Re: midi sound quality help needed
Hi Guy; May I converse with you regarding this off-list? I feel quite dense :-( Thanks, Ken On Tue, Sep 14, 2021 at 6:02 PM Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: > > Oh, brilliant!!! Thanks so much, Guy! I wish I knew this a long time ago! > > Hwaen Ch'uqi > > > On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > > Sorry, that's not terribly clear ... > > > > Add "--output-24bit" to the TIMIDITY commandline (there may be a way to > > put it in the timidity config, but I just used the CLI anyway) > > > > %> timidity --output-24bit -Ow > > > > Sorry about that. > > > > Guy > > > > On 9/14/21 6:54 PM, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > >> > >> Yes!! I used to have that all the time when using timidity from the > >> CLI to play MIDI and then convert to WAV/FLAC. > >> > >> Now to see if I can remember how to fix it. > >> > >> AH! This ... > >> > >> From: > >> https://henkelmann.eu/2013/03/fixing-timidity-crackling-output-in-gnu-solfege/ > >> > >> add |--output-24bit| to the options for that entry (my complete > >> options for timidity are |--output-24bit -idqq %s|) > >> > >> That "--output-24bit" is what worked for me. > >> > >> Regards. > >> > >> On 9/14/21 6:45 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: > >> > >>> Oh, that's all right! That overall placement of folder did look a bit > >>> "interesting" to me. > >>> > >>> But since we are on the subject of midi/timidity, I wonder if you or > >>> someone else could address this: I have noticed that there is much > >>> more crackling (not sure how else to describe it) going on in the > >>> sound when playing the midi files. Any idea what might be causing > >>> that? > >>> > >>> Thanks! > >>> > >>> Hwaen Ch'uqi > >>> > >>> > >>> On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > I did not intend to contradict what you wrote, simply to show that > kubuntu has a more complicated set of configuration files that all > interact with each other, rather than using a single timidity.cfg file > (which was all that there was many years ago). > > I apologize if I gave the impression I was correcting you. I *agree* > with you completely. > > Regards. > > On 9/14/21 6:29 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: > > Greetings Guy, > > > > Perhaps I am missing something, but the folder contents that you > > display don't seem to contradict what I wrote. > > > > Hwaen Ch'uqi > > > > > > On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > >> Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: > >> > >> √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ > >> total 480K > >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg > >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg > >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg > >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg > >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg > >> > >> Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. > >> > >> Guy > >> > >> On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: > >>> Greetings Ken, > >>> > >>> I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the > >>> principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a > >>> file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. > >>> Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download > >>> it > >>> and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg > >>> soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks > >>> like > >>> this: > >>> > >>> # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: > >>> source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg > >>> > >>> Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the > >>> pound sign so that timidity ignores it. > >>> > >>> I hope this helps. > >>> > >>> Hwaen Ch'uqi > >>> > >>> > >>> On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > Ken, > > You are S close :-) > > The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a > specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. > It's > up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is > typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, > or > other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how > to > use a soundfont. > > You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making > "better" > MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly > decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi > sounds). > > When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used > fluidsynth/QSynth > configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time > ago, >
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Oh, brilliant!!! Thanks so much, Guy! I wish I knew this a long time ago! Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > Sorry, that's not terribly clear ... > > Add "--output-24bit" to the TIMIDITY commandline (there may be a way to > put it in the timidity config, but I just used the CLI anyway) > > %> timidity --output-24bit -Ow > > Sorry about that. > > Guy > > On 9/14/21 6:54 PM, Guy Stalnaker wrote: >> >> Yes!! I used to have that all the time when using timidity from the >> CLI to play MIDI and then convert to WAV/FLAC. >> >> Now to see if I can remember how to fix it. >> >> AH! This ... >> >> From: >> https://henkelmann.eu/2013/03/fixing-timidity-crackling-output-in-gnu-solfege/ >> >> add |--output-24bit| to the options for that entry (my complete >> options for timidity are |--output-24bit -idqq %s|) >> >> That "--output-24bit" is what worked for me. >> >> Regards. >> >> On 9/14/21 6:45 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: >> >>> Oh, that's all right! That overall placement of folder did look a bit >>> "interesting" to me. >>> >>> But since we are on the subject of midi/timidity, I wonder if you or >>> someone else could address this: I have noticed that there is much >>> more crackling (not sure how else to describe it) going on in the >>> sound when playing the midi files. Any idea what might be causing >>> that? >>> >>> Thanks! >>> >>> Hwaen Ch'uqi >>> >>> >>> On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: I did not intend to contradict what you wrote, simply to show that kubuntu has a more complicated set of configuration files that all interact with each other, rather than using a single timidity.cfg file (which was all that there was many years ago). I apologize if I gave the impression I was correcting you. I *agree* with you completely. Regards. On 9/14/21 6:29 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: > Greetings Guy, > > Perhaps I am missing something, but the folder contents that you > display don't seem to contradict what I wrote. > > Hwaen Ch'uqi > > > On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: >> Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: >> >> √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ >> total 480K >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg >> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg >> >> Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. >> >> Guy >> >> On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: >>> Greetings Ken, >>> >>> I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the >>> principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a >>> file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. >>> Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download >>> it >>> and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg >>> soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks >>> like >>> this: >>> >>> # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: >>> source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg >>> >>> Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the >>> pound sign so that timidity ignores it. >>> >>> I hope this helps. >>> >>> Hwaen Ch'uqi >>> >>> >>> On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Ken, You are S close :-) The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to use a soundfont. You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Sorry, that's not terribly clear ... Add "--output-24bit" to the TIMIDITY commandline (there may be a way to put it in the timidity config, but I just used the CLI anyway) %> timidity --output-24bit -Ow Sorry about that. Guy On 9/14/21 6:54 PM, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Yes!! I used to have that all the time when using timidity from the CLI to play MIDI and then convert to WAV/FLAC. Now to see if I can remember how to fix it. AH! This ... From: https://henkelmann.eu/2013/03/fixing-timidity-crackling-output-in-gnu-solfege/ add |--output-24bit| to the options for that entry (my complete options for timidity are |--output-24bit -idqq %s|) That "--output-24bit" is what worked for me. Regards. On 9/14/21 6:45 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Oh, that's all right! That overall placement of folder did look a bit "interesting" to me. But since we are on the subject of midi/timidity, I wonder if you or someone else could address this: I have noticed that there is much more crackling (not sure how else to describe it) going on in the sound when playing the midi files. Any idea what might be causing that? Thanks! Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: I did not intend to contradict what you wrote, simply to show that kubuntu has a more complicated set of configuration files that all interact with each other, rather than using a single timidity.cfg file (which was all that there was many years ago). I apologize if I gave the impression I was correcting you. I *agree* with you completely. Regards. On 9/14/21 6:29 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Guy, Perhaps I am missing something, but the folder contents that you display don't seem to contradict what I wrote. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ total 480K -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. Guy On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Ken, I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download it and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks like this: # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the pound sign so that timidity ignores it. I hope this helps. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Ken, You are S close :-) The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to use a soundfont. You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use the FluidR3 sound font. See this Google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. Hope this helps. Guy P.S. A nice thing about using
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Yes!! I used to have that all the time when using timidity from the CLI to play MIDI and then convert to WAV/FLAC. Now to see if I can remember how to fix it. AH! This ... From: https://henkelmann.eu/2013/03/fixing-timidity-crackling-output-in-gnu-solfege/ add |--output-24bit| to the options for that entry (my complete options for timidity are |--output-24bit -idqq %s|) That "--output-24bit" is what worked for me. Regards. On 9/14/21 6:45 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Oh, that's all right! That overall placement of folder did look a bit "interesting" to me. But since we are on the subject of midi/timidity, I wonder if you or someone else could address this: I have noticed that there is much more crackling (not sure how else to describe it) going on in the sound when playing the midi files. Any idea what might be causing that? Thanks! Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: I did not intend to contradict what you wrote, simply to show that kubuntu has a more complicated set of configuration files that all interact with each other, rather than using a single timidity.cfg file (which was all that there was many years ago). I apologize if I gave the impression I was correcting you. I *agree* with you completely. Regards. On 9/14/21 6:29 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Guy, Perhaps I am missing something, but the folder contents that you display don't seem to contradict what I wrote. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ total 480K -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. Guy On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Ken, I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download it and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks like this: # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the pound sign so that timidity ignores it. I hope this helps. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Ken, You are S close :-) The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to use a soundfont. You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use the FluidR3 sound font. See this Google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. Hope this helps. Guy P.S. A nice thing about using an app and soundfont YOU specify is that you can change the soundfont used. If you've the money you can purchase incredibly good soundfonts (if you like) though there are dozens available for free. One of my favorite is an English Organ sound font with quite good sounds. On
