Tutorial on use of custom SoundFonts

• Aug 6, 2019 - 18:01

I've created a short tutorial on creating a custom SoundFont with PolyPhone and using that SoundFont in a MuseScore score file to create a sound effects track. Just wondering, is it OK for me to upload it in a 'Tutorials' section, or does it need to be reviewed or approved first? The focus of the tutorial is not on how to use PolyPhone (there's plenty of original documentation on this), or how to sample sounds using Audacity, rather it's about using a custom SoundFont in MuseScore to create an effects score. The attached files would be the SoundFont file (self-recorded samples, so no copyright issues), and the score itself.
Thanks guys


Comments

Oh man, I've been needing a tutorial on this. I have been spending all day trying to add my own SoundFont into MuseScore3 and cannot for the life of me figure it out.

In reply to by JoltLiz

Hi JoltLiz - I created the tutorial last night (link in this posting), but as Marc Sabatella's posting says, adding a SoundFont is usually a trivial step (menu items 'View' - 'Synthesiser' and add your custom SoundFonts.)
A couple of tips:
1. put a copy of your SoundFont into your Musescore SoundFont directory first.
2. Add it to your default or score.
3. You can now add it to your score (Save to Score), and ensure you reload it next time you need it (Load from Score)

Troubleshooting:
If, after playing or recording notes, you hear no sounds then check your SoundFont key ranges very carefully (using eg. PolyPhone to edit the SoundFont files). Then, ensure your playing the range-matched notes in MuseScore.

In my tutorial, I put forward a way you can use these ranges in MuseScore so you can easily identify whether your note is in range for the SoundFont preset. The main thing to consider is that the score notes you are playing for a specific SoundFont must match the ranges you have set up in SoundFont for the Preset itself. If you go outside this key range for the staff, you'll hear nothing.

In reply to by Lofo

Trouble shooting part 2. Your SoundFont file will need to be set up fairly precisely in order to work (ie. make sounds) in MuseScore. As mentioned, key range and root key settings are critical. If you set these parameters in the Samples set up, they will flow through to the Instruments and Presets that use them.
You also need to follow through the sequenced set up logic behind the design of the SoundFont format i.e.:

Add samples --> bind to... --> Instruments --> bind to... --> Presets.

Note that within MuseScore (or any other software that uses SoundFonts for that matter) you choose 'Presets' to get a particular sound. So...check your presets all lead back to Instruments which all lead back to Samples. It's quite easy to create a SoundFont that makes no sound, but it's all in the settings which you can get at in PolyPhone. PolyPhone also has a virtual keyboard you can test your presets on first - make sure the Presets work because that's what MuseScore lets you choose when you want a particular instrument (effectively called a Preset in PolyPhone).

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