[solved] Inspector doesn't make it louder
Firstly, I fill up four measures with a same chord with "p" dynamic for all four measures:
I check it in Piano Roll Editor and I see that everything is fine:
Then I highlight the second and the third measures:
And open up the Inspector:
In Inspector I set the volume for those two measures to 112:
Then I check it in the Piano Roll Editor again and see that everything is all right:
However, when I play it back, it is still the same volume throughout all four measures.
What am I doing wrong?
I am attaching the score here:
Inspector.mscz
Comments
You wrote:
What am I doing wrong?
That's difficult to say, without being able to listen to your score. Your pictures can not produce sound.
Please attach the MuseScore (.mscz) file like this: Score_1.mscz
(Play this version and compare to yours.)
In reply to You wrote: What am I doing… by Jm6stringer
Thank you. I have just attached the score (at the very end of the first message).
In reply to You wrote: What am I doing… by Jm6stringer
I just played your version. It is just fine. The second and the third measures, unlike in my score, do sound louder than the first and the fourth ones. This is exactly what I want to achieve.
Your score is identical to mine, except for the few differences that I don't think are crucial: mine has empty measures at the end and the sound chosen is horns, while yours employs the piano.
In reply to I just played your version… by innerthought
For this result I'd put a 'p' on the first measure (as you did), a 'ff' on the second measure and again a 'p' on the fourth. With the same result and having a information for the musican additionally .
Less action at all, a clear notation and the same sound!
My suggestion: use velocity modifications only in very special cases, e.g. if you like to play some notes within an accord softer or louder ...
BTW: Your score "inspector.mscz" played exactly like this; measures 2 and 3 are louder, 1 and 4 are soft. Something else must be wrong.
In reply to For this result I'd put a 'p… by HildeK
"For this result I'd put a 'p' on the first measure (as you did), a 'ff' on the second measure and again a 'p' on the fourth..."
- Well, of course, if things were that simple I wouldn't even bother to start this thread. But the problem is I often need to set a sequence of notes (that may span just a few measures of a stave) to a non-standard dynamic, that is, a dynamic that, for example, would lay in between "mp" and "p", or between "mp" and "mf".
Just imagine that in my original example I needed to set the second and the third measures to "100" instead of "112".
In reply to "For this result I'd put a … by innerthought
No problem.
Set the second measure to 'ff' and the fourth again to 'p'. Select this 'ff' and modify the velocity of it to 100. If you like, you can also modify the 'ff'-string e.g. to 'ff_p' or what else to notice that a modification has been done. If you do not need a hint, hide the string 'ff' and the 'p' in measure 4.
"Just imagine that in my original example I needed to set the second and the third measures to "100" instead of "112"."
I found, it was set to 112, the same as 'ff' would set.
In reply to No problem. Set the second… by HildeK
"Select this 'ff' and modify the velocity of it to 100"
-- But that's exactly what I don't seem to be able to do (unless I misunderstand something about Inspector and do something wrong). 'p' is a standard dynamic, its value is 49. 'ff' is also a standard dynamic, its value is 112. There are three more standard dynamics lying between those two: mp (64), mf (80), and f (96). As we can see, there is no standard dynamic with value 100. But I needed it, plus, I needed it only for a few notes on the stave. I was advised to use Inspector for that, but it looks like it doesn't work.
"If you like, you can also modify the 'ff'-string e.g. to 'ff_p' "
-- What is 'ff-p'? I don't see it on the list of standard dynamics in my pallet:
![pal.jpg]( "pal.jpg")
"I found, it was set to 112, the same as 'ff' would set"
-- That was just an example, which, I admit, didn't clearly show what I needed precisely. Perhaps, I am too picky, but recently the need to set some special non-standard dynamic (like 102 or 75) for just a few notes on a stave has been coming back on me again and again and I definitely want to learn how to do that.
In reply to "Select this 'ff' and modify… by innerthought
May be there are some misunderstandings, because I'm not a native speaker.
