Bad Playback in version 3.1.0 Stable (May 28, 2019)
Sections of the score, especially the last two pages, play with massive sound dropouts. This score worked in version 3.0 and the problem manifested from 3.1.0 Release Candidate to 3.1.0 Stable. Would be helpful if Musescore could determine if score is corrupted. I don't know that a corrupt score could cause dropouts.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| M31 STABLE - Stravinsky - Les Noces.mscz | 166.4 KB |
Comments
I downloaded your score and played it through to the end without any problem.
But then, when pressing F4 to close the score, MuseScore crashed. MS 3.1 did not report any corruption when initially opening the file, but the crash behaviour does look suspicious.
In reply to I downloaded your score and… by DanielR
I pressed F4 with the score loaded and it seemed to close okay without crashing. If you ddin't hear any dropouts (I have linked to a wav file of the score on the next comment below) then the various problems may be hardware related, in other words, different rigs manifest different problems.
Can you give us precise steps to reproduce the problem you are perceiving?
In reply to Can you give us precise… by Marc Sabatella
Here's an audio file of the score on Google Drive. It was made using Audacity to record the score as MuseScore was playing it.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jchpPbkq1RPwirjnTw6qBCHb98oDVCIr
You can skip ahead to 3:15 and 7:00. You'll hear the drop outs. The steps to reproduce on my rig every time are simply to load the score and press play.
OS: Windows 10 (10.0), Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore version (64-bit): 3.1.0.7078, revision: e26f7c4
Motherboard: Gigabyte H81M- HD2
Memory: 16GB
Soundcard: ASUS Xonar DX
In reply to Here's an audio file of the… by [DELETED] 29378932
UPDATE: This thing seems to have resolved by itself. I'm convinced it's a hardware issue. Time to do a memory check and definitely replace the sound card (it's quite old).
In reply to UPDATE: This thing seems to… by [DELETED] 29378932
UPDATE 2: Nope, problem came back, but is now resolved for sure. Mike320 suggested I look at the Dynamics tab in Synthesizer. I tried a bunch of combinations of Dynamics Method, CC to Use, Switch all patches, and nothing worked. Then for the hell of it I went to Edit > Preferences. PortAudio was checked, and I saw that the API was MME and the Device was Stereo Mix (Asus Xonar DX Audio) with a few other options. Since I don't know what the hell all that means I clicked on API for starters. I saw "ASIO" and decided to click on that. The Device now had only one option: Xonar DX ASIO(64). That looked like it was good to me so I left it and restarted MuseScore. When I loaded and played the score, all notes sounded, everything worked fine except that now the volume was extremely loud making my headphones crackle. I tried the volume control on the taskbar and it didn't work. Then I went to the mixer. This is where the mixer now acted like a real mixer. All the sliders were set to above 100. I reset the sliders, some to 100, some to 75, etc. Also reset the Master Gain slider in Mixer to a lower value. My hardware settings in MuseScore Preferences and volume settings in Mixer were wrong. It worked for a while....and then the notes went missing again. That's it - I'm changing this soundcard.
In reply to UPDATE 2: Nope, problem is… by [DELETED] 29378932
If you closed then reopened the score, it's possible you found a known bug that is expected to be fixed in the next release #290147: Mixer not remembering changes in the channels. Also, you did not mention the master volume in the Synthesizer. You should check if it is at a decent level.
In reply to If you closed then reopened… by mike320
Ok, I checked the volume slider in the Synthesizer. It is set in the middle, to 40dB. I played the score while manipulating that slider. The volume went up and down okay, but I still heard crackles. I think my sound card is just too old to handle music of that magnitude.
In reply to Ok, I checked the volume… by [DELETED] 29378932
I'm trying to follow this thread. Odd that the main computer volume control had no effect. Red flag to me. Another red flag is the volume changes with different API's.
Some things to think about:
1. Check the manufacturer for updated drivers.
2. If your computer is newer than 5 years old and you suspect the sound card, try disabling it in device manager (or remove it from the computer). For testing purposes you don't need it, unless you have a specialized motherboard that has no on-board audio.
3. The API drivers you saw were MME, DS, and WASAPI. All Microsoft drivers that work with most applications. You need to try each one to see which works best with your system. Some might not work at all.
4. -1.00 is the default setting for the main volume fader in the mixer.
5. Do you use some kind of audio I/O device, or are your headphones plugged directly into the computer?
6. If you can bypass the sound card and things work, then you know what the problem is. But unless you are running heavy duty audio software with huge libraries, modern motherboards with on-board audio chips are fine.
7. Unless latency is a problem. Then a sound card and Asio drivers are the way to go.
8. Sometimes, not enough ram is a problem.
Just trying to throw several possibilities out there.
