# Dorico - Tips and Tutorials



## Valérie_D (Nov 5, 2021)

Dear fellow composers,

I just acquired the latest version of Dorico and I am wondering what would be the best route to learn it. I have seen books, videos, turorials on the steinberg websites, etc

Any suggestion is appreciated! thank you!

Valérie


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## Saxer (Nov 5, 2021)

Learn the important key commands for the pop overs (shift M for meter/time signature, shift B to add bars, shift K for key, etc). Same for moving notes up/down/left/right, lengthen and shorten notes.

The Steinberg-Dorico-Forum is great. Specialists, developers and helpful people to help beginners. I would have been lost without that forum.

The Dorico videos are really good too but they don't help in certain situations. It's good to watch the videos when you have time and no need to get something done.

The manual helps a lot too. Not the localized versions. Use the english manual.


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## Tralen (Nov 5, 2021)

Saxer said:


> The Steinberg-Dorico-Forum is great. Specialists, developers and helpful people to help beginners. I would have been lost without that forum.


I'm not even a Dorico user and I enjoy that forum. It reminds me of the old Sibelius forum.


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## dcoscina (Nov 5, 2021)

There’s a ton of videos on the YT Dorico page by John Barron. And Antony Hughes.


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## odod (Nov 5, 2021)

well let me tell you my experience w Dorico, the ideas of having too many tabs is not an ideal for my workflow, even though it is good to have write and engrave mode separately, but for me i need to engrave on the fly and that is why most of the time i go back to Sibelius again .. but i like Dorico's mixer, is a game changer for me ..


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## dcoscina (Nov 5, 2021)

odod said:


> well let me tell you my experience w Dorico, the ideas of having too many tabs is not an ideal for my workflow, even though it is good to have write and engrave mode separately, but for me i need to engrave on the fly and that is why most of the time i go back to Sibelius again .. but i like Dorico's mixer, is a game changer for me ..


I agree to a point. For composing, Dorico is leagues better (for me) than Sibelius. If I'm doing straight engraving, I also still find Sibelius a little faster to get around on.


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## Gil (Nov 6, 2021)

Hello @Valérie_D,
Apart from numerous videos on Dorico youtube page, there is a Dorico First Steps site.
Hope that helps!
Regards,
Gil.


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## Page Lyn Turner (Nov 6, 2021)

I bought Dorico few months ago although I currently mostly use Finale for a deadline. Dorico's manual is 1600 pages, most of the information is repeated several times, if you read around 70-100 pages a day, in about two-three week you'll have a good knowledge of Dorico. I read 500 pages so far on and off!


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## sinkd (Nov 6, 2021)

Saxer said:


> Learn the important key commands for the pop overs (shift M for meter/time signature, shift B to add bars, shift K for key, etc). Same for moving notes up/down/left/right, lengthen and shorten notes.


This.

And here are a few pointers gleaned from my Dorico journey. Some of this may also be the way it is done in Sibelius, but I switched from Finale.

Practice adding voices (like layers in Finale) to get the hang of it.
Set up a single player holding two instruments (like Bb and A clarinet) and switch between page and galley view to understand how Dorico handles it.
Get used to changing note and slur lengths with shortcuts, as well as dotted rhythms, octave transposition, repeating material, move/copy up/down a staff, etc. 
For notes tied across barlines, get used to entering the whole note length (or close enough and then extend the length with opt-shift arrows. i.e. A quarter tied across the bar to a half can be input as a half note then extended with two quick key strokes.
Set up your own shortcuts for items that are not already assigned. For me, copy to staff above and below were top of the list.
Learn the shortcut for changing the rhythmic resolution grid right a way.
Embrace phrase selections of notes for entering dynamics phrases. If you select 4 bars of notes, then use Shift-D ["<mf>"] the hairpins and dynamic extend to fill the phrase.
Leave Engrave Mode until you are really ready to engrave and print, if possible. Learn the concepts of frame break and system break to do measure and system cast off.
Use Noteperformer.
If something goes haywire, it's probably because you invoked "insert" mode by mistake!


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