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Oh, that's all right! That overall placement of folder did look a bit "interesting" to me. But since we are on the subject of midi/timidity, I wonder if you or someone else could address this: I have noticed that there is much more crackling (not sure how else to describe it) going on in the sound when playing the midi files. Any idea what might be causing that? Thanks! Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > I did not intend to contradict what you wrote, simply to show that > kubuntu has a more complicated set of configuration files that all > interact with each other, rather than using a single timidity.cfg file > (which was all that there was many years ago). > > I apologize if I gave the impression I was correcting you. I *agree* > with you completely. > > Regards. > > On 9/14/21 6:29 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: >> Greetings Guy, >> >> Perhaps I am missing something, but the folder contents that you >> display don't seem to contradict what I wrote. >> >> Hwaen Ch'uqi >> >> >> On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: >>> Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: >>> >>> √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ >>> total 480K >>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg >>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg >>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg >>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg >>> -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg >>> >>> Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. >>> >>> Guy >>> >>> On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Ken, I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download it and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks like this: # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the pound sign so that timidity ignores it. I hope this helps. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > Ken, > > You are S close :-) > > The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a > specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. > It's > up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is > typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or > other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to > use a soundfont. > > You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making > "better" > MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly > decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). > > When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used > fluidsynth/QSynth > configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, > at > least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux > (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them > are > configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. > > I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont > than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my > Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and > involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy > for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly > certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use > the > FluidR3 sound font. > > See this Google search: > > https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz > > I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you > learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. > > Hope this helps. > > Guy > > P.S. A nice thing about using an app and soundfont YOU specify is that > you can change the soundfont used. If you've the money you can > purchase > incredibly good soundfonts (if you like) though there are dozens > available for free. One of my favorite is an English Organ sound font > with quite
Re: midi sound quality help needed
I did not intend to contradict what you wrote, simply to show that kubuntu has a more complicated set of configuration files that all interact with each other, rather than using a single timidity.cfg file (which was all that there was many years ago). I apologize if I gave the impression I was correcting you. I *agree* with you completely. Regards. On 9/14/21 6:29 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Guy, Perhaps I am missing something, but the folder contents that you display don't seem to contradict what I wrote. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ total 480K -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. Guy On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Ken, I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download it and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks like this: # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the pound sign so that timidity ignores it. I hope this helps. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Ken, You are S close :-) The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to use a soundfont. You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use the FluidR3 sound font. See this Google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. Hope this helps. Guy P.S. A nice thing about using an app and soundfont YOU specify is that you can change the soundfont used. If you've the money you can purchase incredibly good soundfonts (if you like) though there are dozens available for free. One of my favorite is an English Organ sound font with quite good sounds. On 9/14/21 3:13 PM, Kenneth Wolcott wrote: HI All; This is really not a Lilypond question, but I'm sure you have some helpful information, as you always do :-) midi sound quality help needed I'm on a Mac. I'm using Lilypond 2.22.0 via MacPorts. I'm using Garageband as my midi player, with Timidity (from home brew) as an alternative. I don't do rock music, synthesizers, sound effects, etc. I do traditional classical music. I do some pop, and folks music, but in a classical manner... I'm not asking for a professional live performance output quality from midi, but most often the midi output sounds really bad. Now here's an interesting twist to the story. I installed Alda from home brew which is a more rudimentary text-based musical scoring system. I also installed the suggested alternative soundfont (FluidR3). The Alda coding is much