What I'd like to say:
- set for a note in measure 2 any predefined dynamic; e.g. 'ff' from the standard dynamics palette
- select this string 'ff' and modify for that single dynamic sign the velocity value in the inspector to any value you like, e.g. to 100 instead of the default value 112. From this measure on you have velocity=100 until you set a new dynamics sign.
- double click on this 'ff' string and you can modify the text from 'ff' to any text you like for a hint for a human player. Instead of 'ff' you can also write 'ff_soft' or 'ff_100' or 'ff_p' or anything else. This text modification does not affect the newly set dynamics value. Or hide the text, if you don't like to have this information visible on the sheet. You need not to modify the text string, but in my opinion there should be a visible difference to the standard value.
If you later set again 'ff' in an other measure this will become again the value 112.
To save this modified 'ff_soft' for later easy usage, you can drag it by pressing CTRL-Shift-LMB and move it to the dynamics palette. And use it again like any other dynamic designation, now for value 100.
Hope this answers your question:
"-- What is 'ff-p'? I don't see it on the list of standard dynamics in my pallet"
'ff_p' is not predifined in a palette but generated by me and named by me.
In reply to May be there are some… by HildeK
"May be there are some misunderstandings, because I'm not a native speaker"
-- Most likely, misunderstandings are to be blamed on me because I am not a native speaker either. So, can you, please, lead me step by step?
"set for a note in measure 2 any predefined dynamic; e.g. 'ff' from the standard dynamics palette"
-- You mean this:
![pal_02.jpg]( "pal_02.jpg")
Right?
"- select this string 'ff' and..."
-- This is the point that I don't understand. What do you mean by the "string 'ff'" here? Do you mean all the notes in the second measure? Or do you mean all the notes in the second and the third measure (which are exactly the notes that I want to ascribe another dynamic to, that is, without touching notes in the measure 4)? Or do you mean all the notes starting from the highlighted note (which means all the notes in measures 2, 3 and 4)? Or do you simply mean the text 'ff' (which is already selected in the picture above)?
In reply to "May be there are some… by innerthought
The text string consisting of 2 f, so that dynamic basically
In reply to The text string consisting… by Jojo-Schmitz
"The text string..."
-- Thank you. I am still in that stage when I need even such simple things to be explained to me. Sorry for bothering.
In reply to "May be there are some… by innerthought
Regarding 'Native speaker': I'm German.
"-- You mean this:"
Exactly.
"-- This is the point that I don't understand. "
I mean simply the letters 'ff'. Nothing else. The text which is already selected in your picture above.
Select the letters 'ff', so they get blue color - as you did in your screenshot, only the text, no notes, no measures.
![Screenshot1.png]( "Screenshot1.png")
Now have a look to the inspector. You will see s.th. like this:
with the velocity value 112 which belongs to the selected 'ff'.
Now you can modify the velocity value and e.g. change it to 100 or what ever you want.
"May I ask, what sound do you hear when you play "inspector.mscz". French horns or piano? It should be French horns."
In "inspector.mscz" from your very first post I can hear French horns. I'd like to attach a mp3 export but this does not work - for whatever reason. You can try to download it from here https://www.dropbox.com/s/176ozqurl9zntz1/Inspector.mp3?dl=0 and hear what I am hearing (I deleted the empty measures before).
If this does not work in your environment (I use Windows 7) I suggest to delete this sheet and create it from scratch. Perhaps it is a problem in this actual sheet not in Musescore itself.
In reply to Regarding 'Native speaker':… by HildeK
"Regarding 'Native speaker'..."
-- Thank you soo much for all these detailed explanations and especially for uploading the mp3 file and let me hear the whole thing. Now I see that it is most likely a problem with my computer. I feel a bit guilty now for taking your and the community's time here. Thank you again!
In reply to "Regarding 'Native speaker'… by innerthought
No, there is almost zero chance that there is any problem with your computer here. The issue is simply that your are making thIs way more complicated than need be - and giving MuseScore mixed and conflicting messages that it won’t know how to process - by messing with irrelevant things like the mixer and piano roll editor and velocity settings on individual notes. Not that should be involved at all.
