Respelling accidentals

You can change the enharmonic spelling of notes, so they are shown as their enharmonic equivalents.

Dorico uses an algorithm that automatically decides the spelling of pitches, based on key signature and context.

However, there are occasions when you might need to change how an accidental is spelled, such as to show clearly the stepwise movement in a phrase, or to avoid altered unisons in a chord.

In Dorico, you can switch between each available enharmonic spelling, allowing you to see at least three options for every pitch. There are always at least three options, as Dorico allows enharmonic spellings to show up to two accidental glyphs.

This means the same note can be spelled four ways, if the original pitch can be spelled with the note name either two notes below or two notes above, using a maximum of two accidental glyphs.

For example, B is a possible enharmonic spelling of G because a triple-flat uses a single accidental glyph, whereas an F uses two accidental glyphs.

Procedure

  1. In Write mode, select the notes you want to respell.
  2. Respell the selected notes upwards/downwards in any of the following ways:

    • Press Alt-= to respell upwards.

    • Press Alt-- to respell downwards.

    • Choose Write > Respell > Respell Using Note Name Above to respell upwards.

    • Choose Write > Respell > Respell Using Note Name Below to respell downwards.

Result

The enharmonic spelling of the selected notes is changed.

Example

Figure: A G sharp

Figure: When respelled downwards, the G sharp becomes an F triple-sharp

Figure: When respelled upwards, the G sharp becomes an A flat

Figure: When respelled upwards again, the G sharp becomes a B triple-flat