Export to .mp3 too loud
I've noticed that any time that I export to an mp3, the mp3 volume is always much louder than the live playback. This has happened both for a recent composition for piano, and on a new orchestral piece I just started. For the piano composition I noticed the volume difference, but it was tolerable. For my orchestral piece, on the other hand, it is meant to start off nearly silent and slowly build in volume. I was able to achieve this in the live playback, but when I export to an mp3, everything sounds at least two dynamic levels higher.
Some info: I'm using a few different soundfonts and I increased the "wetness" setting in the synthesizer a little bit.
I have seen this brought up a couple times, but nothing has solved my problem, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
Ciao FreedomBuchanan , see: https://musescore.org/en/node/268363 and https://musescore.org/en/node/267018
HTH
In reply to Ciao FreedomBuchanan , see:… by Shoichi
What I'm getting from this is that the audacity thing is the way to go. I've already seen these, but in none of them was there a solution to the problem of mp3s being much louder than live playback
In reply to What I'm getting from this… by FreedomBuchanan
Add dynamics or customize ( by Inspector ) the notes velocity?
In reply to Add dynamics or customize (… by Shoichi
Yes, many instruments actually start at a velocity of 6-8 and it still sounds at least mp on the mp3
In reply to Yes, many instruments… by FreedomBuchanan
Could you attach here your score? Somebody else will take a look.
In reply to Could you attach here your… by Shoichi
Do you need the actual score, or the exported mp3 and the one captured with audacity?
mp3 generated by exporting from musescore: http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=35646412294793142863
mp3 captured by audacity from live playback: http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=83765101443672752223
In reply to mp3 generated by exporting… by FreedomBuchanan
Somebody I am afraid I cannot be the one :(
Also specify which Soundfont you are using and wait with a little patience for a better response.
(Your links do not allow me to download)
In reply to Somebody I am afraid I… by Shoichi
Odd, I was able to download just now. Anyways, The soundfont I used for my piano composition was the HQ Orchestral soundfont. For the orchestral piece I'm using the General User, HQ Orchestral, and Sonatina Symphonic, as well as a small one that I can't seem to find a link to.
See #267018: Audio export: "Don't normalise" option.
Before exporting from your musescore, click VIEW - MIXER, just to control the main volume of EACH intrument (apart from using relative sectional volumes(dynamics ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, etc.). Also, during audacity editing and and pre-exporting, each track(instrument) volume can be controlled if tracks(instruments) are captured by audacity one at a time; if not, your project's main volume may be turned up or down by applying a one-time audacity amplify-effect to the entire project before exporting.
In reply to Before exporting from your… by William Valenc…
Obviously I COULD do this, but it's just very annoying that the exported mp3 is noticeably louder than the live playback. If I turn the volumes down in the mixer, yes, that solves the mp3 problem, but then everything in live playback is much too quiet.
In reply to Obviously I COULD do this,… by FreedomBuchanan
FWIW, it might be annoying to you when you listen to these back to back, but consider, that's not really the purpose of export to MP3. Exported MP3 files generally won't be listened to back-to-back with the playback from within MuseScore. Most likely, they'll be lsitened to back to back with other MP3 files, or other audio on the computer of whatever person happens to be listening to that MP3 file. Which is to say, the person listening to that MP3 files won't be comparing it to how loud the score was on your computer when you were working on it - he'll be comparing it to how loud other songs on his own computer are. That's the point of normalization.
In reply to FWIW, it might be annoying… by Marc Sabatella
I guess that's understandable, but it begs the question of why there isn't an option to turn off normalization. I've gone over multiple discussions on the same thing, and I haven't seen anything about a way to disable normalization. It's really annoying when I want something to start at a very low volume and slowly build to a moderate volume, but it makes everything start at a moderate volume and build to a loud one.
In reply to I guess that's… by FreedomBuchanan
Because so far nobody volunteered and implemented a fix for #267018: Audio export: "Don't normalise" option or even #34321: Allow to disable normalization for audio export
In reply to I guess that's… by FreedomBuchanan
It's only starting moderate and building to loud if you happen to have your speakers set the you currently do, based on the fact that you were recently listening to playback within MuseScore. Again, no one listening to that MP3 file is going to have their speakers set based on that. They are going to have their speakers set based on the things they listen to. There is no way to force others to listen to music at the same volume level you do, nor would it be wise for such an option to exist.
