I started using Synthesia recently and I've been importing midi files I download from the Internet. I'm not really used to reading the notes scrolling down on the screen and prefer to read the score directly. I found how to activate the option and it works somewhat well, except for accidentals.
Take for instance this version of Liebstraum no 3 (linked midi file).
Every single score of Liebestraum no 3 has an accidental that makes the C flat a C natural in the second bar. When I import the midi file inside MuseScore, it also correctly renders as a C natural. For some reason Synthesia renders it as a B sharp. There are also numerous double flats in the score displayed by Synthesia which is particularly perplexing.
What's with the weird rendering of the score and is there a way to fix it?
Weird accidentals...
No explicit, hateful, or hurtful language. Nothing illegal.
Without (much) more advanced composition analysis capabilities, the best Synthesia can do is be consistent in its note naming. Today it still uses this scheme from 2012.
Looking at the A♭ Major row there shows that Synthesia will use these "out of the ordinary" accidentals: F♭, C♭, and B♭♭.
A better, nearer-term solution will be when Synthesia 11 is (finally) released and we add support for MusicXML files. That file format makes the note naming completely explicit and Synthesia will no longer need to guess about how a note should appear.
Sorry for the trouble in the meantime!
Looking at the A♭ Major row there shows that Synthesia will use these "out of the ordinary" accidentals: F♭, C♭, and B♭♭.
A better, nearer-term solution will be when Synthesia 11 is (finally) released and we add support for MusicXML files. That file format makes the note naming completely explicit and Synthesia will no longer need to guess about how a note should appear.
Sorry for the trouble in the meantime!
Two caveats:
- Nicholas has a lot to do before Synthesia 11 is released. Whether that can be termed a nearish-term solution is a matter about which reasonable minds (mine and Nicholas') disagree.
- Even when Synthesia 11 is released, you'll need a MusicXML file to explicitly dictate how a note should appear. I think improvements in reverse engineering scores from MIDI files are also planned for Synthesia 11 but not much has been said about what improvements can be expected in sheet music when using MIDI files.
Regardless of the size of the barrier, a conversion of MIDI to MusicXML is going to be needed to get the benefit of some of the sheet music features of Synthesia 11. Wanted to make sure everyone understood it doesn't just happen without some effort on a user's part.
Admittedly I don't import MIDI files into MuseScore very often, but my experience is that the resulting notation can be quite ugly if the MIDI file was a capture of a performance rather than being sequenced. I know there are parameters that can be adjusted and maybe using those would salvage some MIDI files that I gave up on. Hopefully users who are picky about the appearance of sheet music won't be put off by using MuseScore or another notation program to get a MusicXML file.
Admittedly I don't import MIDI files into MuseScore very often, but my experience is that the resulting notation can be quite ugly if the MIDI file was a capture of a performance rather than being sequenced. I know there are parameters that can be adjusted and maybe using those would salvage some MIDI files that I gave up on. Hopefully users who are picky about the appearance of sheet music won't be put off by using MuseScore or another notation program to get a MusicXML file.