Just start over with a clean score - one where you choose French horn as your instrument when creating the score rather than fiddling with the mixer to make a piano sound like horn but not otherwise have the correct settings that horn parts need. Then add your notes and dynamics normally. If you decide you wish to customize the loudness of a passage, don’t mess with the piano roll editor and don’t mess with the mixer and don’t mess with any individual notes. Just select the specific dynamic you want to change, and use the Inspector to change it’s velocity. That and nothing more.
In reply to May be there are some… by HildeK
"BTW: Your score "inspector.mscz" played exactly like this; measures 2 and 3 are louder, 1 and 4 are soft. Something else must be wrong"
-- This is just so weird! I just re-installed MuseScore and the result is still the same - all 4 measures are on the same level of dynamics. It is all the more strange realizing that the Piano Roll Editor is showing me 49 for the first and fourth measures and 112 for the second and the third. The difference between 49 and 112 is quite a big difference. I can't miss that kind of difference. I am not in the age of having such hearing problems yet :)
May I ask, what sound do you hear when you play "inspector.mscz". French horns or piano? It should be French horns.
Velocity for individual notes only makes sense for instruments that actually use velocity to control volume. Basically, that's piano, guitar, and percussion, little else. Most instruments don't use velocity to control volume - they use a technique called "continuous controller" to allow for things like single note dynamics (SND) - the ability to crescendo while playing a note. Horns can do this, pianos cannot.
This is one reason why we keep suggesting you not set velocity on individual notes, but instead set it on the dynamic. Eg, if you want a couple of measures to play a little louder than regular mf, just add the mf normally, then use the Inspector to increase the velocity of the mf, not of the notes.
Also, be ware it isn't supported to change sounds with the mixer only when changing between non-SND instruments like piano and SND instruments like horn. If you want a score for horn, you should actually add a horn in Edit / Instruments, or change an existing instrument to horn, in Staff/Part Properties. The sound selection in the mixer is meant only for changing to other related sounds for a single instrument, like from one guitar sound to a different guitar sound.
In reply to Velocity for individual… by Marc Sabatella
"Eg, if you want a couple of measures to play a little louder than regular mf, just add the mf normally, then use the Inspector to increase the velocity of the mf, not of the notes"
-- Thank you very much for this explanation, but it looks like I have some problem with my computer. Dynamics don't seem to change even when I ascribe just a standard dynamic. Before it worked. I don't know what goes wrong. The Piano Roll Editor shows different levels of velocity, but I don't hear that while playing back the score.
In reply to "Eg, if you want a couple of… by innerthought
Follow my recommendation: create a new sheet. Don't use single note dynamics, don't change the value in the piano roll editor. Use only one of the predefined dynamics and modify them as described above.
If you set for a single note a User Velocity Value, then it will not be overwritten by selecting a new dynamic value from the dynamics palette!
In reply to Follow my recommendation:… by HildeK
@HildeK:
"Follow my recommendation: create a new..."
-- I did everything according to your recommendations. And now it all works fine! Thank you very much for your time and patience!
In reply to "Eg, if you want a couple of… by innerthought
No, the problem is precisely because you messed with the mixer to change sounds from piano to horn rather than actually changing the instrument. Piano and horn use different methods for controlling volume - velocity versus CC message, as explained previously. It simply doesn’t work to mix the two up. If you want a horn, add a horn, don’t start with a piano and try to make it sound like a horn using the mixer. It won’t work - dynamics will get confused and not play properly, with the specific results depending on the exact order in which you do things.
In reply to No, the problem is precisely… by Marc Sabatella
@Marc Sabatella:
"No, the problem is precisely because you messed with the mixer to change..."
-- Yes, you are absolutely right. It was not my computer's problem. It was me giving MuseScore conflicting messages. I did the whole thing from the scratch and this time I didn't mess with Piano Roll Editor, Mixer or individual notes, but, rather, just modified one existing dynamic setting a new velocity to it (thus, in fact creating a new dynamic). Now everything is fine!
Thank you for your time and for providing valuable insights explaining in which particular cases editing individual notes is needed (I would have definitely asked that question). Thank you! MuseScore is great!