Finale Forum

Hello - I've recently made the transition to Finale 2014 from Sibelius because one of my friends said it allows you to do many more unconventional things than Sibelius does. However, I've tried 3 different pretty musically standard things and Finale wouldn't let me do any of them.

1. Start a 4/4 measure with a half rest and then a half note. If I put the half note in the measure, it literally always snaps to the front of the measure and if I put two half notes in, and delete the first one, the second one snaps into the first 2 beats of the measure.

2. Add a whole note on the first beat of a 4/4 bar and then on beat 2 add a dotted half note in the same part. IE: in the bass part have the bass II's sing a C whole note through the whole measure and then on beat 2 have the bass I's sing a D dotted half note which would also go through the whole measure. Do I have to actually create a separate part if I just want to have a voice part split occasionally?

3. I tried the slur tool, and nothing happened. How does that thing work?

So far I like this software, but these two small things are bothering me. Any help would be greatly appreciated - I feel like once I grasp this software a little more, I'm going to REALLY get along with it. Added lyrics and a bunch of stuff so far and it seemed really intuitive.

Welcome to the forum.
Please let us know what note entry method you're using! Since I use Simple Entry and the QWERTY keyboard, that's how I will answer your questions.

1. Finale works from the front of the measure. If you want a half rest and then a half note, enter the rest, then the note. You can't (except in some circumstances) put the note on beat three, and have the previous rest inserted automatically. Or, enter two half notes, and change the first one to a rest. 2. Layers. This is a basic Finale function, and one you must understand. The help videos are the best way to learn about them. 3. If you want to slur to the next note, double click in the first one. If you want to slur over multiple notes. Double click and hold down the mouse button on the first note, and drag to the right. You will see each note "shade" as you drag across it. When you get where you want to go, release the mouse button. (Make sure you know the difference between the Tie tool and the Slur tool. Although they look much alike, they are different!)