User manual

A
action
The mechanism inside pianos that allows the hammers to strike the strings with different forces,
depending on the strength with which the player depresses the corresponding key. It allows
pianos to use a greater dynamic range, hence their full name “pianoforte”.
anacrusis
Note or notes played before the rst full bar of a piece, also known as an “upbeat”. See also pick-
up bar.
articulation
(1) In music notation, symbols that indicate how a note should be played, typically affecting their
onset (attack), release, or duration. (2) In sample libraries, a term that refers to playing
techniques generally.
attachment
The rhythmic position at which an item occurs, or to which an item applies, in the music. In
Engrave mode in Dorico Elements, an attachment line is shown between a selected item and its
rhythmic position.
B
bar
A span of music comprising a specic number of beats, as dened by the prevailing time
signature, whose boundaries are indicated by bar lines. Also known as a “measure”, but this
documentation uses “bar”.
C
caret
Shown during note input, it is the vertical line that extends above and below the staff and
indicates the rhythmic position at which items are input. Also known as an “insertion point”. In
Dorico Elements, the caret, cursor, and pointer are related but serve different purposes. See also
rhythmic grid.
casting off
The act of xing the layout of pages of music, such as dening a set number of systems per page
or the number of bars per system.
cautionary accidental
A restatement of an earlier accidental, such as when a tied note with an accidental continues
onto another page, to eliminate ambiguities. Also known as “courtesy accidentals”.
channel
In MIDI, a channel determines which note, controller, or other data is played by which sound on
which device. In Dorico Elements, notes on a single staff may be played by different channels,
depending on which playing techniques are provided by the patch assigned to each channel. See
also MIDI, patch.
Glossary
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