The possibilities of Dorico + NPPE: Combining the flexibility of Dorico's Key Editor with the rich performance expression of NPPE

In the previous article, I introduced the NotePerformer Playback Engine (NPPE), a tool for listening to orchestral music with the best playback in music notation software.

In this article, I’d like to focus on the music notation software Dorico used at that time and think about how its flexible playback editing function can be used to make better use of high-quality external sound sources such as NPPE.

Dorico's playback editing function is as flexible as a DAW

First, please check out this video. Using Dorico's Flows function, the same music is arranged in one file and each is played with the same BBC Symphony Orchestra Core + NPPE. The score on the left is normal, and the score on the right has a playback tempo change set in the middle.

As shown in this video, Dorico allows you to use the Key Editor to edit playback in a more intuitive and easy way, just like a DAW.

This is an example of how to change the tempo using the Key Editor, but Dorico's Key Editor allows you to edit not only the tempo but also the velocity of each individual note, and you can also edit the timing of when a note is played and when it is turned off by dragging the ribbon on the piano roll, just like a DAW.

In addition, you can write various automation such as pitch bend, and you can also insert various effects. Apart from not being able to handle audio tracks, I think you can think of Dorico's playback function as being almost equivalent to a DAW in terms of basic function.

Dorico's playback editing function is as flexible as a DAW.

What if you need both a mockup and score as a final product for your project?

When creating music for live performances, such as recordings or live shows, sometimes you will need to prepare both a mockup (a reference sound source to play to clients or performers) and score.

If a simple score is fine, you could use the scoring function of your DAW to finish the score, but if you want to carefully create parts, you will likely want to prepare the score using music notation software.

In this case, you will need to exchange MIDI files between the DAW and the music notation software, but this can sometimes not be easy.

If you compose using a DAW, you will export the MIDI file from the DAW and import it into the music notation software to create the score, but if you do not organize the tracks on the DAW side, you will run into trouble such as instruments mixing or separating on the score, and hidden MIDI information will be reflected in the music notation software in an unintended way, and various other problems that may occur will basically need to be corrected manually.

Conversely, if you compose using music notation software, when you load the exported MIDI file into a DAW you may have to re-edit the performance on the DAW, and there is also the risk that MIDI information specific to the music notation software may be reflected in an unintended way on the DAW.

What if you could complete both mockup and scores in Dorico?

If you play a high-end third-party external sound source in Dorico, which has playback editing functions like a DAW, you might be able to use the audio file exported from Dorico as a mockup without having to switch to a DAW.

If you could establish a simple flow that would allow you to complete both scores and a mockup only in Dorico, you could complete both in less time without worrying about the hassle and risks of exchanging files between notation software and a DAW, and spend more time on your original purpose of recording or preparing for a live performance. This seems particularly possible with NPPE, especially for orchestral pieces.

At the moment, NPPE is specialized for orchestral sound sources, and may not be suitable for other genres on its own.

However, for example, in the case of a pop song that includes string or horn arrangements, it seems basically possible to import the orchestral sections exported in Dorico + NPPE as audio files into a DAW and mix them with rhythm tracks created in the DAW.

If your final product is a live performance and you're happy with just a bare-bones mockup, this workflow will save you the trouble of editing everything in MIDI on your DAW, and I think that “bare-bones” end result will be much better than something you could simply export using the built-in sound source in your music notation software.

ーーー

For example, in Finale, you could use the MIDI tool to write MIDI information on the score, or place expression marks and articulations that can be reflected in playback, which made it possible to brush up on playback to some extent.

However, these are all basically not graphical operations, but rather require control by inputting numbers, which made the settings themselves tedious, and there was the inconvenience of not being able to visually grasp what settings you had made later.

My experience working in technical support for Finale, a product with these characteristics, may have worked against me in a negative way in a sense, and I have long thought that it was more efficient to export MIDI files and finish the audio production in a DAW than to focus on playback in music notation software.

However, recently, as I have learned more about Dorico and external sound sources such as NPPE, I’ve started to think in a different way. 

This seems like an interesting topic when considering the future of music production where live performance is the final product, so I’d like to continue researching it further.