Saying it's not necessary is I guess the truth, but I've been using a MIDI keyboard for input for years, certain keys set for duration, others for rests, dots, ties, etc.
Alternating octaves in a marimba part for example - I hit a low G with my left hand for 8th notes, then alternate E and E (octave higher). I can enter a measure in just over a second. Adding ctrl+shift+up/down for every octave jump to the workflow would easily triple the time it takes to input.
I haven't tried Dorico yet, so I don't know for sure about MIDI input. I have tried it successfully on Musescore 4, which is infinitely better than what I remember of Musescore 2(?) years ago. I think I'm going to stick with Finale while it works and start using Musescore for smaller projects to see if it can handle what I need it to do.