I had to check the calendar. It’s only been two weeks – and Steinberg has a massive update for Dorico, their powerful scoring tool for iPad.
Dorico for iPad is the kind of news that has been missing from digital scoring. It finally turns your iPad into a full-fledged, industrial-strength scoring tool – and a sequencer/virtual instrument, too, thanks to shared elements from Steinberg’s Cubasis. It’s something special, because it scales from “I just need to communicate an idea to some musicians” up to “I am a copyist as my day job.”
I thought as much, but the reaction from readers seems to confirm that instinct.
Version 1.1 arrived this week, and it has some big improvements. That twelve-player limit is blown wide open. You have to pay for the (fairly affordable) subscription, but once you do you get unlimited players. (Time for one of those bigger iPads, huh?)
It’s worth reading the full blog post from Steinberg’s Dan Spreadbury. (He’s ex-Sibelius. My Gmail auto-complete looks like LinkedIn; it’s hilarious.)
It’s actually exactly what I would have expected – another tale of a developer imagining something is a way of “expanding” reach (that is, reaching more entry-level users), but finding it changes things for everyone, up to advanced users.
Dorico for iPad 1.1 now available: write for any number of players with subscription
If you like video, here’s a full run-down of what’s new:
Behold him, the vindaloo lamb. Erm, risen Lamb, sorry. I’m always thinking of Indian takeaway. Fuels my music sessions.
There’s a ton more, which you’ll find in detail on the blog post. Some highlights:
- Easier access to online help
- Lots and lots and lots of usability improvements, from creation to editing
- Precise velocity editing in Histogram
- Quick access to AUv3 interface and effect interfaces for plug-ins
- More accessible transposition menu
- Edit durations, useful with working with MIDI data and performances
- Choir SAB with piano template
And generally, you can see they got a bunch of feedback from users.
They have more plans on the way, some related to Dorico 4 (for desktop), adding improvements from iPad to the desktop editions, expanded Apple Pencil support, and more.
Dorico for iPad 1.1 is available now, and it’s free to start using (with a fair amount of functionality even in that free version). I really do think it’ll change how we share music digitally with players.