tied notes across multiple measures

• Mar 9, 2020 - 03:05

I'm working on an orchestral score in 3/4 time. In a few sections, the horns have dotted half notes tied across 15 measures. But on playback, the sound dies out after 3 measures, leaving silence for the remaining 12 measures.

I searched online, and found one or two people who had a similar problem, but none mentioned a solution.

Is this a problem with the soundfont (Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra), a limitation of Musescore, or am I doing something wrong? I know a horn player can't hold a note for 15 measures, but a horn section can stagger their breathing, I suppose, to make it sound right. Is there a way to get a note held for 15 measures? By one voice? By multiple voices?


Comments

Probably the soundfont has missing loops (seems I recall that issue being reported regarding Sonatina), works fine in the default and others I've tried,

In reply to by BroWCarey

Not sure what you mean about the bass drum being a “click”. If you are using the standard drum set it should sound like a standard kick drum. If you instead want an orchestral bass drum you should be using the Orchestral kit, still within the standard soundfont, which will also give you orchestral versions of other instruments, or select the appropriate instrument rather than using the generic drum set. If you need further assistance, please attach your score (or a relevant excerpt).

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Unfortunately, nothing in the orchestra kit sounded even remotely like a bass drum. The closest thing I found was Marching Bass. The others just sound like clicks. At least Marching Bass sounds like a drum. I'm attaching a three measure section of the bass drum with the orchestra kit. Maybe when you play it, it will sound like a drum, but all I hear is click - click - click

Attachment Size
bass drum sample.mscz 3.1 KB

In reply to by BroWCarey

Well, it's a click because it's not the correct pitch. Not sure how you entered that note, but if you use the supported methods like the keybaord shortcut "A" or double-clicking the palette icon or clicking the palette icon then clicking in the score, you get a bass drum. But I see in View / Mixer you are using the standard kit, not orchestra, so you get only the kick drum sound. If I switch to the orchestra kit, I get the big booming bass drum you presumably are looking for.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

When I look at the Mixer, it says orchestra kit. Not sure why it said standard kit in what I saved. I will try entering the notes in a different way, and see what the result is. Thanks.

Edit: Perfecto! I entered the notes with the keyboard instead of the way I do with other instruments, and it worked. NOW I have a bass drum. (I usually enter notes with the mouse, even though that's not the easiest way. But my keyboard is moribund, and until I get a new one, I try not to use it to much. Besides, enter the notes with the mouse is a challenge for my fine motor skills, which are deteriorating, so it's a win-win for me.)

Thanks for all your help!

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