MuseScore 4 notes decay before I let go of Midi Keyboard
In Muse Score 4, any time I try to hold out a note or chord when holding down notes on my MIDI keyboard, the notes decay relatively quickly (about 1 second) before I've actually let go of the keys. In fact, it doesn't matter how long or short I strike the keys, the note duration is the same. For example, if I strike the keys with a staccato articulation, the note still plays for about a second before decaying.
This is frustrating when trying to experiment with melodic ideas that require longer note durations before committing them to the score. I compose jazz pieces, and this audio issue renders any swung eigth note ideas that I play into an incomprehensible off-time mess.
Changing the rhythmic note value selection for "note input" has no effect on this issue, as I don't have "Insert" selected when playing through melodic ideas with my MIDI keyboard (or else they would get committed to the score).
After I've committed my melodic ideas to the score via "Insert", note values playback correctly for their intended durations, which included whole notes and ties.
I could, of course, 1) go back to v.3.6 or 2) experiment with compositional ideas on another keyboard or in another software, but I often use VSTs such as Kontakt to inspire melodic compositional ideas and capture them to score immediately as part of my process.
I've included a lead sheet I'm working through in Mv4 as an example. You won't be able to open it properly in Mv3.
Is there a setting I need to change, or is this a known issue with the development versions of Musescore 4?
| Attachment | Size |
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| New_Idea__10-18.mscz | 481.77 KB |
Comments
MuseScore isn't designed for real-time playback. Better to use the built-in sounds on the keyboard or a separate app, for that.
The setting for how long notes sustain during note input is given in Edit / Preferences / Note Input.
In reply to MuseScore isn't designed for… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for the quick response, Marc.
I understand that MuseScore isn't designed for real-time playback, but I don't experience this issue in the current MuseScore 3.X. When I strike a keyboard key in M3, the audio plays for as long or short as I hold the key down until the note decays naturally. This allows me to play any articulation and dynamic. In version 4, it doesn't matter how long, short, hard, or soft I press my MIDI keyboard, the sound engine plays the note for the length of time set in Edit / Preferences / Note Input, and the velocity of my key strike has no effect on the dynamic of the note that plays back.
Is there something different in the sound engine or playback of M4?
In reply to Thanks for the quick… by Glennallen81
Yes, it's entirely new, that's kind of the main point of MuseScore 4.
But - are you sure it's MuseScore 3 playing the sound when you hold notes long? I don't have a MIDI keyboard attached currently, but I never found it to work that way in the past - notes played only a fixed length of time, and with a fixed velocity, and with no sustain pedal support, in previous versions of MuseScore 3. Maybe some improvement was made more recently than I ever tested.
In reply to Yes, it's entirely new, that… by Marc Sabatella
Yes, I have a basic 49-key M-Audio Keystudio and the built-in MuseScore sound library in M3. It's slightly laggy, but I can perform with articulation and rhythm when not in Note Input mode. I'm not using any other sounds or software. I recorded a quick screen share video to show what I'm experiencing: https://www.loom.com/share/c7243d7fbffa46edbacfc0c67946c814
In reply to Yes, I have a basic 49-key M… by Glennallen81
"If it's possible here, it's gotta be possible there" sounds like the epitaph of a certain software.
In reply to MuseScore isn't designed for… by Marc Sabatella
mu3 can play back in realtime
In reply to MuseScore isn't designed for… by Marc Sabatella
That really sucks!! It worked in Musescore 3.
Instrument sound preview has fixed note duration when playing MIDI keyboard?
In reply to Instrument sound preview has… by geetar
Hi geetar, after following that link, it appears that this is a known and unresolved issue in MU4. Is that correct?
In reply to Hi geetar, after following… by Glennallen81
Yes.
Notes not only have the same duration, but also the same velocity. That's really disappointing, also considering that it worked well in the previous versions.
In reply to Notes not only have the same… by Swite
I definitely agree. For me, Musescore 4 is practically unusable, because I make notes with midi keyboards and always want to listen while playing. It is strange that this feature has been left out of the new version, when it worked well in the older version. I'm a teacher and in a teaching situation I can't use the latest version, but I use the 3.6.2 version, which works just fine.
In reply to I definitely agree. For me,… by KurttuArtsi
I agree, and to rub salt in the wound, you can't even mute the master bus... if you want to listen to your MIDI keyboard through another app (which of course I never had to do in MuseScore 3) you first have to mute each and every individual instrument in your score... because even though there is a mute button on the master bus, it DOES NOT WORK for some reason like ....? why????
also the lag, omg. i could almost tolerate the static duration and static velocity if musescore supported buffer sizes below 1024 samples... so painful
In reply to I agree, and to rub salt in… by -Stef-
Your OS should provide a mute for each application in its system mixer, but if it doesn't, simply turn down the master volume within MuseScore - no need to mute each track one by one. Meanwhile, there is already a bug report logged for the lack of mute support on the master channel.
Sounds like you are also experiencing some sort of lag on MIDI input? This seems to happen on certain systems with certain input devices for reasons that are not fully understood. There are issues filed for that too, and some optimization to address some of that already in place for 4.2. But every system is different (mine has no discernible lag at all, for instance). The more info you can provide about the inqiue qualities of your system that might be contributing to the lag, the better the developers will be able to find solutions for your particular case.
In reply to Your OS should provide a… by Marc Sabatella
good point about the master fader.
I'm using an M2 Macbook Air running Monterey. I can't say I experience audio/midi issues with other applications
This is really bad, I try to hold the notes, but MuseScore forces a decay .
Other programs don’t work like this
In reply to This is really bad, I try… by jazzbrazil
"This is actually quite a strange situation. New updates keep coming all the time, but this feature is still an issue. I just bought the Dorico Pro 5 notation software, and even in that (of course) the notes play as long as the key is pressed. Could one of YOU please explain why this has been left in this state?"
In reply to "This is actually quite a… by KurttuArtsi
Because no one with the skills to alter this has been sufficiently concerned to volunteer their time to do so. Such is the nature of open source software - the things that bother the most users are the first things to be fixed. In this case, part of why it hasn't been a big issue is probably the realization that even with this changed, MuseScore still wouldn't be well suited for actual performance, because too many other things would be missing (dynamics, pitch bend, pedal, plus latency is on the high side, etc). But there are folks working on these issues - just nothing in place yet,
In reply to Because no one with the… by Marc Sabatella
Thank you for the response. This is understandable, and I hope this will be resolved in the near future. Otherwise, Musescore is an excellent program and comparable to expensive professional-level software.
Let's live in hope!