Steinberg has announced the availability of Dorico 4, a major update to its composition and notation software.

Here’s an overview of what’s new in Dorico 4:

• Key Editor in Write mode – With the introduction of a dedicated Key Editor in the lower zone in Write mode, it’s now easier than ever to shape the MIDI performance of music notation. The view is automatically kept in sync, so users will never get lost.
• Smart MIDI import – Dorico 4 introduces a powerful new MIDI import workflow that intelligently interprets incoming tracks, and remembers the user’s choices for future imports.
• Polyphonic MIDI transcription – Whether using the new smart MIDI import workflow or recording music in real time from a MIDI keyboard, Dorico 4 now automatically separates the music played into separate voices, producing a much cleaner transcription than ever before.
• Insert mode scope – Insert mode allows users to easily change rhythms, insert or remove music from the middle of a flow, while retaining all subsequent music. Dorico 4 takes Insert mode to the next level, introducing an editable stop position, so that a point is specified in the flow beyond which any changes that ripple forwards from an earlier edit in Insert mode should stop. The scope of Insert mode operations can now be changed, editing only the current voice, or all voices on the current instrument, or all instruments in the flow. And while adding material to all instruments, choose between pushing music forwards into following bars, or enlarging the current bar, making it easier than ever to create cadenzas or free rhythm sections.
• Melodic and rhythmic transformations – Common melodic and rhythmic transformations such as rotation, inversion and reversal are now all just one click away — and unlike plug-ins or add-ons in other music notation software, these tools are deeply integrated, and work not only on notes themselves, but on all other notations, including slurs, dynamics, playing techniques, and so on. Users can transform music from one scale to another or perform complex pitch mapping in just a few clicks.
• On-screen keyboard, fretboard and drum pads – The lower zone in Write mode not only houses the Properties panel, the new Key Editor, and the Mixer, but also three new on-screen instruments to make note input quicker than ever — and all of them are touch-enabled for Windows devices with touch screens, like the Microsoft Surface. Click or tap notes into the score from the piano, input guitar tab directly by touching the string and fret on the fretboard or see all of the percussion instruments at a glance with the drum pads.
• Revamped Play mode and Mixer – Play mode has been restructured to make it more streamlined. With the Key Editor now accessible in the lower zone, the track overview has been simplified, with the introduction of a new track inspector on the left providing quick access to routing, channel settings, and more. The Mixer in Dorico 4 has been rebuilt from the ground up and is now more beautiful and more responsive than ever. Choose between showing the essential controls in the lower zone or showing the Mixer as a separate window for full control over channel EQ, insert effects, and more.
• Native Apple silicon support – Dorico 4 is the first professional-grade music notation and composition application to run natively on Apple’s new M1-powered Macs. Some editing operations are as much as twice as fast on Apple silicon than on in Intel-powered Macs, and with the improved energy efficiency of the new system architecture, users will be making music for more hours on their MacBook Air or MacBook Pro between charges.
• Flexible new license management – Dorico 4 uses Steinberg’s new identity-based license management system: simply sign in with a Steinberg ID to get up and running in moments. Run Dorico 4 on three computers with a single-user license by signing in on each machine — no need for the USB-eLicenser.

Here’s a playlist of videos that covers the new features:

Pricing and Availability:

Dorico 4 is available now, with pricing starting at $3.99/month for Dorico for iPad and $99.99 for Dorico Elements 4. See the Steinberg site for details.