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 <[email protected]> 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 > >
