"Ghost" sound in background of Musescore 2 playback

• Mar 26, 2015 - 17:50

I have begun using Musescore 2. I like the playback instrument sounds better than version 1. However, I have noticed when I have put together a score for my ensemble (5 instruments, as in the attached file MSCZ sample file, written in concert pitch) and do a playback to check it, I hear a very high pitched "ghost" instrument in the background.

I have tried saving it, closing Musescore and reopening it to no avail. I was going to upload an MP3 example, but the system doesn't allow that extension. If anyone needs to hear it, I can place it on my website for access.

The sound I am getting is as if it is a clarinet sound that stays up in the C-D-E-F range above the staff, but I think it is a "ghost" sound of the trumpet part which is an octave lower than the sound I am hearing.

I have checked everything I know to check ... combed through the instrumentation in the XML file, but cannot find where this sound is coming from. It happens regularly. It interferes with my listening to the score to make sure I have arranged the parts with a good mix. I also use the playback to record an MP3 file of each of my scores for the ensemble to hear how the piece is arranged.

Anyone else had this problem. Any suggestions. Is it something that needs a bug report?

Thanks,

Frank McLeod
ISawTheLight-sample.mscz

Comments

• Mar 26, 2015 - 17:56

Thanks, JoJo ... first time to post ... didn't realize I had to upload and then click "insert" also. Also added the comment in the original post that it sound as if what I am hearing is a full octave above the trumpet part that is written ... kind of off in the background.

Frank

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• Mar 26, 2015 - 19:56

Is there a particular measure we should be listening to? I don't hear anything offhand. Could be some sort of audio illusion created by harmonics on your particualr sound card (audio equivalent of a "moire" pattern in digital images).

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• Mar 26, 2015 - 20:13

Thanks for checking it Marc. In measure 21, where the trumpet is holding over a whole note, it is very pronounced to me ... it is the same octave higher sound of the trumpet I am hearing elsewhere, but it stands out there.

If it is the harmonics on my sound card, then that is a good thing ... I'll be off to Best Buy and fix that quickly! :)

Thanks,

Frank

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• Mar 26, 2015 - 20:23

Playing around with it some more. It is definitely the trumpet voice only that is doing it. If I mute it, I do not get it. If I change the trumpet voice to another voice, I get it on some and not on others. If it were the harmonics on my sound board, would it not be more persistent? When listening to it, pitch-wise, it will sound correct ... because it is running a complete octave higher than the written trumpet part ... it is just a little weaker than the written part and is why I call it a "ghost" sound.

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• Mar 26, 2015 - 23:20

Well, no, I don't mean it's a flaw in your sound card. I mean, it's a natural byproduct of how acoustics work, where occasionally for whatever reason, certain overtones in certain sounds combine to create illusion of another sound. So the combination of the specific notes being played with the specific instrument being played at the specific relative volumes in the specific soundfont with the specific sound card played through the specific speakers you are listening with etc - these can occasionally combine to create the illusion of another sound that isn't really present. Change any one of these vriables and the illusion goes away.

So a new sound card doesn't make your system immune to this - it is, again, a perfect natural thing that sometimes happens with music. Changing the sound card might mean you don't hear it in this particular measure of this particular piece, but then you'll just hear it somewhere else.

Anyhow, I don't hear anything unusual at all in measure 21.

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• Mar 27, 2015 - 08:27

Is it possible that the sounds generated by the synth and the soundcard are more likely to be in-phase than a natural orchestra and, therefore, that overtones are more likely to be created?

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• Mar 27, 2015 - 13:09

To prove out what Marc was saying about specific situations, I took the same score and, using the mixer, muted out every instrument except the trumpet. By itself, the trumpet was clear and perfect. I added in one instrument at a time and all was fine until I added the tuba ... then I got the octave-higher trumpet overtone! However, just playing the trumpet and tuba together, there is no overtone.

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• Dec 4, 2019 - 20:39

Heh, I know this is awhile back, but I'm getting the same thing! I have a cello part that absolutely has a flute "ghost" overtone, and no matter what style of tone I switch to (in the mixer), it's there. Agreed it's probably purely a matter of soundcards/overtones, although it's there in every output I use (headphones, studio monitors, etc.). Not really carping about it, just reaffirming that it happens and you just live with it in case anyone's searching for a "solution" (I guess the "solution" is get it played with real people!).

But despite that, the little mixer that Musescore has is absolutely freaking incredible! Most of the sounds are awesome, and you can do a helluva lot of things with this little thing. I do love it.

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