Re: midi sound quality help needed

[Hwaen Ch'uqi]

Oh,  brilliant!!! Thanks so much, Guy! I wish I knew this a long time ago!

Hwaen Ch'uqi


On 9/14/21, Guy Stalnaker <jimmyg521@gmail.com> 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 <midifile>
>
> 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<jimmyg521@gmail.com>  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<jimmyg521@gmail.com>  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<jimmyg521@gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>>>>>> Ken,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> You are SOOOO 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&newwindow=1&sxsrf=AOaemvKkuOn8r1q2lCX0swD3GgF5Q5AHGg%3A1631650995863&ei=swRBYY6RNJqztQaBhLRw&oq=t&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgQIABBDMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjIECAAQQzIFCAAQgAQyEQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCvARBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgcIABCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUN74EFj_gBFg7pMRaAJwAngAgAGkAYgBwgKSAQMwLjKYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE&sclient=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 whole aim and
>>>>>> end
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> human existence.”
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ― Aristotle
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> “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 whole aim and end
>> of human existence.”
>>
>> ― Aristotle
>
> --
> --
>
> “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of
> human existence.”
>
> ― Aristotle
>
>