Soundfont won't load
OK, what am I doing wrong? I downloaded the Aegean Symphony Soundfont zip file into the Soundfonts folder, unzipped it as directed in the manual, then opened MuseScore to a score I was working on. Inside the unzipped folder was an .SF2 file for Aegean, which should have become visible in MuseScore when I opened the Synthesizer panel. It was not. Further, I also downloaded and unzipped the "Virtual Playing Orchestra" soundfont zip file into the soundfonts folder, and it too is not showing in the Synth panel.
Here is a screenshot of the inside of my soundfonts folder:
Here is a screenshot of my Synthesizer menu when I opened an existing MuseScore file and viewed the Synth:
As you can see, there is no Aegean soundfont or Virtual Playing Orchestra soundfont listed to "load" into the Synthesizer, even though the .sf2 file seems to be correct and I followed all instructions.
What did I do wrong?
Comments
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/soundfonts-and-sfz-files#install
After finding and decompressing a SoundFont (see →below), double-click to open it. In most cases, the SoundFont file type will already be associated with MuseScore
In reply to https://musescore.org/en… by Shoichi
Select the ADD button in the lower right.
In reply to Select the ADD button in the… by bobjp
Thanks. Great! So simple. That indeed worked fine for the Aegean soundfont, I guess because it is an .sf2 file. BUT, the other file I unzipped, the Virtual Playing Orchestra, is an SFZ folder. It has no .sf2 file in its folder, and when I choose "Add" in the Synthesizer menu, it does not appear at all. When I open its two upzipped folders (see screenshot below)
![Clipboard03.jpg]( "Clipboard03.jpg")
... there is nothing in it I can see that would suggest a soundfont file MuseScore could open. So, please ... how do I get the Synthesizer to load the above SFZ folder soundfont? The User Guide simply says to unzip it into the soundfont folder and everything will be fine.
In reply to Thanks. Great! So simple. … by fsgregs
SFZ soundfonts are added on the Zerberus tab. Please see the Handbook for much more detailed information on how to use Soundfonts, and really, just about everything else about MuseScore as well.
In reply to SFZ soundfonts are added on… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks. I know I am asking lots of questions, but I am really reading the User Guide in detail. In fact, I read its section first before I post on the forum. For those who never worked with the program, some of it is obvious, and some not so much. Sometimes, the answer may be in one area of the guide but not in the other. For example, in the section about installing soundfonts, it says to simply install all of them into the soundfont folder, but it did not say that for an SFZ file to locate the wav files it references, the "Libs" folder from the WAV zip file has to be installed into the unzipped SFZ folder, not separately as my image above showed. That is not explained in the guide. Also, to load them into the synth, you have to first open the Zeberius section and read it to discover this is where you access SFZ files to load them. Seems obvious now but it took your answer to clarify it for me. Thanks for your patience.
In reply to Thanks. I know I am asking… by fsgregs
Indeed, the Handbook is a bit terse. But do note that in the "Soundfonts and SFZ files" section, it says "Once a SoundFont has been installed on your system, it also needs to be loaded into the Synthesizer. See To load a soundfont." with the latter phrase being a link directly to where it gives the instructions on the Synthesizer page. To avoid duplication, often there are just links to where the relevant is, so do be sure to always check those out.
Anyhow, rest assured if we point you to the Handbook, it isn't to ercriticize you for not looking there, but simply to assure you that more info is there if you look.