MuseScore 4: How to playback a single voice in closed SATB

• Sep 18, 2022 - 18:18

Using MuseScoreNightly-202209180453-master-c7b4d51-x86_64.AppImage, I don't see how I could select a single voice for playback. I use voice 1 (soprano & tenor) and 2 (alto and bass). Attaching a picture and the score. My goal is to select one of the four (S or A or T or B) and play only that one on playback. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Attachment Size
Singing_choir_parts_5.mscz 98.12 KB
musescore-4-playback-mixer.png 152.62 KB

Comments

I don't think this is directly supported for MuseScore 4.0; it's a feature that is slated for redesign to return in a subsequent update.

Meanwhile, one workaround would be to disable playback for the voices you don't want to hear. Eg, to hear only the alto, try Ctrl+A to select all, then uncheck Play in Properties, then right-click one alto note, Select / More / Same staff & Same voice, then re-check Play.

Open the mixer. There you can find in the upper right 'Mute Voice'. As you wrote S and A resp. T and B in different voices, it works.
So: Mute e.g. track 'Men'. Select Track 'Women' and mute either voice 1 or voice 2 to get only A resp. S.
Same for T and B: mute track 'Women', select track 'Men' (unmute it) and mute one of the two voices to hear only the other one.

I'm afraid, I've a little problem: my description refers to version 3.6 but I'm sure, you may find this voice muting button also in version 4.

In reply to by HildeK

I love the new Musescore 4.0 release, but sadly the major missing feature I use constantly is being able to play or mute individual voices playing back from a piano grand stave.

Marc said it was planned for a later release after 4.0. I do understand some things have to be phased in slowly. I appreciate the fantastic efforts to get Musescore 4 to release. It is a fine piece of new software indeed.

But this means I will continue using version 3 until it is actually included. It is fundamental feature for me. I have used Musescore 3 for years since I discovered how useful it was.

I vote for it to be a candidate for priority development. Please.

Mhh. That sounds nice. If I may share an idea for optional perfecting:
If you would only change the order of the last two quarter notes in the soprano in bar 5,
like I did below, you could not only avoid the melodic tritone jump (f-b natural) in the soprano,
but also parallel octaves between soprano and bass:
Unbenannt.JPG

In reply to by oMrSmith

Depending on who you ask, that's still parallel fifths between the strong beats. But, also, probably the least objectionable kind there is, not because of the intervening note on beat 4, but because a melody that goes 5-1 is very often going to be paired with a harmony that goes V-I, so it's practically unavoidable. Some texts say you can best get around it by simply moving the bass in contrary motion, others say, that's not really any better, but one way or another, one needs to come to peace with it.

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