No playback only on some scores?

• Sep 9, 2016 - 13:10

On some scores, recent, probably after an upgrade my scores have no sound on playback or when I enter a note. But on older scores there is sound on playback and note entry. I have looked everywhere in the settings and all seem to be identical for the scores that play and those that don't.

Is there a bug in the upgrade, or are sounds saved to individual scores and the upgrade means I have to reload the soundfonts, and if this is the case do I lose the sound in the old scores?

I am perplexed!


Comments

In reply to by Shoichi

AH! - you got me in the right place, I added a new soundfont for harmonica and made it top of the list - evidently it doesn't work.

I did have the Harmonica sound working before, but now I just can't remember how, or maybe the harmonica does not work for the new version?

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In reply to by Shoichi

This is really kind of odd. Not a real bug but definitely a design deficiency. It really should be in preferences or maybe tools, as it affects all scores not just the one being worked on, and it is not something just to view but allows global changes.

As composing and arranging from your head, requires a sound occasionally, this is a bit of a deficiency if I want to hear a particular part with a particular voice, but then again maybe there is a place to change it for each score which I haven't figured out yet.

Thank you for your help.

In reply to by CEOmike

If you only have one soundfont loaded, and it only provides sound for one instrument, then it's perfectly normal/correct that you won't get sound for scores that use other instruments. If you wish to use your special soundfont *in addition* to the standard one, that works just fine. Just have both in the list in the Synthesizer window, and use the Mixer to decide which sounds come from which soundfont for a given score.

A lot of good replies, thanks guys. I will take some time to explore these options and suggestions. I did solve the problem but the problem came up because I didn't know what I was doing, now I do have a better understanding.

I have the same problem. I just bought a new Windows 10 laptop and installed MuseScore 2.0.3. I don't have any sound fonts other than the default ones in musescore.

You can play back by reverting to factory settings, but that only works once. To play back again, you have to save, close, and re-open musescore, then revert to factory again.

Another funny thing is that you can check play panel under view, but it never displays. Sometimes it's grayed out and you can't even check it.

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

I got it to work then it didn't again. I am in the computer software business so a common thing now is Microsoft on every upgrade (which now can not be turned off in Windows 10 Pro unless you are a geek of geeks ;) ) it downgrades file permissions of those that have administrator rights, which are needed by many programs to access some components in their structure. It also will turn on the firewall again or the firewall may start to block files needed by a program.

I don't know if this is the case, but after adding my Harmonica soundfont which made it top in the playback mixer, I got nothing. Reverting back to the default View/Syntesiser setting seems to make it work but it will not hold the setting after close. The Mixer itself will not change to anything but piano.

Is this a bug or is it because Microsoft programmers are turning into morons to compete with the moronic Apple with its low level obsolete OS.

The problem is real programs use C# or Pascal etc for multi-threading - Java ( not natively) can not and is simply obsolete.

In reply to by John Sprung

If you are seeing a problem that returns after reverting to factory settings, and you are not changing soundfonts, then it is not the same problem. In order to help, we would need you to start a new thread and give system details and precise steps to reproduce the problem you are seeing.

As for the play panel not appearing, this is most liekly a result of changing monitor configurations since the last time you viewed that window, and the position where you placed the window the previou time no longer exists (eg, it might be trying to display on a second monitor you no longer have connected). As for it being greyed out, that might happen if you are in the middle of another operation, or if you have no score loaded, or if your audio configuration is not valid.

In reply to by Thomas

It's the check box line for "Play Panel" under "View" that's grayed out sometimes, and checkable other times. In all cases, the actual Play Panel itself never appears on screen in 2.0.3. It works in MuseScore 1.3 on the Win 7 machine that I'm using to write this, which is what I've been using instead of the laptop. I'll do some snips on the laptop and bring them over on a USB stick after lunch....

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

It sounds like an update to something running on your computer is conflicting with MuseScore. Try doing a System Restore to a date prior to the problem manifesting itself, and then turn off automatic updates for the OS as well as for all the ancillary software you run on your computer.

If you want to identify which update is causing the conflict, you will need to allow updates to each program (and the OS) one at a time, and track the results. Personally, I never allow any program or OS to update automatically. If it works, don't fix it.

In reply to by Recorder485

This laptop is a standalone. It doesn't get updates because I disable wifi and bluetooth and never plug it into anything but AC power. I use USB memory sticks to transfer data out of it.

The solution to the problem was to go into Control Panel and set all four sleep time settings to "Never". (At least I think that'll solve the problem.....)

-- J.S.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

When I revert to factory settings instead of Jack, the result is the same: No sound, and Play Panel won't display even if it's checked in View.

I also have Audacity and TuneLabs on this machine, TuneLabs was the reason for getting it. I use a Focusrite Scarlet for input to Tunelabs. That setup is at home, so I can't check whether it's all working. But I do get reasonable displays from TuneLabs when I try to sing A-440 at it.

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

I looked at the Windows Control Panel carefully and found a setting that reduces audio output when it detects voices, assuming that you're using the computer as a phone. I tried disabling that followed by a musescore factory reset, and at the moment Play Panel and Sound are back. I'm going to let it sit for a while and see if that lasts.

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

I tried running tunelab again, which seemed to work. Then I tried MuseScore again, and it worked. I checked Edit Preferences IO, and found it was using:

Port Audio

API: MME

Device: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Output

This time since it was working, I just kept on using it, entering notes. After about 20 minutes, it failed again. I looked at Edit Preferences IO again, Port Audio was still checked, but the API and Device were now blank. The drop downs don't work to get them back.

I ran TuneLab again, and lo and behold, MuseScore is fixed again -- for now. I made a scratch copy of the twelve bars I'd entered, and now have it looping on playback. We'll see how long that lasts.....

