Acoustic Guitar Sustain
Is there an easy way to apply guitar sustain to playback? For example, if I play a crotchet on the open 4th string ("D") then, on a real guitar, this will ring out way beyond the length of a crotchet with a gradual decrease in volume. Of course this sustain will stop immediately that another note is played on the same string or if the string is muted in some way, e.g. palm muting.
Currently I add invisible tied notes to apply sustain but this is labour intensive. It's worth the effort as the sound flows better; without doing this playback can sound a bit staccato.
Comments
Instead of adding invisible tied notes (in another voice), as in one of your scores, you can use pedal markings (in Lines palette)
See: sustain.mscz
In reply to Instead of adding invisible… by cadiz1
Thanks, that works well and is easier to apply. I'll make all the markings invisible as it's not an instruction to the player but a device to improve playback. It's also taught me something about piano music!
Seems to me different soundfonts probably incorporate different amounts of sustain in their guitar samples, you might find another soundfont works better for your purposes. See the Handbook under "Soundfonts".
In reply to Seems to me different… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks I'll have a play. Would a soundfont "know" to stop the sustain if another note followed on the same string? I'm thinking that it probably wouldn't and hence there would be more control with the pedal option. I guess a soundfont change would be a lot less effort.
If I upload a score which referenced a different soundfont would it still play for users who didn't have that soundfont installed?
In reply to Seems to me different… by Marc Sabatella
@Marc: I am not aware that there are soundfonts of this kind. Perhaps. But that would not solve the question asked by the user. It is needed to practice the guitar I fear it, to embrace the whole question or/and the instrument specificities.
It is a question of holding certain individual notes to prolong their resonance (it's different to incorporate a different amount of sustain in a whole piece). Eg and typically on thirds on two strings: one finger remaining in place, while the other note is attacked.
But also simply in the case of arpeggios. And in this case, we are really in the spirit of the pedal markings. Otherwise, as said, one is closer to a staccato for the ear of a guitarist, while he hears something else, the notes extending a little beyond their actual duration.
Adding a pedal marking corrects that. But this is little known (and little used by guitarists, and even for reading purposes, because they do not think to use a sign normally reserved for pianists) :)
See: arpeggios.mscz
NB: but this is very much used by the guitarists of Guitar Pro, by the very widespread use of lines "Let ring"...
BTW, this line is implemented in the 3.0 dev. (I observe nevertheless some problems with this new line: Begin text, and an added hook is lost after saving... also the line style, eg dashed).
See: Let ring1.mscz
And so, with the 3.0, for a similar effect, pianists will have the pedal markings and guitarists their "let ring" line.
Not making jaleous people!
In reply to I am not aware that there… by cadiz1
That sums the situation up very well. For the guitar player it's normal for arpeggios to "ring" as the chord is held. A guitar naturally sustains notes, (some strings more than others), so I think that the pedal solution is pretty good.
It would be nice if MuseScore's guitar playback had a sustain feature built-in but this may be quite difficult to implement so perhaps a "let ring" option in the lines palette would be a good compromise. I have no piano experience so I had no idea what the curly Ped symbols meant.
In reply to That sums the situation up… by yonah_ag
"perhaps a "let ring" option in the lines palette would be a good compromise"
As said in my previous comment, this "let ring" line will be available in the next major version 3.0
NB: a "palm mute" line also will be available (playback doesn't work currently in the 3.0 dev.)
In reply to "perhaps a "let ring" option… by cadiz1
:-) You're spoiling us guitarists!