Tim,your requirements can be met by a relatively simple PC, maybe by
the smallest model available in your local computer store. Of course,
the faster your computer, the faster is Finale.
In my experience, Finale isn't very demanding concerning ressources
like speed and data storage space. Some thoughts:
(1) "I want to be able to play back realistic-sounding orchestra music"
playback in Finale will sound as realistic as much effort you
put into making it sound realistic. It's not so much an issue
of the playing device as no playing device is a good substitute
for a real player. Don't forget that Finale is a tool to get mainly
a visual result and that playback is good for proof-hearing.
It is possible to get great playback results, but it's a lot more work
than only get the notation done as it's a totally other issue.
Personally, I tend to use external playback synths instead of my soundcard
as I own a very lousy one. I got good playback results with a
Roland JV1080, a Korg N364, a Yamaha PSR730 and a Yamaha S80.
(2) If you want to create your own CDs, it's good to have a fast and
big harddrive. I own a trusty three years old 2-GB harddrive and
things work - but it takes some time. If you want to stress CD
creation, you may first look out for audio applications and CD burning
software and decide upon their requirements as Finale isn't concerned.
(3) "I want to put sound files and notation files of my music on my website"
Music notation can be saved as TIF, you have to get a tool to convert
it to GIF/JPG to make it directly accessable or to PDF to make
it viewable in Adobe Acrobat Reader - a preferred method in recent
times. For audio, there are several formats like WAV and RealAudio.
WAV files are unproblematic as they are downloadable files like
all others. For RealAudio files, your webspace provider has to install
the RealServer application on its system.
(4) If I were in your situation... I'd buy a medium-sized computer,
an external synthesizer with a MIDI keyboard (e.g.Yamaha PSR)
and GET TO KNOW it. This makes your work fast. Additionally,
you'll learn more about your needs.
Greetings,
Harald
