A new idea for a different soundfont with better samples for MuseScore
Ok. Let's say that I'm enjoying writing music in MuseScore. But the soundfont "FluidR3" is NOT good at all. Every single instrument doesn't sound completely in tune. The notes in every instrument sound awful!
Maybe during the next up-date, I have an idea. Maybe the person that owns MuseScore might make a better soundfont that has better samples. I will give you a list of instruments and where they came from to use for this different soundfont.
Piano
1 Acoustic Grand Piano - From SGM-v2.01
2 Bright Acoustic Piano - From GeneralUser GS
3 Electric Grand Piano - From GeneralUser GS
4 Honky-tonk Piano - From GeneralUser GS
5 Electric Piano 1 - From SGM-v2.01
6 Electric Piano 2 - From SGM-v2.01
7 Harpsichord - From the 440Hz Version of my Baroque Instruments Soundfont
8 Clavinet - From SGM-v2.01
Chromatic Percussion
9 Celesta - From GeneralUser GS
10 Glockenspiel - From GeneralUser GS
11 Music Box - From GeneralUser GS
12 Vibraphone - From GeneralUser GS
13 Marimba - From SGM-v2.01
14 Xylophone - From SGM-v2.01
15 Tubular Bells - From Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra
16 Dulcimer - From GeneralUser GS
Organ
17 Drawbar Organ - From GeneralUser GS
18 Percussive Organ - From SGM-v2.01
19 Rock Organ - From GeneralUser GS
20 Church Organ - From Compifont
21 Reed Organ - From GeneralUser GS
22 Accordion - From GeneralUser GS
23 Harmonica - From GeneralUser GS
24 Tango Accordion - From SGM-v2.01
Guitar
25 Acoustic Guitar (nylon) - From GeneralUser GS
26 Acoustic Guitar (steel) - From GeneralUser GS
27 Electric Guitar (jazz) - From GeneralUser GS
28 Electric Guitar (clean) - From GeneralUser GS
29 Electric Guitar (muted) - From GeneralUser GS
30 Overdriven Guitar - From SGM-v2.01
31 Distortion Guitar - From SGM-v2.01
32 Guitar Harmonics - From SGM-v2.01
Bass
33 Acoustic Bass - From GeneralUser GS
34 Electric Bass (finger) - From SGM-v2.01
35 Electric Bass (pick) - From SGM-v2.01
36 Fretless Bass - From SGM-v2.01
37 Slap Bass 1 - From SGM-v2.01
38 Slap Bass 2 - From GeneralUser GS
39 Synth Bass 1 - From SGM-v2.01
40 Synth Bass 2 - From GeneralUser GS
Strings
41 Violin - From My Orchestra Soundfont
42 Viola - From My Orchestra Soundfont
43 Cello - From My Orchestra Soundfont
44 Contrabass - From GeneralUser GS
45 Tremolo Strings - From SGM-v2.01
46 Pizzicato Strings - From Compifont
47 Orchestral Harp - From My Orchestra Soundfont
48 Timpani - From Compifont
Ensemble
49 String Ensemble 1 - From SGM-v2.01
50 String Ensemble 2 - From GeneralUser GS
51 Synth Strings 1 - From SGM-v2.01
52 Synth Strings 2 - From SGM-v2.01
53 Choir Aahs - From Compifont
54 Voice Oohs - From SGM-v2.01
55 Synth Choir - From GeneralUser GS
56 Orchestra Hit - From GeneralUser GS
Brass
57 Trumpet - From My Orchestra Soundfont
58 Trombone - From My Orchestra Soundfont
59 Tuba - From My Orchestra Soundfont
60 Muted Trumpet - From GeneralUser GS
61 French Horn - From GeneralUser GS
62 Brass Section - From Compifont
63 Synth Brass 1 - From Compifont
64 Synth Brass 2 - From Compifont
Reed
65 Soprano Sax - From GeneralUser GS
66 Alto Sax - From SGM v2-01
67 Tenor Sax - From GeneralUser GS
68 Baritone Sax - From SGM v2-01
69 Oboe - From Compifont
70 English Horn - From My Orchestra Soundfont
71 Bassoon - From Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra
72 Clarinet - From Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra
