Finale 2010

[Killress]

Has anyone tried this software? In my Sophmore Highschool music theory class, the school bought a bunch of books in bulk, and somehow that allowed students to get the Finale software for $150 (usually $600)

 

 

A couple of questions

 

-Is it easy to use

-Is it worth the money

-What exactly does it do

-Etc, Etc.

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

-Killress

[Jon Chappell]

 

A couple of questions -Is it easy to use -Is it worth the money -What exactly does it do -Etc, Etc.

 

 

I've been using Finale for years and just upgraded to vsn. 2010. To your questions:

 

-No, it's not easy to use, because it's a professional tool, but it's not ridiculously difficult, either, and once you do learn it, you'll appreciate its power, and it will last you your entire career as a writing musician. Sibelius is its main competition.

 

-Yes, it's worth the money. For $150, you get a professional-level scoring/notation program and MIDI recorder/player with authentic-sounding virtual-instrument playback, and many other functions.

 

- Finale is a scoring and notation program. You use it to score and notate music for professional-level output, such as that used by major print music publishers. You can use Finale (and others, like Sibelius) to transcribe, arrange, compose, orchestrate, and output sheet music. Your various instruments (flute, oboe, trumpet, timpani, violin, piano, guitar, etc.) are mapped to sampled instruments, so you can hear your work played back in a fairly realistic setting--great for complex scores. You can generate parts from the score, in the appropriate transpositions.

 

Finale is not a DAW (Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic, Sonar, etc.), though there's some cross-over (DAWs have some notation capabilities; both accept and output MIDI). But you'd never use Pro Tools, etc., for a professional scoring job, and you wouldn't use Finale at a recording session.

 

If you work with music in a traditional way--with written scores and parts that you're inputting for printout, or to orchestrate your pencil-written manuscript--Finale is a must-have. If you plan on arranging music for publishers (Hal Leonard, Alfred/Warner Bros.), being conversant in Finale will make your more employable. Ditto if you're an orchestrator, band director, or going into music education.

 

If your idea is to work in recording studios, mastering a DAW is more relevant.

 

I have a foot in both camps: I get work as a freelance engraver (using Finale) and I started professional life as a transcriber and arranger, writing and arranging piano and guitar music for print music publishers (Cherry Lane, Hal Leonard, Warner Bros., Alfred, etc.). I dealt with Finale every working day, either interfacing with outsourced engravers, editing their submitted files, or creating files from scratch myself. Nowadays, it's quite common to get paid a combined fee for doing both the transcribing/arranging work and for providing the finished Finale file. This works well for publishers because it saves a step (rather than getting a pencil manuscript from the arranger which they then have to give to an engraver). You as the arranger/engraver get more money than if the tasks were separated between two parties. That's the deal I have with Acoustic Guitar magazine, In Tune magazine, and Hal Leonard Publishing, for example.

 

But for straightforward recording and audio production, I use a DAW (Pro Tools and Cubase, in my case).

 

Are you a guitar player (you posted this in a guitar forum)? There are some neat ways to use Finale with guitars, and the automatic tab generation and special notation functions (complex bends, etc.) are quite evolved. Working with MIDI input (either on guitar or keyboard) is a very efficient way to work with Finale.

 

If you have "trained musician" chops (i.e., you can read and write music with a certain facility), or you plan on being an arranger/scorer in the traditional sense, or plan to teach and write music for publication, you'll do well to master Finale.

[girevik]

I'm not the OP, but just wanted to thank Jon for his informative post.

I plan to start writing jazz etudes for myself in the near future and so have been reading up on Sibelius First and the "budget" versions of Finale (Notepad, etc.).

[C.Ketola]

Has anyone tried this software? In my Sophmore Highschool music theory class, the school bought a bunch of books in bulk, and somehow that allowed students to get the Finale software for $150 (usually $600) A couple of questions -Is it easy to use -Is it worth the money -What exactly does it do -Etc, Etc. Thanks in advance! -Killress

Finale notepad is simplified version of Finale, you can download it for free at finalemusic.com, just to see what it does.

"-Is it easy to use" - No. Finale is a real pain in the ass. I'd consider Sibelius if I were you.

[Jon Chappell]

I plan to start writing jazz etudes for myself in the near future and so have been reading up on Sibelius First and the "budget" versions of Finale (Notepad, etc.).

 

 

That's a good plan--start with the "lite" versions of either program to see which one you relate to. Your skills--and any files your create--will transfer over should you decide to upgrade to the full/professional versions.