midi file

• Sep 8, 2020 - 14:05

i export the first part of my symphony (dont judge it plz) to midi file, but end up like this (attached). All the instruments dont sound right and the whole thing is weird. What can i do?

Attachment Size
scem8108.mid 93.13 KB

Comments

We have no way of knowing what it is MEANT to sound like. Attach the .mscz file so that people can listen to both and compare. Also, what specific parts are wrong?

Also, what program are you using to play the MIDI file? Because of the very nature of MIDI, it is completely normal it will sound different in every program. It's not an audio format meant to capture all the details, it's more like a play piano roll that will sound different depending on what piano you play it on.

I exported my Musescore file with fermatas, and tempo changes and dynamics as a MIDI file to Mixcraft (DAW). First I added it as a "sound file", and nothing but notes exported over. But then I read I need to open it as "Open Project." Now, I get the Fermatas, tempo changes, but no dynamics. Is there a reason why a MIDI file cannot port over everything? In music, everything should be internationally standardized.

In reply to by Shirly Lyubomirsky

Hmm, maybe I have some idea what you mean. If you were taking advantage of the single note dynamics feature in MuseSciore, that's not based on "velocity" but on "control change" messages. So you won't hear your dynamics unless the program that plays your MIDI file responds to those same control change messages. Meaning, the info is all there, but not all programs will know how to use it. If your MIDI playback program doesn't understand how to do dynamics through control change message, then better to disable single note dynamics form within MuseScore.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

What do you mean by "single note dynamics " ?
Do you mean when i have "dynamic -crescendo- dynamic-decresendo -dynamic " to ""fade away"" a note?

Example mfppp
where f is under the note to fade and ppp is on a rest following the note?

So the fades won't be understood by the DAW?

The rest of the dynamics should export over in the MIDI to my DAW?

In reply to by Shirly Lyubomirsky

Single note dynamics refers to anything that involves changing volume of a single note - markings like fp, yes, but also just a simple cresendo on a whole note. MuseScore didn't support this until recently, because MIDI itself does not support it universally. The original MIDI specification was based on keyboard instruments, and it was just assumed that the volume of a note would be dependent on how hard you pressed the key and nothing else. Support for the idea of actually changing the volume of that note after the initial attack is not universal at all, and prior to last year, MuseScore was one of many that could not handle that.

Now that MuseScore does handle these single note dynamics, it means we no longer use velocity to control dynamics - we use control change messages instead - a different feature of MIDI than how it was originally conceived. That means the MIDI files we create won't work as expected in any program that expects dynamics to be controlled by velocity.

In MuseScore, single note dynamics are enabled by default for all instruments that are actually physically capable of it - flute, trumpets, and violins yes, piano no, etc. That means all dynamics in your flute parts use control change messages, but all dynamics in piano parts use velocity. So if you play a MIDI file from MuseScore in a program that doesn't understand how to do dynamics using control change messages, you won't hear dynamics except in those instruments where MuseScore was using velocity.

The way around this, then, would be to go to View / Synthesizer / Dynamics, and turn off single note dynamics globally. I've never done this experiment so I don't know exactly how to guide you, maybe someone else can happen. But once you convince MuseScore not to try to use single note dynamics for any instruments, it will use velocity for dynamics instead. Then your MIDI files should preserve the dynamics. Of course, you won't be able to have a crescendo on a single whole note, but that's not MuseScore's fault - it's the fault of the program you are using that doesn't understand how to do dynamics using control change messages.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I appreciate this detailed explanation. I will try to turn off single note dynamics. But r u saying all I can expect to export is dynamics changes in instruments that Musescore uses velocity to control dynamics, like piano. For the rest of the instruments, the dynamics won't export. Or shall we say, will export, but my DAW will not be able to recognize that part of the MIDI file.

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.