# Alan Silvestri and Dorico/Cubase



## dexterjettser (Apr 26, 2019)

Some great videos with Alan Silvestri. Makes me even more tempted to make the switch from logic and Sibelius.


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## CT (Apr 26, 2019)

This is great! Those blank sketch pages with all the tempo/meter information, sync points, etc., already marked out, seems like a really enjoyable way to write.


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## bryla (Apr 26, 2019)

Why can't the others import tempo information? This is such a great feature.


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## Saxer (Apr 27, 2019)

bryla said:


> Why can't the others import tempo information? This is such a great feature.


You can import tempo maps with midi files. It's part of the midi protocol. Should work with all apps that allow midi import. I didn't try with Sibelius of Finale but I don't know why it shouldn't work.

I don't use Cubase but it works too with Logic and Dorico.
I often have to write on top of audio tracks (additional strings for songs or orchestra for a live performance or transcribing parts etc). I import the original audio track in Logic and make a tempo map so the click in Logic follows the original. Dorico doesn't allow audio tracks but movie import (with audio). So I created some dummy videos (just a few minutes of black picture with low res that have a few MB) and export the audio in Logic into the video. And I export the tempo track as a midi file from Logic too.

Now I can import the movie with the original audio and the tempo track via midi file into Dorico and can write along the audio file in perfect sync.

If I already recorded some midi in Logic I can export MusicXML from Logic to Dorico. Key signature, double bar lines, meters, notes... everything works except chord symbols and text.

btw: great video about Silvestri!


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## marclawsonmusic (Apr 27, 2019)

Great video. Silvestri is a legend!


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## rottoy (Apr 27, 2019)

Love it when he's doing the "director" voice at 5:46. Sounds like Zemeckis.


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## marclawsonmusic (Apr 27, 2019)

Here is part 2 by the way. I think the original post had 2 links to the first video.

What I find compelling about this is how he talks about workflow and how the software really helps / enhances it. The example about keying in a rhythmic part quickly without thinking about each note's duration and also how easy it is to move sections around makes a strong case.


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## dexterjettser (Apr 27, 2019)

marclawsonmusic said:


> Here is part 2 by the way. I think the original post had 2 links to the first video.
> 
> What I find compelling about this is how he talks about workflow and how the software really helps / enhances it. The example about keying in a rhythmic part quickly without thinking about each note's duration and also how easy it is to move sections around makes a strong case.



Whoops! My bad. I agree the ability to move sections around on the fly is a big deal. I’ve seen junkie xl talk about this as well. Steinberg really knows their market


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## marclawsonmusic (Apr 27, 2019)

bryla said:


> Why can't the others import tempo information? This is such a great feature.



Surely it's possible, right? I have never tried in Sibelius. Thomas, I seem to remember you use Finale? (but maybe I am wrong)... so it's not possible in Finale?


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## bryla (Apr 27, 2019)

marclawsonmusic said:


> Surely it's possible, right? I have never tried in Sibelius. Thomas, I seem to remember you use Finale? (but maybe I am wrong)... so it's not possible in Finale?


I use all three but mainly Sibelius. If I have made a score in Sibelius I can't import a midi file with tempo information. I have to use the midi-file as a starting point, meaning all my libraries and settings from my template are not available. Dorico has really nailed it.


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## joebaggan (Apr 28, 2019)

I like how he compares the Dorico/Cubase workflow to using a word processor. One thing I like about Dorico is the easy ability to move things around, whether it be notes, bars, sections or whatever. I want notation software to be as fluid/easy in that way as a word processor, and assigning these functions to custom key commands like you can do in Dorico makes editing a lot faster for me. By the way, there's a great command in Dorico, Shift B, to add/remove rests/notes/bars etc, probably my favorite and most used command in Dorico.


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## peter5992 (Apr 29, 2019)

bryla said:


> Why can't the others import tempo information? This is such a great feature.



You can, every DAW and notation program can import midi (and xml for notation programs), but for Sibelius there are extra steps:

1. Import the midi into a new project
2. Import house style
3. Add instruments
4. Copy and paste notes and dynamics / expression text from previous cue to new cue

So essentially you are creating a new Sibelius file from scratch, whereas this can be done in one step in Dorico. That's a time saver.


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## bryla (Apr 29, 2019)

peter5992 said:


> You can, every DAW and notation program can import midi (and xml for notation programs), but for Sibelius there are extra steps:
> 
> 1. Import the midi into a new project
> 2. Import house style
> ...


And my point is that House Style is not nearly enough to get me up to speed. My template includes much more than that.


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## Zedcars (May 18, 2019)

Brilliant, thanks for sharing. I'm a big Alan Silvestri fan!


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## ptram (May 6, 2020)

Do I understand correctly, if I understand that in the first phase he creates a mockup in Cubase, and only when the music is approved by the director he switches to composing at the piano, and then in Dorico?

Also, any further change to the completed score forces him to go back to Cubase and make changes both in Cubase and Dorico?

I don't understand if he is planning to entirely switch to piano and Dorico, leaving Cubase only to creating the tempo list. Or if the mockup in Cubase would continue to be indispensable.

Paolo


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