Repitch individual instruments
I don't think it's possible to repitch any individual instruments in MS. I recently came across a score in which one instrument was sounding at a different pitch to the notation. It was a flute - so not a transposing instrument. Apparently that was because the soundfont used generated notes which were pitch shifted - perhaps it was a baroque flute or some other type of flute recording.
Some DAWs can pitch shift individual tracks, so I wonder if there's any chance that such a feature might be available in MS4 or a later version. Then it would be possible for the notation to correctly match pitches - if, for example, baroque soundfonts - (perhaps generated around A=430Hz) were used in a mix with other soundfonts. It would also be possible to tune soundfonts to match each other. Maybe this is already possible, but it's not obvious. In the case of scores it would be useful to have such variations noted in comments.
If individual pitch shifting or turning is possible (or could be) then this would also mean that composers would be able to write with the notation for the pitches they actually want, rather than to modify the notation in order to get their desired sound effects on playback within MuseScore.
Comments
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In reply to Even a flute can get setup… by Jojo-Schmitz
Can this even be done to a few cents? In some cases the retuning is not necessarily going to be in half or whole tone steps, but fractions thereof.
Transposing is almost certainly not what is required - and in any case is not completely obvious. What is needed is the ability to retune each instrumental line.
In reply to Can this even be done to a… by dave2020X
The 2nd method I listed can be done by any amount. The 1st only in semitones
In reply to The 2nd method I listed can… by Jojo-Schmitz
Indeed, but the 2nd method will surely require each note to be retuned - not the whole instrument. That seems a bit too arduous.
In reply to Indeed, but the 2nd method… by dave2020X
Each note of an instrument is the entire instrument and can be done in one go.
There is no other option, via Synthesizer you can't tune an instrument, only the entire score
In reply to Each note of an instrument… by Jojo-Schmitz
OK - thanks for that. I'll give it a try.
Presumably the retuning via the Inspector does not affect transposition - which as I've already indicated is actually a slightly different process.
PS - just tried with the inspector. 1. It looks as though lowering of pitches is possible using negative numbers.
However - 2. It doesn't look as though retuning one note will retune all the other notes on an instrument.
In reply to OK - thanks for that. I'll… by dave2020X
Indeed, tuning is on top of transpositioning
In reply to OK - thanks for that. I'll… by dave2020X
You wrote:
It doesn't look as though retuning one note will retune all the other notes on an instrument.
What do you expect? What is your ultimate objective?
If you raise one note 100 cents it will sound as if sharped.
If you add a sharp to one note, it will raise the pitch of the note 100 cents.
Do you want all the other notes on the instrument to be affected?
In reply to You wrote: It doesn't look… by Jm6stringer
Absolutely! I do want all the other notes on one instrument to be affected, and not necessarily in tones or half tones either.
This arose from listening to someone else's score. One of the instruments is notatated sharp - for peculiar reasons related to the soundfont.
In reply to Absolutely! I do want all… by dave2020X
If you want all notes to be retuned by the inspector field, then start by selecting all relevant notes
In reply to OK - thanks for that. I'll… by dave2020X
Indeed tuning one note doesn't affect others at all. As said way above:
right-click one note of that flute, select all in same staff, then use Inspector to change the tuning (by any amount up to 300, 100 being a semitone)
In reply to Each note of an instrument… by Jojo-Schmitz
I'm just wanting to second what this person is asking. I, for instance, seem not to be able to compose a score for a de-tuned guitar, in that I hear the notes at a different transposition and tuning to what I require. So, I want to be able to hear a transposed and or de-tuned monitoring while writing what represents the usual concert pitch on the score.
In reply to I'm just wanting to second… by vcf2
Looking back over responses I can see that in some ways things have got worse.
Of course if it's possible to retune individual notes in a single instrument part it is then possible to completely retune a piece for whole orchestra.
Just as it's possible to completely rewrite a complex piece of software in machine code or assembly code. On the other hand it is also completely impractical.
It used to be possible to retune most of the instruments in MU3 by adjusting the synthesisers, but now it seems it probably isn't - certainly not in MU4.
The fact that it used to be possible suggests that it's not by any means technically impossible. I am aware of arguments regarding compatibility with external libraries, but then we hit tail and dog wagging arguments. I don't think it's impossible to have compatibility with external libraries even if a comprehensive tuning system is built into MU4 or any later version of MU.
