for orchestra and didn’t want the whole DAW thing. I was also fed-up that one could not use Spitfire straight into Sibelius! This does it all! I rather learn Dorico from scratch than learning to use a DAW! Best wishes, and thanks for your wonderful videos!

[@zorkmarble]

Excellent video! It's fun to see you so excited, and in between the rambling you did provide a decent overview of how the app works. Anyway you're one of us now. Don't waste your time with Notion. You probably know that the crossgrade price from Sibelius to Dorico Pro is generous, and there will undoubtedly be a sale before long. Resistance is futile.

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

Thank you for bearing through my rambling! Promise I’ll get better with that, the problem is when I get excited I ramble! (Script through the window) 😂honestly don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner Dorico is awsome, I’m waiting for the big sale!

[@frequency_sequencer]

i dont even read music but dorico has helped me comeup with new ideas... it will change your life

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

So do you compose with Dorico just using the MIDI-roll? That’s awesome and your a perfect example of why Dorico is so good! It allows people who can’t read music to compose! :) thanks for commenting

[@kencory2476]

I bailed from Sibelius after AVID bought it and fired all the talent (who largely left to join the Dorico team). These predatory actions have to have consequences.

[@shubus]

I switched to Dorico 2 years ago. Turned out to be he right move.

[@richardtorstrick4631]

Owners of Sibelius and Finale can get a competitive crossgrade to the Pro version for about half the retail price.

[@Hugosanches594]

Suscription sibelius owners too?

[@france4me117]

This has been brilliant to hear you covering Dorico as I'm also in the space of buying a notation software. I'm a concert pianist and will be getting the new Native Instrument S88 Mk.3 Controller in order to be able to compose whist also orchestrate parts that are requiered to be studied. I'm such a novice in this area so if I may be silly in asking a question? So once I set this software, do I just play on the Native Instrument S88 Mk.3 and I can see the score of what I have played !!! Thank you kindly as I have also subscribed to your channel now as-well ... Apologies for my English as I am French

[@Syncronaut]

Hello, I have Dorico and a midi controller and I think that it is a great program and very versatile. To answer your question, no, it does not exactly write down what you played. It writes down the notes that you press- if you play a chord, it writes a chord, and if you play some notes by themselves, it will write them down in the order you played them in. However, you will have to set the durations of the notes and add rests if necessary. For example, you would need to select 8th note when you need to write 8th notes and select quarter notes, etc. and also add rests. Hope this helps!

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

@Syncronaut couldn’t put it better myself! Thanks for answering the question:)

[@Brendan99349]

It does record what you play with the real time midi input. Simply record and it appears on the score. Pro Tools and other daws can do this, but the score editors in pro tools isn’t as powerful and seamless to use. With this, simply record and then go back and fine tune the score with editint

[@hadleyhazen5463]

Don't miss Sibelius with endless right click menus and non-programmable ribbon. Love Dorico Pro 5

[@ChrisWolfMusic-mh8uy]

I LOVE the idea of combining notation and DAW softwares. I do have one curiosity. I'm currently using the SpitFire Discovery Orchestra (I think that's the name, the free one). My only curiosity is how would Dorico handle different articulations for the same instrument. Like in Discovery, you have Legato, Pizz, and Staccato violin. Would Dorico be smart enough to use the correct one based on the articulations in the score? Might be a good video idea if you're interested ;)

[@erik9817]

I am also wondering this.

[@Historyisnotwas]

Very inspirational video- well done...with great ideas and info! What computer system would be best for Dorico Pro 5 ( I just recently purchased Dorico Pro 5) Intel i7 or i9 or AMD Ryzen? I need to upgrade my computer and I'm not sure which system would work best? What computer hardware, GPU, CPU, etc do you use?

[@dr7246]

I started using Finale back in 1989- in the Coda Music Software days- and have had a few Sibelius detours over the years. I moved to Dorico a couple of years back and haven’t looked back once

[@kinopravdaa]

You've been a Avid user of Sibelius? What a nice pun:p

[@robinbramlett110]

I moved over to Dorico from Sibelius because I got a new iMac and needed to “crossgrade” to a subscription model to keep Sibelius or pay $600 for a perpetual license as Sibelius 7 would not work on it. I started at Dorico 3.5 and am now on 5. It was a no brainer to cross grade from Sibelius to Dorico’s Pro version’s perpetual license for less than half of that. I don’t miss Sibelius one bit as Dorico is more intuitive for my uses and it’s great to be on a journey with a continuously growing company.

