Dorico Edition — Quick Start Guide

What Cantai Does

Cantai reads your score — notes, lyrics, dynamics, tempo, expression markings — and generates a realistic sung vocal performance. It works inside Dorico as a dedicated playback device, so your vocal parts play back through Cantai automatically alongside the rest of your ensemble.

System Requirements

Installation & Activation

1. Create a free account at cantai.app (or log in if you already have one)
2. Go to your Profile page — your license key and installer download links are both there
3. Download the installer for your OS from your Profile and run it
4. Launch Dorico — Cantai will appear as an available playback device
5. Paste the license key from your Profile into the Cantai VST interface and click Activate

Setting Up a Vocal Part

1. Add lyrics to your score

Select the first note in your vocal part and press Shift+L to open the lyrics popover. Type your lyrics, pressing Space to advance after a complete word, or - (hyphen) to advance after each syllable of a multi-syllable word.

2. Load Cantai in Play mode

Switch to Play mode and open the VST and MIDI tab. Load one Cantai instance for each vocal stave you want Cantai to sing.

3. Assign it in the Track Inspector

Click the Track Inspector tab and select the Cantai instance you just added. Dorico connects it to the corresponding voice automatically.

4. Press Play

That's it. Whenever you change anything that affects a vocal part — notes, lyrics, dynamics, tempo, or expression — Cantai automatically re-renders just the affected segments. No manual refresh needed.

Choosing a Voice

To change the voice assigned to a Cantai instance, click the Show Instrument button next to the instance in the VST and MIDI panel. Select your preferred voice from the dropdown in the Cantai interface.

Choral Voices

Cantai includes two dedicated choir voices — Choir — Female and Choir — Male — which render a full choral section rather than a single singer. To set the number of voices per part (3–10), open the … menu in the Cantai VST interface and adjust the choir section count.

The … menu also provides Clear Cache and Reset Instance Settings options if you need to troubleshoot or start fresh.

Supported Languages

Cantai currently supports English and Latin, with more languages coming in subsequent updates.

Language is detected automatically from your lyrics. For best results, ensure your lyrics are spelled correctly — Cantai's phoneme engine derives pronunciation directly from the text.

Dynamics and Expression

You do not need to draw in any MIDI automation. Write your score the way you would for human performers, and Cantai interprets it.

Dynamic markings     p, mp, mf, f, ff, etc.
Hairpins             crescendo, decrescendo
Tempo markings       Allegro, Andante, ritardando, etc.

Tips for Best Results

Exporting Audio

1. Choose File > Export > Audio
2. Select the flows and players you want to include
3. Choose your format — WAV for highest quality, MP3 for smaller file size
4. Click OK to export

Cantai audio exports at full quality — the same engine used for real-time playback renders the final file.

Reporting Issues

If something isn't working, reach us through the Help chat button in the bottom-right corner of any page on cantai.app. Please include your log files — drag them into the Help chat window:

🍎 macOS

Server log: ~/.cache/Cantai/stderr.txt
VST log:    ~/.cache/Cantai/VST.log

Replace ~ with your home folder, e.g. /Users/yourname

🪟 Windows

Server log: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Cantai\stderr.txt
VST log:    C:\Users\yourname\.cache\Cantai\VST.log

Replace yourname with your Windows username

Licensing

Cantai for Dorico requires a lifetime license — unlimited installs, free updates.