MIDI Exports with Volume Oddity

• Feb 14, 2021 - 23:02

I use Musescore to compose my music, which I then export to MIDI and import into my DAW of choice (Studio One). Recently, I’ve run into what I think is a bug with Musescore’s MIDI export. When I first had this problem a month ago, I assumed it was a bug with the specific VST plugin I was using, and then I had the same problem with another plugin and assumed it was a bug in my DAW. However, some further troubleshooting suggests it’s a consequence of the way Musescore exports MIDI.

When I play the imported MIDI track (created in Musescore) through a VST plugin, the plugin’s internal volume knob turns to a specific level (seemingly at random), which is invariably either too loud or too quiet. I adjust the knob to a suitable level, but when I play the track again, the volume knob goes right back to the wrong volume the moment it reaches a MIDI note.

Musescore's MIDI track comes with an embedded value in the automation lane that controls the master volume knob (MIDI CC# 7: master volume), which is forcing the volume back to a specific level whenever a note is played.

I have found several workarounds, one of which is to put Musescore’s exported MIDI into an empty instrument track and then copy just the notes into a blank instrument part on the appropriate instrument track. The fact that this worked was what convinced me that the problem is embedded in the MIDI file exported from Musescore.

The second workaround, which I didn't discover till later, was to simply go to the volume automation lane in the MIDI editor in my DAW and delete the automation. This also fixes the issue, and is even easier.

I'm not sure whether there's any advantage in embedding the volume in the MIDI or if there's a way not to, but even if it's sometimes useful, I wonder if it would be helpful for a lot of people if Musescore had a MIDI export setting so you could tell it whether or not you want to embed the volume when you export.


Comments

It is important to maintain relative volume settings as made in the mixer, which is why those levels are indeed included upon export.

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