Dorico has the features called “Reduce” and “Explode”, which combine multiple staves into one, and conversely, split a combined staff into multiple staves. There is also another feature called “Condensing”, which automatically switches and displays the music of multiple players on fewer staves, similar to “Reduce” which also combines staves in a bit different way.
There are similar features to Reduce and Explode in Finale, but condensing is a convenient feature unique to Dorico. In this article, we will test the operation of these “score condensation features” in Dorico, comparing them with Finale.
[Table of Contents]
1. Reduce and Explode
2. Condensing
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1. Reduce and Explode
(1) Explode Music and Implode Music in Finale
Finale had two score condensing functions that consolidated staves. One was “Utility menu > Explode/Implode Music”, and the other was “Plug-in menu > Scoring and Arranging > Piano Reduction”.
These had no special parameters other than the quantization setting to determine the minimum note value after collapsing in Explode/Implode Music, and the ability to set the division point of the bass and treble staves by MIDI note number in Piano Reduction, and were simple functions that only required selecting the target range and clicking the OK button.
The results of application were slightly different between the two, but both were the same in that the note values of the original notes often changed because all the content was consolidated into the same layer without taking into account the voices, and it was necessary to manually edit it to take the voices into account as necessary after application.
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(2) Reduce and Explode in Dorico
Unlike Finale's Explode/Implode Music and Piano Reduction, Dorico's Reduce function allows you to consolidate phrases written on multiple staves onto fewer staves while maintaining the original state of each voice.
In the example below, it is possible to forcibly cram all four staves from the violin to the cello onto one staff, but usually it is better to use a grand staff to split them into two, violins for the treble staff and viola/cello for bass staff.
Because the four phrases are divided into their own voices, unlike Finale, you can use the reverse operation Explode to return them to their original state.
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2. Condensing
This is a function unique to Dorico that was not available in Finale. For example, let's apply Condensing to an orchestral score like this.
All you have to do is select “Condensing” from the Edit menu.
After applying Condensing, the number of staves is reduced and the music score is simplified. The process is completely automatic, and the processing time varies depending on the state of the file; for this 11-page song, it takes about 1 second.
Let's zoom in on the woodwind parts. This is the original state, and you can see that most of the players are playing in unison.
After applying Condensing, the staves of Oboe 1&2, Clarinet 1&2, and Bassoon 1&2, which were playing in unison, are merged, and the number of staves is reduced from 8 to 5.
Of course, even when merged in this way, part layouts (= part scores) are created separately.
If you wanted to achieve this in Finale, you would have had to save the file with a different name after completing the orchestration and manually edit all of these items on the separate file.
Considering that, this function, which can be applied to the original file without creating a separate file and then released to return to the original state, is amazing for former Finale users.
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3. The difference between Reduce and Condensing, and each application
Reduce and Condensing are similar in that they combine multiple staves into fewer staves, but they have different meanings. Reduce is intended for composing and arranging, while Condensing is intended to easily create a compact full score for conductors.
For example, if you apply Condensing to the example score used to explain Reduce at the beginning of this article, the violin and viola will be swapped and an inappropriate clef will be used by default.
In this example score, these are caused by Dorico's condensing function automatically avoiding pitch crossings between parts in the latter half of the piece, and you can control them to some extent by changing the condensing-related settings in the Notation Options and Layout Options.
Essentially, Condensing locks the staves after application and makes it impossible to select elements, so this is not suitable for making edits after application.
However, if you understand these properties, Condensing may be useful if you want to quickly and frequently switch between the original and condensed states, for example to check the voicing.
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