[@hornheavy8463]

Thanks for showing this - I’m glad I new about this before choosing! It might just tip me towards Dorico..

[@robinthomsoncomposer]

Dorico has left the others in the shade now. Use it every day and it gets more rewarding to do so with every upgrade.

[@lattetown]

Ok, you convinced me to upgrade from DP4 to DP5.1 I like using a DAW for modern commercial song writing (with a smaller number of parts), but it's a pain to do orchestration with 26 parts split into multiple articulation tracks. Instead of changing one note on the score, you have to go back export it to midi, then track down all the places the change is performed. I'm curious how well Dorico midi playback works with layered parts.

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

Good luck! I haven’t had any performance problems, haven’t gone as far as 26 parts but depending on the computer I’m sure it will be fine!

[@Kelabete]

"I'm an Avid user of Sibelius" Well I'm a Steinberg user of Dorico. (I'm disappointed in this joke too)

[@LeftyPencil]

Interesting, I dont want to learn a DAW to edit sheets, but need multi midi imports. Worth a shot

[@ALMAR-Music-Ltd.]

you know so many of us use Cubase 12 professional and I cannot understand why they can't take Dorico 5 and make this seamless when editing on the Staff Editor - what a combination that would be but we have to sweat it out by dragging notes which is a real drag and it's not smoothe at all

[@berosi]

I've used almost every notation software out there. I'm a composer and choir director with c.a. 25 years on my back. In my opinion, finale is still the best programme. I've used it to create some of the most complex scores for me and my composition students. Nothing else matches its depth and professionalism. furthermore, when I want to create real sounds, I pair Finale with Studio one pro or Cubase and edit the instruments using Vsts and Kontakt libraries within the DAWS.

[@Heartandstring]

Hi I am a Classical Guitarist how can I write a polyphonic music for a single line not using piano staff . means sustaining bass line or melody using same single line . please explain or if you have a tutorial video can you send me the link .Thank you in advance. I am using Dorico 5

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

Hello! Thanks for the question, so instead of using the piano staff you could use/write in tablature, here are some links to Doricos own help, they put it better then me! steinberg.help/dorico/v3/en/dorico/topics/notation_reference/notation_reference_tablature/notation_reference_tablature_c.html steinberg.help/dorico/v3/en/dorico/topics/write_mode/write_mode_note_input/write_mode_note_input_inputting_notes_tablature_t.html Hope that helps and answers your question.

[@leetingler619]

Can l sing into Dorico via an audio interface to write music and print sheet music?😮

[@arataka57]

I'm not completely sure to do a switch from Sibelius but looking at Dorico it looks so dense and cerebral that it makes me overwhelmed to start a new journey. Who knows in the future?

[@LeeBlaske]

It's different, but no more complicated than any other notation product for doing the same tasks. There's a free version of Dorico. Try it out!

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

What I like about Dorico is that it can be as simple or as complex as you like. It does the same thing as Sibelius with regards to notation, and then if you want to dive a little deeper you can mess with the “DAW” aspects of the the software, experimenting with different sounds and MIDI data, but as was said by the other commenter, theirs a free version you can experiment with.

[@thesoundsmith]

It defaults to -6 dB to avoid overload when you add all the parts together...

[@bonuebonue]

You can set the default DB in the Program Settings

[@rmatosinhos]

welcome to the Dorico party ;)

[@JJTownley_Classical-Composer]

How realistic is the full orchestra?

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

When it comes to Notation Software its useable, its not a final poduct but passable to get an idea of how it sounds

[@JJTownley_Classical-Composer]

@@Joe-blogcomposer I bought Dorico pro5. Biggest mistake of my software purchasing life. It mangles my Notion scores. They are unrecognizable. I'm trying to decide whether I want to put one up on KZbin to show people my experience with it.

[@UncaDunca]

So if I got the Muse Sounds or the BBC orchestra audio, I could use that here??

