Condensing results

Depending on the pitches and rhythms of notes in the different parts on condensed staves, condensing can result in parts sharing stems, having separate voices, or not condensing and remaining on separate staves.

Dorico Pro calculates and considers the condensing of parts for each phrase separately in order to produce the best result. Dorico Pro also automatically shows player labels so it is always clear which notes belong to each part on condensed staves.

There are the following possible condensing results:

Unison

In phrases where the rhythms and pitches for all players are the same, all parts on the condensed staff share the same noteheads on a single stem.

Note

Phrases must start at the same rhythmic position to produce a unison condensing result.

Shared stem

In phrases where the rhythms are the same, the pitches are different, and the pitches do not cross, each part on the condensed staff has a separate notehead but the noteheads share a single stem.

Note

Phrases must start at the same rhythmic position to produce a shared stem condensing result.

Shared staff

In phrases where neither the rhythms nor the pitches for all players are the same, and pitch crossing does not exceed your set value, parts on the condensed staff are split into up-stem and down-stem voices.

If phrases start at the same rhythmic position, individual notes and entire beams/tuplets in those phrases that have the same duration can be amalgamated into a single voice, depending on any other notations in those phrases and your set notation options.

Not condensed

In phrases where neither the rhythms nor the pitches for all players are the same, and pitch crossing exceeds your set value, no condensing occurs and parts remain on separate staves.

Note
  • In addition to rhythms and pitches, Dorico Pro also considers all other notations, such as slurs and dynamics, in order to calculate the best condensing result. For example, if two parts have the same rhythms and pitches but their slurs apply to different notes, they are condensed into a shared staff with separate voices to ensure the different slurs are clearly notated. However, clefs and octave lines are not considered and do not affect the condensing result.

  • Condensed staves always use a maximum of two voices, one up-stem and one down-stem. Each voice can include the parts of multiple players.

  • If you want to change the automatic condensing results, you can do so from selected rhythmic positions onwards using condensing changes. You might find that using condensing changes simply to start new phrases is sufficient to achieve the desired condensing result.