SoundFonts and SFZ files

Updated 4 years ago
This page shows old instructions for MuseScore 2.
For MuseScore 4 users, see SoundFonts and SFZ files.

    Audio playback is provided by MuseScore's onboard synthesizer, which houses a large selection of virtual (or software) instruments—including percussion and sound effects.

    MuseScore supports virtual instruments in two formats:

    • SoundFont (.sf2/.sf3): A single file containing one or more virtual instruments.
    • SFZ (.sfz): A set of audio and definition files containing one or more virtual instruments.

    SoundFonts

    A Soundfont (.sf2/.sf3) is a single file containing one or more virtual instruments. As of version 2.2, MuseScore is installed with a SoundFont called MuseScore_General.sf3. This is a GM (General MIDI) set containing over 128 instruments, sound effects and various drum/percussion kits.

    Note: Older versions of MuseScore are installed with a different Soundfont: MuseScore 2.0–2.1 with FluidR3Mono_GM.sf3; MuseScore 1 with TimGM6mb.sf2.

    GM (General MIDI) is a universal format, so once your score is set up for correct playback using MuseScore's native Soundfont, you should be able to export it in a format of your choice and have it play back on any other user's computer.

    Many different Soundfonts are available on the Internet: some free, some commercial. For a list of free soundfonts, see below.

    Install a SoundFont

    After finding and decompressing a SoundFont (see →below), double-click to open it. In most cases, the SoundFont file type will already be associated with MuseScore, and MuseScore will start and a dialog will appear asking if you want to install the SoundFont. Occasionally an application other than MuseScore will be associated with the SoundFont file type; if this is the case, you will need to right-click or control-click on the file, so as to display a menu from which you can choose to open the file in MuseScore. In either case, when the dialog appears asking if you want to install the SoundFont, click "Yes" to place a copy of the SoundFont file in MuseScore's SoundFonts directory. This directory can be viewed or changed in MuseScore's Preferences, but the default location is:

    • Windows: %HOMEPATH%\Documents\MuseScore2\Soundfonts

    • macOS and Linux: ~/Documents/MuseScore2/Soundfonts

    In contrast to user-added SoundFonts, the initial default SoundFont installed with MuseScore is located in a system directory, meant only for that purpose, which should not be modified. This directory and its default SoundFont file is:

    • Windows (32-bit): %ProgramFiles%\MuseScore 2\sound\MuseScore_General.sf3

    • Windows (64-bit): %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MuseScore 2\sound\MuseScore_General.sf3

    • macOS: /Applications/MuseScore 2.app/Contents/Resources/sound/MuseScore_General.sf3

    • Linux (Ubuntu): /usr/share/mscore-xxx/sounds/MuseScore_General.sf3 (with xxx being the MuseScore version)

    Uninstall

    To uninstall a SoundFont, simply open the folder where its file is installed and delete it.

    SFZ

    An SFZ consists of a bunch of files and directories, an SFZ file and a bunch of actual sound files in WAV or FLAC format, with the SFZ file being a text file that basically describes what sound file is located where and to be used for what instrument and pitch range.

    Note: For full support of SFZ, MuseScore 2.1 or later is need, prior versions had only limited support, namely for Salamander Grand Piano

    Install an SFZ

    After downloading an SFZ (see →below), you need to manually extract all the files that belong to the SFZ (the SFZ file itself and all the subdirectories) into the directory listed above. Leave the subdirectories and their contents as they are.

    Uninstall

    To uninstall an SFZ, simply open the folder where its files are installed (see above) and delete them all.

    Synthesizer

    The Synthesizer is MuseScore's central control panel for sound output. Once a SoundFont has been installed, it needs to be loaded into the Synthesizer in order for MuseScore to use it for playback. To make a different SoundFont the default, load it in the Synthesizer and click Set as Default.

    To display the Synthesizer, go to View → Synthesizer. For more details, see Synthesizer.

    Synthesizer

    List of downloadable soundfiles

    GM SoundFonts

    The following sound libraries conform to the General MIDI (GM2) standard. This specification gives you a sound set of 128 virtual instruments, plus percussion kits.

    Orchestral soundfiles

    Piano soundfiles

    SF2 Pianos
    SFZ Pianos
    • Salamander Grand Piano
      Downloads: version 2 | version 3
      Description: Yamaha C5, 48kHz, 24bit, 16 velocity layers, between 80 MB and 1.9 GB uncompressed
      License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
      Courtesy of Alexander Holm
    • Detuned Piano (244 MB uncompressed)
      License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
    • Plucked Piano Strings
      Description: 44.1kHz, 16bit, stereo, 168 MB uncompressed
      License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
    • The City Piano
      Description: Baldwin Baby Grand, 4 velocity layers, 696 MB uncompressed
      License: Public domain
      Courtesy of Big Cat Instruments
    • Kawai Upright Piano, release 2017-01-28
      Description: 68 samples, 44KHz, 24bit, stereo, 2 velocity layers, 58MiB uncompressed
      License: GNU General Public License version 3 or later, with a special exception
      Courtesy of Gonzalo and Roberto

    Unzipping downloaded soundfiles

    Since soundfiles are large, they are often zipped (compressed) into a variety of formats, including .zip, .sfArk, and .tar.gz. You need to unzip (decompress) these files before they can be used.

    • ZIP is standard compression format supported by most operating systems.

    • sfArk is a compression format designed especially for compressing SoundFont files. To decompress it, use Polyphone (cross-platform software); or this online service: https://cloudconvert.com/sfark-to-sf2

    • .tar.gz is a popular compression format for Linux. Windows users can use 7-Zip; Mac users can use The Unarchiver, or macOS' built-in Archive Utility. Note that if using 7-Zip, you will need to apply decompression twice—once for GZip and once for TAR.

    Troubleshooting

    If the toolbar play panel is greyed out, or not visible, follow the instructions below to get your sound working again:

    1. Right-click on the menu bar and make sure there is a check mark next to the Playback Controls menu item. If this step does not solve your problem, go to Step 2.
    2. If the play panel disappears after changing the SoundFont, go to Edit → Preferences... → I/O tab and click OK without making any changes. After restarting MuseScore, the play panel should reappear.

    If you are setting up a SoundFont for the first time, please use one of the recommended SoundFonts listed above.

    If playback stutters, then your computer may not not able to handle the SoundFont being used. The following advice may help:

    • Reduce the amount of RAM (memory) used by MuseScore by using a smaller SoundFont. See the list above for suggestions.
    • Increase the amount of RAM available for MuseScore by quitting all applications except MuseScore. If you still have problems and a large SoundFont is important to you, consider more RAM for your computer.

    See also

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