Pipe
73 Piccolo - From My Orchestra Soundfont
74 Flute - From SGM-v2.01
75 Recorder - From the 440Hz Version of my Baroque Instruments Soundfont
76 Pan Flute - From SGM-v2.01
77 Blown bottle - From GeneralUser GS
78 Shakuhachi - From GeneralUser GS
79 Whistle - From GeneralUser GS
80 Ocarina - From SGM-v2.01
Synth Lead
81 Lead 1 (square) - From SGM-v2.01
82 Lead 2 (sawtooth) - From SGM-v2.01
83 Lead 3 (calliope) - From SGM-v2.01
84 Lead 4 (chiff) - From SGM-v2.01
85 Lead 5 (charang) - From SGM-v2.01
86 Lead 6 (voice) - From SGM-v2.01
87 Lead 7 (fifths) - From SGM-v2.01
88 Lead 8 (bass + lead) - From SGM-v2.01
Synth Pad
89 Pad 1 (new age) - From SGM-v2.01
90 Pad 2 (warm[disambiguation needed]) - From GeneralUser GS
91 Pad 3 (polysynth) - From SGM-v2.01
92 Pad 4 (choir) - From SGM-v2.01
93 Pad 5 (bowed) - From SGM-v2.01
94 Pad 6 (metallic) - From SGM-v2.01
95 Pad 7 (halo) - From SGM-v2.01
96 Pad 8 (sweep) - From SGM-v2.01
Synth Effects
97 FX 1 (rain) - From GeneralUser GS
98 FX 2 (soundtrack) - From GeneralUser GS
99 FX 3 (crystal) - From GeneralUser GS
100 FX 4 (atmosphere) - From GeneralUser GS
101 FX 5 (brightness) - From GeneralUser GS
102 FX 6 (goblins) - From GeneralUser GS
103 FX 7 (echoes) - From GeneralUser GS
104 FX 8 (sci-fi) - From GeneralUser GS
Ethnic
105 Sitar - From GeneralUser GS
106 Banjo - From GeneralUser GS
107 Shamisen - From GeneralUser GS
108 Koto - From GeneralUser GS
109 Kalimba - From GeneralUser GS
110 Bagpipe - From GeneralUser GS
111 Fiddle - From SGM-v2.01
112 Shanai - From GeneralUser GS
Percussive
113 Tinkle Bell - From GeneralUser GS
114 Agogo - From GeneralUser GS
115 Steel Drums - From GeneralUser GS
116 Woodblock - From GeneralUser GS
117 Taiko Drum - From GeneralUser GS
118 Melodic Tom - From GeneralUser GS
119 Synth Drum - From GeneralUser GS
120 Reverse Cymbal - From GeneralUser GS
Sound effects
121 Guitar Fret Noise - From Compifont
122 Breath Noise - From GeneralUser GS
123 Seashore - From GeneralUser GS
124 Bird Tweet - From GeneralUser GS
125 Telephone Ring - From Compifont
126 Helicopter - From GeneralUser GS
127 Applause - From GeneralUser GS
128 Gunshot - From GeneralUser GS
Percussion
35 Bass Drum 2 - From Compifont
36 Bass Drum 1 - From Compifont
37 Side Stick/Rimshot - From Compifont
38 Snare Drum 1 - From Compifont
39 Hand Clap - From Compifont
40 Snare Drum 2 - From Compifont
41 Low Tom 2 - From Compifont
42 Closed Hi-hat - From Compifont
43 Low Tom 1 - From Compifont
44 Pedal Hi-hat - From Compifont
45 Mid Tom 2 - From Compifont
46 Open Hi-hat - From Compifont
47 Mid Tom 1 - From Compifont
48 High Tom 2 - From Compifont
49 Crash Cymbal 1 - From Compifont
50 High Tom 1 - From Compifont
51 Ride Cymbal 1 - From Compifont
52 Chinese Cymbal - From Compifont
53 Ride Bell - From Compifont
54 Tambourine - From Compifont
55 Splash Cymbal - From Compifont
56 Cowbell - From Compifont
57 Crash Cymbal 2 - From Compifont
58 Vibra Slap - From Compifont
59 Ride Cymbal 2 - From Compifont
60 High Bongo - From Compifont
61 Low Bongo - From Compifont
62 Mute High Conga - From Compifont
63 Open High Conga - From Compifont
64 Low Conga - From Compifont
65 High Timbale - From Compifont
66 Low Timbale - From Compifont
67 High Agogô - From Compifont
68 Low Agogô - From Compifont
69 Cabasa - From Compifont
70 Maracas - From Compifont
71 Short Whistle - From Compifont
72 Long Whistle - From Compifont
73 Short Güiro - From Compifont
