Getting MS Basic violin to play pizzicato?
For a string quartet score, when I assign a violin to be "Violin 1 (solo)" or "Violin 2 (solo)" and then have it switch to pizzicato at some point in the score using the text palette, it works great and the pizz sounds very good. But, I can't use those violin sounds because of the arbitrary volume changes described at https://musescore.org/en/node/364577. (I check whether the problem still exists with every point release, and it's still there in 4.5.1.)
If I select a violin using Soundfonts > MS Basic > Strings > Violin it sounds good and the random volume changes don't happen, but the switch to pizzicato mentioned above gets ignored. Is there a different way to switch to pizz for these?
I am using Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS with MS 4.5.1.
Comments
Using the default sound font (MS Basic) and making no other changes to the score, adding the pizz. and the arco markings works for me in this test score.
20250413 203518 - pizzicato.mscz
Use Violin Solo 2 for both parts. The titles are not desks, but playing styles. Also, there are sound flags that help even out things. Try a few of them. Post a part of a score and I'll try some settings. And see what you think.
In reply to Use Violin Solo 2 for both… by bobjp
Thanks! I have been trying both Violin Solo 1 and Violin Solo 2 for these.
I realized that in my original demo of uneven volume at https://musescore.org/en/node/364577, the slurs are not affecting the volume; notes on the "and" beat seem to be the louder ones. You will see a demo attached there.
A sound flag of nonvib made the volume even, so it seems like my problem is solved, but I have a hard time setting a sound flag. With the MuseScore Violin Solo 2 instrument, I add text to a note, I see the little speaker icon, I click that as per https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/sound-flags, and the icon almost always just goes away.
A few times when it did show the sound flag popup I tried "Normal" and then "nonvib" and that's how I learned that nonvib helped with the uneven volume problem. This is with MuseScore 4.5.1; I went back to see if I had the same sound flag problem with 4.4.3 and I did. I tried all the combinations of shift clicking, Ctrl, and Alt on the speaker icon and I cannot figure out how I got that popup to appear when it did.
Have you ever heard of any problems with the sound flag speaker icon like this?
In reply to Thanks! I have been trying… by bobdc
Here's what I've noticed.
Solo Violin 1. The sound flag list is different from Solo 2. For violin 1, nonvib does even out the volume, but it also takes away the character of the sound. Try non legato or espressivo instead. I know it seems counter intuitive.
Solo Violin 2. There is no espressivo setting. I wonder why. Also, in Violin 1, changing flag text will replace the text. In Violin 2, trying to change text just adds the new text. Rather than replace it. It seems you must delete the flag and re-enter it and set the text you want.
In reply to Here's what I've noticed… by bobjp
Thanks bobjp! (And TheHutch). I figured out a workaround with my sound flag problem: once the speaker icon appears, if I click anywhere on the document and drag it even the tiniest bit to reposition it, then clicking on the speaker icon will display the sound flag list. If I don't move the document first it won't appear; I guess moving the document re-renders the icon to include something that wasn't there for me the first time.
It looks like Solo Violin 2 with a sound flag of nonvib gives me a good sound with even volume and lets me switch back and forth to pizz. (When I switch back from pizz, I use a nonvib sound flag and change its text to "arco".)
This is huge for me, because since I mostly write string quartets these problems were making me stay with MuseScore 3, but after upgrading my Ubuntu machine to 24.04.2 I found out that MuseScore 3 doesn't work with Ubuntu 24, so I thought I was really stuck. I'm looking forward to hearing how my pieces sound on MS4!