Some of us would just like to be able to retune either the whole or parts of an ensemble, in order to play some scores.
As a curiosity, you may consider that Bach was seemingly well aware of the different pitches used by different orchestras, for example some French ones, and deliberately wrote some pieces with parts in different keys in order to compensate for pitch variations when musicians from different bands got together. However I would just like to be able to retune playback on perhaps relatively few instrument - although en bloc - in order to satisfy some requirements.
In reply to I'm just wanting to second… by vcf2
@vcf2
For guitar...
It would be best for you to start a new thread and specifically mention "guitar" in your title.
That's because the guitar instrument has string-tuning capabilities, capo functionality, and it can also be set as a transposing instrument (e.g., like a Bb clarinet playing a "notated" D major scale, but actually "sounding" as C major).
Mention things like:
What tuning you use.
If, for example, you write in C major, what you wish to hear.
If you have an existing score and want notes changed to "sound" higher (or lower) in pitch - while the staff notation stays the same.
etc.
Also, see:
https://musescore.org/en/node/289899
You can alter the tuning or any other properties for s many notes at a time as you like. Just select them (eg, select the full range first, then click the Notes button in the Inspector to limit the selection to just the notes) and then make the desired change in the Inspector. And indeed, changing properties for one note does not alter those of any other note, that would be pretty disastrous. If you want to alter all G4's (for example), right-click one and use Select / More / Same pitch to select the rest.
In reply to You can alter the tuning or… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks. However at this level I have not managed to consistently be able to select "all" the notes with particular characteristics. My guess is that selecting bars then trying to select the notes in the flute part is not going to work. Some other approach may be needed to get the selection correct .
FWIW - the score in question is https://musescore.com/user/33186954/scores/7340645
See the comments which I put in and the response from the composer. I don't believe that transposition is the way to fix this. I can't actually test with the original file, but I did copy a few bars to check.
In reply to Thanks. However at this… by dave2020X
If you describe which particular notes you are trying to select, we can help show you how. Selecting all notes on the flute part, for example, is as simple as selecting the whole flute part (eg, click first note, then Ctrl+Shift+End* to select to end of score), then click the Notes button in the Inspector.
Of course, on Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl, and on any keyboard that lacks a physical End key, Fn+Right is the usual substitute provided by the manufacturer,
In reply to If you describe which… by Marc Sabatella
OK - thanks. Yes it does work - but it's quite tricky to get the key combination right for use on a Mac. I took a violin line in a Nocturne by Poulenc and shifted it up by 170 cents. Not the easiest selection I've ever done - but with care it can be managed. It seemed to work - though I can't tell whether it was accurate to within +/- one cent :-)
In reply to OK - thanks. Yes it does… by dave2020X
FWIW, that's the standard shortcut all computer programs have always used to select to end of document: End to navigate to end of line or other logical section, add Ctrl to navigate to end of document, add Shift to select while you're at it. Works the same in every program I know. So that's why it is the default in MsueScore as well - otherwise it would be impossible for users to discover.
But indeed, it's a little more awkward if your keyboard lacks a physical End key so that's one more modifier to press as well. On my Chromebook which also lacks an End key, the equivalent of the Fn is right next to Ctrl and Shift so it's a very simple operation, left hand hits those three and the right hand hits the appropriate cursor key. I gather some Apple keyboards do have physical End keys, but on the ones that don't, I'd certainly hope they also thought to put the Fn key somewhere similarly convenient, since this is such a common operation.
Anyhow, as with most shortcuts, MuseScore lets you customize this, so if your keyboard makes this operation more difficult than you'd like, you can choose something simpler.
Dave, I guess I'm not understanding what instruments this would be used for. The Baroque flute in D was not a transposing instrument and music written for it was always in concert pitch. It is a transitional instrument between the renaissance and modern flute. It only had one key so that most of the fingering holes were placed so that the player could reach them and not exact pitch placement. The fingerings were mostly based on C fingerings. Some fingerings would differ between the instrument, player, local pitch, and more. Pitch varied from town to town. Since the flute could not be tuned, an instrument made for one town could not be used in another.