74 Long Güiro - From Compifont
75 Claves - From Compifont
76 High Wood Block - From Compifont
77 Low Wood Block - From Compifont
78 Mute Cuíca - From Compifont
79 Open Cuíca - From Compifont
80 Mute Triangle - From Compifont
81 Open Triangle - From Compifont
What I listed, most samples are from GeneralUser GS, SGM-v2.01, and Compifont. Some are from my Baroque Instruments Soundfont, Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra, and My Orchestra soundfont.
Please comment below for questions and concerns.
Good luck.
Comments
Hi Arianna,
Nobody owns MuseScore.
MuseScore is made by a community of developers. The entire recipe to create MuseScore is available online and everyone can change MuseScore as she sees fit if she respects the license. MuseScore licence is GPLv2. In short, anyone can modify MuseScore but should release the changes to anyone under the GPLv2. You can modify MuseScore if you want, you can contribute.
It's exactly the same for a soundfont. MuseScore can only be distributed with soundfont under a free license. If not, it could mean that a song saved to audio will not be the only property of the user who created it or it would be impossible to sell such an audio file, or to share it without condition. So, to create a new soundfont, we need free samples or soundfonts available under a free license. FluidR3_GM might have all the default in your eyes, but it's released under the MIT license. Anyone can use it to create audio without the fear to do anything illegal.
So for each soundfont you listed, we need license information. For each sample you used in "my Baroque Instruments Soundfont", we need to know where they come from and who created it and if she licensed it under a permissive licence.
For example GeneralUser GS, by S Christian Collins, includes a LICENSE.txt which states "You may use GeneralUser GS without restriction for your own music creation, private or commercial. This SoundFont bank is provided to the community free of charge. Please feel free to use it in your software projects, and to modify the SoundFont bank or its packaging to suit your needs." which is pretty clause to what we need. I believe we could use samples from GeneralUserGS.
Sonatina Symphony Orchestra page says SSO is a free (as in speech, and beer) library released under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus 1.0 license.. It's a bit cumbersome because Mattias Westlund should be credited for every use of the samples (The wording of the license if "must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor", he didn't mention any, so we could probably skip this, SSO would be ok too).
What about the others? Can you help gathering license information?
In reply to Hi Arianna, Nobody owns by [DELETED] 5
Listen. I have created the Baroque Instruments Soundfont and my own orchestra soundfont. But the other soundfonts like GeneralUser GS, Compifont, and SGM, I didn't create these.
In reply to Listen. I have created the by Arianna2001
Yes, I understand that. But even for your Baroque instruments and Orchestra soundfont. Where are the samples from? It might not sound like it, but I'm really trying to help. If we want better sound (whatever that mean) in MuseScore 3, we will all need to work together to create one soundfont made from public domain or MIT licensed samples. So it's very important to know the origin of each sample and who put them together in the final soundfont.
