Voice/Choir too soft

• Dec 16, 2022 - 23:36

I was playing around with some older scores of mine from MuseScore 3, and found that after downloading the new sounds pack, the choir voices were just too soft to hear above the piano, even when they're at the same dynamic level. This could obviously be fixed by just turning down the piano volume slider in the mixer, but I wonder if this is just how it's supposed to be, since the voices sound wayyyyy too soft, only barely evening out with the voices at a mezzo-forte dynamic and the piano at a piano dynamic, yet even then, the piano still very loud.


Comments

Same here. I have an TTBB score and set the mixer and the laptop volume to max on all four voices. SA and B voices are soft with the second tenor is barely audible, but the Bari comes in way too loud. Playback is almost unusable. If I use the mixer to balance things the score is too soft to be usable.

In reply to by fcgiii

In my case, STAB staves are pp and the orchestra is p, but I can not still hear the choir at all. It is too soft. The same file played OK with MuseScore Version 3.x but not with MuseScore 4.0.2.xxx. I use the Mixer to bring the volume of Choir (SATB) to MAX but I still can barely hear it. When I change the Dynamics of Choir to f or ff, I can at last hear it but the harmony is terrible (it sounds like some interferrence noise).

Attachment Size
1_Introit_et_Kyrie.mscz 33.44 KB

In reply to by forlandsigbjo

Thank you for that. What you describe is surprisingly true! I haven't noticed the same effect of "Expression" text
on the produced sound before. Maybe this version (4.0.2) is different. It still does not explain why Ah-oh Chorus sound is still too soft, even when the Dynamics sign is "f" (forte).

In reply to by forlandsigbjo

The predefined expression texts from the palette are not meant to be used for any purpose other than they were intended for. Adding a marking intended for one purpose and changing the text to say something else won't defeat the original playback purpose. And if that purpose isn't defined for the instrument you are adding it to, undefined things can happen indeed. To add your own expression text, use Ctrl+E (or Ctrl+T for staff text); don't try to repurpose the predefined elements.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Hi, thanks for that. I don't think that I am repurposing "Expression" text. The intended purpose of that item is, indeed, to change the Text when one uses it. I am adding "Expression" (which is meaningless and the mere place holder", meant to be changed) from the Palette and changing the Text to "sostenute". I am not changing a pre-defined text, such as, "tremolo" to "sostenute". By the way, Ctrl+E does nothing to a selected note. Nothing happens. (I am using MuseScore for MacOS v 4.0.2). Also, examining "Properties" of either "Expression" or "tremolo" shows only the characteristics of its appearances. That is, the function of the item is not defined there (it's different from some other items, which show the functions of them in Properties, and sometime they can be tweaked or changed by selecting another pre-defined function from the list there). So, I am still at a loss, why adding "Expression" changes the play back at all, unless this is a bag. The situation is different from adding something like "cresc. ---", etc., which defines the function, as well as, it actually can exert the intended effect on the playback. Properties of "cresc. --" shows its function as well.

In reply to by yoichi123

Yes, you are repurposing something. The thing in your score that says "sostenuto" is not expression text at all - check the status bar. It's actually a "playing technique annotation". So, you must not have added actual expression text from the palette, you must have (perhaps accidentally) applied something else from the palette - apparently, "tremolo", which is not defined for voice. So it's messing the playback up, because even though you changed the text, it's still trying to do the thing it was originally designed to do: apply tremolo.

Ctrl+E is the shortcut for expression text on most systems, but as usual, when using a Mac keyboard, any time we mention "Ctrl", you need to substitute "Cmd".

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Hi, Marc. Thanks for that!!! Indeed, it says Playing Technique in the Status bar, although I was 100% certain that I selected those notes and clicked Expression from the Palette. As you mentioned, Cmd+E works, indeed. When I repeated (1). Select a note, (2). Click "Expression" from the Palette, now the element shows as Stave Text in the status bar (but with the style of Expression), as well. So, I can't reproduce the "Playing Technique" showing for them at all by using the Expression from the Text on the Palette! As you pointed out, I must have selected "tremolo" back then@#$%^&! Thanks again!

Attachment Size
1_Introit_et_Kyrie.mscz 36.96 KB

In reply to by yoichi123

You're welcome! One possibility as to how that happened: was this score originally created in MuseScore 3?
This "playing technique annotation" is a new feature in MuseScore 4; previously these playback changes were accomplished via staff or express text with specific properties set. Conversely, those old-style properties aren't supported in MuseScore 4 anymore. So there is code to automatically the old-style staff/expression text in MuseScore 3 files into the new playing techniques annotations. Maybe somehow that code converted something that was indeed original an expression text into a playing technique. But even so, that should have happened only if the score came from MuseScore 3, and also only if you specifically had the properties set to be triggering tremolo.

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