Soft piano playback in Finale 26

Discuss playback problems, including VST, Garritan, MIDI, etc.

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Gautama_8
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:00 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26.0
Operating System: Windows

Post by Gautama_8 » Thu Apr 01, 2021 6:55 pm

Hi,
How can I make Finale's piano playback softer?
The problem is that when Finale plays piano music it sounds very rough, all the notes (and especially chords) are rapping hard, when I place every dynamics expression louder than piano (even with mezzo piano). The difference between dynamics expressions is very big; with expression of P it sounds too soft and silent, and with mP too hard and loud, and I don't know how to get sound level between these two.
Maybe there is any way to load more soft and warm piano sounds to Garritan Instruments instead of Steinway Grand Piano? Or make some settings in mixer?
Can anybody help me please?
Thanks


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DavidGaines
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2020 5:18 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by DavidGaines » Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:41 pm

This could be a few different things.

1. The first thing to check are the horizontal volume sliders over to the right of the VST Banks & Effects window. What number is the volume slider to the right of your Aria player bank set to? If it's over 100, and the little red light under the Clip column flashes on playback, that means, without getting technical, that the slider is set too high and you need to move it to the left to, say, 80 or 85 (experiment using trial and error to find the right number where the volume isn't suddenly too low and it isn't so high that you get clipping and distortion).

2. Also check all of the tabs inside Human Playback Preferences to make sure they're set to their defaults. In particular, in the Dynamics/Volume tab, Crescendo/Diminuendo Type and Crescendo/Diminuendo Curve should both be set to Automatic, and towards the bottom of that screen, Dynamic Approach for Sustaining Instruments should be set to Automatic as well (this won't affect piano playback but should be set to Automatic in general anyway). Optimize Attacks For Garritan Libraries should be checked, and Base Velocity should be 80 or below. Finally, the slider next to Auto Expression Emphasis might be set too high. Try setting it to 50 or below. I've found that setting it even as low as single digits (3% or 4%) helps with these wild swings in dynamics.

3. In the MIDI Data tab, experiment with the three different settings for Velocity: HP (incorporate data), No HP Effect, and HP (ignore data). The "data" referred to here are MIDI messages. Sometimes you want to incorporate these along with Human Playback, sometimes you want to ignore them and just use Human Playback, and other times you just want to use MIDI commands and have no Human Playback at all.

4. Check each dynamic (pp, p, mp, mf, etc. etc.) inside the Expression Designer. Inside that dialogue box (where you choose your text expressions), for each dynamic in turn, highlight it and click on Edit, go to the Playback tab, and make sure each dynamic is set to trigger Key Velocity and is set to the same number indicated inside each dynamic's expression description. I've found that when, somehow, these default settings get changed, it can greatly impact how dynamic expressions play back.

5. FInally, go to Window >> Mixer, and check that the volume slider for your piano isn't set at or near the max (127).

If I had to guess I would say based on what you describe that your Auto Expression Emphasis slider inside Human Playback Preferences is set too high and that if you dial that way back you'll see an improvement. What you're describing is an extreme emphasis on velocity, which is what controls attacks with Garritan instruments, and auto expression can overemphasize that.

Let me know how this all goes.
-------
David Gaines, DMA | Composer
Finale 26.3.1, Windows 10, GPO5, COMB2, JABB3, NotePerformer 3.3, VSL SE + downloads
davidgainesmusic.com

Gautama_8
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:00 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26.0
Operating System: Windows

Post by Gautama_8 » Fri Apr 02, 2021 10:27 am

Thank you very much, DavidGaines, for detailed answer!
I will try all the steps you have advised, and hope these will work.
Have a nice day!

Gautama_8
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:00 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26.0
Operating System: Windows

Post by Gautama_8 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:43 am

Hi,
I made the settings you have suggested, and it improved very much the playback sound,
Thank you again!

User avatar
DavidGaines
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2020 5:18 pm
Finale Version: Finale 26.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by DavidGaines » Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:02 pm

Gautama_8 wrote:
Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:43 am
Hi,
I made the settings you have suggested, and it improved very much the playback sound,
Thank you again!
You're welcome! I'm glad it all helped!
-------
David Gaines, DMA | Composer
Finale 26.3.1, Windows 10, GPO5, COMB2, JABB3, NotePerformer 3.3, VSL SE + downloads
davidgainesmusic.com

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