Choir alternative
I write vocal parts I like to have a good sounding playback. Nobodies gonna play my stuff and I'm fine with it. I like to be able to show people my stuff. However, when it comes to vocal parts on playback. The choir soundfont sucks. It muddies the mix. It's full of reverb to the point it's kind of hard to hear the melody. I typically use Trumpet if the arrangement already has a Trumpet it just doesn't stand out as well. There's so many choices. I want to know what other people think is a good alternative. Because I want to know if there's one I might like more and what other people find more listenable.
Comments
Try different instruments. Which ones depends on what other ones you are using.
If you aren't going to use a vocal font, consider not writing for voice.
Turn off the vocal reverb in the mixer.
Please post part of a score that is a problem for you.
In reply to Try different instruments… by bobjp
I like to, I just don't like the default sound. I sometimes use Clarinet, Flute, Synth sounds. I also write lead sheets in which case I sometimes just use the default piano in the template. But it doesn't always sustain super well. Something that bothers me is that when I upload scores to the website the meta data info comes from the soundfont rather than the score. So if I change the vocal soundfont to Trumpet it'll say it has a Trumpet part rather than a vocal part.
In reply to I like to, I just don't like… by cavinlee
Change it to Trumpet in the Staff/Part properties... dialog. This will change the Long instrument name and Short instrument name to "Trumpet" and "Tpt.", respectively. So, change the ... instrument name fields back to "Voice" or "Tenor" or whatever you want ... even nothing.
Personally, I use Oboe, Harmonica, and Trombone. They sound, to my ear, most like actual human voices (of the non-Voice sounds). When I need a fourth and fifth sound, I use Saxophone, Bassoon, and/or Tuba, but I don't really like them ... I simply haven't found anything better.
So, if I had a full SATBB chorus, I would use ...
Soprano - Oboe
Alto - Harmonica
Tenor - Trombone or Tenor Saxophone
Baritone - Baritone Saxophone or Trombone
Bass - Bassoon or Tuba
With one of these collections of instruments (or a similar collection), you can identify by ear which voice range is singing which note, even within the full mix ... especially if you pan them a bit. And you can actually hear the eighth and sixteenth notes without them being covered over by vibrato.
In reply to Change it to Trumpet in the… by TheHutch
We each have to do what we must. And yet I'm not sure I can think of a less musical sounding combination than oboe and harmonica. I just tried it and while the definition was there, it was a painful experience.
Personally, nothing gets the point of my vocal music across like a vocal font. Is it Perfect. No. But saxophones don't blend together the same way voices do. A full choir sounds so much better than woodwinds playing choir music. You can't write for string quartet the same way you would write for brass quartet.
I've been both a choir member and director. Both before and after notation software. It's entirely possible to get people recordings of their own part without subbing instruments.
And as far as posting something that has vocal parts but don't use vocal sounds? How can anyone understand what is supposed to happen.
You can turn off reverb and add the non vibrato staff text. Those things help some.
And one last thing. Composers have always been limited by what they are writing for. A pipe organ can't do what an orchestra can. A banjo can't do what a glass harmonica can. A Jr. High band doesn't sound like an orchestra. These are all different. You wouldn't write the same thing for all of them. I see notation software scores all the time where the composer thinks they should be able to write whatever they want, and get frustrated when they can't. Composers have always written within the scope of the medium. Though sometimes push at the limits. My point is that if I come up with something that the vocal fonts can't do, I have two choices: I can change the instrument to sax. Or I can just write something that does work. I get to make that choice. Though actually there is only one choice for me.
Transcription is a whole other ball game. Fortunately for me I have no interest in that.
In reply to We each have to do what we… by bobjp
This is an interesting discussion as I have plugged in the following question in Google search: "which instrument sounds closest to a soprano, alto, tenor and bass in a choir?" . The answer came out as the following: "In terms of vocal range and timbre, the instrument that most closely resembles a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass in a choir would be the violin family - specifically, the violin for soprano, viola for alto, cello for tenor, and double bass for bass; as the violin family has a wide range and can closely mimic the human voice quality.
Explanation:
Soprano: The highest range in a choir, similar to the high register of a violin.
Alto: A lower female voice, aligning with the middle range of a viola.
Tenor: The highest male voice in a choir, comparable to the cello's middle range.
Bass: The lowest male voice, matching the deep sound of a double bass."
So, is this a fact or opinion? I wonder what Google's Generative AI bases their data off of.
I have owned both synthesizers and samplers. When I was younger, I used to think I could get a realistic piano out of a synthesizer, however I later learned that's the improper instrument to get realistic sounds from. Samplers are more accurate, however a real instrument IS the best if you want the true effects they have. The nuances, acoustic effects, expressions...they are all part of the acoustics of that real instrument.
For example, Muse Drumline, as great as it is, I can tell is not real just by the way it sounds. And, I've been in a full Drumline before. I know what sounds right! My high school band director told me "what sounds good, is good"!
And by the way, did anyone know that a Pipe Organ is really a synthesizer? A real pipe organ has that, along with the effects and acoustics of the speakers. Not to mention all the buttons and combinations they can hit within a split second! Organ players use saved presets, thus enabling the instant playing of most sounds.