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

As far as I'm aware you can't use Muse sounds in anything other than Musescore (someone correct me if I'm wrong), but you can use BBCSO here! :)

[@UncaDunca]

@@Joe-blogcomposer that’s really cool! I’m new to these bigger music notation softwares, I’m coming from Musescore 4 and considering buying it though! I’ve heard the BBCSO is absolutely incredible. I’m eager to see how it compares to Muse Sounds!

[@MCYMUSIC]

Still no cycle playback

[@christopherpaul1810]

Dorico has an incredibly steep learning curve I tried for years to learn the program and eventually gave up. Sibelius was so easy to learn it was pretty much instant. To each their own.

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

I can understand that, especially if you've not used a DAW before, there's a lot too Dorico, but equally Sibelius I used for year, since I was a kid, and as you said easy to use!

[@jemiller226]

I had the same experience as you did. However, I ended up with a project that didn't have a short deadline, so I chose to use that opportunity to learn Dorico, working slowly and looking up all sorts of things as I needed to. Fast forward several years and I haven't even had Sibelius installed since 2021.

[@PASHKULI]

Avid user... the pun! They have been acquired recently anyway. MuseScore does the job, but I also own licences for Overture 5 and Notion 6. Dorico is ok. Steinber's policy with SE, Elements, Pro is a tricky one. No one needs this for a Music notation software.

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

Yeah that pun was bad even for me 😂 I wonder what’s next for AVID especially with the take over. To me Dorico fits into an interesting niche between that of a notation software and DAW, if it’s JUST notation your after I agree MuseScore does the job (when it behaves, I’m still finding it a bit buggy). I need to give overture and notion a try. Thanks for the comment :)

[@bonuebonue]

Dorico can make things that no other software makes. it is a revolutionary software. I need it (and many more people that are serious with music engraving and playback)

[@PASHKULI]

@@bonuebonue Bold claims about Dorico. For the price… it is a bit of an overkill for me. Ok, ok… it might have DAW functionality, such as Overture, though we have to acknowledge the fact Overture has been developed by a single person, whilst I am sure on Dorico at least 3 devs. are involved.

[@nIIe]

I have dorico 5 and i love it but still is not a proper daw. Its weird the play cursor with the midi, there is no loop, no audio, etc...

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

I must admit I still use Logic Pro X as my main software its just when I'm focusing on a score I'll move over to Dorico or Sibelius as the score editor in Logic is unusable

[@abagatelle]

Yes!

[@JAYPANG25]

How does it deal with keyswitch articulations?

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

It works! Just put the note on the score and make it invisible

[@bonuebonue]

Dorico has very deep customization possibilities (as you cannot find in any other notation software!). He uses Expression Maps (as in Cubase, but even much better) so that you can program complex key switching to adapt to your library (on their site they make accessible many templates for some libraries), and you can then save it all in playback templates, so you need to program this only once :-)

[@johnbarron6392]

You can add the key switch as a playing technique or articulation and use the expression map to trigger it. No hiding of notes is needed.

[@DonaldMellor]

Dorico notation maybe alright for some, but I will stick with MuseScore everytime.

[@DCPImages]

Great :-)

[@jelanisurpriscomposer]

Having everything in front of you as a composer can be really annoying. I wish there was a software that would merge the gap between sketching on an open canvas and a reliable midi playback. Staffpad is not good, MuseScore still looks funky to me, Sibelius costs too mich even with a student discount, Dorico has to be updated and has too many menus, and Finale is outdated. What are we to do... Paper seems to have been and be the best option for right now, but ill keep looking.

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

Each to there own, with technology constantly evolving I’m excited for the future, hopefully you find something that works for you!

[@bonuebonue]

Dorico has the most near as Writing on Paper functionality in comparison with other software. You can very freely change your mind while inputting notes (rhythm and position,,,) : the transformation possibilities are very large and comfortable. You can change values of the notes on the fly, you have also "insert mode", and you never need to write rests, it calculates everything for you, and many other features that are very comfortable. You can input chords in multiple staves at once (putting the caret on multiple staves) and it explodes automatically...etc etc...You don't need to use all his functions, at the beginning you use what you need, and keep adding learning new functions (and menus :-) as you need. Dorico is the future!

