
A video tutorial series teaching a comprehensive understanding of Finale Music Notation Software
Introduction
Hello and welcome to Conquering Finale! My name is Jason Loffredo and I will be your host and tutor as you learn ALL there is to know about Finale.
I have over 25 years worth of experience with Finale and as a copyist have worked on everything from Hollywood movies to Broadway shows to published classical music and everything in between, mostly with Finale. This entire series of tutorial videos will be a constant and likely long work in progress, so please be patient as I continue to add categories and videos. I hope you enjoy the videos and more importantly I hope that this tutorial series will get you all on you way to Conquering Finale!
The videos are always free for anyone to watch but please consider making a donation of anything you can to help offset some of the costs associated with producing these tutorials.
~Thanks, Jason
The Latest News
9/9/25
Finale to Dorico: Conquering the Transition
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Great news! I've been hired by the Dorico team to make a series of videos designed to help Finale users make the migration from Finale to Dorico. The first four of those videos were released today with more to come later this fall. Check back to the new page on this website to see the new videos when they drop.
7/25/25
Scoring Notes articles on the end of Finale
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I have co-written 3 articles with Scoring Notes Philip Rothman all about the last few days and weeks of official support for Finale. These articles cover everything from the basic facts, the alternatives, trying to use Finale for as long as possible, and transitioning to an alternative notation application.
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1. Finale's twilight zone: Ensuring a smooth ride into the sunset
9/9/24
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On 8/26/24, MakeMusic announced that they are ending development of Finale after 36 years.
Conquering Finale will therefore be winding down operations as well.
This will (likely) be the last video in the Conquering Finale series, I have a lot to say so it’s a bit on the long side. Feel free to use the chapters to skip around as needed. There’s a bit of news and facts about the Finale's end and then there is a very long discussion about MusicXML; what it is, how to export it out of Finale, and how to import it into both Sibelius and Dorico. There’s also some final words and some thank you’s to be said towards the end. Thanks to all the viewers for sticking with the series!
Finale v27.4.1
Sibelius v2024.6
Dorico v5.1.51​
Important Links:
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Scoring Notes Podcast: Finale’s Coda
ASMAC Seminar: Finale’s Finale
Finale to Dorico Equivalents with John Hinchey
Official Dorico YouTube Channel
Scoring Notes Article on Importing MusicXML in Sibelius
(This is a better method than what I show in the video)