Newbie soundfont help need cant see soundfonts
I am a newbie to these forms and I apologize if this question is been asked and answer but I couldn't find it so a link to the appropriate discussion if there is one we'll probably suffice.
I am trying to pick my own instrument for the first time and I follow the directions in the music store 4.0 manual and there's supposed to be a drop-down list of the various sound fonts in the default set. All I can get is the MS basic tag but I can't get to this specific instruments from the mixer as describing the manual. It's likely something very simple but I've tried and I can't find it so help is requested
Comments
Unless there has been any progress since I last checked, you currently can't select a specific sound from inside a soundfont in Musescore 4 , you can only tell it "hey, use this soundfont". You can in Musescore 3, but Musescore 4 is using a totally new synthesizer system that's still being worked on – to quote Marc Sabatella on Dec 15:
I really hope that this is added soon, (if it hasn't already and I'm missing something, too). It seems to be throwing a lot of people off, you're not the only one: here's a forum post that asks the same question as you: https://musescore.org/en/node/338603 , and in the replies dmitryko76 posts a list of no less than 6 other posts, all asking the same thing.
In reply to Currently, you can't select… by J_Bowden
This doesn't seem my problem. I can't get the far. Attached is a screenshot from the mixer. I hover over MS Basic, and just get a blank screen and nothing in the drop down. I am just trying to see and select SoundFonts from the default set supposedly included with Musescore 4
In reply to This doesn't seem my problem… by bobahuntsman
So, when you click the blue arrow button no menu shows up? That might be a bug.
In reply to So, when you click the blue… by J_Bowden
When I click on the blue arrow, a pop up Window shows 2 boxes , #1 MS BASIC with a check mark to the left and no dropdown arrow to the right and #2 Soundfonts with a checkmark to the left and an arrow on the right. When I click on the right arrow, I just get a box that say "MS BASIC" with a checkmark on the left, and when I click on that the popup closes.
In reply to When I click on the blue… by bobahuntsman
It sounds like it's working correctly: the MS Basic is the only built-in soundfont.
Muse Sounds have to be downloaded via the 'Musehub' launcher app, and they should show up in Musescore automatically. (This is the only way to get Muse's sounds/effects/whatever else they got, you can't download them directly from their website). If you've already downloaded these and they aren't showing up, check to make sure that they're the right place: [C:\ProgramData\MuseHub\Downloads\Instruments on Windows]. If they're still not showing up, that's probably a bug and you'll need help from someone more knowledgeable than me.
Other soundfonts can be downloaded from the web of course, and apparently Musescore 4 also works with VST files though I haven't tried that yet, so if you don't feel like downloading the launcher's stuff you can just find some of those and, again, they should just show up when put into the proper folders.
In reply to Currently, you can't select… by J_Bowden
OK, I think I was wrong, this is my problem. So Musescore seems to be picking different instruments for midi files I am importing, so is it mapping by name to different instruments in the soundfont or it it using somethiong else? I heard a pretty good violin in some imported music, how do I select that for a new piece using just Musescore 4.0?
In reply to OK, I think I was wrong,… by bobahuntsman
I am happy to report my problem is fixed, Musescore 4.0 wondferfully allows you to select and change the built-in SoundFont related instruments, as is. The problem is the manual, and I don't know yet hand to change it, so I am just going to put it out here. To select or change the built in instruments from the include soundfont library, you just have to use the instrument tab on the left of the score NOT THE MIXER. That may be obvious to most of you seasoned MuseScore gurus but to me, the following manual text is dead wrong:
"Once a SoundFont is installed, all you’ll need to do is choose the SoundFont you want for each instrument in your score. To do this:
Open the Mixer
Hover over the plugin slot next to Sound
Click the dropdown arrow that appears
Hover over SoundFonts
Select the SoundFont you wish to assign to that particular instrument"
In reply to I am happy to report my… by bobahuntsman
The manual isn't wrong. What you have done is change instruments, not change sounds. Instrument incorporate a default sound but also lots of other settings, like staff name, transposition, default clef, etc. To change instruments, indeed, use the Instruments panel. To just change sounds, use the mxier.