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Greetings Guy, Perhaps I am missing something, but the folder contents that you display don't seem to contradict what I wrote. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: > > √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ > total 480K > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg > > Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. > > Guy > > On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: >> Greetings Ken, >> >> I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the >> principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a >> file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. >> Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download it >> and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg >> soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks like >> this: >> >> # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: >> source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg >> >> Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the >> pound sign so that timidity ignores it. >> >> I hope this helps. >> >> Hwaen Ch'uqi >> >> >> On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: >>> Ken, >>> >>> You are S close :-) >>> >>> The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a >>> specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's >>> up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is >>> typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or >>> other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to >>> use a soundfont. >>> >>> You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" >>> MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly >>> decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). >>> >>> When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth >>> configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at >>> least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux >>> (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are >>> configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. >>> >>> I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont >>> than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my >>> Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and >>> involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy >>> for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly >>> certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use the >>> FluidR3 sound font. >>> >>> See this Google search: >>> >>> https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz >>> >>> I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you >>> learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. >>> >>> Hope this helps. >>> >>> Guy >>> >>> P.S. A nice thing about using an app and soundfont YOU specify is that >>> you can change the soundfont used. If you've the money you can purchase >>> incredibly good soundfonts (if you like) though there are dozens >>> available for free. One of my favorite is an English Organ sound font >>> with quite good sounds. >>> >>> On 9/14/21 3:13 PM, Kenneth Wolcott wrote: HI All; This is really not a Lilypond question, but I'm sure you have some helpful information, as you always do :-) midi sound quality help needed I'm on a Mac. I'm using Lilypond 2.22.0 via MacPorts. I'm using Garageband as my midi player, with Timidity (from home brew) as an alternative. I don't do rock music, synthesizers, sound effects, etc. I do traditional classical music. I do some pop, and folks music, but in a classical manner... I'm not asking for a professional live performance output quality from midi, but most often the midi output sounds really bad. Now here's an interesting twist to the story. I installed Alda from home brew which is a more rudimentary text-based musical scoring system. I also installed the suggested alternative soundfont (FluidR3). The Alda coding is much more rudimentary than
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Thanks Hwaen Ch'uqi! That's not at all how kubuntu does this: √ /mnt/NAS326_Music/music/Radio Drama > ll /etc/timidity/ total 480K -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gm.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.7K Nov 11 2016 fluidr3_gs.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4.6K Sep 22 2006 freepats.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 225K Aug 1 2019 timgm6mb.cfg -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Jun 27 2018 timidity.cfg Just people making things more complicated than they need to be. Guy On 9/14/21 5:49 PM, Hwaen Ch'uqi wrote: Greetings Ken, I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download it and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks like this: # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the pound sign so that timidity ignores it. I hope this helps. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: Ken, You are S close :-) The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to use a soundfont. You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use the FluidR3 sound font. See this Google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. Hope this helps. Guy P.S. A nice thing about using an app and soundfont YOU specify is that you can change the soundfont used. If you've the money you can purchase incredibly good soundfonts (if you like) though there are dozens available for free. One of my favorite is an English Organ sound font with quite good sounds. On 9/14/21 3:13 PM, Kenneth Wolcott wrote: HI All; This is really not a Lilypond question, but I'm sure you have some helpful information, as you always do :-) midi sound quality help needed I'm on a Mac. I'm using Lilypond 2.22.0 via MacPorts. I'm using Garageband as my midi player, with Timidity (from home brew) as an alternative. I don't do rock music, synthesizers, sound effects, etc. I do traditional classical music. I do some pop, and folks music, but in a classical manner... I'm not asking for a professional live performance output quality from midi, but most often the midi output sounds really bad. Now here's an interesting twist to the story. I installed Alda from home brew which is a more rudimentary text-based musical scoring system. I also installed the suggested alternative soundfont (FluidR3). The Alda coding is much more rudimentary than what Lilypond offers, so I'm not in any way going to abandon Lilypond!!! But the sound quality of what comes out of playing the Alda scripts is phenomenal (!) compared to what I get out of GarageBand and/or Timidity. I've even tried MidiAndMusicXmlPlayer as an alternative midi player. How do I improve my midi output quality? Thanks in advance for your advice, Ken Wolcott -- -- “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” ― Aristotle -- -- “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Greetings Ken, I do not use a mac; I use linux. However, I have a feeling that the principle for this is the same. Timidity reads its settings from a file called /etc/timidity.cfg, and those settings can be changed. Whatever soundfont you wish to use, you should be able to download it and tell timidity.cfg where it is located. I use the freepats.cfg soundfont. The relevant little paragraph in my timidity.cfg looks like this: # By default, try to use the instrument patches from freepats: source /etc/timidity/freepats.cfg Any other lines that begin with the word "source" I comment with the