Finale notation program

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Finale2006logo.gif Finale is a scorewriter created by the software company MakeMusic! for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.

The main program is used by many professionals. Finale 2004 and later versions include advanced human-like playback processing features for realistic MP3 recording.

Lite versions of the program include Allegro, which is to Finale what Photoshop Elements is to Adobe Photoshop; Finale Notepad, which is free (it can be used to create music with up to eight staves, but can't save as MIDI); and Finale Notepad Plus (paid upgrade for Finale Notepad which allows saving music as a MIDI sequence). Printmusic! is an easy-to-use introductory program intended for amateur composing.

There are also lite versions for specialized purposes, including Finale Guitar, which is optimized for tablature notation for fretted instruments; and Finale Songwriter, which is optimized for creating scores with lyrics.

Operation

The default document is a 31-measure piece for a single treble clef instrument. A Setup Wizard, the preferred method of starting a score, consists of a set of dialogs to specify the instrumentation, time signature, key signature, pick-up measure, title and composer.

There is a Main Tool palette, and the right tool must be selected to work on a given score element, e.g., Smart Shape tool to work on trill lines and dynamics hairpins, Staff tool to work on staves. Also, there are four layers of music that can overlap. (The operation of Finale bears at least some surface similarities to Adobe Photoshop.) Each tool has an associated menu just to the left of the Help menu, available only when that particular tool is selected.

On the screen, Finale color codes some elements of the score as a visual aid, on the print-out all score elements are black. With the right tool selected, many adjustments are possible either by clicking and dragging or by entering measurements in a dialog box.

Image:Finale2004cScreenShot.png Finale automatically takes care of many of the more mechanical aspects of music notation, such as stem direction and alignment of different rhythmic values. For other things, the program makes a good guess, such as enharmonic spelling from a piano keyboard: it is smart enough to spell F-sharp rather than G-flat in a V/V chord in C minor, but some chords, for instance V+, it might understandably use G-flat instead of F-sharp.

Version history

The most advertised new feature of the latest version, Finale 2006 (released in the summer of 2005), is the Garritan Personal Orchestra, an integrated sound library with upgradeable selections from Garritan Personal Orchestra for more lifelike playback than the SmartMusic SoftSynth (which is still included in the program). In addition to Page View and Scroll View, the program now also has StudioView™, which is similar to Scroll View with the addition of a key sequencer which allows for creation, evaluation, and experimentation with different ideas in a multi-track environment. In StudioView, an additional staff shows up called TempoTap™, allowing for complete control over rubati, accelerandi, and ritardandi.

The lead programmer for Finale version 1.0 was Phil Farrand, better known in some circles as an author of Nitpicker's Guides for Star Trek and The X-Files. He wrote the software for Coda Music, which was later sold to Net4Music and then became MakeMusic!  After Finale version 3.0, marketing made the switch to years as identifiers for major versions, starting with Finale 97 (roughly corresponding with Microsoft Word 97).

Capabilities

Finale can notate anything from a textbook chorale to a cut-out score including new symbols invented by the composer. It is also capable of working with guitar tablature and includes a jazz font similar to that used in the Real Book. Virtually all score elements can be positioned or adjusted, either by dragging (with the appropriate tool selected) or by using dialog boxes with measurements in inches, centimeters or picas.

Music can be entered by playing on a MIDI instrument connected to the computer, typing pitches and durations on the computer keyboard, or by clicking with the mouse. Using the Hyperscribe tool, a piece may be played in tempo and Finale will attempt to transcribe it. It's also possible to play notes one at a time and use the computer keyboard to indicate durations. From Finale 2001 onward, the program included Mic Notator, a module able to notate pitches played on an acoustic instrument via a microphone connected to the computer. Although MIDI sequencing is not the program's primary purpose, newer versions can create MIDI files that take into account stylistic variances, such as Baroque dotted note interpretation.

Finale 2004 also introduced FinaleScript, a scripting language for the automation of tasks such as transcribing music for other instruments to use.

Prominent users

Finale is used by large publishers such as the Hal Leonard Corporation and by prestigious schools such the Juilliard School and Berklee College of Music. Academy Award-winning movies such as Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Sideways, Polar Express, The Village, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ and Finding Neverland were all scored with Finale.

Criticisms and known issues

Although giving great control over a score, the abundance of features and dialog boxes with measurements is a double-edged sword, as it can make Finale less than straightforward to use. This has led to Finale's reputation for having a "high learning curve". In the face of competition from the well-known program Sibelius, claimed by its supporters to be renowned for its ease of use, recent versions of Finale have attempted to address this difference. Many users of Finale believe it to be better oriented toward music and easier to use than Sibelius, while others criticize it as being more oriented toward music engravers and less toward composers.

These are some of the most common problems users run into when using Finale, which contribute to its less-than-inviting reputation:

• The last measure of the piece often takes up a whole system, even if it only contains whole notes, but moving measures from one system to another is easily accomplished via a keyboard shortcut.
• The pick-up measure option takes care of notes, but sometimes not rests.
• Whenever notes are tied over a bar line or the middle of a bar, the computer turns the volume of the note down and the instruments affected do not regain their volume.
• Users upgrading from earlier versions will notice that Finale is not directly backwards-compatible. When asked to open a file created in an earlier version, Finale will convert it to its new format in an untitled document, leaving the old file intact. Ultimately, this can be a major plus point as it allows files to be read and updated on different versions of the program. Transfer back to Finale 2000 and more recent versions is facilitated by MusicXML.
• Many users report that the scanning recognition software included with Finale to import scanned TIFF graphics offers unsatisfactory results. However, this is also reported to be the case with the scanning software packaged with Sibelius.

See also

• GNU LilyPond
• Sibelius
• SCORE

External links

• FinaleMusic (official website)
• Download Finale Notepad
• User forum
• Real-time Finale discussion on IRC
• Review of Finale 2005 by Keith Gemmell.de:Finale (Programm)