Improving the sound output of MuseScore: what is missing
Hi. I have been testing several days Musescore, 1 and 2, and, like has said in the other section in the forum, it`s very nice for score editing.
But i have been looking in the sound output/midi performance, and i see it`s very poor.
I guess that the point of the "Soundfont" section of the forum is because you want to improve the output of your Score. BUT, the realism in the sound is not only a better soundfont. In the case of wind or bowed instruments, you need to control the sound of the samples in the time, like a "crescendo". But i see that Musescore dont support any midi CC, even the "expression" one, or the "volume" other. Only statics notes (maybe im missing something i dont know)
I exported a midi file made with a sequencer, I loaded it with Musescore, re-save (without modifications) the same file to midi, and re-opened with the sequencer. All the information about crescendos, Pitch-bend, etc was lost. And that data is what makes the performance of your score more "real".
What you need, much more than a better soundfont, is a better management of midi CCs.
Would like to see that Musescore include them in the data imported, and better, that allow you to edit them.
That, i asure you, will make the day&night difference in your playback realism,even with small soundfonts.
Would like to hear your opinions,
BR
Marce
Comments
about Test, have you tried to download a version Nightly?
http://musescore.org/en/download#Nightly-versions
the beta should be out in a few days:
http://dev-list.musescore.org/Towards-MuseScore-2-0-beta1-td7578893.html
Yes indeed Marce, you are perfectly correct, MuseScore has a long way to catch up to the commercial opposition in this regard.
The development team feel that as MuseScore is first and foremost a score engraving application that issues affecting the quality of that should be addressed before looking at playback.
Having said that, there will be major improvements to playback in MuseScore 2 - multiple soundfonts can be used, and there is now the mechanism for including some MIDI controller messages, although it is currently in its infancy, and at present is just used for bank and program change switching.
Part of the problem is that the development team lack people with both a good knowledge of the nuts and bolts of MIDI together with the programming skills to put it into practice in MuseScore. If you fall into this category, then please consider joining the development team :)
In reply to The only way is UP!!!!!! by ChurchOrganist
The development team feel that as MuseScore is first and foremost a score engraving application
If that`s the point, the developers has the right to go the direction they want. And they are doing a very nice work! I like the v2 a lot!
But, since i found posts about using MuseScore connected with VSTi, Sample players, soundfonts, etc, i thought there was some development in the midi area. There is no point to connect MuseScore to the more advanced in the earth sample players, of the bigger soundfonts if you can control them. The performance will be poor still.
Unfortunately im not a developer. But for sure, i would like to help in what i can to improve that area.
Finale and Sibelius spent years saying their users they were not a sequencer, just a Notation program, and now, they, in some way, support a better midi handling, that get you a expressive playback output. Notion is other that make room for itself with that features. Would like to see a free program going that adress, since, imho, is what most musicians apreciate: be able to hear a preview of your ideas as near to the real thing as possible.
br,
marce
In reply to [quote]The development team by marcielo
Yes indeed, there are plans to add VSTi support in the future, at which point better MIDI compatibility will be necessary, unless the developers decide to go the OSC route.
We do now have a couple of young programmers on the team who understand MIDI better, one of whom is working to improve MIDI output.
All I can say is - watch this space, and contribute any ideas or designs which would help to make this happen.
I to love the v.2 EXCEPT FOR... again, for the play back quality, especially in the "aahs". I arrange a lot of vocal with piano accomp. music. When played back in v.1, they really don't sound like voices, but seem to be in tune. NOT SO in v.2. they,( each note) seem to scoop up from very flat to still flat, and as tempo increases cant keep up. So I use v.1 while wishing that v.2 would display the much nicer quality that they do in most instruments. I hope that this can become an issue to correct, as it affects the songs posted on parts of our "for public listening" areas on the web.
In reply to I to love the v.2 EXCEPT by tuneheister74
You can use the old 1.x default soundfont in 2.0 too, even in addition to the 2.0 default soundfont
In reply to I to love the v.2 EXCEPT by tuneheister74
FWIW, I find the choir and voice sounds unifromly terrible in *all* soundfonts I have tried, and never ever use them. I use wind or string instruments instead.
But I suspect somewhere there might be a special purpose soundfont containing just voice samples that one could load in addition to a regular GM soundfont that would work better.