Alternate to MuseChoir sound

• Feb 28, 2023 - 04:39
Reported version
4.0
Type
Functional
Frequency
Once
Severity
S5 - Suggestion
Reproducibility
Always
Status
active
Regression
Yes
Workaround
No
Project

The MuseChoir sounds are excellent for certain types of choral music, but most vocal textures are a bit more percussive, and MuseChoir by itself leaves something to be desired. The start of notes can be hard to distinguish because of the lack of a clear attack. Instruments such as a piano can offer the attack, but not the sustain of a vocal sound. Thus I often like using both a piano and voice sound when creating such parts.

I of course understand that MuseScore is not (at least for now) going to be able to recreate human singing/text. But wouldn't it be nice to have a better option for percussive vocal textures? My preference would be to have the ability to select multiple sounds in the mixer panel. (i.e. for a cappella scores, a grand piano and MuseChoir would be appropriate, but for piano-accompanied choir, a synth piano might be preferred in order to differentiate it from the actual piano part).

While it was still far from ideal, in MuseScore 3, I used to be able to create two instruments, one piano and one voice, with the exact same notes, and then hide on in the score in order to achieve this sound. Though quite far from ideal it would sometimes get the job done. However, in MuseScore 4, hiding an instrument also mutes it, so this is no longer a workaround (hence why I have marked this as a regression).

Here are three paths for improvement that I am suggesting:
1) Add the ability to choose multiple (perhaps up to two) sounds per instrument.
2) Add a new sound that offers a more percussive vocal sound.
3) Revert is back so that hiding an instrument doesn't automatically mute the instrument. (or at least doesn't lock it from being unmuted.)