A video tutorial series teaching a comprehensive understanding of Finale Music Notation Software
Pulverizing Percussion
PP-1 Pulverizing Percussion Lesson 1 (Basic)
Introduction
To understand percussion in Finale, you either need a Ph.D. in software engineering or the delicious analogy provided in this video. I’ll introduce you to a few concepts that will take a bit of the mystery out of things like Percussion Layouts and Percussion MIDI Maps and most importantly, how everything is related. Once you know what the ingredients are, you can move on to video 3-6A in the Managing the Score Manager series to start putting together your own understanding of how percussion is baked into Finale.
Finale V26.3
3-6A Managing the Score Manager Lesson 6A (Basic)
Percussion in the Score Manager
Adding non-pitched percussion instruments in the Score Manager, although easy to do, does have some pitfalls that you need to watch out for. I’ll take you on a tour of percussion in the Score Manager and give you background on everything that’s going on under the hood so that you can start managing your percussion with more confidence in Finale. Setting up percussion in Finale isn’t always 100% automatic, so knowing what instruments exist in what devices and knowing how to pick the right Percussion Layout for each instrument can make a big difference in getting a good setup.
Finale V26.3
Garritan Instruments Percussion MIDI Maps
3-6B Managing the Score Manager Lesson 6B (Intermediate)
Percussion Layout Editor
Manipulating Percussion Layouts is the key to getting your percussion parts to look the way you want them to in the score. Here we can decide what sounds go on what lines and spaces in the staff and whether we want to use normal noteheads, X noteheads, or any other notehead. Understanding the relationship between the Percussion Layout and the Percussion Patch and MIDI Map being used is also important if you care about playback, so I spend some time explaining that relationship. I’ll also show you a few things about the fonts being used for percussion noteheads.
Finale V26.3
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Garritan Instruments Percussion MIDI Maps
3-6C Managing the Score Manager Lesson 6C (Advanced)
Percussion Layouts With Multiple MIDI Maps
Using Layers in the Score Manager, it’s possible to have a Percussion Layout that uses multiple Percussion Patches. In this video, I’ll demonstrate how to do this by combining a Drum Set and a Djembe into a single Percussion Layout so that you can not only notate both instruments on the staff but also hear them play back!
Finale V26.3
3-6D Managing the Score Manager Lesson 6D (Advanced)
Percussion MIDI Map Editor
The Percussion MIDI Map editor is rather simple to use. What’s not so simple is understanding why you would need to use it. If you stick with the built-in sounds in Finale then the simple answer is that you don’t; all of the percussion patches that come with Finale already have perfectly good MIDI Maps associated with them. But, if you use 3rd-party percussion VSTs, then creating custom MIDI Maps is absolutely essential! In this video, I’ll give you a quick tour of how to use the MIDI Map Editor, and then I’ll demonstrate its usefulness by creating a MIDI Map for an NI Battery instrument. In addition, I’ll go ahead and show you how to use that MIDI Map in the Percussion Layout Editor and ultimately how it will look and sound in the score. Ultimately, you’ll get to see a soup to nuts process for adding a 3rd-party percussion instrument in Finale that will not only display properly but will also play back correctly.
Finale V26.3
8-6 Simplifying Simple Entry Lesson 6 (Intermediate)
Percussion in Simple Entry
Entering percussion notes in Simple Entry is very similar to entering notes anywhere else. The biggest difference is knowing how to navigate between the different sounds that are available on any given staff. I’ll show you some tips and tricks for getting to the right sounds using a mouse, a computer keyboard, and a MIDI keyboard.
Finale V26.3
9-6 Speeding Up Speedy Entry Lesson 6 (Intermediate)
Percussion in Speedy Entry
Percussion entry in Speedy Entry is rather novel using a MIDI keyboard as long as you know where each sound is on the keyboard. I’ll show you a couple of tricks for figuring that out if you need to. Entering notes without a MIDI keyboard becomes a little trickier in Speedy Entry. It works really well for 1-line parts that only have one or two sounds in the Percussion Layout, but for more complex Layouts with many sounds, (like a drum set), it becomes a little trickier. This video will explore all of these scenarios so you can become more comfortable entering percussion in Speedy Entry.
Finale V26.3
10-6 Getting the Hang of HyperScribe Lesson 6 (Intermediate)
Percussion in HyperScribe
As long as you know which notes on the MIDI keyboard go with which sounds in the Percussion Layout, entering percussion notes in HyperScribe is just like entering notes in HyperScribe for any other instrument. The key is knowing which notes to play. I’ll discuss that and a couple other tricks that are worth knowing for percussion in HyperScribe.
Finale V26.3
PP-2 Pulverizing Percussion Lesson 2 (Intermediate)
Copy/Paste and Transpose Percussion
Due to the nature of Percussion Layouts, copying and pasting notes between percussion staves is a little complicated. When the Layouts are different you may get strange results, so knowing how and why this happens can be important. There are also two different ways to copy and paste notes between non-pitched percussion staves and regular pitched staves. I’ll show you both methods and explain the advantages of each. Transposing Percussion (9:09) is also possible (and useful) if you know how it works. And it can also solve some of the problems that occur when copying and pasting notes between staves with different Percussion Layouts. There are several practical demonstrations later in the video showing exactly how powerful and useful both Copying and Pasting and Transposing Percussion can actually be, so be sure to stick it out through the end.
Finale V26.3
PP-3 Pulverizing Percussion Lesson 3 (Intermediate)
Special Finale Percussion Fonts
In this video, I will take you on a tour of two fonts that come with Finale called Finale Percussion and Finale Mallets. Both have some really useful symbols that can be used anywhere you can use fonts in Finale. The symbols are mostly graphics of percussion instruments and some unique playing techniques, including some squiggly lines that can be useful for any instrument! I’ll also show you a couple of nifty ways to implement these fonts into custom Smart Shapes.
Finale V26.3
Subscriber Request #2
Big Band Drum Parts
Submitted by Martin Nickless
This request comes from Martin Nickless and it’s about how to write Big Band Drum Parts! Specifically how to write drum parts where you have slashes (or one bar repeats) with cue notes above. This is a multi-step process so this tutorial will be a bit of a walk-through of how to do this. In the process you may learn a few other neat tricks and techniques along the way, so it’s worth a watch even if you don’t need to write drum set parts specifically.
Finale V26.3
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