Creating Dorico Templates for Musical Theater

Designing effective Dorico templates for musical theater involves customizing layouts and metadata to streamline the creation of scores and partsIndividual pieces of music, each designed to be performed by a single musician or section of an ensemble.. These templates can include essential details like cast lists, song running order, and space for cues or dialog before the music begins. Below is a step-by-step guide to setting up your templates.

1. Setting Up Musical Theater Templates

Document Info Integration

• In the Document Info screen, add metadata such as cast lists and song running orders.
• These details will display automatically on the pages using Dorico Tokens.

Adjusting the First Music Frame

• Resize the first Music FrameA frame is a layer that contains one measure's worth of music. You can have up to four layers of music per measure, so one measure can contain up to four frames. to leave room for cues or dialog above the initial staff.

2. Editing Templates in Engrave Mode

Creating New Template Sets

• Use existing sets (Full ScoreA written representation of a piece of music, including the notation for all parts of an ensemble. and Parts) as a base.
• Name the new templates with clear identifiers like:
  • Show Score First
  • Show Score Default
  • Show Part First
  • Show Part Default
• ► !! Choose your new Template Set in Library>Layout Options>Page Layout>Page Template [dropdown] to have Dorico use it for new parts you might create.

Modifying the Templates

• Open a template by double-clicking it in the bottom-right panel.
• Ensure Frame Chains match (usually labeled “MA”). This setting controls music flow between frames.

3. Adding Metadata with Tokens

Layout Name and Work Number

• Double-click the left text box containing the “Lyricist” token.
• Add the Layout Name token beneath it. Use the default Paragraph Style or create a new one.
• Resize the Title box horizontally and add a Text Frame to the right of it for the Work Number.
• InsertText inserts are shortcodes that allow you to share the same text information on multiple pages (such as a title or part name) or easily add characters with special properties (like page numbers or musical symbols) without manually entering information. Create inserts using the Text > Inserts submenu. the “Project > Work Number” token in the new Text Frame.
• With the Frame selected, use the Properties panel to give it a border to taste.

Customizing the Work Number Style

• Go to LibrarySets of musical symbols, expression markings, and other important musical elements stored as independent files that can be exported and imported to Finale > Paragraph Styles and create a style named “Work Number.”
• Set the text size to 24 pt .
• Apply this style to the Work Number token.

Adding Cast Lists

• Create a Text Frame above the Music Frame for the “Other Information” token.
• Use Project Info > Other Information to populate this field.
• Apply a smaller Paragraph Style (e.g., 9 pt text) to fit the cast list neatly.

4. Piano/Vocal Template Set

• Clone the First page template for parts.
• Add a Text Frame for cast information, mirroringSee "Inversion" the Show Score First template.
• This is useful for rehearsal piano parts, as musical directors often require cast details.

5. Inserting Dialog Between Music Systems

Using Frame Chains

• Music Frames in Dorico flow content based on Frame Chains (e.g., “MA,” “MZ”).
• Shrink a Music Frame to make space, then add a Text Frame for dialog.
• Add another Music Frame below the Text Frame and link it to the same Frame Chain.

Custom Page Templates

• For frequently repeated layouts, create Custom Page Templates with predefined configurations.
• For unique cases, use Template Overrides, indicated by a red triangle in the page thumbnail.

6. Optimizing Page Layout

Manual Spacing Adjustments

• Disable Library > Page Layout > Vertical Spacing > Automatically Resolve Collisions for score and piano/vocal parts.
• Set Ideal Gaps:
  • 10 spaces between staves
  • 15 spaces between systems
• Use manual adjustments in Engrave Mode for exceptions.

7. Configuring Bass Doubling for Electric and Upright

Setup Mode Adjustments

• Add Instruments to the Bass “Player”
• Instruments will include Upright Bass (pizz) Double Bass (arco) and Electric Bass
• In Galley View, each instrumentIn terms of the Finale interface, an instrument refers to the collection of settings for each row listed under the Instrument column of the ScoreManager. These include staff properties (staff name, transposition, clef, etc.), playback sound, channel, and other settings. An instrument may include more than one staff (e.g a piano grand staff). appears on a separate staff. In Page View, they share a staff. Dorico provides instrument change indications.

Instrument Change Markings

• Edit the instrument’s Short Name to reflect playing techniques (e.g., “pizz,” “arco”).
• This ensures clear score indications during switches.

Creating a Piano/Vocal Layout

Creating a new layout for piano and voiceFinale offers the ability to add a second note entry with its own stem within one of its 4 Layers, particularly useful for some choral notation, but duplicative in function to Layers is a simple starting point. However, if multiple voices are involved, a separate staff may be needed for a reductionThe process of creating a simplified arrangement of a piece of music for a smaller ensemble. of the other vocal parts. While Dorico supports staff condensation, it does not work well for vocal music. Instead, the Paste>Reduce function is effective. Treble clefA symbol placed at the beginning of the staff that determines the pitch of the notes on the lines and spaces. voices should be placed on one staff, while tenor and bass voices should be placed on another. A Grand Staff (found in the Sketch section) can be used for this purpose. After renaming the Player and Staves accordingly (S/A, T/B) the Grand Staff can be added to the piano/vocal part for rehearsal use while being excluded from the Full Score.

If you intend to export music for AI vocal processing, it is best to set up the project with one voice per staff from the beginning. You can create an XML export part that includes only the piano and all vocal lines. This XML export part should be used exclusively for export and not for printing with other parts.

Save your Templates into a Project Template

• When you’re done, save your file as a Project Template so it appears in Dorico’s Hub (starter screen).
• Assign it to a new category – “Show.”

By following these steps, you can create professional, functional Dorico templates tailored to the needs of musical theater productions. These templates save time and improve workflow consistency, ensuring your scores are both practical and visually appealing.