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Apologies for the general topic. I've been using MuseScore with soundfonts that I edit in Polyphone for some time now (since Muse Sounds does not play back my string scores correctly) and I have a few questions about how to manipulate the playback of a .sf2 by changing settings in Polyphone.
Here's the soundfont that I'm using if anyone is curious: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/geof0mmvsw6sv7dvfnq0i/Virtual_Strings_Sections.sf2?rlkey=n0he7z3rpjyj3c8n3pksv7lxj&st=ah88nb2q&dl=0
1. Is there a way to link articulation notation to different playbacks/instruments in a preset in Polyphone? I know that I can create a sound with no attack by cutting off the first part of the note as talked about here: https://www.polyphone.io/en/forum/help/823-how-to-do-legato. But is there a way to link that legato instrument to some kind of instruction that gets sent in the MIDI commands from MuseScore (preferably without using key switches)?
2. If there isn't a way to do this with the MuseScore synthesizer, can it be done with a VST like sforzando and a .sfz format?
3. If these articulations cannot be programmed to notation, I should be able to use key switches to accomplish this, right? If so, is there an easy way to do this in Polyphone itself (if I were to convert my .sf2 to a .sfz) or do I have to use a text editor and write some code? At that point, I have to wonder if having no attack on my slurred notes is worth all the effort of writing in a key switch staff for each instrument in the orchestra.
4. A bit of a different topic, but in MuseScore 3, to use single note dynamics with my soundfont, I had to add a modulator to control the breath controller. I'm not exactly sure how this works, but the dynamics followed a crescendo on a single, so I was happy. In MuseScore 4, this feature seems to break playback entirely, so I removed it from my soundfont and noticed that MuseScore 4 plays single note dynamics properly now without adding a breath controller modulator. What changed? Some difference in how MuseScore sent instructions to the soundfont for playback?
I know that there's a lot to these questions. If you don't feel like answering them directly, please point me in the direction of the resources that might help (I've found it hard to find direct and concrete answers to these kinds of questions online). Thanks for reading! -
1. articulation in a soundfont is only possible through Velocity layers
2. it is possible in .sfz format, but that has nothing to do with .sf2 format
3. google for an .sfz editor
4. MuseScore is an ocean steamer for Notation, it is wreck for playing music (just like Sforzando)
regards bottrop -
Thanks for your reply.
By Velocity layers, do you mean mapping different articulation samples (staccato, legato, etc.) to different velocities or simply mapping different dynamic samples (p, mp, mf, f, etc.) to different velocities? If it's the former, does that mean that to indicate a certain articulation like staccato or tenuto, you would set the velocity of that note to the corresponding velocity for that articulation in the soundfont?
By saying that it is possible with .sfz, do you mean by using key switches with some tool like expression mapping? Or is there a way to directly map MuseScore's articulation notation to a VST? -
you can map any kind of samples in velocity layers. in an Instrument with seven layers you could play pizzicato, staccato, spiccato, legato pp, legato mp, legato f and legato ff (if you have the samples for those layers)
for the possibilities of . sfz / VST google for .sfz editors
if you want good control of your music performance, convert to MIDI and play in a DAW (lot of work, but best result)
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