Tuba sound
Hi everyone, I started writing a piece for brass band a while ago and was reasonably happy with the tuba sound but I just started writing another one for brass band and the tuba sound is now really different.
The pitch on playback is way too high and doesn't even produce a sound after C in the middle of the stave. I'm not really experienced with programs like this so not sure if I use the mixer or what. Are there different sound fonts I should download?
Thanks!
Comments
See also https://musescore.org/en/node/53906...
Please share the score, so we don't have to guess
In reply to See also by Jojo-Schmitz
Sorry yeah I'll share the score.
Does having it in treble clef affect it? As you can hear as soon as it goes above the C in the middle of the stave there's no sound.
Sidenote if I put it in the Eb tuba line it sounds exactly the same, I have concert pitch on.
https://musescore.com/user/1980321/scores/3752921
In reply to Sorry yeah I'll share the by Aaronvgp
Ok I think I found a solution. I can add soundfonts to the synthesizer and then I can select them in the mixer. This has fixed the sound issue.
Any reason notes in the Bb and Eb tuba sound exactly the same? As in if I put a C in both they're playing in unison?
Edit: The score posted has now changed because I saved it with the new soundfonts. For some reason it sounds like a piano now.
In reply to Ok I think I found a by Aaronvgp
There are a couple of things here.
1st, you have the notes in concert pitch, not transposed pitch so you expect every C to sound like a C in that case.
2nd, when you added, deleted or changed sound fonts, the instrument in the mixer changed to stereo grand (piano). Open the mixer (F10) to see that.
The original problem with the sound disappearing has to do with the very high tuba note that was not included in your initial sound font. There are treble clef tubas that are actually transposed, but you have not chosen one for your song. You are obviously more comfortable with the treble clef, so to put the tuba in a better register you probably want to look in the advanced palettes (the word basic at the bottom of the palettes is a dropdown) and change the treble clef to the one with the 8 below it and then select all the notes and press ctrl-down arrow to lower them to a more reasonable octave for the tuba. If you click the button at the top of the screen that says "concert pitch" you will see how high the tuba notes really are.
I'm going to guess that you imported the template (or the entire song) for this from another program because of a few thing I see in your instrument definitions. I would recommend that you right click the tuba staff and click the change instrument button and then "Change" them to the same instrument you already have, this will reset their definitions to the standard definitions and make everything work better for you. I would actually do this with all of the instruments. This will also properly assign instruments in the mixer.
In reply to There are a couple of things by mike320
Thanks! Yeah the score templates for SA general, festival and triumph series were in the first version of Musescore and because I'm in the salvation army I use them. That also explains why I prefer Tuba's in trebel clef lol.
I just noticed though that the key signatures for the Eb instruments are the same as the Bb instruments and I don't remember them doing that last time I created a new score (yeah it's been a while since I created a new score). This would go some way to explaining the same pitch I'm getting in the tubas. I just want my Bb tuba needing to be playing C and my Eb to be playing G to get the same playback sound.
I'm sure you're explaining things just fine, sorry I'm just a bit slow picking these things up.
In reply to Thanks! Yeah the score by Aaronvgp
I suggest you read everything I explained above to set up the instruments correctly. Once you do that you can save the score into the user templates folder listed under edit|preferences in the general tab. You can then use the score as a template in the future and all the settings will be ready for you.
I played the tuba, but it was always in the bass clef, so I'm not familiar with treble clef music notation. I am second guessing my suggestion about using the treble clef with the 8 below putting the notes in the correct position for a salvation army musician. If this is still written an octave high, you will need to use the treble clef with the 15 below it. That will put middle C on the tuba 2 ledger lines above the treble clef, I believe that is where you want it, since few tuba parts include middle C.
In reply to Ok I think I found a by Aaronvgp
Tubas are generally not transposing instruments - a C for a Bb tuba does indeed sound the same as a C for Eb tuba. Tuba players have to actually finger the note differently depending on which instrument they are playing. They are also normally written in bass clef. So the notes you wrote are actually way too high for tuba. Unless you meant to use the "British brass band" version of the tuba, which does indeed transpose and is written in treble clef. In that case, you need to select the treble clef / transposing version of the tuba when you create your score, as mentioned above.
In reply to Tubas are generally not by Marc Sabatella
Ok I think I had the concert pitch button on the wrong setting. If I hovered over it before or after I clicked it, it would say "display in concert pitch"either way. That's fixed everything being in the same key. Sorry for taking a while to get it all.