Finale Forum

Does anyone else see an oddity in how Finale spells chords with the Chord tool? I know in certain uses how the same chord is spelled, Finale is correct. But I suspect Finale simply counts thirds. Not really a problem just a theory thing. The top chord spelling is how Finale did it. The bottom is how I would do it.

Also Finale doesn't display a half-diminished chord the way I think (like) it should although it does give the correct spelling. My preference is....
Finale does not have the half dim symbol so it must be created. Not really an issue just curious.

Chord spelling conventions tend to vary by musical style and tradition. I often find I need to create a custom suffix for a specific usage. In the case of the half-diminished chord, it's my understanding that in the pop/jazz idioms, the m7(b5) is MUCH more common than the half-dim slashed-circle. I tend to see that much more in classical notation.

I agree it does depend on how they are used in a piece and personal preference. Not saying either or any of it is wrong.

ebiggs1 wrote:… Finale does not have the half dim symbol …

I am not sure what you mean.
I suppose that you by your words “half dim symbol” mean the symbol ø, right?

There is nothing in the Finale program itself.

The half dim symbol can be found in the Maestro font, in character slot #191.

In the Default File named Maestro Font Default you can find the ø symbol among the chord suffixes, as suffix #89 (Finale v26).

In the Default File named Maestro Font Default you can find the ø symbol among the chord suffixes, as suffix #89 (Finale v26).

I will check again. I didn't see it.

Yup, I missed it. Again nothing wrong here just curious how Finale defines and/or comes up with what it does. Some seem logical and some don't.

ebiggs1 wrote:Again nothing wrong here just curious how Finale defines and/or comes up with what it does. Some seem logical and some don't.

I don't bother letting Finale figure out chord notation–all of my work comes with the composer or arranger's notation. I wonder if it might be possible to edit the individual suffixes in order to make Finale's choice what you want. There's that mysterious window called "Suffix Keynumber Offsets" in the Edit function for suffixes. That appears to be primarily for playback, but I wonder if it affects entry as well.

N.

"I don't bother letting Finale figure out chord notation ..."

I don't either but anything that speeds up work is appreciated. I don't do that many jazz scores, some but not many, and concert pieces don't normally have chords. But we do some theory classes and it is nice again to use the convenience. Again I am not programmer so I don't even begin to know how Finale can do what it does. Maybe it is as good as it can be? Like I said it isn't an issue just curious about what's MM's thinking behind it.