Notation Express Keypad for Dorico and Sibelius on Stream Deck Mobile Pro

The numeric keypad has long been a mainstay of some music notation software applications. Its compact and grid-like layout is well-suited for efficiency in note entry and other important notation functions such as articulations, accidentals, and beaming. Keeping one hand on the keypad and the other on the keyboard can, with a little practice, make quick work of inputting music.

Sibelius has six keypad layouts devoted to about 80 common commands. If you’ve become accustomed to using it and suddenly find yourself on a laptop or other computer without the numeric keypad appendage, it can be disorienting. Dorico was created in a more modern era when more computing was being done without the assumption that a keypad would be present, so it wasn’t incorporated into the software’s design. Still, many users have wished for a Sibelius-style keypad to facilitate their use of Dorico.

It occurred to me that the Stream Deck and the humble numeric keypad were close cousins. Yes, the Stream Deck’s flashy buttons change, light up, and can be programmed any number of ways, but the compact grids of the keypad and the Stream Deck address the same basic need to quickly push a button and do something. But the horizontally oriented 5×3 grid of the classic Stream Deck and the 8×4 grid of the Stream Deck XL weren’t quite suited to the numeric keypad array that had become baked into the Sibelius experience.

Not to mention, as much as I love my Stream Decks — I’ve lost count, but I think I have five of them — my phone is usually the most convenient device available when I’m on the road.

It took a few years, but the introduction of the Stream Deck Mobile app and some more recent changes allowing the customization of the grid has finally made it possible to create a version of Notation Express to emulate the keypad experience right on the phone — and not just in Sibelius, but in Dorico, as well.

So, without further ado: Notation Express Keypad for Dorico and Sibelius is here!

 

Notation Express Keypad uses familiar numeric keypad layouts on your phone to make using Dorico or Sibelius quick and fun. Because there is no concept of the keypad in Dorico, Notation Express Keypad closely follows the arrangement and order of the Sibelius Keypad in both applications — perfect for when you’re working on a laptop, on a computer without a numeric keypad, or just want to add more power and speed to your existing setup. Whether or not you already know how to use the Sibelius Keypad, you will be right at home in Notation Express Keypad.

Notation Express Keypad is built for the Stream Deck Mobile app with a Pro subscription or license only. It will not display correctly on the Stream Deck or Stream Deck XL hardware consoles, or on the free version of the Stream Deck Mobile app. The Stream Deck Mobile Pro app from Elgato is available on iOS/iPadOS and Android.

Requirements

• Dorico Elements or Pro 5 or later running on Mac or Windows*, or Sibelius Ultimate 2024.3 or later running on Mac or Windows
• iPhone, iPad, or Android device with the Stream Deck Mobile app installed, connected to your computer via WiFi or USB
• A Pro subscription or lifetime license to the Stream Deck Mobile app, purchased separately from the iOS/iPadOS or Android app stores
• The latest version of the Stream Deck desktop software for Mac or Windows, from Elgato

*There are a few buttons that correspond to advanced features in Dorico Pro that are not supported in Dorico Elements. Pressing those buttons while in Dorico Elements will have no effect.

Notation Express Keypad for Dorico and Notation Express Keypad for Sibelius are sold separately for $19.99 each.

The cost of a Pro subscription or lifetime license to the Stream Deck Mobile app is set by Elgato and is not included with a purchase of Notation Express Keypad. At this time, the cost of unlocking the Pro tier of the Stream Deck Mobile app in the US are:

• Monthly subscription: $2.99
• Annual subscription: $24.99
• Lifetime license (pay once, no subscription): $49.99

Full keypad control on your phone

Six keypad layouts are provided on Notation Express Keypad:

• Common notes
• More notes
• Beams/tremolos
• Articulations
• Jazz articulations
• Accidentals

Also included are generic numeric keypads for Mac and Windows that will work in any application, because, why not? (You can delete whichever OS layout corresponds to the OS you’re not using, if you like.)

Mostly similar but a few differences between Dorico and Sibelius

Although Dorico and Sibelius are different programs, for many of the buttons there is a direct 1-to-1 relationship and they behave essentially the same in both applications. A few buttons are similar but work slightly differently; for example, in Sibelius on the More notes layout you have separate buttons each for an unslashed grace note and a slashed grace note; in Dorico one button applies the grace note and the other one toggles the slash.

The Beams/tremolos layout is organized as comparably as possible, but again there are differences; for instance, in Sibelius, the tremolo slashes act as on/off toggles, but in Dorico, there is a separate button to clear all of the tremolos. Another difference is in the Articulations layout; Dorico is very strict about what constitutes an articulation, so while you’ll find bowing and mute indications here, those come from Dorico’s Playing Techniques palette; likewise, the fermatas strictly speaking are Holds and Pauses, and thus they don’t behave quite the same as proper articulations in Dorico.

You’ll find a few other differences, but broadly speaking if you switch between the two applications with any regularity, you should find it easy to see what’s where; and if you need any help, you can open the Stream Deck application on your desktop and click any button to see its name in the title area.

By the way, did you know that you can use Siri to control Dorico and Sibelius using Notation Express Keypad? But we digress…

In Sibelius, Notation Express Keypad does not automatically sync with the currently active Sibelius Keypad layout. This can be beneficial, as both can be used simultaneously with different layouts, allowing you, for instance, to use the Sibelius Keypad to enter notes, and the Notation Express Keypad to enter articulations. However, if you wish to sync the current Notation Express Keypad layout with Sibelius, use the Sync button that appears on all of the keypad layouts (other than the generic numeric keypad).

In Dorico, in place of the Sync button, certain layouts offer a button for quick access to the command or popover associated with that layout. For instance, the Common notes layout features a Start Note Input button, while various other layouts offer the associated popover:

Pinned buttons offer easy access to voice-related commands across all layouts; in Sibelius, you’ll find the usual buttons for voices 1, 2, 3, 4, and All, whereas in Dorico, we’ve put some useful commands in their place:

Living the Stream Deck life

You’re not just limited to using Notation Express Keypad on your phone. It’s entirely possible to run Notation Express Classic for Sibelius, Notation Express XL for Sibelius, Notation Express Classic for Dorico, and Notation Express XL for Dorico — all at once, if you have as many Stream Decks as I have.

Keep in mind, you can run Notation Express Classic or Notation Express XL on the Stream Deck Mobile app as well, on the same phone or another device like an iPad.

Speaking of iPads (and Android devices), you can do this, too:

It is entirely possible to run the keypad for both programs, or even the keypad for one program but with different layouts (say you want to show both the Common notes and More notes layouts at once without needing to switch back and forth. You just need to add another virtual device and split the screen.

Setup and availability

Full documentation is included with Notation Express, including the easy installation and setup steps. A video is also provided. (Hint: The key step in the process is creating a custom 4×6 layout.)

Notation Express Keypad for Dorico and Notation Express Keypad for Sibelius are available from Notation Central for $19.99 each. As previously mentioned, a Pro subscription or lifetime license to the Stream Deck Mobile app, purchased separately from the iOS/iPadOS or Android app stores, is required, but once you have the Stream Deck Mobile Pro app you can use it not just for Notation Express Keypad profiles, but the other Notation Express profiles as well the thousands of other purposes that a Stream Deck can be used.

I hope you like this latest addition to the Notation Express lineup!