Can I mimic the sound of a metal bar hitting cello strings in Musescore?
I have encountered a great score on YouTube that I would love to adapt to MuseScore. It is called "Hypernova" and is performed by a symphony group named "Eternal Eclipse". You can find it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAj0gEBo8dg&ab_channel=EternalEclipse
The song begins by musicians using a metal bar tapping onto cello strings to get a metallic clanging sound (here and see the score on YouTube above). The sound is ethereal and sharp and I would love to mimic it, but I have no idea what that metal bar is called on sheet music, nor how to get that sound from available soundfonts. I've tried electric guitars, harpsichords, metal pads, etc. and come close, but not really a match.
Does anyone know what that metal rod is called when called for on sheet music, and can you suggest a soundfont anywhere that can duplicate it? I'd be most grateful for your advice. Thanks
Comments
Some observations.
The way the audio fades in at the beginning, it's hard to tell what is making what sound. All I hear are the short violin notes. Are you actually hearing strings being struck (which won't be very loud) against notes being played by the violins and other cellos?
I took screenshots. It looks to me like the first player (closest to us) is using a pencil. The second player is using a drum stick. The third looks like a pencil, again. I can't imagine any serious player hitting their strings with anything metal. I believe there is a technique that involves the wooden part of the bow.
Maybe someone will help out.
In reply to Some observations. The way… by bobjp
Bob: Thanks for trying to sort this out. I clearly hear metallic sounds coming from the cellos being hit by some type of metal rod. I cannot imagine the rods are just wood pencils, but maybe I'm wrong ... Watch again at measures 3-4 and 10-11. The background cellists (blurred in video) do appear to be hitting their strings with the wood part of the bow. If so, then is there a Musescore soundfont that mimics the wood stick hitting the strings? If not, what soundfont would you choose to get that metallic sound?
In reply to Bob: Thanks for trying to… by fsgregs
The term is "col legno" = "with the wood"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_legno
In reply to The term is "col legno" = … by SteveBlower
Steve: I guess you and Bob are right. In watching carefully, the "rod" the cellists are using do appear to be pencils, and the blurred cellists in the background and the violinists in the orchestra are probably using the wood of the bow in a "Col Negro" style. Now, I am facing the problem of trying to mimic the sound in MuseScore. I've tried ALL of the soundfonts I have and none of them seem to sound like wood on a cello or violin string.
Any suggestions? (Thanks in advance) (PS - I am still using MS 3.62 until 4.3 adds volume controls to dynamics and hairpins).
Frank
In reply to Steve: I guess you and Bob… by fsgregs
Col legno not "negro". That would be something totally different.
In reply to Col legno not "negro". That… by SteveBlower
Thanks, Steve. Been a number of decades since I studied string technique. Forgot the name for it.
Frank. here are my screenshots.
In reply to Thanks, Steve. Been a number… by bobjp
Bob: You are so right. The rod is a wood pencil of sorts, not a metal rod. Thanks for the screenshots.
Steve, I meant Col Legno, not Col Negro. Thanks for the correction. Now, do you guys have any suggestions for how to closely mimic the sound in MuseScore, on both Cello and violin?
In reply to Bob: You are so right. The… by fsgregs
You might be able to find a percussion sound that might work.
Here is the Col Legno sound in MU4.
In reply to You might be able to find a… by bobjp
Bob: Thanks for posting the sound from Eclipse. It does sound a bit like the Col Legno sound in the video, but it is missing a more metallic twang to it. I can try it anyway, and see what I can work out. Which soundfont/sound in MS 4 is it? Is it available in MS 3.62 do you know?
In reply to Bob: Thanks for posting the… by fsgregs
This is Muse sounds Strings. Activated by the new Staff Text.
My guess is that there is too much of the root (D) note for you. That's because normally a player would finger a note then hit the string. Probably the players in the video just touched the string they hit, rather than push it to the fingerboard. I wonder if a higher note would have more what you are after. Plus I only tried cello.
In reply to This is Muse sounds Strings… by bobjp
And what we both missed is that it is the basses not the cellos.
In reply to And what we both missed is… by bobjp
Whaaaaat? Are you kidding me? I don't know how you can tell? You can't see if the Col legno players are standing up (basses) or sitting down (cellos). The camera crew is not showing them. Is there something I'm missing?
In reply to Whaaaaat? Are you kidding… by fsgregs
Definitely cellos. Contrabasses have sloping "shoulders".
In reply to Definitely cellos. … by SteveBlower
Most do have sloping upper bouts. But some much less than others. I found many examples. However look at these two pics. One is of a player in the video using a stick ( or whatever). Look at the depth of the instrument. Compare that to the cello in the other pic. from the next shot.