Great tips! And beautiful music! One thing I've started doing recently was exporting all my instruments' sounds into Reaper (a Digital Audio Workstation that's free) and changing around dynamics there. Sometimes I want something between mezzo-piano and mezzo-forte for dynamics. And then I can add additional reverb effects there as well.
Regarding left-right panning of bass sources, note that because of the physics of acoustics, it's harder for people to determine the direction of a bass source compared to treble. That's why it usually doesn't matter where you put a subwoofer in a room. So if you pan the bass way off-center, those listening on speakers may not even notice, while those listening on headphones will hear the bass in an obviously unnatural way. This effect is always distracting, and often disturbing. Unless that is your intention, keep the bass panned at or near the center.
This may end up being a big help to me. Funny your trombones overpower...I find them underpowered...probably because I have other things set too loud. I think I need to play with the mixer. New subscriber. Your piece sounds terrific by the way.
You are incredibly kind, John. Thank you 🙏 To me, the trombones at mezzoforte to forte are such a blasting sound that it sometimes sticks out. HOWEVER, some compositions actually benefit from this sound. Very happy composing to you! Stay tuned, I will have many informative uploads in the future.
@@MrMayAllDay I am mystified that in competition with strings and other brass (not even a tutti) I have to have trombones at double or triple forte for them to stand out. Not true when they are more exposed. I will check out some of your other videos.
@@MrMayAllDay PS I tried some of the things you did with the volume in the mixer, when I had the violins down where you had them they disappeared almost...and while I achieved a better balance with the mixer levels down beloww zero, I lost power in the overall volume of the piece...but your piece had such a big sound...do you set the recording volume in Audacity? What I am missing about this process?
@@johnpcomposer In this piece, (despite any dynamic markings I made) I was going for a balanced sounding orchestra. Meaning that not every instrument would be easy to hear in isolation. I wanted the orchestra to sound like one voice. I suggest messing with the "Master Volume" once you have mixed your individual instruments. Pulling things below 0 was my way of creating a more subdued sound for the more powerful instrument sounds (violin 1, trombone, flute in upper range, and sometimes trumpets at high dynamics). Hope some of this helps!👍
Hello, Great tips and tricks, not only to improve playback but also to better the look of the pages. I find it strange that you have to lower the volume for the brass and percussion as those instrument families tend to need a good volume boost in my experience. Here is some of my experience with using MuseScore 4. If the score was imported from MuseScore 3, another notation app, or even written entirely in MuseScore 4, I would redo all the dynamics by each instrument family and group before mixing and mastering. The main reason is because different notation apps and sounds tend to interpret dynamics differently. My current workflow as welcomed in the video outro 1. Turn off the default reverb (Muse Reverb sounds much better in my opinion) 2. Pan instruments (based on a template guide I made last year) 3. Adjust volume for each individual mix to highlight important details 4. Use Medium Room Reverb or StaffPad depending on the orchestral textures I do have to comment about the clipping towards the end. MuseScore 4 will not preview with the clipping, but the audio export will. I find this a common issue with large and loud scores, though with a simple solution to fix. 1. Start playback at the loudest part of the piece 2. Adjust the master volume until the meter peaks around 0 units. 3. Repeat if any adjustments were made to the mixing. Personally, I don't bother much with the other effects, but is personal preference. Clarity and "sonic qualities" are my ultimate goals with making adjustments. All is said through experience as a self-taught amateur. I hope you find my insights for MuseScore 4 useful. P.S. I also made a short video tutorial. Great piece by the way, I really enjoyed the warm steady key and chord changes.
Thanks for the video Dylan. Is there any way to make both natural and artificial harmonics on the stings? I saw a very cumbersome way to fake it which does not sound the way harmonics does. Also, I haven't understood what's the differences between the free version and paid version of muse score. It is something about publishing. Does that means that the free version won't let me export both score and parts OF a full orchestra as PDF. What are the limitations?
Great questions. 1 ) As of the latest updates, I have not worked much with string harmonics. I do not believe they currently are supported. However, the latest update includes the ability to change performance techniques (beyond simple arco or pizz). 2 ) I do not have the paid version. It mainly improves the options to upload and download scores off the MuseScore website. As of now, there is no technical advantage. But, I would guess that could change in the future. Thanks for your questions, and I hope my answer helps.
@@MrMayAllDay Meanwhile, I got answer from Carl from Carl Irwin Music "Good news. I just checked this morning and there is an indication for harmonics in the articulations panel. Applying the circle harmonics figure to a note calls up true harmonics samples for strings." So it seems that natural harmonics are there, Haven't checked it yet. Still, the artificial harmonics are not there or I'm doing something wrong...
@@laylasmart To get access to those sounds, open the “Text” pallet and add a generic text to the instrument in question. Once you have done that, a speaker 🔊 icon will appear by the text. It should open a drop-down menu which allows you to change. Let me know if that helps!
Thanks D look forward to devouring this, soon. God bless XxX
No problem! 👍
Great info. Thanks, Dylan. (Some funny lines as well.😊). Cheers!
Nice piece and orchestration. Congrats!
Great video, it helped me a lot. Would you like to make a video about the balance of the dynamics in instruments? I don't find a good one on youtube
Glad this helped you out! I would love to make some more in this series. Give me a few weeks, and I should have some new videos up.
Thank you!!!
Oh my god 💀💀 I assumed that the little dial in the mixer page was for adjusting the reverb since it’s directly below it
Understandable! I hope this helped you out 🤞 Happy writing!
Nice composition, well done.
Very happy you enjoyed! 😃
Great tips! And beautiful music!
