How do I offset an instrument just a bit, so it plays a few milliseconds after another instrument ( gives reality to the musicians)??

• Mar 17, 2025 - 16:35

Hi all: I have never used offsets before. Maybe it is time. I am adapting a new song to Musescore 3.62, and the flute is playing a hairs-breath after the singer. Can I offset the flute just a tiny bit to the right for a run of measures to mimic the musicians in the orchestra? If so, how? Thanks in advance

Frank


Comments

I would be thrilled on the day MuseScore 4 gets the options:

    • to delay a "track" (in milliseconds)
    • to prelay a "track" (in milliseconds)

Use cases

1) As in your situation, sometimes note onset in a library is too soon or too late. Depending on the library there may be a push/pull setting (for instance, I frequently see that option in Kontakt libraries.) In the absence of that, AND in addition to that, we should have a +/- ms property via a Mixer plugin.

2) There is little realism in all instruments playing at precisely the same time. Setting a temporal spread between instruments will make score playback lighter and clearer. Everything all at once is mud. Whenever a DAW project sounds heavy I set:

    • the melody front most
    • then I delay any harmony
    • I further delay the chords
    • I further delay the bass
    • And generally, I set the percussion the furthest back

Works like a charm.

scorster

In reply to by scorster

So if I understand both your comments, Musescore's virtual player has no way to delay a track by a few milliseconds to mimic the true sound of live musicians? If so, that really is a bummer. Surely there must be a way! I am totally not familiar with DAW's and honestly don't want to get into them, even though they can delay tracks if you know how to play with them. There really is no work-through or plugin in Musescore? Ugh! Does Polyphone enable me to do so someway? (it is able to open a. .sf2 file and play with it). Is there perhaps a plugin I can use in Musescore?

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