Stem Direction

[Wagnergrad96]

I am trying to do an a capella arrangement where I have the Soprano stems up, and Altos down . . . . then the tenors up and Bass down.

The picture I attached of my hand-written copy is blurry, but you get the idea.


I've tried the "how do I . . . " site, but can't seem to get it set up right.

Any Ideas would be much appreciated


- T

[Peter Thomsen]

Welcome to the forum!

I would use layers.
Put the Sopranos and the Tenors in Layer 1, the Altos and the Basses in Layer 2.

If you go to
Document menu > Document Options > Layers
you can set the default stem direction (= up/down) for each layer.

You can also set a default vertical positioning for floating rests in each layer.

[Wagnergrad96]

Great! I will try that and let you know how it goes. I am very excited now. It was very frustrating.

The time I have to work on songs is unfortunately limited, so it may take me a day or two to get back to you

- T

[miker]

I think layer one and layer two are already set to that default. There shouldn't be any need to adjust.

[Wagnergrad96]

OK, I see the document menu, document options, layer. I have the settings I want.

However, how to I know which layer I am currently entering? How can I tell when it's layer 1 that is currently "on" or layer 2?

Thanx

[miker]

Look in the lower right of your window. There is a small window that shows the layer.

Also, layer one notes are black, layer two notes are red.

[Wagnergrad96]

I don't see the "layer" thing. This is all I get

[miker]

Same thing; that's the way Windows does it. Clicking in those little boxes will change the layer. Currently, it shows you are in layer one.

[Wagnergrad96]

That was a brain freeze on my end! I saw the word "page" and got confused! Thanks for all of your help so far

[Wagnergrad96]

So far so good. I have all four parts entered. However, I need to move the two staves further apart. I have done this with a prior piece, but I can't seem to figure it out this time. There's no room for the lyrics!

[michelp]

Staff Tool, page view :
• Click in the left margin of the staff to select it entirely and use the handle on top of the staff to move the staff vertically in all systems.
• Click the first measure of a staff or select a region of that staff including several systems and use the handle to move the staff vertically in the selected systems.
The staves underneath will move as well. If you don't want that, add the alt key.

[Wagnergrad96]

Ugh! I've done that before. Should have remembered. I'm thankful I thought about searching for a Finale Forum. Thanks for all the help.

[miker]

And just as a side comment, if you have lyrics, you generally don't have the barlines between the staves.

[Wagnergrad96]

That was my next question. How do I remove those bar lines?

I entered all of the lyrics and can't seem to figure out how to remove those bar lines.

[michelp]

These barlines between staves appear because an option has been selected for that purpose when staves are combined in a group.
You can cancel that :
Staff Tool
Select the staves,
Staff menu > Groups & Brackets -> Edit... : unselect the option "Draw barlines through staves"

[Wagnergrad96]

You are all awesome. I've been using Finale for quite a while and taking forever to figure out stuff. I have a bunch of choral pieces complete, but they each took me a while.

I'm still tricky with entering lyrics, but with each now one I get a little better.

[Wagnergrad96]

I want to thank everyone for their assistance. I think my arrangement turned out rather well. I have to work on my slurs, but otherwise, I'm happy. Thanks.

[miker]

Yes, the slurs need quite a bit of work! Is this a barbershop arrangement?

[Peter Thomsen]

… I have to work on my slurs …

One thing you should know about slurs:

While it is true that a tie connects to the nearest following note, a slur can connect the first note and the last note in a string of slurred notes.
You do not have to connect a string of notes with many (small) slurs that each go to the nearest following note.

Instead of what you wrote in the first measure in the lower staff (= using four slurs), you can use only two slurs (and this is actually standard practice):

[Wagnergrad96]

It is an a capellla arrangement of My Funny Valentine meant for an above- average high school vocal jazz group. The soprano gets a bit high and the alto gets a bit low

The sad part is that I have a BA in music and was a HS choral director for a short time. I should know the slur rules better. However, the program I graduated from didn't offer score reading or arranging.

I write choral pieces for the middle school level - a few of which are pretty good but most of which are not.

I did this arrangement a few years back and am transferring it from hand-written to Finale.

I will spend today working on the slurs. Thanks for the suggestions.

- T

[Wagnergrad96]

OK, so this is what I got done today. I can only work on these at work (Gotta love that) since I don't have a computer at home.

I think the slurs look better. Tomorrow I will put the measure numbers in and it should be done.

- T

[miker]

You need word extensions in a few places, like after "My" and "sweet", and "smile." Also, your lyric "with my heart" should not be parenthesized. That's an older convention, at least in barbershop. I would continue the line as it is, but assign the lyric "heart" to the soprano and bass notes, only.

(I've sent you a Private Message.)

[Wagnergrad96]

Mike, thank you for the suggestion. I have done lyrics that way in the past. I'm not sure what made me decide to do them with parenthesis this time. I made the chance also later in the arrangement for "stay little valentine stay" as you can see below. The sample you provided me was very useful.

- Tony

[Wagnergrad96]

I made this arrangement back in 2011 using only a guitar. For some reason, it all worked out quite well except for the line "favorite work of art."

I have changed that measure dozens of times (when probably the first try was fine). Any suggestions?

[Peter Thomsen]

What is the problem?

The layout looks fine to me - easy to understand, and impossible to misunderstand.

An obvious oversight:
In measure 17-18 in the bottom staff the Layer 1 notes should be slurred, just like the other layer notes.