Re: midi sound quality help needed

[Kenneth Wolcott]

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 <hwaenchuqi@gmail.com> 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 <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
> >
> >