musescore / musescore/MuseScore

Add invisible way to split chords for better playback

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feature request
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Your idea

Add a way to split chords into voices for playback purposes without separating them visually
This could mostly be done automatically by just assigning all the top notes to voice 1, the notes below that to 2 and so on. This automatic mode could maybe be applied using an "interpret chords as melodies" sound flag (similar to "classical phrasing" on brass, which as I understand it isn't triggering a different sound but a different way of interpreting the written notes)

Problem to be solved

The playback of wind/brass/voice chords (and maybe string divisi) can sound quite different if the chords are written in one voice or split up into single note melodies in separate voices, but doing that can become messy and take up more space than is necessary

This is the same problem as #15969

Prior art

No response

Additional context

My current workaround has been to split the chords into voices and make all the stems go the same direction so it looks like nothing has changed
Schermafbeelding 2024-07-31 004504
Schermafbeelding 2024-07-31 004557

Another solution could be to have another staff for playback that will be invisible in the final score. Both solutions require extra work to get Muse Sounds to give its best result, which is worth it but could be made easier

Checklist
  • This request follows the guidelines for reporting issues
  • I have verified that this feature request has not been logged before, by searching the issue tracker for similar requests

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Research direction

Start by reviewing related issue #15969 and the existing behavior for chords written in one voice versus separate voices during playback. Done means providing an invisible way to assign or split chord notes for playback while preserving their visual appearance, with the playback result matching the intended separate-voice interpretation.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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