Finale

Functionality

Finale's tools are organized into multiple hierarchically organized palettes, and the corresponding tool is selected to add or edit any particular class of score element. Voices are available in Finale as well. Several of Finale's tools provide an associated menu just to the left of the Help menu, available only when that particular tool is selected.

On the screen, Finale provides the ability to color code several elements of the score as a visual aid; on the print-out, all score elements are black (unless color print-out is explicitly chosen). With the corresponding tool selected, fine adjustment of each set of objects in a score is possible either by clicking and dragging or by entering measurements in a dialog box. A more generalized selection tool is also available to select large measure regions for editing key and time signatures or transposing, among other uses. This tool also provides the ability to reposition several classes of score objects directly, and more recent versions of the software have implemented extensive contextual meaning via this tool.

Finale automatically manages many of the basic rules of harmony and music notation, such as correct beaming, stem direction, vertical alignment of multiple rhythmic values, and established rules for positioning note heads on chords. In other situations, without advance user customization, the program makes what can be described as a good guess, especially in the area of enharmonic spelling of newly entered data generated from a MIDI keyboard, while respecting the current key signature.

Finale is capable of notating various music such as chorales or cut-out scores including new symbols invented by the composer. It has a built-in working guitar tablature system and includes a jazz font similar to that used in the Real Book. Nearly all elements in the score can be adjusted and moved.

Music can be entered using a keyboard or using the software itself. It also includes a function for optically recognizing printed music from a scan. From Finale 2001 onward, the program included MicNotator, a module able to notate melodic pitches played on a single-pitch acoustic instrument via a microphone connected to the computer.

Finale 2004 introduced FinaleScript, a scripting language for the automation of repetitive tasks.

History

The first version of Finale was made by Phil Farrand and John Borowicz. They wrote the original version software for Coda Music Software, which was later sold to Net4Music and then became MakeMusic. After Finale version 3.7, Finale's marketers made the switch to years as identifiers for each new release, starting with Finale 97.

Finale 2004, released in early 2004, was the first release to run natively on Macintosh computers running Mac OS X Panther. This was considered a late release by MakeMusic, and full support for the features of Mac OS X was limited at first. More comprehensive support was brought "on-line" through maintenance releases going forward into 2004. Finale 2004 also continued to support PowerPC Macs running Mac OS 9. This release shortened the development cycle for Finale 2005, which was released the following August. While the number of new features in Finale '05 were necessarily limited, this was the first release to have both Windows and Mac versions on the same distribution CD.

Finale 2006 (released in the summer of 2005) included the Garritan Personal Orchestra, an integrated sound library. A limited-functionality music-scanning module, SmartScore Lite, was also included. Along with Page View and Scroll View, the 2006 release added StudioView, a display mode which is similar to Scroll View with the addition of a sequencer interface. This feature gave users an environment for creation, evaluation, and experimentation with different musical ideas in a multi-track environment. In StudioView, an additional staff appears above the notation, called TempoTap, allowing for complete control over tempo changes.

Finale 2007 was released with a "linked" score and part management system. A properly set-up "full score for extraction" could now contain all the data and formatting necessary to generate a full set of linked ensemble parts, ensconced within a single Finale master document. Limitations on the scope of format and layout control between parts and conductor score (including measure numbers and staff system breaks) suggested that this new feature was targeted to media production work, where quick turnaround and accuracy is a crucial factor, rather than publishing, though publishers still may use some aspects of linked parts to improve the part creation process. Finale 2007 introduced linked parts, which allow ensemble parts to remain linked to the master score.

Awards

Best Book/Video/Software at the 2015 Music & Sound Awards