MuseScore 4 Muse Sounds not usuable?
So I just tried out Muse Sounds, specifically experimenting on brass. Every instrument I try has the same problems, it seems. Any dynamic below Mf is practically inaudible. And then F and FF are deafening. There is this huge cliff between them. Since I'm a normal person, and don't write things as Forte all the time, basically none of my scores work.
Additionally, there are weird playback things, where the velocity/volume seem to be really inconsistent (cresecendos randomly drop off, articulations play at a different dynamic). Some notes just don't play at all, like some that are tied, it just ignores them. Overall, I'm just kind of dissapointed with this. But I've watched demo videos where this doesn't seem to be an issue, the same brass instruments sound clearly at piano dynamic. The only solution I can see is just to use Mf dynamic marking as piano, and Forte as normal volume, but I don't really want to do that.
Is this just how Muse Sounds is, or could there be something else wrong?
Edit: glad I'm not the only one having these issues. I've since noticed more that are just unforgivable, though. Like instruments not playing in tempo, to make room for scoops and portamento. If there's two things a computer playback should be able to do, it should be: play in tempo, play in tune. There's no reason to give Musesounds creative liberty.
Comments
I have the same issue! Whenever I play something back, the audio from the Muse Sounds jumps dynamics, either very quiet or extremely loud--even with no dynamic changes added. If you find a solution to this issue please let me know!
Thirding that note volume is really inconsistent. Sometimes notes are inexplicably low in volume or hardly audible whereas other times they are very loud with no change on my part to indicate so. I love the sounds so I hope this gets fixed soon
I'm having very similar issues when it comes to dynamics and overall playback. In addition, notes outside of Musescore's dictated "playable range" for an instrument won't sound at all. I'm a trombone player, and write a lot of trombone ensemble music, which makes use of the entire range of the instrument. Notes that I know can be played won't sound in playback at all. So far I haven't been able to find a solution.
I've had several sound issues. But not this one.
I've had similar issues with inconsistent volume between notes and entire patches; the Grand Piano sounds perfect to me, but some instruments like the Viola seem to randomly play some notes at normal volume and some notes almost inaudibly quietly, even though they're all being played with the same dynamic and none of them are accented otherwise in any way.
As well, if I have multiple instruments like a Viola, Violin, Alto Sax, and Piano, some of them are significantly quieter than others while all being at the same level in the mixer. I can remedy this temporarily my just increasing the volume of the quiet ones, but it seems odd that there's such a huge difference in the first place - not to mention that if I do this, those randomly louder notes I mentioned before become very distracting.
You might also all hit this issue https://musescore.org/en/node/338522 that is about a default Reverb that we can no longer turn off. This makes forte and fortissimo much louder for any instrument.
In reply to You might also all hit this… by slacroix
Or #338522: MuseScore 4 no way to get rid of reverb
I've got similar issue. Samples sound great but dynamics on basically all instruments are very uneven (not to mention random glissandi on string instruments solo). I believe that is the biggest issue of MuseSounds right now.
In reply to I've got similar issue… by niochusnioch1
I know! Why on earth does it glissando??
I'm having this too. I've transported in a piece for violin and piano, and the balance just is totally wrong. The piano part seems fairly accurate, but the violin part is nearly inaudible for p, and blaringly loud for f, with very little in between. But also, in an attempt to mimic the movement of the bow, the notes start very quietly and swell, which makes it sound very very wrong.
In reply to I'm having this too. I've… by ToftsTutors
Yeah I've noticed that too. I'm glad it's not just me, because listening to the demo track on youtube I was like, I don't really hear these issues? Maybe it was composed around them. But the solo violin playback is just unforgivable. It scoops into every note. Can't, or won't play staccato. inaudible below mezzo forte. It's such a shame because there's huge potential in most of the samples (bassoon is just not very good overall), but they can't be used like this because they aren't consistent.
I made a post similar to this a few days ago. I know realize the answer is that we just have to wait. Since the full version just came out there are still many o bugs (especially with muse sounds), but I know they want this to be great so I trust that they’ll it, and hopefully it’s soon.
Yh I've had this issue too I hope it gets fixed soon.
As well as this, for some reason if you play two notes of the same pitch back to back on saxophone it ties them even if they're not tied.
Pitching in to say that I've also encountered this issue, less than five minutes in. It effects trombones so heavily that they actually aren't audible below mf dynamic. You can even see this in the mixer to confirm that there is no sound playing on that channel.
I am also having trouble with dynamic changes when nothing is marked in the score. And the Violin 1 part adding glissandi where there shouldn't be any.
Everyone. Dynamic problems between different programs are normal. Think about it. You created something in one program based on how that program worked. MS4 doesn't work the way MS3 does. You will need to go through your scores and make adjustments.
Yes, some of the solo sounds are sloppy. Bummer for now.
Make sure your computer meets the minimum specs for MS4. If not, you will need to make some adjustments. This to help with playback stutters and tempo problems.
In reply to Everyone. Dynamic problems… by bobjp
I'm testing out the instruments on new scores, just by themselves. I don't expect a whole score to magically sound perfect without adjustment. But if you write a simple line of music at mezzo forte, it should be pretty straightforward and consistent.
In reply to I'm testing out the… by cowa.joe
My limited understanding is that part of the programing of the playback engine is to "interpret" the music. That is, play it like a real player might. People have requested that MuseScore work like/with NotePerformer. Personally, I think this is a mistake. Solo instruments seem to be affected the most.
