Issues with the Musescore General soundfont
Hello,
lately I've been running into issues with the soundfont. I've started to compose using more instruments and a wider range, and I've run into two major issues in my latest piece (https://musescore.com/user/36996215/scores/6529984/s/VA0AMi?share=copy_…). The first issue is with the F horn: notes lower than C3 (for the F horn) will sound louder and stand out more, as well as not fitting in as well with other instruments. This is noticeable between measures 5 and 17. Is there a way to at least slightly lower the volume of those notes? I've tried putting those notes as p instead of mp on the sheet, but the volume's too low and it doesn't fit in. Also, I've had to anticipate some instruments like the bass flute because they take some time to actually play the note (there is a little bit of noise before the note is actually played). I've seen this referenced in other threads but either they had no solution or the solution didn't work. I'm on the latest Musescore version, using Musescore General Full.
Comments
On a note by note basis you can change the Velocity in the Inspector (F8) to a negative number, as long as the Velocity type is set to offset, to make it softer. 0 means no change and -127 will set the volume to silent for all practical purposes. You can set the same velocity for several notes by selecting all of them and changing the number in the inspector. FYI, p = velocity of 49 and f = velocity of 96 so you won't want to make the numbers too large to make it a little softer. From my experience you need a change of about 15 for it to really start to be noticeable.
In reply to On a note by note basis you… by mike320
Thank you!
In reply to On a note by note basis you… by mike320
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to do anything on the F horn. It works on the piano, but not the F horn.
In reply to Unfortunately it doesn't… by System64
I think you need to use a sound that is not expressive for this to work. Expressive sounds have "expr" as part of their names. There are no pianos like this and horns default to expressive.
In reply to I think you need to use a… by mike320
So I need to find a brass that's not expressive that can replace the horns in order for that to work
In reply to So I need to find a brass… by System64
It's built into the default soundfont. MuseScore chooses the expressive sound so single note dynamics will work.
In reply to So I need to find a brass… by System64
To be clear: go to View / Mixer, usually the expr and non-expr versions of each sound are adjacent, just select the other. But do note, you give up the ability to have single note dynamics if you do that.
In reply to To be clear: go to View /… by Marc Sabatella
Thank you!
In reply to Thank you! by System64
If you are up for a little adventure as well as a learning experience, You can use a horn from a different sound font. The default font does not have solo horn. I found one in VSCO orchestra. Up side, decent solo horn. Down side, no single note dynamics.
You have to use 3rd party software (Polyphone). This will extract the solo horn and change it to sf2.
Something to think about.
In reply to If you are up for a little… by bobjp
Unfortunately I need crescendos and diminuendos
In reply to Unfortunately I need… by System64
See https://musescore.org/en/node/290616 to see how to use SND with non expressive sounds.