Nailing navigation in Finale
Navigate through Finale in the Conquering Finale video tutorial series, and learn about everything from its tool palettes to view modes.
The secret powers of Finale’s Selection Tool
Master the humble Selection Tool in Finale and you will save precious seconds every time. Multiplied by a few hundred or a few thousand times each time you use it, and it adds up.
Managing Finale’s Score Manager
The Score Manager is command central for your Finale document. Get to know every control on the dashboard, from file info to managing and changing instruments, setting transpositions, setting sound libraries, tablature, and more.
Corralling clefs in Finale
Learn how to use Finale's Clef Tool and harness all of its power, including mid-measure clef changes, positioning, spacing, customizable clefs, and more.
The key to key signatures in Finale
Learn the key to key signatures in Finale — actually, several of them. Start with the basics and document options, then move on to keyless signatures, independent and mid-measure key signatures, and programming metatools for speed and power.
Taming time signatures in Finale
You can do just about anything with time signatures in Finale, if you know how to tame the beast. In this video tutorial series, start with the basics and then learn about composite, alternating and independent time signatures, how to make them film score "oversize" style, pickup measures, and more.
Simplifying Simple Entry in Finale
Finale's Simple Entry tool is actually very powerful. Learn how to enter notes, rests, dots, ties, accidentals, grace notes, tuplets, and much more — even articulations, expressions, clefs, time signatures and key signatures, all right from this tool.
Speeding up Speedy Entry in Finale
Time to get even speedier with this series of videos on Finale's Speedy Entry tool. Everything from notes, rests, ties, tuplets, grace notes, chromatic alterations and many advanced notation options can be controlled from the Speedy Entry frame.
Getting the hang of HyperScribe in Finale
Finale's HyperScribe tool is a method of recording music into the software in real-time. We will show you how to get the setup correct and give you a few pointers for getting the most accurate transcription possible, along with lots of power user features.
Toppling tuplets in Finale
Finale's Tuplet tool is just the starting point of this helpful series of videos that deals with everything to do with tuplets. From default and custom positioning and nested tuplets, to custom font and placement styles, we show you how to "tupletify" your music in Finale.
Layers, layers, layers in Finale
In Finale you can use up to four different independent lines of notes and rests, known as “layers”, per bar. We layer on the knowledge in these tutorials, starting with the basic properties of layers and how to navigate between them, and then move on to hiding and showing layers and working with their advanced options.
Acing articulations in Finale
In Finale, an “articulation” is any character from a font set (or a shape) that gets attached to a note or rest. Learn everything you need to know and more about how to create, change, swap, and position articulations, along with some info specifically for Finale v27 and SMuFL articulations.
Outsmarting Smart Shapes in Finale
Smart Shapes in Finale are lines, trills, slurs, octave lines, hairpins, pedal lines and other objects that "smartly" adjust their positioning based on the layout the score and the items to which they are attached.
An Expression Tool expedition in Finale
Understanding how expressions work in Finale is essential for creating dynamics, tempo indications, and so much more. These detailed video tutorials cover every aspect of expressions, including design, placement, positioning, playback, as well as how to transfer them between files and get creative with their use.
Tricks for lyrics in Finale
Conquer the powerful Lyrics tool in Finale and you'll be a master. We start with the "Type Into Score" feature and go on to much more in this series of video tutorials. Hyphens, spaces, lyric elisions, editing, clearing and deleting lyrics, copying and cloning lyrics… and that's just the first of eight videos.
Cooperating with chords in Finale
A complete video tutorial series on everything to do with chord symbols in Finale. Manual input, MIDI input, staff analysis, chord definition, alternate and capo chords, suffix editing, fretboards, positioning, styles, document options, and playback — it's all here!
Repeats redux in Finale
A complete video tutorial series on everything to do with repeats in Finale. From setting up basic repeat structures, to endings, bracket adjustments, text repeats like D.S. al Coda, complex scenarios, and more, it's all here!
Mastering the measure tool in Finale
Measure for measure, this video tutorial series sets the bar for working with Finale's Measure Tool. From the basics of the Measure Attributes dialog and custom barlines, to beat and note positioning, group barlines, display options, split measures, and more, it's all here!
The measure number matrix in Finale
Measure numbers in Finale are a bit complex, incredibly flexible, and maybe a little over-engineered. But with this video tutorial series, you don't need to choose between the red or blue pill when it comes to working with measure numbers; you can have it all.
Staff tool strategies in Finale
The importance of the Staff Tool in Finale cannot be underestimated. This very large series of videos will be well worth your time, because a deep understanding of how staves work is a critical part of "conquering Finale."
Perfecting page layout in Finale
Perfect page layout is essential to creating quality output from music notation software. Finale offers a multitude of options to format the music on the page, but understanding where the options are is important in the quest to conquer Finale.
Tackling the text tool in Finale
Like many things in Finale, the text tool offers a lot of power and control, but also many options to navigate. Here's how to tame the type.
RGP Lua is a powerful plug-in for Finale
Finale has long been at its most powerful when combined with third-party tools. If you have basic coding skills and have ever wished you could automate Finale yourself, check out RGP Lua, a free plug-in that uses Lua scripts to interact with Finale documents.
The missing link(ed) parts in Finale
"Part"-y on with this installment of the Conquering Finale video tutorial series, where we discuss linked parts, how they work, and how to manage them effectively within your Finale documents.
A Special Tools investigation in Finale
Detective Jason Loffredo is back with the Conquering Finale video series. His "Special Tools Investigation" will dissect each one of these tools, perform forensic analysis, and present evidence that you have access to a powerful array of engraving tools for individual notes and measures.
Be wise, resize, in Finale
Finale has a dedicated tool for resizing the noteheads, notes, staves, systems, or pages of your score. We'll show you all the ways to use it, plus other ways to scale the size of items like accidentals, mid-measure clefs, grace notes, lyrics, and chord symbols.
Music spacing: the Finale frontier
Finale's possibilities are truly astronomical, and its settings can seem like a black hole. Jason Loffredo boldly navigates the Finale frontier of space — music space, that is — with a down-to-Earth explanation of its constellation of features to help you reach for the stars.
Grappling with graphics in Finale
Picture yourself using the Graphics tool in Finale. We draw out its highlights and illustrate some functions lurking in the shadows that might be more useful than you first think.
Untangling ties in Finale
Ties in Finale can be a knotty endeavor, but we won't string you along. Untangle them, and their methods of entry, editing, and manipulation, in this installment of the Conquering Finale video tutorial series.
Finale’s twilight zone: Ensuring a smooth ride into the sunset
The first in a series of several articles about the end of Finale's support. This focuses on what to expect as the support period comes to an end, how to use your Finale license to obtain other software (including other versions of Finale), and how you can continue to download and authorize Finale.
Using Finale in the unsupported era
The second in a series of several articles about the end of Finale's support. This focuses on how to use Finale for at least a while longer, after the period of official support has ended.
Leaving Finale behind
The last in a series of several articles about the end of Finale's support. How to archive your work, update the Finale files, and exporting to MusicXML and PDF. And, some thoughts about alternatives to Finale.