We know nothing about your setup or maintenance practices.
In reply to I'm trying to follow this… by bobjp
To address your last question first, my computer is setup to update the operating system automatically. I used to visit the ASUS website for updated Xonar drivers but as of yesterday the last driver update was in 2015. My computer RAM is maxed of at 16GB, which I feel still isn't enough as MuseScore grows in complexity. Latency is why I have a soundcard to begin with, I can't deal with it. My headphones run out of the soundcard. I'll try all those other combinations but dollars to dougnuts it's the soundcard. Ditching the motherboard might not be a bad idea too. Thanks!
In reply to To address your last… by [DELETED] 29378932
I run MuseScore on an older laptop with 8gb or ram. Seems to work fine. I enter notes via a mouse. I don't notice any latency problems. One of the great things about MuseScore is that you don't need a power house to run it. But you do need everything set up properly. In my case, I downloaded it and it worked right out the box. The only thing I had to deal with was page scaling for a large score. But everyone's system is different. Keep us posted on your trouble shooting progress.
In reply to I run MuseScore on an older… by bobjp
UPDATE: Still troubleshooting the issue by trying out various settings combinations. One thing I did notice: I usually start playback to hear the problem at rehearsal 41, and usually the problem (missing notes) starts at the 3rd eighth note of measure 326. BUT, if I start playback AT that measure, it will play okay until measure 329 with missing notes again. If I start playback at measure 329, it plays fine till the end. I think it ain't the soundcard. My score might be corrupted or something. I will keep checking the combinations and try other scores to compare. If they all do this, then it's either my computer or MuseScore itself. If it's just this score doing it, then my score is corrupt.
In reply to UPDATE: Still… by [DELETED] 29378932
Generally I'd expect this to just be a system resource issue - if you're low on RAM or CPU cycles the sound will be glitchy.
In reply to Generally I'd expect this to… by Marc Sabatella
Indeed. So while I had the browser open, I opened Musescore and loaded the score, then opened Task Manager and took a screenshot of CPU and memory resources. Nothing looks out of the ordinary that I know of. CPU doesn't look like it's being over taxed, memory used, with this browser, Musescore playing, and everything else that normally is loaded and running, is about 1/4 of total memory available. I have Task Manager View > Update Speed set at High.
In reply to Indeed. So while I had the… by [DELETED] 29378932
I got around to downloading your score. Indeed, parts drop out just as advertised. Playback is just as you say depending on where you start.
So, I switched to a different sound font. SSO in my case. All notes playback just as they should. No idea what conclusion to draw from that.
In reply to I got around to downloading… by bobjp
Okay, the soundfont I'm using is MuseScore_General.sf3 that comes with MuseScore3.1
The soundfont I will use is included with MuseScore2, which is also named MuseScore_General.sf3.
MuseScore2 Soundfont:
MuseScore_General.sf3 (7/30/2018)
MuseScore3.1 Soundfont:
MuseScore_General.sf3 (5/28/2019)
I renamed the M2 soundfont as MuseScore_General_M2.sf3 to prevent confusion when changing the soundfont in Synthesizer.
I loaded the M2 soundfont, and then removed the M3 soundfont.
Results:
Using the old soundfont, the music played as it should from rehearsal 41 to the end. Looks like the problem is the soundfont that ships with MuseScore 3.1 . Thank you for taking the time to help me and possibly 150 million other people! XD
In reply to Okay, the soundfont I'm… by [DELETED] 29378932
Hard to say. Still could be something in the score. On my computer, the trombone part was cutting out. With SSO, the trombone part was there but was so soft I could hardly hear it. Even though it is marked forte.
Was this a Mac you were having issues on? And how did you fix this issue again?
In reply to Was this a Mac you were… by dcgereski
No, not a Mac. It's a Windows 10 computer. As per the workaround by Bobjp, I switched the soundfont in Synthesizer, and I used the earlier soundfont used in MuseScore 2.3.2.
UPDATE: With the MuseScore 3.2 update, I was able to fix the problem (sort of) while using the soundfont that comes with 3.2. Edit > Preferences > I/O > Restart Audio and MIDI Devices does the trick for that particular session. Then after you close MuseScore, I would have to reset audio and MIDI again. I believe the earlier soundfont was simpler and so my soundcard drivers could handle it; however, as the soundfont becomes more complex (with single note dynamics and other doodads), my soundcard drivers break and must be reset. So I'm going back to my original theory that the soundcard needs to be upgraded as there are no further software updates for my card. It is very old as I've stated before. That button to reset audio and MIDI devices, that is a handy thing to have indeed.