Velocities not changing with expression markings

Hello,

I see that when I apply expression markings to a part of my music, the velocities don’t change. I have the velocity tab open and can see it not change when I apply expression markings. How do I fix this? Thanks.

It probably depends on whether your instruments respond to velocity or not. But without knowing what instruments (and what VSTs) you are using it is impossible to advise further.

I am using a marimba instrument from Virtual Drumline, which uses Kontakt 7, so I am pretty sure it responds to velocities. Attached is a screenshot of a highlighted note and the velocity in blue on the bottom. Previously I had no issue with this velocity but for some reason, this note, and really other notes on this page, do not respond to any accents or expression markings I write in.

And your problem is…?

the velocity is way too low, it does not sound like “fp” at all, in this instance, the highlighted note should be the “f” of “fp.”

edit: I have tried to delete this measure and one before it, and re-enter it, but still the same problem. It is just this one note I think that is the problem. When I apply an expression to it, the velocity does not change.

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I’ve had the same problem in assorted places in my music. Sometimes the dynamics simply aren’t respected; I don’t know why. I’ll mark a trumpet mezzo-piano and the thing will come in blasting forte. :grimacing: Elsewhere in the score, the trumpet’s dynamics are heeded just fine. :man_shrugging:

I’ll try deleting the notation and laying it down again. Same problem. In these cases, I figure there’s just some artifact that’s out of my reach. I’ve mentioned it to the powers that be, and now I’m hoping that it’ll get fixed in the next few years. (The developers surely have much bigger fish to fry.) Annoying, but not a deal-breaker.

I have no solution for you; just thought I’d add my voice to yours.

If you attach the project here, or ideally just a cut-down chunk that’s sufficient to reproduce the problem, we’ll be happy to take a look, but unfortunately pictures of projects are typically insufficient for troubleshooting these kinds of problems.

Got it thanks, can I PM you the file?

Yes. If possible, please cut it down to the smallest section of the project required to reproduce the problem.

How are your Dynamics settings in the Playback Options? If they are set to go from ppppp (-6) to fffff (6) I think the fp of f in your screenshot looks fairly accurate. If you narrow the continuum to pp (-3) to ff (3) you will get a slightly more pronounced fp. Or you could up the curve from the default 2.5 to 4. That yields a steeper curve and therefore more distinction between the middle dynamics p-f.

There was a somewhat related discussion here: Last note of crescendo is softer

Regarding the topic here, I wonder why the note following the “fp” is quite loud. Since this should be the “p” part of the “fp”, I would expect it to be way softer.