A SoundFont file can store any number of instrument sounds. Many SoundFonts are available on the web. Look for one that covers the 128 sounds of General MIDI (GM). If you use a SoundFont that does not conform to the General MIDI standard then others may not hear the correct instruments when you share the score or save as MIDI.
The file size and sound quality of SoundFonts available on the web varies. Larger SoundFonts often sound better but may be too large to run on your computer. If you find MuseScore runs slowly after installing a large SoundFont or your computer can't keep up during play back then look for a smaller SoundFont. Below are three popular GM SoundFonts of different sizes.
FluidR3_GM.sf2(141 MB uncompressed)
Download Fluid-soundfont.tar.gzGeneralUser_GS_1.43-FluidSynth.sf2(29.8 MB uncompressed)
Download GeneralUser_GS_1.43-FluidSynth.zip (Courtesy of S. Christian Collins)TimGM6mb.sf2(5.7 MB uncompressed)
Download modified TimGM6mb.sf2 (Courtesy of Tim Brechbill)
Compression
Since SoundFont files are large they often are compressed into a variety of formats including .zip, .sfArk, and .tar.gz. You need to 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. Use the special sfArk software to decompress it.
- .tar.gz is a popular compression format for Linux. Windows users can use 7-zip which supports a wide variety of compression formats. Note that you need apply decompression twice: once for GZip and once for TAR.
MuseScore settings
After finding and decompressing a SoundFont do not double click to open it since this does not set up MuseScore. Instead move the file to a folder of your choosing, start MuseScore, and follow the instructions below.
Go to Display → Synthesizer. The initial SoundFont setting depends on which operating system you are using.- Windows: C:/Program Files/MuseScore//sound/TimGM6mb.sf2
- Windows (64-bit): C:/Program Files (x86)/MuseScore//sound/TimGM6mb.sf2
- Mac OS X: /Applications/MuseScore.app/Contents/Resources/sound/TimGM6mb.sf2
- Linux (Ubuntu): /usr/share/sounds/sf2/TimGM6mb.sf2
Instructions for 0.9.5 or earlier
If you are using version 0.9.5 or earlier then go to Edit → Preferences... → I/O tab.The initial SoundFont setting is :/data/piano1.sf2. Replace this with the location of your new SoundFont (.sf2) file. Click on the Open icon to browse for the file and open it .Click OK to apply changes and exit the preferences panel. Quit and and reopen MuseScore for the changes to take affect.
Troubleshooting
If the toolbar play panel is greyed out or not visible follow the instructions below to get your sound working again:
- Make sure there is a check mark next to the Display → Transport menu item. You can add or remove the check mark by clicking on the corresponding menu item. If this step does not solve your problem continue with the next step below
- 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. This is a known bug with versions 0.9.3 or earlier.
If playback stutters then you computer is not able to handle the SoundFont you are using. Two solutions:
- Reduce the amount of RAM (memory) used by MuseScore by using a smaller SoundFont. See 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 then consider purchasing more RAM for your computer
source : http://musescore.org
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