change note to custom duration

[rjawad1]

Is there a way to change the duration of a note to an arbitrary length. Say I have a half note. It normally lasts for 4 eighth notes. Is there a way to make it last for 5 eighth notes? Or a whole note that lasts for 17 sixteenth notes? I've been adding extra notes to fill out the measure and hiding them, but I run into a problem with ties. I have to manually adjust the tie to jump over the hidden note, which is a pain, and I don't think it's the right way to handle this.

Edit: Here's an example.

[Shinohara 1027]

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[Shinohara 1027]

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[Peter Thomsen]

Is there a way to change the duration of a note to an arbitrary length …

I would use the Tuplet Tool, and create the note as a {not showing} tuplet.

Layout and Playback will be correct.

However, be careful if you copy the note.
Finale may re-transcribe the note value.

To play it safe, use Stack Selection when copying the tuplet.


By The Way:
rjawad1, your Forum User Profile shows that you are using Finale v27.2 (shown to the right of your posts).
There is a free maintenance update to v27.4 - could not hurt to try it.

[rjawad1]

I don't see how to make the note a "not showing tuplet". I see the tuplet tool with the popup menu. Options like "ignore horizontal offset". I don't see anything about making it invisible. Could you give me a few more instructions? I'm willing to try it.

I know it's a weird thing I'm trying to do. The example I gave is a little simpler because 9/8 is not that strange. But some of them are worse, like 23/16. But see, one of the hands just holds a chord through the whole measure, so I don't see the point in put a bunch of notes that are all tied to fill out the measure; it just looks cluttered and complicated. So, that's why I'm trying to just have a long note that holds for the whole measure. I think I've seen music of Debussy or Ravel where they just put the ties, but they don't actually go to the end of the measure. They just stop in the middle of the measure. I thought about doing it that way, which would probably be easier to do in Finale.

I could have asked the question in another way: Is it possible to make a custom note with a specific duration?

Here's a better example:

[BuonTempi]

I think I've seen music of Debussy or Ravel where they just put the ties, but they don't actually go to the end of the measure. They just stop in the middle of the measure. I thought about doing it that way, which would probably be easier to do in Finale.

You're talking about Laissez Vibrez ties, which are a standard convention.

Is it possible to make a custom note with a specific duration?

Are you concerned with playback, or just visual appearance?

[rjawad1]

Thanks, I didn't know the name for it. Playback is less important, but it does help me catch errors.

[Peter Thomsen]

I don't see how to make the note a "not showing tuplet". I see the tuplet tool with the popup menu. Options like "ignore horizontal offset". I don't see anything about making it invisible. Could you give me a few more instructions? …

Your first example:

“Say I have a half note. It normally lasts for 4 eighth notes. Is there a way to make it last for 5 eighth notes?”

[Shinohara 1027]

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[rjawad1]

Yes, you are right, Shinohara. It's not quite the same. I just thought of that when I was trying to figure out what to do. The laissez vibrez looks ok for some of the spots, but not for others, especially when there is activity in another voice on the same staff.

I think I got it working, Peter. It looks great. Thanks a lot for your help. It's a clever solution. I tried updating Finale, by the way, but I'm getting an error: “Finale (Autoupdate).app” is damaged and can’t be opened. You should move it to the Trash. Maybe I need to update my OS.