[@dummag4126]

NOOOOO BUGS AND INSTABILITY

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

RESUME: it lacks an understanding of the "mockup Reality", a reality that killed many composers over the years and left many injured. We have score vs mockup as two different things that HAVE to be different ; what you can do it to put them togheter, but in another way than shown by this software, an is how i do on Logic. Dorico, as you present here, is good to give a beter performance from the score, but a mockup is a way more complexe reality my friend.... I care for a >composer software

[@zorkmarble]

I'm no expert, but with the release of Dorico 5 I'm finding it increasingly hard to see what makes it a "bad DAW". Could you explain please? Anyway, whatever shortcomings Dorico has in this respect, it seems more likely that they will be addressed in future updates than that Apple will ever update Logic's score editor.

[@pathworkmusicservices7364]

I gave up after the first 5 minutes. Editing is a thing.

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

Sorry you didn’t like it, too much waffle, or a bit all over? I try and take a difference approach and did edit it down and give chapter markers for major parts, but noted for when I make the next video, thanks for the comment 😊

[@pathworkmusicservices7364]

@@Joe-blogcomposer Please let me clarify. Your excitement for the program is quite obvious but without editing the content becomes repetitious. I really just wanted to hear some music. If it's on the video I got bored before I could get to it. You have a knack for it, good job, Write it out, use a prompter program, slow down a bit and you'll have tons of subscribers. Good Luck!

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

@@pathworkmusicservices7364 thank you for clarifying, that’s really helpful advice, I love comments like yours because they help me become a better creator. I will apply your advice to future videos :)

[@zorkmarble]

@@Joe-blogcomposer Please don't. There are plenty of people producing scripted, edited videos. There's room for your style too..

[@bobsabin]

NO.

[@PASHKULI]

Let's address the elephant in the room here: • No one nowadays writes music directly on the score • We all (pro musicians included) use the MIDI-roll • this notation must go and be replaced by a new thing I designed called Plain Music Notation, which is something between a TAB (for any instrument) and MIDI

[@RagingRealm]

There is no elephant in the room, plenty of classical musicians write directly on the score.

[@PASHKULI]

@@RagingRealm Surely, those over 50+

[@PipeDreamerJacques]

I’m a 💯 in the score composer. Those of us who need to put real music in front of real musicians have little use for the midi roll… if you’re doing stuff for your own enjoyment, or to make mock-ups for video games or something… then sure, midi manipulation is great. But there’s no substitute for real notes on the page for real performers.

[@PASHKULI]

@@PipeDreamerJacques Please, notice I said "write music" using MIDI-roll (incl. pro musicians such as Hanz Zimmer). Regarding distribution of written music to be read and performed by real musicians (not VSTi), certainly the "standard" (imposed by the Church) score notation is still prevailing, despite its ambiguity and clumsiness. I've been trying to find an app that will directly write my performance on the standard score. Could not find any. It is always performance → MIDI-roll recording → conversion to score notation with many edits and transcription tweaks to make it readable by educated in that "language" players.

[@PipeDreamerJacques]

@@PASHKULI It seems fair to observe that Hanz is not the average composer. And even then, he’s improvising into a daw, and having someone else transcribe it later. It’s just one method of working. He could, of course, choose to work in the exact reverse order, scoring and then recording, as many other Hollywood composers have long done. Also, you realize that midi roll is just a different way of displaying the same information? It is merely a matrix of pitch, duration, and location in a sequence… just as is regular sheet music. Also, I find your aside about the church being a rather odd one. The church didn’t “impose” written notation… the church INVENTED it, insofar as western patrimony is concerned. And then the system proliferated all over the world. Also, with Dorico (and others) you can play in your music live and it will transcribe it for you, just as you desire.

[@infezioneintestinale]

579,00 € 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Joe-blogcomposer]

Only for the pro, Dorico SE is free, Elements is £85 😊

[@PipeDreamerJacques]

It’s right on par with its immediate competitors. People rarely pay full price. There’s usually a cross grade offer.

[@infezioneintestinale]

@@PipeDreamerJacques I still find the price to be ridiculously funny 😂

[@matthiasrother9743]

@@infezioneintestinale well! Pro is for the Pro users. And for a tool that capable even 1000,- would be ok. If you are a semi-pro or a hobbyist got with the free version

[@infezioneintestinale]

@@matthiasrother9743 so you paid the price to call yourself pro, I'm ok with that. btw still ridiculously funny 😂