In reply to My limited understanding is… by bobjp
Yeah, I don't know, I might have been too harsh. In an orchestral score it gives a great effect, but with more simple things where instruments are exposed solo it creates issues that are honestly frustrating. Obviously we still have MS basic as well, but if they would only let us be more in control of how the instruments function it would really solve a lot of these issues.
Same for me! I've also noticed that quarter notes are quite quiet and then half notes and whole notes swell, which is nice, but they become way too loud. So, all the bars of my quartet with quarter notes are too quiet and then when there's a longer note it's too loud!
I think Musesounds are a big step forward BUT they need to sort out the volume.
(note — this is feedback based on playing MS 3 scores with MS 4. But they're really basic scores so I don't think that should matter)
Same here! The choir sounds I'm using, it's like one to two voices singing for "p" and then a whole group of 50 or more people singing for "f". This is just weird. I need same number of people singing in different dynamics but not changing the number of singers.
In reply to Same here! The choir sounds… by MOCH
I read your post and went and then wrote some 4 part choral music as a test. I added p to f dynamics with hairpins in between. Not sure I hear the type of effect you do. Maybe it's my cheap headphones. There are, of course a myriad of other playback problems.
Same issues here. I write a LOT of brass arrangements and transcriptions for my brass groups. The only solution I've come up with is to use the old brass sounds; it's a bummer because they sound poor, comparatively. At least the dynamics work properly though. For me, there's basically no reason to use Musescore4 because of this setback. I'd be almost just as happy on Musescore2. The only reason I'm sticking with 4 atm is because I can have purple in it, which is my favorite color haha
Trombone sound barely audible even on top volume!
In reply to Trombone sound barely… by andrewcoe
See #341179: trombone too quiet
I have the same problem still. The brass instruments don't play back properly, especially trombone. Anything below mezzo-forte it's basically inaudible. The worst part is the complete lack of note articulation, it plays all the notes like they're tied.
It's too bad because they have some really nice sounds. For now I'm just using the old sounds instead :P
WIth the Muse Hub Solo Violin, I find that if I mark all the notes as staccato it plays staccato, but if I don't, the default glissing is so strong that a series of plain DCDCDC eighth notes with no articulations added sound like the violinist's left finger is just sliding back and forth between those notes while the right hand does one continuous tied downstroke.
Same here, unfortunately...
MuseSounds was made only with slow largo pieces in mind, a huge oversight on the devs' part. Every piece has to be very largo or incredibly aggressive to sound half-decent. There is no in-between. There's a reason why they only showcased MuseSounds using slow pieces in their YouTube video. They also use AI to artificially "interpret" scores that use MuseSounds which results in general inconsistency in things like dynamics. They disclosed all of this in one of their 40 minute YouTube videos. With MS3, you had full control of every aspect of a note (and they called many of these functions "useless"), or at least a lot more than with MS4. If you want your scores to sound tolerable with MuseSounds in MS4, you have a lot of work cut out for you.
MuseSounds and MS4 in general were ambitious, half-baked, and poorly constructed projects which the devs dumped onto the table and let users polish up with their "open-source" label and all.
In reply to MuseSounds was made only… by BeatsKEI
It's hard for me to tell from your post if you've actually used MU4 or just want to complain about it based on some videos. It is clear that MuseSounds have a ways to go yet. MU4 is not MU3 and can't be treated as such. Yes, there are more controls in MU3. But what good are they if the sounds aren't that great to begin with. Yes, it's a lot of work to get good playback in any notation software. But good playback is not the goal of notation software.
And MU4 isn't for everyone. Like the church organist that posted that he loads 150 hymns at once then uses the ones he needs at any particular time.
In reply to It's hard for me to tell… by bobjp
I can guarantee I've used it more than most, although to be fair my goals with Musescore are not the same as others. I also think this is the first time I've ever expressed my overall opinion of MS4 ever. I don't usually bother sharing my opinions anymore because I know my MO does not take priority over others who use Musescore for their job or something like that. I'm upset because I've loved using Musescore for so many years and I know it can be so much more, not just a factory for pumping out scores. And the reason I mentioned the YouTube videos is because most of the problems with playback that I've seen people talk about can be explained by them.
If I were to give praise for some of the things I think MuseSounds/MS4 did spectacularly (as far as average user experience), it would be these: further distinguishing in sound between instruments of the same family based on seating, neatness of engraving and note input, realistic suspended cymbal (finally!), realistic rolls and tremolos, more variety in playback for string techniques, the entire instruments tab under palettes, changing instruments, toolbar customization.
In reply to I can guarantee I've used it… by BeatsKEI
It is disappointing when sounds don't work. One longs for a program that will facilitate all ones creative musical needs. I have confidence Mr. Keary Will keep applying his talents to the cause. I can say that having easy access to so many different ways to shape the performance and dynamics of the piano sketches I have written on Musescore so far is really great! Thanks Martin, thanks all! I hope the desire to contribute remains strong and if it flags that all the users will come together and support the contrbutors. !!!
The biggest issues I have had have been inconsistent sound across computers. Change of instrument sounds over time that I have to go back and fix (and sometimes can't). Computers not connected to MuseHub having more consistent playback sounds over time than connected ones... hmmmm. I'm spending a lot of time diagnosing changes to playback sounds, changes to sounds associated with notations, and usually having to adjust scores rather than settings in the end. Has anyone noticed a tendency for sound quality to degrade over time for individual installations?