make a sheet of music

[Rich on Bass]

All I want to do is create a sheet of music in bass clef so I can transcribe electric bass parts on my computer instead of hand writing them. I want four measures per line, twelve lines per page. Can't seem to figure out how to do this. Finale seems to be a powerful program, but I can't even open the door.

I don't want a score, a piano lead sheet, or any of the myriad missteps I've made this far

Help is gratefully appreciated.

[miker]

Welcome to the forum.

1. Watch the videos
2. Do the tutorials

If you have questions after you've done that, feel free to come back and ask. There are a number of ways to set up what you want, but you need to take the first steps, yourself.

[Rich on Bass]

Sounds good.

I will hazard one more question, and of course feel free to direct me to the tutorials, not reply, or just provide a quick yes or no.

Will I be able to plug my bass into my Mac, and have Finale copy what I play?

Much thanks, and I'll be getting busy with the tutorials.

[miker]

Not likely. If you have a MIDI bass, you can try. In theory, it will work. You have to play very robotically. But with a regular instrument, no. Sorry.

You'll do better getting good at Simple or Speedy entry.

[Rich on Bass]

Ok, thank you. I'd imagine I could enter a bass part played on a midi keyboard though, right? Ty.

[miker]

Yes, you can use a MIDI keyboard. There are three ways to go about it: step entry, where you select the note, and enter the duration (speedy entry), select the duration and then the note (simple entry), or actually play into the program (hyperscribe.)

You can try them all, and see which works best for you.