In reply to Yes, I understand that. But by [DELETED] 5
Well, for my Baroque Instruments Soundfont, I actually used some of the most samples from GeneralUser GS, Soni Musicae, Some trumpet and horn samples from Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra, some from the Yamaha soundfont, and removed the added vibrato. I also borrowed some double bass samples from FluidR3, I recorded some Violin Samples on my violin, because I tuned it to 415Hz, then recorded some Viola da gamba samples from another musician that plays a viola da gamba.
For my orchestra soundfont, I used different .sf2 instruments from different soundfonts, since I didn't even have a real orchestra myself.
For Example: Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra, Squidfont Orchestral, Bellatrix Orchestra soundfont, etc.
For the 2nd Violin Solo, I recorded a fully chromatic scale on my violin and edited these samples into one soundfont, The Viola samples I used for the Viola Solo were from the Philharmonia Orchestra Samples. And so on.
So now you know what I mean.
In reply to Well, for my Baroque by Arianna2001
Please try to keep a list of all the samples you use, where they come from and which license they use. For your own samples, if you share them, attach a license to them if you want people to be able to reuse them in other soundfonts. You can use the CC0 license or the MIT license.
In reply to Hi Arianna, Nobody owns by [DELETED] 5
Oh, And did I forgot about my own Baroque Instruments SoundFont, I forgot to put the license to this SoundFont. So I will say that the SoundFont I created is a Creative Commons Zero License like SSO: https://musescore.org/en/node/111366, and The Brandenburg SoundFont I created is also Creative Commons Zero: https://musescore.org/en/node/141261, Even my own orchestra soundfont: https://musescore.org/en/node/125651
Aside from licensing, another problem is that taste in soundfont is subjective. I realize a minority of users don't like FluidR3, but most of us find it far better than any of the alternatives that are usually mentioned as possible replacements. In particular, while GeneralUSer GS does an admirable job given its much smaller size, to me it is very inferior in almost every instrument you are proposing using it for. There are indeed a few sounds in a few soundfonts here and there that I do find better, but almost none of these are freely licensed and thus could not be used.
In reply to Aside from licensing, another by Marc Sabatella
Ok ok ok ok!!! Let's just say that everyone doesn't like FluidR3, when you guys do. You know what? I don't really like FluidR3 at all!!!
I wish that MuseScore would use a different soundfont than FluidR3. However, what I posted, you guys are right.
Arianna, thank you for all the hard work you have done in putting together this list of samples.
Unfortunately, as Lasconic has already said, there are licensing issues with most of the soundfonts you have listed here.
FluidR3 has many problems. Some of them are at sample level, which is why I am engaged in the task of tracking down, or recording if necessary, suitably licensed samples to replace those which require it,
There are also other problems, however, such as envelopes not being set right, key tracking not being set properly, pannings set wrong, and a multitude of other minutiae which require attention.
The task is enormous, and currently I am the only person working on this. Unfortunately, paid work often interferes with the process, and so the time I can devote to it is limited.
If you are interested in improving MuseScore's default sounds (and obviously you are, otherwise you wouldn't have posted this message), perhaps you would like to join me in the task?
I'm not entirely sure the future of MuseScore's sounds lies in the SF2 format, given the outstanding work hpfmn has been doing for the Google Summer of Code project, (apart from anything else the GM2 standard we work to isn't really flexible enough for our needs) but it will be supported for the foreseeable future. That is a topic for discussion elsewhere, however.
In reply to Arianna, thank you for all by ChurchOrganist
Thanks for this reply.
Of course. I would like to join you in the task. Right now I'm working on this soundfont in Polyphone.
In reply to Thanks for this reply. Of by Arianna2001
I am really inspired by each comment i read here, it shows how committed some of you are in developing musescore for free and benefits of others. How I wish i am a software developer, I would contribute my quota also. it is surprising to me to read that musescore is not owned by anyone but developed by committed people like you. May God bless your effort and enrich you in all ramifications of life.
I am glad to be a beneficiary of this wonderful software, and the response I have received so far from some of you, as regard what I dont understand had been so wonderful. I will keep on using the software and contribute to its development by making useful suggestions. Thank you all.