It just quit again, after six minutes. Re-starting MuseScore, the API and Device are blank again.

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

John, I have been following your tribulations with great sympathy, and I have two thoughts.

1. This might be a somewhat radical suggestion, but have you considered trying to roll back your OS to Win8 or even Win7? Windows 10 is known for being quite problematic in some distinctly odd ways; one of my associate editors availed himself of Microsoft's free upgrade to Win10 for his Win8 machine, and it took a complete wipe and re-install of Win8 to get the machine running again.

2. Have you considered trying an earlier version of MuseScore--say 2.0.2 or 2.0.1--to see if that runs properly in your current Win10 environment? While that might not be what you want for the long term, if it solves the problem that fact might help the experts such as Marc and Nicolas identify where the actual conflict lies.

Wishing I had that 'magic bullet' for you.... :(

In reply to by Recorder485

Thanks, Recorder485 --

1. Alas, the machine is only a couple months old, a Lenovo Thinkpad L560, so Win 10 is the only OS it has ever had. Does MSFT let you trade down to Win 7? Would it work on the new machine?

2. I was just looking for older versions to try, alas there isn't a reliable source for them. They're on SourceForge, which has become a malware site. I'm using 1.1 on my office machine and 1.3 at home.

3. With no way to go back, my next idea is to go forward and try the latest nightly build. Theoretically they're not stable, but compared with what I have, how much worse could it be? I've downloaded the latest to the USB stick, and the 7Zip from the link on musescore.org.

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

I was blissfully unaware that Source Forge had become a malware site, so thanks for that warning. This is very bad news. Perhaps the development team at MuseScore could move older versions to a safer site, such as github?

As to what Microsoft would allow you to do with your machine, I have no hard data, but my suspicion is that they will make it as difficult as possible for you to 'downgrade' to any earlier OS from their website. For commercial reasons of their own, they want you to run their latest version, even if it is seriously flawed.

Check with your own trusted computer tech to see if he has CDs of either Win7 or 8 available that he could load into your machine. In theory, any new machine should have enough capacity to run an older OS.

ETA: I have a customised version of 2.0.1 available as a 'portable' application, thanks to another Musescore user. The only difference between it and the standard stable release of 2.0.1 is that the melismatic dash spacing has been altered to 8 sp from 16 sp. If it would be of any use to you, I'd be glad to send you the exe file by email.

In reply to by Isaac Weiss

I got a rootkit virus and browser redirect virus from SourceForge as recently as March of 2016, it cost $165 to have an independent tech fix the mess. Those were on my Dell tower at home, not the Lenovo, which was purchased later.

I'll never click on SourceForge again.....

In reply to by John Sprung

This exe does not need to be installed; it runs as a 'portable' application, at least on Win7. Confused the heck out of me, too, when I downloaded it, but it works. I've got it sitting in my "downloads' folder, and managed to create a shortcut to start it when I need that particular version.

Note: It won't run at all if there is any other version of Musescore open at the same time. (insert 'confused' emoticon....)

If the worse problem you are having is playback, you definitely don't want a 3.0 nightly build, but 2.0.4 should be pretty safe. Not that there is any reason to to expect things to be different.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I was able to download and install 1.3 from the link provided by Thomas, after first removing 2.0.3. Unfortunately, the problem is worse with 1.3.

Playback worked with 1.3 for a few minutes, and then failed yet again. What's worse is that running TuneLab doesn't fix it, cold booting the computer doesn't fix it. Under Edit/Preferences/IO, the API and Device go blank again.

I also tried Audacity after the sound failure. It records, but won't play back.

That looks to me like the finger points at Windows 10. Could it be that MSFT has some sort of intellectual property protection built in to Win 10 that shuts down the sound if it doesn't find a key? Any ideas what to do next?

-- J.S.

In reply to by Thomas

It's Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.10586 Build 10586
x64-Based PC
Lenovo ThinkPad L560

I removed MuseScore 1.3 and re-installed 2.0.3 rev. 3c7a69d, which is the most recent stable one according to the download page. It's the one for windows 7, 8, and 10, but no clear indication whether it's 64 bit.

Sound is dead in both MuseScore and Audacity, running TuneLab no longer fixes it.

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

If Thomas' suggestion to try the 64-bit version of MuseScore doesn't work out, the only thing I can think of is to get in touch with your local tech guy and see if he can install Win7 or Win8 on that laptop. Win10 is apparently a serious bad-un; it reminds me of when Vista came out and hardware sellers were charging a premium to downgrade the OS on brand-new machines to XP....

It is apparent that we are all stuck in a 'love-hate' relationship with computers and software: We love what they can do, but we hate how badly they can mess it up. :(

In reply to by John Sprung

OK, I found the 64 bit version. I removed the 32 bit from the computer, and the 64 being from 7zip, got installed on the USB stick. It runs, but the next issue is that it only plays on the internal speakers. Unlike the old versions, plugging in the headphones mutes the speakers and the headphones, resulting in no sound rather than hearing on the headphones.

I've got a loop test playing back to see if it'll break the 10 minute barrier....

Nope, the 64 bit version also died in under 10 minutes. It looks like something external to MuseScore is the problem.

-- J.S.

In reply to by John Sprung

PROBLEM SOLVED:

I got it to play back using MuseScore 2.0.3, and left it looping over night. It was still working in the morning. The solution is a driver update that's just two weeks old. The winning combination is:

Windows 10 Version 10586

Microsoft High Definition Audio Device Driver:
Driver Version 10.0.10586.589
File Version: 10.0.586.0(th2_release.151029-1700)
Driver Date: 9-6-2016

I tried updating the driver early on in the process and got a message that I had the current version. Not sure if MSFT may not have put the new one up on the given date, September 6, or if it's something else.

-- J.S.

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