Dynamic range of an instrument/project (MS 4.0)

• Feb 18, 2023 - 12:47

When transcribing a piece, I want to keep the dynamic instructions (pp, f etc.) of the original, but I think that the current mapping of those instructions to velocity and dynamic turn out rather extreme in playback, for my use/taste anyway.
For larger ensembles where some instruments are supposed to be louder than others, the dynamic contrast may be appropriate, but for smaller ensembles that share a common dynamic, e.g. a cappella choir or brass ensemble, I can hardly keep up adjusting the volume setting on my PC because I can only barely hear the pianissimo parts while the forte parts hurt my ears.

Current half-solution:
- Activate a Compressor plug-in to lower the dynamic range, adjust the overall volume in the mixer
This may help with the loudness, but not with the exaggerated articulation.
- Set the loudness/velocity values per-note
This is way more work than necessary.

Suggested solutions:
- Enable manual setting of the dynamic and velocity values for instances of dynamic instructions like mp, pp (which is planned already, I'm sure)
- Offer an advanced dynamic range setting (per-part or overall) where you can set the standard loudness/velocity value for specific dynamic instructions, maybe by dragging up and down a slider for the resp. instruction (see image). When two instructions are set, p and f for example, the others could be interpolated/extrapolated linearly or set to custom values if so desired.

I'm excited to hear what you think!

Attachment Size
Loudness_Velocity.png 14.23 KB

Comments

Or until things change, use dynamic markings. Even in paid notation software I have had to have two scores. One for real players and one for playback. Not a good solution for posting on .com, I know. I don't do that.

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