One thing I've started doing recently was exporting all my instruments' sounds into Reaper (a Digital Audio Workstation that's free) and changing around dynamics there. Sometimes I want something between mezzo-piano and mezzo-forte for dynamics. And then I can add additional reverb effects there as well.
I appreciate you sharing this info. I will be looking into Reaper a little more now. Glad you enjoyed!
I funnily invented the invisible dynamics trick for myself before watching
It’s incredibly useful! Happy composing.
Regarding left-right panning of bass sources, note that because of the physics of acoustics, it's harder for people to determine the direction of a bass source compared to treble. That's why it usually doesn't matter where you put a subwoofer in a room. So if you pan the bass way off-center, those listening on speakers may not even notice, while those listening on headphones will hear the bass in an obviously unnatural way. This effect is always distracting, and often disturbing. Unless that is your intention, keep the bass panned at or near the center.
This may end up being a big help to me. Funny your trombones overpower...I find them underpowered...probably because I have other things set too loud. I think I need to play with the mixer. New subscriber. Your piece sounds terrific by the way.
You are incredibly kind, John. Thank you 🙏
To me, the trombones at mezzoforte to forte are such a blasting sound that it sometimes sticks out. HOWEVER, some compositions actually benefit from this sound.
Very happy composing to you! Stay tuned, I will have many informative uploads in the future.
@@MrMayAllDay I am mystified that in competition with strings and other brass (not even a tutti) I have to have trombones at double or triple forte for them to stand out. Not true when they are more exposed. I will check out some of your other videos.
@@MrMayAllDay PS I tried some of the things you did with the volume in the mixer, when I had the violins down where you had them they disappeared almost...and while I achieved a better balance with the mixer levels down beloww zero, I lost power in the overall volume of the piece...but your piece had such a big sound...do you set the recording volume in Audacity? What I am missing about this process?
@@johnpcomposer In this piece, (despite any dynamic markings I made) I was going for a balanced sounding orchestra.
Meaning that not every instrument would be easy to hear in isolation. I wanted the orchestra to sound like one voice.
I suggest messing with the "Master Volume" once you have mixed your individual instruments.
Pulling things below 0 was my way of creating a more subdued sound for the more powerful instrument sounds (violin 1, trombone, flute in upper range, and sometimes trumpets at high dynamics).
Hope some of this helps!👍
@@MrMayAllDay thanks. I'll keep playing around with it.
Hello,
Great tips and tricks, not only to improve playback but also to better the look of the pages. I find it strange that you have to lower the volume for the brass and percussion as those instrument families tend to need a good volume boost in my experience. Here is some of my experience with using MuseScore 4.
If the score was imported from MuseScore 3, another notation app, or even written entirely in MuseScore 4, I would redo all the dynamics by each instrument family and group before mixing and mastering. The main reason is because different notation apps and sounds tend to interpret dynamics differently.
My current workflow as welcomed in the video outro
1. Turn off the default reverb (Muse Reverb sounds much better in my opinion)
2. Pan instruments (based on a template guide I made last year)
3. Adjust volume for each individual mix to highlight important details
4. Use Medium Room Reverb or StaffPad depending on the orchestral textures
I do have to comment about the clipping towards the end. MuseScore 4 will not preview with the clipping, but the audio export will. I find this a common issue with large and loud scores, though with a simple solution to fix.
1. Start playback at the loudest part of the piece
2. Adjust the master volume until the meter peaks around 0 units.
3. Repeat if any adjustments were made to the mixing.
Personally, I don't bother much with the other effects, but is personal preference.
Clarity and "sonic qualities" are my ultimate goals with making adjustments.
All is said through experience as a self-taught amateur. I hope you find my insights for MuseScore 4 useful. P.S. I also made a short video tutorial.
Great piece by the way, I really enjoyed the warm steady key and chord changes.
I’m thinking you’ll need to make a video now 😂. Wonderful and thorough tips! Thank you very much for the info and the kind words. ❤️
@@MrMayAllDay I already made one last year 😉 It's on my channel if you are interested.
@@MrMayAllDay I already made one 😉
I will check it out!
Thanks for the video Dylan. Is there any way to make both natural and artificial harmonics on the stings? I saw a very cumbersome way to fake it which does not sound the way harmonics does.
Also, I haven't understood what's the differences between the free version and paid version of muse score. It is something about publishing. Does that means that the free version won't let me export both score and parts OF a full orchestra as PDF. What are the limitations?
Great questions.
1 ) As of the latest updates, I have not worked much with string harmonics. I do not believe they currently are supported. However, the latest update includes the ability to change performance techniques (beyond simple arco or pizz).
2 ) I do not have the paid version. It mainly improves the options to upload and download scores off the MuseScore website. As of now, there is no technical advantage. But, I would guess that could change in the future.
Thanks for your questions, and I hope my answer helps.
@@MrMayAllDay
Meanwhile, I got answer from Carl from Carl Irwin Music
"Good news. I just checked this morning and there is an indication for harmonics in the articulations panel. Applying the circle harmonics figure to a note calls up true harmonics samples for strings."
So it seems that natural harmonics are there, Haven't checked it yet. Still, the artificial harmonics are not there or I'm doing something wrong...
@@laylasmart To get access to those sounds, open the “Text” pallet and add a generic text to the instrument in question. Once you have done that, a speaker 🔊 icon will appear by the text.
It should open a drop-down menu which allows you to change.
Let me know if that helps!
@@MrMayAllDay
I know about that also. I don't recall seeing the word "Harmonics" there but I'll give it a try. Thanks.
@laylasmart I assume you have tried putting the articulation marking on the notes in question…