Take Your Music Further with Finale 2012

by Scott Yoho 10. November 2011 05:07


In looking at all the enhancements of Finale 2012, several can be loosely described as making Finale more portable, in one way or another, and that’s the focus of the above video. Why on earth would “portability” matter to a Finale user? The video describes three examples:

  • Finale’s redesigned playback infrastructure means that your Finale files can be shared with others who run Finale on different computer platforms, as well as those who don’t have your favorite sound libraries installed: In both cases, your files will automatically play back the best available sounds.
  • If you tote your laptop between different MIDI keyboards (as does Tom Johnson) Finale 2012 ensures you no longer have to configure Finale to use a different keyboard each time you switch. These same improvements also help new Finale users as they don’t have to configure a keyboard in the first place.
  • Unicode font support makes it possible to use every symbol in your fonts, which facilitates the creation of lyrics and other text in any language; especially useful if your music will travel around the world.

Because all three developments were initiated in response to customer contacts (most often in the form of questions to our support staff) they’re likely to be most recognized by those familiar with how previous versions of Finale worked. As is the case with so many improvements, those who begin with Finale 2012 will simply find they’re able to focus on their music without encountering hurdles, and that’s okay too.

Let us know what you think of the video, the advances, or anything else by clicking on “Comments” below.

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General | Scott Yoho

Comments

11/6/2011 12:32:05 PM #

Terry Vosbein

I am disappointed in no longer being able to designate sound libraries in the setup wizard. I use several Garritan libraries, frequently more than one in a single composition. And unless I am missing something, the only way to accomplish this now is to let the setup wizard create the staves for me, and then change the sounds one by one after the file has been creating.

Doable, but a step backwards if one uses multiple sound libraries.

I like the other updates to this version, but this one thing seems to add work, not take it away.

Terry Vosbein United States

11/7/2011 7:37:37 AM #

derek

I reset the sound-library preferences to GPO, JABB, Garitan for Finale, SoftSynth, and that order lets me set up the kinds of groups I use with little need to reset instruments manually later. I like the way the new setup works but realize it cannot be optimal for everybody every time.

derek United States

11/7/2011 7:51:05 AM #

Justin W. Phillips

Hi Terry,

Thanks for your input on how this affects your workflow. Hopefully we can address this soon. Do you normally write for similar instrumentation? You might try creating a template with the sounds pre-loaded for the interim.

-Justin at MakeMusic

Justin W. Phillips United States

11/7/2011 7:57:39 AM #

Scott Yoho

Hi Derek,

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Best wishes to all for the weekend,

Scott at MakeMusic

Scott Yoho United States

11/14/2011 10:30:31 AM #

Musiclady

Is Finale compatible with the Apple IPAD?

Musiclady United States

11/15/2011 6:18:47 AM #

Scott Yoho

Hi Musiclady,

While Finale is not compatible with the iPad, I'll forward your query as a request that MakeMusic provide a notation app for the iPad.

Best wishes,

Scott at MakeMusic

Scott Yoho United States

11/17/2011 4:30:52 AM #

JIm Callahan

+1 for Finale for iPad.

JIm Callahan United States

11/18/2011 5:26:15 PM #

Scott Yoho

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your input.

Scott at MakeMusic

Scott Yoho United States

12/1/2011 3:28:13 PM #

Terry LaBolt

I third the motion - a notation option for ipad(2)! I might add the I am one of the first 1000 owners of Finale 1.0 (back when it was more than $1000 and have enjoyed using it ever since. Increasingly, many of us are abandoning laptops and using the ipad instead. Perhaps the notation plus only midi playback - or some other RAM friendly adjustment....?

Terry LaBolt United States

12/11/2011 7:56:10 PM #

Scott Yoho

Hi Terry,

Thanks for the long-time support and suggestion of where a notation ipad app might differ from the full version of Finale.

Best wishes,

Scott at MakeMusic

Scott Yoho United States

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