Music to my Ears - Digital Music with Finale Notepad

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Digital Music with Finale Notepad

This Article Will Be Revised Soon

To download Finale Notepad 2005, click here.

After you install it, you can enter Finale by going to Start => Programs => Finale NotePad 2004, and then click on Finale NotePad 2004 or click on the icon on your desktop.

Finale will then open. When the register window pops up, put in a registration code if you have one and click "Register Now!" If you don't have a registration code, click "Remind Me Later." When the next page pops up titled "Welcome to the Finale Family," click on the continue button to start making music!

Steps to Creating a Musical Piece in Finale

You need to type a title for your song. Then put your name in the composer slot. Choose if you want the file to be in portrait or landscape format and the size you want your page to be. Then click next.

Now you need to know what musical instruments you want in your piece. Click on which type of instrument you want in the left column and the instrument you want in the center column. Then click add. You can add more than one instrument if you want to but you MUST have at least one instrument. When you have all the instruments you want in the piece in the left column, click next.

Next, another window will come up. This will allow you to pick what time signature you want your piece in. The bottom number is how many beats in a measure. The top number is what note gets one beat. In 4/4 time, there are four beats per measure and a quarter note gets one beat. Also pick a key you want your piece to be in. Then click finish.

*NOTE: You can not add more beats than the top number on the time signature in a measure.

Now you can add notes to your piece. By clicking on the staff with a note tool or a rest tool, then you can put a note or a rest on the staff. To switch between notes or rests, click on a note or rest in the second toolbar. To erase a note, click on the eraser at the far left in the second toolbar. Then, click on the note you want to erase.

*NOTE: Finale automatically puts a rest in when you skip a beat.

To play your song, click the play button in the top right corner. To speed up the song, click the arrow buttons next to the play button. Click the left line next to the arrow keys, to play the song over.

To add lyrics to your piece, click the button with a quill pen and ink tub on it. Then, click where you want your lyrics to start and type them. Every time you hit the space bar or a dash key, it goes to the next note.

To add repeat signs, click on the button with the repeat sign and click on which repeat signs you want in your piece, then click where you want them.

*NOTE: In playback mode, the song does not repeat!

To add an accent mark, a fermata or any other symbol, click the button with a whole note and an accent sign over it. Then, click on the note you want the mark over and click on the mark you want on the note then click select. To delete a mark, right click on the mark and select delete. NOTE: An accent mark is an arrow like item on a sheet of music that makes notes louder. A fermata is a half circle with a dot in it that holds a note for a short period of time.

To save your piece, click on the Floppy Disk button. Then a window will pop up. Click where you want to save your piece and what name you want it to be. Then click save. If you don't want to save, then just click Cancel.

To print your finished piece, click on the printer button at the top of the screen!