Tutorials and workflow

General notation questions, including advanced notation, formatting, etc., go here.

Moderators: Peter Thomsen, miker

AnneMillington
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Finale Version: 27.3.0
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Post by AnneMillington » Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:29 am

I am a musician just now retiring from my day job as a quasi IT person, having specialized for decades in an application every bit as comprehensive, powerful and quirky as Finale. I love that you can do just about anything you need to do with Finale; you just have to figure out how. Then the challenge is to remember how you ever accomplished whatever it was. I have really low-level Finale skills, but want to ramp up a bit and become more fluent.

I have Finale 27 installed on a pretty competent workstation, and have implemented a couple of helper apps (ScanScore and the Perfect Layout plugin). My primary goal is to create publishable scores and parts for string ensembles, utilizing imported XML files and some direct input material.

My questions are two:
1) what are the best tutorials or training documents for learning the current Finale version, and
2) what workflow do you recommend. In other words, do you set your document up in Finale, then run Perfect Layout, then finish up with manual fixes?

I am just curious how others with experience deal with Finale's special nature. I have already learned quite a bit from poking around on this site. Lots of helpful advice!


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miker
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Post by miker » Tue Oct 19, 2021 1:57 am

I would suggest looking over scores that look “right” to you. There really isn’t a right or wrong way.

We each have different workflows, templates, shortcuts, etc. My work is primarily barbershop and choral, so there’s a lot of work with lyrics. So how I do it is nothing like you would do for strings. In broad strokes, I scan the score into SmartScore 64, make as many corrections as I can in that program, export an XML, and import that into Finale. In scroll view, I use JW Staff Polyphony to break things into parts for learning tracks. If this is for a printed score, I go back to page view, I set up the score and do my lyric entry.

You have to define your end product, and then figure out how to do it in Finale. That’s where the forum can help. If you have a specific question, somebody here will probably have an answer.
Finale 27 | SmartScorePro 64
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AnneMillington
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Post by AnneMillington » Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:42 am

Thanks, miker, this is helpful. I just want to make sure I am not missing something essential, as I figure out my own way.

I appreciate your response.

Ian Stewart
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Post by Ian Stewart » Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:21 am

What I do is study scores with engraving I like. I look at the position of dynamics, beam thickness, whether the bars are spread out or close together i.e. how many bars per system. On this forum there are questions about how to line up dynamics but in some scores I study, by very good publishers, the position of the dynamics changes depending on whether the note is at the top of the staff or the bottom. Many things are adjusted in document options. Slurs can be a problem by their nature; even excellent engraved music can have slurs that do not look as good as they should - at least to me.

At the moment my favourite engraving is by the German publisher Henle but I am also studying a Hindemith chamber work, published by Schott. I am convinced scores can be eminently readable and still be beautiful to look at. Good engraving can be time consuming but it is worth it - assuming you are not writing to a deadline.
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Peter Thomsen
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Post by Peter Thomsen » Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:00 pm

AnneMillington wrote:
Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:29 am
… I am just curious how others with experience deal with Finale's special nature. I have already learned quite a bit from poking around on this site. Lots of helpful advice!
If you have been “poking around on this site”, then you probably also have seen the discussion “Engraving models”:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20440

- right?
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

AnneMillington
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2021 2:31 am
Finale Version: 27.3.0
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Post by AnneMillington » Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:04 pm

Ian Stewart wrote:
Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:21 am

I am convinced scores can be eminently readable and still be beautiful to look at. Good engraving can be time consuming but it is worth it - assuming you are not writing to a deadline.
I agree, Ian; well worth it. I have the luxury of just doing music for our string ensemble, with no commercial deadline.

I had the opportunity to take some classes in manual autography right at the end of that era, I think late 80s. I mean we prepared the staves with a straight edge on manuscript paper, used black ink and nibs for drawn elements, razors to erase, etc. I have no idea how people made a living doing that without going mad. This is child's play, in comparison, and fun, to boot. Well, can be maddening...

AnneMillington
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2021 2:31 am
Finale Version: 27.3.0
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Post by AnneMillington » Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:04 pm

Peter Thomsen wrote:
Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:00 pm

If you have been “poking around on this site”, then you probably also have seen the discussion “Engraving models”:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20440

- right?
I hadn't seen this! Thanks very much Peter.

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