In reply to It's only starting moderate… by Marc Sabatella
But in live playback, it sounds pretty much around what I want anywhere from 40-100% volume. At the upper range in volume it is a bit louder than I normally listen to it at, but it still gives the general effect that I want. On the other hand, the normalized mp3 starts off too loud sounding unless I put my volume down to at least 30% if not less. For the purpose of making an audio source for a score using certain soundfonts, I think it's perfectly reasonable to want an un-normalized mp3.
In reply to But in live playback, it… by FreedomBuchanan
Are you saying you often listen to your own exported audio but never expect anyone else to listen to them, then, and that's why considering the volume other people listen to music at isn't relevenat? Why bother exporting in that case?
In reply to Are you saying you often… by Marc Sabatella
I think the volume they listen at IS relevant. I want them to be able to hear it the way I hear it, because that's the way it's meant to be heard. I don't care if my piece is really quiet relative to other things that they are listening to because it's meant to be very quiet. I want to make an mp3 so that I can use it as an audio source for the score when I post it on the website.
In reply to I think the volume they… by FreedomBuchanan
Again, you won't be able to guarantee they hear it the same volume as you do, because you have no idea how loud their system volume is, how big their speakers are, what their listening environment is like, etc. For many different reasons, different people like to listen at different volumes. You might not care, but people won't generally like it if they have to turn up (or down) the volume on their computer just to hear your song at a volume consistent with how they generally like to listen. If you really want to force them to do that, you can use Audacity, but I strongly recommend against it. Normalization is universally done in the audio industry for good reason. Someday we may indeed provide an option to turn it off, but I will continue to storngly encourage people not to abuse it in this way.
In reply to Again, you won't be able to… by Marc Sabatella
That does make sense, but I've tried it on a few devices and on all of them it sounds approximately the same. Minor differences in volume, but nothing drastic. Obviously I can't guarantee the volume will be correct on all devices, but I can make a rough approximate that falls in a good middle-ground. I'll stop persisting on this since it's obviously not going anywhere, just keep in mind that there are special cases like me where pianissimo needs to actually mean pianissimo. Thanks for offering your time to discuss and explain the reasoning behind this problem.
In reply to I guess that's… by FreedomBuchanan
This is the big question. There's a checkbox for normalization, but it doesn't seem to do anything.
I've attached two identical files except for "YES NORMAL" has normalization checked and "NO NORMAL" does not. Both files export mp3s that are much louder (nearing distortion) than wav files or the playback in the app.
I believe Musescore is normalizing both.
In reply to This is the big question… by petercompo1
It should, unless the score already hits the peak nominal volume. Unchecked, your exported file should be artificially quiet compared to standard normalized audio. If you have a score where you believe this is t happening, please attach it.
In reply to It should, unless the score… by Marc Sabatella
Just attached in the original message
In reply to This is the big question… by petercompo1
There should not be distortion unless you have your own computer's sound turned up louder than your speakers can handle. But other people won't have their volume turned up that high. The whole point of normalization is to make things sound, well, normal. So that's how loud audio files are supposed to be, and then you would normally set your own speaker level relative to that.
Anyhow, I can confirm that the option to produce un-normalized audio does not seem to be working currently. Hopefully that's fixed for MuseScore 4. meanwhile, if you have a special need for un-normalized audio, the workaround of editing in a program like Audacity continues to exist.
Wanna decrease the volume of your mp3 before posting it on the web? Download https://download.cnet.com/Increase-or-Decrease-Volume-Of-Multiple-MP3-F…
Well, using volume automation feature of any popular DAW(Reaper, Cakewalk, etc.), you can manipulate(for the second time, easily, and more precisely) the dynamics of your MuseScore-exported Master Audio or Individual Instrument Audio. For example, you can have crescendo effect from measure1 beat3 to measure7 beat2, and a sudden ppp effect on measure7 beat3, and so on. DAW-exported audio would be your finished product.