Musescore 3 playback randomly changing the volume of the fundamental low notes on the piano
Hmm I think I've found a really weird bug in the Musescore 3 playback.
Sometimes it seems to be lowering the volume of notes in the lowest octave of the piano at random.
In a certain piece I'm composing, the piano plays big octaves in the bass and it seems to be muting the lowest note or at least lowering its volume the second beat of that measure (encircled in red) even though the dynamics are identical on both hits.
When I played it back in Musescore itself it didn't mute the same beat but it muted (the same note in) the first two beats of the measure after it... (Encircled in yellow)
So it seems to be something really random. I don't know if this is a bug or intentional to make it sound somewhat more human or something (which it does not)
I am running version 3.2.0.7410
[I have changed the title and text to better describe the issue I'm having]
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| What's_That_.mscz | 26.95 KB |
| BP_Whats_That_Issue.zip | 155.1 KB |
Comments
If you attach your score and tell which soundfont you are using and which instrument you have assigned to it in the mixer it would be easier to see what's happening.
In reply to If you attach your score and… by mike320
You're right. It's just the regular Musescore soundfont playing the Grand Piano. I have attached the file to the original post.
In reply to You're right. It's just the… by Dazzyls
Using 3.2.3 (the latest version) I'm clearly hearing all of the low notes you say are not being played. I thought perhaps it was because you use CC2 for dynamics playback, but I tested that also and it works fine with that also. Try upgrading to 3.2.3 and see if it's fixed on your system.
BTW, the regular soundfont is not a good answer, so I also tested it with both MuseScore_General and MuseScore_General_HQ and had no problems hearing the notes with either dynamics method.
In reply to Using 3.2.3 (the latest… by mike320
I have updated my Musescore to the latest version and it's still happening. I've noticed it's not as much omitting the notes as just... it actually sounds like a high-pass EQ is being applied on those two notes I encircled with a yellow line.
Also I was using MuseScore_General and I cannot find MuseScore_General_HQ anywhere
In reply to I have updated my Musescore… by Dazzyls
Using MuseScore_General.sf3, does this have any muted notes?
What's_That_.2mscz.mscz
If yes, which ones?
In reply to Using MuseScore_General.sf3,… by Jm6stringer
That's interesting. It only occured in the second measure on the octaves in the bass on the first two beats. It did never occur when just one note was played in the bass.
Also, I found out it does not fully mute the notes. It actually just makes the fundamental more quiet for some reason. I added an mp3 file in a zip folder to the original post in which I singled out the frequency of the fundamental with a band-pass EQ inside a DAW.
If you turn up the volume and play close attention, you can hear that the second beat sounds more quiet than the other beats.
In reply to That's interesting. It only… by Dazzyls
OK...
Open the Mixer, change the patch from "Piano" to "Square Lead" (to get a different waveform) and listen again.
Any difference?
In reply to I have updated my Musescore… by Dazzyls
The ...HQ can be downloaded in the resource manager and is required for the expressive channels for CC2 dynamics playback to work properly.
You are hearing overtones that are made as a result of the synthesizer and your system. This happens from time to time on most systems and can't be avoided.
In reply to The ...HQ can be downloaded… by mike320
Single Note Dynamics work with the defailt soundfont too
In reply to The ...HQ can be downloaded… by mike320
Right, the HQ soundfont isn't needed in order for any feature to work - anything that works with HQ also works with the default. HQ just has some better quality sounds for a handful of instruments (strings, mostly) and some other internal improvements.
In reply to The ...HQ can be downloaded… by mike320
It seems to be affecting the volume of the fundamental though, not the overtones. When I apply a band stop with an EQ on the fundamental in a recording, each hit sounds exactly the same, but when I apply a band pass on that same frequency, it (the fundamental) is noticably quiter on the second hit.
In reply to It seems to be affecting the… by Dazzyls
I have included the band-passed version here as an mp3 file in a zip folder and you can hear a very clear difference in volume on the second beat.
In reply to I have included the band… by Dazzyls
...you can hear a very clear difference in volume on the second beat.
You can also 'see' it: perhaps some sort of soundfont anomaly.
![Second_beat.png]( "Second_beat.png")
In reply to ...you can hear a very clear… by Jm6stringer
Yeah I know but since music is an auditory artform I thought about hearing it before seeing lol.
Anyway the weird thing is that it happens on the second beat when I export it, but it happens on the 5th and 6th beat in Musescore itself... no matter if I restart it or something.
In reply to Yeah I know but since music… by Dazzyls
Some people can't detect slight volume differences as well as a signal processor can.
Try this just for fun:
https://www.audiocheck.net/blindtests_level.php?lvl=1
Did you try "Square Lead" as mentioned above?
In reply to Some people can't detect… by Jm6stringer
I just tried it with a sine wave, square wave, celesta and marimba. None of them had the issue I was experiencing when using the Grand Piano.
In reply to I just tried it with a sine… by Dazzyls
OK,,, so try another piano... or another soundfont.
You have noted that it only occurred on octaves and that It did never occur when just one note was played in the bass.
Digital samples are a close approximation to analog. The higher the bitrate, the closer it gets.
Sound waveforms are additive, so a bunch of simultaneous notes of various frequencies can sometimes amplify, sometimes attenuate the signal.
A real world use case of this phenomenon is listening to the frequency of 'beats' (i.e., periodic variations in volume) when tuning a piano.
Regards.