pound sign so that timidity ignores it. I hope this helps. Hwaen Ch'uqi On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker wrote: > Ken, > > You are S close :-) > > The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a > specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's > up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is > typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or > other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to > use a soundfont. > > You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" > MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly > decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). > > When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth > configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at > least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux > (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are > configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. > > I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont > than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my > Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and > involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy > for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly > certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use the > FluidR3 sound font. > > See this Google search: > > https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz > > I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you > learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. > > Hope this helps. > > Guy > > P.S. A nice thing about using an app and soundfont YOU specify is that > you can change the soundfont used. If you've the money you can purchase > incredibly good soundfonts (if you like) though there are dozens > available for free. One of my favorite is an English Organ sound font > with quite good sounds. > > On 9/14/21 3:13 PM, Kenneth Wolcott wrote: >> HI All; >> >>This is really not a Lilypond question, but I'm sure you have some >> helpful information, as you always do :-) >> >>midi sound quality help needed >> >>I'm on a Mac. >> >>I'm using Lilypond 2.22.0 via MacPorts. >> >>I'm using Garageband as my midi player, with Timidity (from home >> brew) as an alternative. >> >>I don't do rock music, synthesizers, sound effects, etc. I do >> traditional classical music. I do some pop, and folks music, but in a >> classical manner... >> >>I'm not asking for a professional live performance output quality >> from midi, but most often the midi output sounds really bad. >> >>Now here's an interesting twist to the story. >> >>I installed Alda from home brew which is a more rudimentary >> text-based musical scoring system. I also installed the suggested >> alternative soundfont (FluidR3). >> >>The Alda coding is much more rudimentary than what Lilypond offers, >> so I'm not in any way going to abandon Lilypond!!! >> >>But the sound quality of what comes out of playing the Alda scripts >> is phenomenal (!) compared to what I get out of GarageBand and/or >> Timidity. I've even tried MidiAndMusicXmlPlayer as an alternative >> midi player. >> >>How do I improve my midi output quality? >> >> Thanks in advance for your advice, >> Ken Wolcott >> > -- > -- > > “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of > human existence.” > > ― Aristotle > >
Re: midi sound quality help needed
Ken, You are S close :-) The issue is neither Lilipond nor its midi output. MIDI is simply a specification for musical "events" describing pitch, duration, etc. It's up to a program that understands MIDI to make actual sound. That is typically done via a synthesizer (dedicated synth module, keyboard, or other MIDI-capable equipment) or via an application that knows how to use a soundfont. You're getting nice sound with Alda not because Alda is making "better" MIDI, but because of the FluidR3 soundfont (which has surprisingly decent sounds for many, though not all, of its General Midi sounds). When I was using a MacBook and LP/Frescobaldi, I used fluidsynth/QSynth configured to use the FluidR3 sound font (but this was some time ago, at least 7-8 years). On Windows I use CoolSoftVirtualMidiSynth. On Linux (my current desktop) I use the fluidsynth/QSynth apps. Both of them are configured to use the FluidR3 soundfont. I *know* that you can configure timidity to use a different soundfont than its default (which does indeed suck). In fact, timidity on my Kubuntu 20.04 desktop is so configured. But this is by default and involves ways that timidity is installed on kubuntu, so it's not easy for me to tell you how to do it using this setup. But, I'm fairly certain Google will provide you options for getting timidity to use the FluidR3 sound font. See this Google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=tell+timidity+to+use+alternate+soundfont=1=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw=t_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE=gws-wiz I know nothing about GarageBand, however Google can likely help you learn if you can configure it to use alternate soundfonts. Hope this helps. Guy P.S. A nice thing about using an app and soundfont YOU specify is that you can change the soundfont used. If you've the money you can purchase incredibly good soundfonts (if you like) though there are dozens available for free. One of my favorite is an English Organ sound font with quite good sounds. On 9/14/21 3:13 PM, Kenneth Wolcott wrote: HI All; This is really not a Lilypond question, but I'm sure you have some helpful information, as you always do :-) midi sound quality help needed I'm on a Mac. I'm using Lilypond 2.22.0 via MacPorts. I'm using Garageband as my midi player, with Timidity (from home brew) as an alternative. I don't do rock music, synthesizers, sound effects, etc. I do traditional classical music. I do some pop, and folks music, but in a classical manner... I'm not asking for a professional live performance output quality from midi, but most often the midi output sounds really bad. Now here's an interesting twist to the story. I installed Alda from home brew which is a more rudimentary text-based musical scoring system. I also installed the suggested alternative soundfont (FluidR3). The Alda coding is much more rudimentary than what Lilypond offers, so I'm not in any way going to abandon Lilypond!!! But the sound quality of what comes out of playing the Alda scripts is phenomenal (!) compared to what I get out of GarageBand and/or Timidity. I've even tried MidiAndMusicXmlPlayer as an alternative midi player. How do I improve my midi output quality? Thanks in advance for your advice, Ken Wolcott -- -- “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” ― Aristotle
