How to Print Off Staff Paper in Dorico: A Comprehensive Guide

Creating staff paper in Dorico might seem daunting at first, but with this guide, you’ll find it’s a straightforward and logical process. Whether you need lined staff paper or completely blank manuscript paper, Dorico offers flexible options. Let’s break down the steps to easily Print Off Staff Paper tailored to your needs.

Creating Lined Staff Paper in Dorico: Step-by-Step

If you’re looking to print standard lined staff paper, follow these instructions to set up your Dorico project:

1. Start a New Project: From the Dorico Hub, click “Create New” at the top. This will open the project setup window.

2. Choose Empty Project: In the new project window, select “Empty” from the left panel.

3. Paper Size and Orientation: On the left side, choose your desired paper size (e.g., A4, Letter) and orientation (Portrait or Landscape). For standard staff paper, “A4” or “Letter” and “Landscape” are common choices. Ensure the “Key signature” box is unchecked.

4. Add a Solo Player: Click “Solo Player.” In the player setup dialog, type “staff” as the player name. Select “treble clef staff” from the instrument options and click “Add”.

5. Enter Write Mode and Hide Time Signature: Switch to “Write” mode. Select the time signature in your newly created staff. In the Properties panel (usually on the bottom), check the box labeled “Hide time signature.” This will remove the time signature display from your staff paper.

6. Add Invisible Clef: Select the first bar rest in your staff. On the right-hand side panel, locate and click the “Clef” tool. In the Clef options, click the dropdown arrow for “Uncommon Clefs.” You’ll find an invisible clef symbol (it’s the 4th option down in the left-hand column). Select this invisible clef. This step ensures no clef is displayed on your printed staff paper.

7. Extend the Staff Length: With the rest still selected, type poopies-B (this is a shortcut to input bars). Enter 64 and press Return. This, combined with the initial bar, will create a staff paper with a total of 72 bars, providing ample space for musical notation or practice.

8. Layout Options – Brackets and Braces: Use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+L (Mac) to open Layout Options. In the Layout Options dialog, select “Brackets and Braces” on the left. Under “Brackets and Braces,” choose “No brackets”. This removes any brackets typically used to group staves together.

9. Layout Options – Staves and Systems: Select “Staves and systems” on the left panel in Layout Options. Set both “Staff labels” options to “None.” This will hide any instrument labels from appearing on your staff paper.

10. Layout Options – Indents: Scroll down to “Indents” in the “Staves and systems” panel. Change “Indent first system” to 0. This ensures the staff lines start right from the left margin of the page.

11. Layout Options – Casting Off: Scroll further down to “Casting off.” Check both “Fixed number of bars” and “Fixed number of systems.” Set both to 6. Uncheck “Scale number of systems.” These settings control how many bars and systems (rows of staves) are displayed per page, optimizing the layout for print.

12. Layout Options – Bar Numbers: Click on “Bar Numbers” on the left panel. Select “None”. This removes bar numbers from your staff paper for a cleaner look.

13. Layout Options – Players: Select “Players” on the left and go down to “Bar rests and Multirests”. Uncheck “Show bar rests in empty bars”. This hides bar rests in empty measures, resulting in completely blank staff lines where no music is entered.

14. Apply Layout Options: Click “Apply” and then “Close” in the Layout Options dialog to save all your changes.

15. Notation Options – Barlines: Use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac) to open Notation Options. Click “Barlines” on the left panel.

16. Notation Options – Automatic and Systemic Barlines: In the “Barlines” panel, find “Automatic barline at end of flow” and select “Normal barline.” Scroll down to “systemic barline” and for both options (“Show for one or more” settings), select “Show for one or more”. These settings ensure barlines are displayed at the end of the staff lines and between systems if needed.

17. Apply Notation Options: Click “Apply” and then “Close” in the Notation Options dialog.

18. Enter Engrave Mode and Master Page Setup: Switch to “Engrave” mode. On the right side panel, double-click on the “Default” master page. You will see two page templates (left and right).

19. Edit Master Page – Left Page: On the left page template, select and delete both green frames (these are typically for page numbers and flow headings). Select the blue frame (the music frame). Click and drag the top handle of the blue frame upwards until it aligns with the top margin line. In the Properties panel (bottom panel), with the blue frame still selected, click both “Top padding” and “Bottom padding” to set them to zero. This maximizes the staff area on the page.

20. Copy Layout to Right Page: Click the “L>R” icon at the top of the screen. This copies the layout settings from the left page template to the right page template, ensuring consistency across all pages.

21. Apply Master Page Changes: Click “Apply” and then “Close” to save the master page edits.

22. Insert Page Template Change: Now, in Engrave mode, you will see page thumbnails at the top right. Right-click on “Page 1” thumbnail and select “Insert Page Template Change.” Ensure “From this page onwards” is selected and “Default” master page is chosen in the dropdown box. Click “OK.”

You now have your printable staff paper! You can navigate through pages and print as many sheets as you need for your musical endeavors.

Creating Fully Blank Paper in Dorico: The Quick Method

For those who prefer completely blank paper without staff lines, Dorico offers an even faster method. This is ideal for sketching, composing freely, or any situation where pre-lined staff paper isn’t needed.

1. Engrave Mode and Master Page: Go directly to “Engrave” mode in your Dorico project. Double-click the “Default” Master Page on the right panel.

2. Select Blank Staves: In the master page editor, locate the blue dropdown menu at the top left that likely says “Flows.” Click this dropdown and select “Blank staves.”

3. Apply and Close: Click “Apply” and then “Close.”

4. Adjust Number of Staves (Optional): If you want to customize the number of staves on the blank paper, select the blue frame on the master page. In the Properties panel, you can then adjust the number of staves to your preference.

Dorico is designed to make creating fully blank paper incredibly efficient, recognizing it as a common need for musicians and composers.

Whether you choose lined staff paper or completely blank paper, Dorico provides powerful and customizable options to print off staff paper precisely as you require. This flexibility makes Dorico an excellent tool for musicians at all levels.