Zoom Classes

Intro to Dorico, February 15, 2025 – Class recording | text of chat
Intro to Dorico, January 10, 2025 – Class recording | text of chat

I’m available for individual sessions – Contact me.

Dorico Templates for Barbershop

Google Drive folder with templates for all voicings (SSAA, TTBB, SATB) in both version 5 and version 6. Free to download and share.

Dorico Q&A

Answers to questions I’ve been asked using Dorico for barbershop. Got a Dorico question? Contact me!

• Add colors to voice parts – If you prefer to have each part be a different color, there’s a way to do it.
• Add information to your page template – If there’s a piece of boilerplate that you’d like to have in all your projects, here’s how to do it (Pro only – it involves editing page templates)
• Add rehearsal letters
• Add section text – Intro, Verse, Tag, etc., with tips on how to format them the way you want
• Blank staff paper – The Google Drive includes a project I’ve done with A4 and Letter sizes of blank staff paper, with clefs for all the voicings. This document will show you how they were done.
• Brackets for enharmonic notes – How to add them; how to use the Properties Panel to modify them
• Comments – Dorico has a very cool comments feature. It’s available in all versions and here’s how it works
• Control the display of part names – Full names, short names, or none – here’s how to set it up.
• Delete extra flows – done in Setup Mode
• Edit the display of part names. When importing from XML, part names next to the staves can appear incorrectly. Here’s how to fix it.
• How to put 4 bars on each system – DON’T do it manually!
• Inputting rests – For the rare times when you have to actually put them in!
• Intervals of a 2nd – how to make the higher note always go to the left. A pain in Finale but easy in Dorico!
• Lyrics popover in version 6 – New and much improved!
• Move a bar to the next or previous system – For occasional use – see “How to put 4 bars on each system” for how to put the same number of bars on every system.
• Open Dorico Pro as if it were SE or Elements – yes, it can be done!
• Swing symbol and swing playback – Swing symbol doesn’t come with Dorico but can be done with third party fonts. This will show you how.
• Tempo marks – and how to use the Properties Panel to refine how they look.
• Transposition dialog – Powerful but not always straightforward.
• X for tenor below lead – It doesn’t come with Dorico. Here’s how to create it and add it to your score.

Online Help from Steinberg

• Dorico website
• Dorico online manual
• Dorico Blog, Resources Page. Includes Quick Reference Cards with handy summaries of key commands, available in English, German, Japanese, and Portuguese.
• Dorico Forum – Actively monitored by the Dorico team. A good place to ask questions.
• Dorico YouTube Channel
  • Finale to Dorico: Conquering the Transition – Series of videos by Jason Loffredo. These are also available on his Conquering Finale site.
  • Getting Started With Dorico SE – Doesn’t cover Engrave Mode, because that’s not included in SE. However, it’s a good overview of the other modes and of Dorico in general.
  • Note Imput Tutorials – see also: Getting Started With Note Input – PDF file with a guided tutorial for users new to Dorico.
  • Intro to Popovers – Popovers are a way to enter key signatures, clefs, bar lines, dynamics, and many other musical elements using easy to remember keystrokes. Some popovers are available in all versions; others are limited to Elements and/or Pro. Here’s a complete list of popovers for Version 5 and Version 6.
  • The Jump Bar – Lets you quickly search for commands and create your own shortcuts (known as Jump Bar Aliases) to commands you use frequently. The Jump Bar is available in all versions; commands that can be accessed will depend on what version you have. Jump Bar has been expanded in Version 6.
  • The Library Manager (Pro only) – Lets you apply settings from one project to another – either Dorico’s factory defaults or settings from a project you select. If you’re importing XML files into Dorico, the Library Manager can save a lot of time in turning them into polished Dorico projects.
• List of tokens – Version 5 | Version 6. Tokens are used in editing page templates (Pro only). If you have Pro, get familiar with this list, as it includes much more than basic project information.
• Daniel Spreadbury, Translating Finale Projects to Dorico Using MusicXML – Dorico blog, September 11, 2024