# Dorico: Programming convincing wind instrument releases



## dyross (May 8, 2022)

Hello,

I posted the same question in the Dorico forums, and the answer seems to be "draw the MIDI":









Convincing flute release dynamics


I’d be surprised if there’s a way of automating this in the absence of dedicated fade samples. I draw in countless CC11 lines in this situation with all my libraries and just regard it as part of the workflow. Would also love to hear if anyone has clever ideas on this one! Of course you don’t...




forums.steinberg.net





Thought I'd check here with the sampling experts as well.

For long held flute notes, for example, at the end of a phrase, I'm finding releases without correct expression CC curve not very convincing. Going from full velocity of the attack to silence doesn't feel like how a woodwind player would phrase it.

An example of what I'm after is in this video (I'm not using VSL, but I think the concept applies to any library with CC dynamic fade):



Notice the CC2 at the end of each phrase.

The two ways I can already implement this are:

1. Draw CC curves manually for each phrase.
2. End each phrase with a perfectly placed decrescendo to pp. (Perfectly placed because, for example, in a whole note, the note doesn't fade continuously from its start to its end, it's more of a short "release" phase at the end of the note.)

Both of these would work but are a bit inconvenient. Does anyone have any tricks / tips via expression maps or anything else to make this work nicely?

Thanks,
David


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## Bollen (May 9, 2022)

dyross said:


> Does anyone have any tricks / tips via expression maps or anything else to make this work nicely?


I've said it a thousand times, music is infinitely contextual to have any kind of "trick" or technology tool to assist on these matters. Until advanced AI gets involved we have to do this manually... Unless you write exactly the same type of music all the time...🤔


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## dyross (May 9, 2022)

Bollen said:


> I've said it a thousand times, music is infinitely contextual to have any kind of "trick" or technology tool to assist on these matters. Until advanced AI gets involved we have to do this manually... Unless you write exactly the same type of music all the time...🤔


I agree that automating a perfect fade release for a given phrase is one thing.

But I think a trick to have a given release curve for a given CC at the end of a note, without having to draw it in every time, is a pretty reasonable thing to try for.


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## dyross (May 9, 2022)

And, to be clear, I'm not looking for some smart, AI playback.

What would be great is to have a Dorico playback technique translate to an "end-of-the-note" fade that was a little easier than drawing it in, or adding spurious dynamic markings.


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## DaddyO (May 9, 2022)

You can create any playback technique you want it Dorico. It is not a matter of PBT, it is a matter of an expression map mated with the capabilities of a library. So far as I know, no such capability exists for precisely the reason noted by Bollen.

The idea is great. The execution of it seems to me, unless there's something I don't know about, beyond the current capabilities of the tools of the trade.

The only current solution is the tedious work of CC's, which is a shame but the truth nonetheless.


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## dyross (May 9, 2022)

DaddyO said:


> You can create any playback technique you want it Dorico. It is not a matter of PBT, it is a matter of an expression map mated with the capabilities of a library.


Right, this doesn't seem to work because the libraries don't have this built in. I was hoping that Dorico had some way automate this within the MIDI itself, since that's where you would draw it in.

I understand that it doesn't, just trying to clarify my thought process.


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## Bollen (May 9, 2022)

dyross said:


> Right, this doesn't seem to work because the libraries don't have this built in. I was hoping that Dorico had some way automate this within the MIDI itself, since that's where you would draw it in.
> 
> I understand that it doesn't, just trying to clarify my thought process.


You could just make the release longer and cut the notes shorter (Playback Settings > Timing > Normal note) to say 80%. Experiment and see what happens... To me it just sounds awfully artificial.


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## dyross (May 9, 2022)

Agreed, that doesn't sound great.

Thanks for the idea, though!


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## Saxer (May 10, 2022)

That's the main benefit of Noteperformer: ending phrases in a natural way.


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