Playback

Noteman says: See Tutorial 3: Auditioning your score and Tutorial 8: Playback for step-by-step tutorials on playback in Finale.

In Finale, you can playback using any internal or external MIDI synthesizer, or any VST device installed on your computer, including Finale's included library of high-quality Garritan sounds.

In addition to the sounds used for playback, Finale can play your score several different ways: as recorded during a HyperScribe session, using Finale’s built-in Human Playback technology, or based solely on the notes, rhythms, and dynamics exactly as they appear in the score - and any MIDI data added deliberately with the MIDI or Expression Tool.

Playing your music

Noteman says: See Tutorial 3: Auditioning your score for a step-by-step tutorial regarding playback methods.

  1. While pressing SPACEBAR, click the measure at which you want to begin playback. See the table below for various options in starting playback. It doesn’t matter which tool is currently selected. The behavior of the playback is governed by the settings in the Playback/Record Options dialog box (see To specify playback parameters below).
    CommandKeyboard Shortcut
    Begin playing from the current measureSPACEBAR+click in staff
    Begin playing from current measure in the current staff onlySHIFT+SPACEBAR+click in staff
    Begin playing from measure one in the global staff listSPACEBAR+click to the left of a staff system
    Begin playing from measure one in the current staff onlySPACEBAR+click to the left of a staff
    “Scrub” onscreen music - all stavesCTRL+SPACEBAR (and drag across music)
    “Scrub” onscreen music - current staff onlyCTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR (and drag across music)
  2. Click on the screen to stop the playback. Finale may take a moment to respond.

Playback Controls reside on a movable/dockable window. They give you several additional controls over the way your score plays back—for example, they contain Play, Stop, Rewind, and Fast Forward buttons. They also let you listen to any portion of the score, even if you’re viewing a different section on the screen.

  1. Choose Window > Playback Controls. The Playback Controls appear.
  2. Adjust the Measure control, if necessary. This text box shows the first measure to be played. To change this number, either type in a new one, click the up or down arrow, or click one of the large buttons on Playback Controls. (To edit the counter or use the following buttons, the Current Counter Setting option must be selected in the Playback Settings dialog box).
    • The button (Rewind to Beginning) enters 1 in the Measure text box.
    • The and buttons quickly decrease or increase the number in the Measure text box.
    • The button (Fast Forward to End) puts the last measure’s number in the text box.
  3. Click Play. The music plays. To Stop, click Stop; to pause, press SPACEBAR again (or click Pause); when you’re ready to go on, click Pause again.

    If, while you’re listening, you catch something you’d like to hear again, click the button for a few seconds; Finale suspends playback and the Measure text box number decreases (as the program “rewinds”). Release the button, and playback will begin again (with the number in the Measure text box). Similarly, you can click the , (Rewind to Beginning), and (Forward to End) buttons at any time during playback.

  4. For additional playback options, click the Playback Settings button. The Playback Settings dialog box opens.
    • Using Always start at and Stop at, specify what range of measures you want Finale to play; the default settings tell Finale to play from Measure 1 displayed on the screen through the end of the piece. By changing these numbers, you can even tell Finale to play measures that aren’t on the screen. Or, by entering a small range and repeatedly clicking the Play button, you could, in effect, “loop” through a certain segment.
    • The Tempo control sets the playback tempo unless you’ve created tempo changes by recording them or by placing Expression marks.
    • The Base Key Velocity, on a scale from 0 (silent) to 127 (very loud), establishes the overall key velocity setting, from which all dynamics are measured. In other words, you can make the piece generally softer by decreasing this number, but individual dynamics within the piece will still have an effect.

For a discussion of Playback Controls, see Playback Controls. To make real-time adjustments to volume, panning, and other playback attributes, see To use real-time mixer controls below.

Volume, panning, the instrument sound, and other playback attributes can be adjusted as you listen to Finale’s performance using Finale’s mixer controls. Mixer controls are available in three places; the Mixer window, the Staff Controls (in Studio View), and the ScoreManager. Adjustments made to any of these controls applies to them all. All mixer changes are supplemental to all playback data currently specified in the score (Human Playback, MIDI tool data, etc.). For example, an increase in volume applied with the mixer does not affect the contour of volume within the score, only the master or staff volume as a conventional mixer would affect the master volume or volume of individual tracks.

  1. Choose Window > Mixer. The Mixer controls appear including master and staff controls. You can also view the set of staff controls, called the Staff Controls, to the left of your score in Studio View. To do so, choose View > Studio View. The same controls (with the added capability of individual control for layers and chord symbols) are also available in the ScoreManager.
  2. Start playback. Mixer controls apply to playback regardless of the measure or type of playback you initiate.
  3. Click and drag the sliders or wheels to customize output. See Mixer for an illustration of the controls. Note that the configuration of the mixer controls is saved when you save the Finale document.
  1. Choose Window > ScoreManager. The ScoreManager appears.
  2. Click the Mute button for each staff you want to silence, or click the Solo button to silence all other staves.

    In other words, if your score has 40 staves, and you just want to hear the piano part, it’s much quicker to click Solo for the two piano staves than to mute the other 38 staves. But if you want to hear everything but the piano, click in the Play button for the piano staves. If both Mute and Solo are selected for the same staff, Mute overrides Solo.

To adjust Finale’s playback interpretation of a score, you can adjust the Human Playback settings located in the Playback Settings dialog box. Human Playback overrides all performance data, MIDI tool data, and other playback information deliberately added to the score (with the exception of MIDI data set to “Incorporate” in the Human Playback Preferences dialog box). Therefore, if you would like to listen to a performance as it was recorded, or if you would like to playback performance details added to the score with the MIDI or Expression Tool, set Human Playback to None. To do this:

  1. Choose Window > Playback Controls. The Playback Controls appear.
  2. Click the Playback Settings button. The Playback Settings dialog box appears, offering additional controls.
  3. Choose Human Playback Style > None.
  4. Close out to the Playback Settings. When you play back your score with Human Playback disabled, Finale checks the Playback/Record Options to find out certain playback parameters, as described here.
  5. Choose Document > Playback/Record Options. The Playback/Record Options dialog box appears.
  6. Select the playback parameters you prefer.
    • Choose Chase from First Measure(from the Dynamics and Markings dropdown menu) if you want Finale to quickly scan your piece and “chase” any expression markings that occurred earlier in the piece up to the point you clicked. These might include tempo, dynamics, patch changes, and so on; select this option if you’re starting playback in the middle of the piece and want these playback variables to be current (and transmitted to your synthesizer) as of the starting point you clicked.
    • If you choose Reset instead, Finale ignores any changes that have occurred prior to this point in the score, and begins playing based on the markings available in the measure you clicked.
    • Choose Use Current Settings if you’ve interrupted playback at a certain spot, and now want to continue using the expression settings in effect when you stopped playback.
    • Click Ignore Repeats if you want Finale to play through repeat barlines (and text repeats) as though they didn’t exist.
    • Select Reset Repeats if you want such repeats to be “set to zero” each time you begin playback again. If you don’t specify Reset Repeats, Finale remembers how many times each repeat has been “activated.” If you’re proofreading a score by playing one section at a time, you will want Finale to “remember its place” each time you stop, so you probably won’t want to select this option. Next, specify any captured MIDI data you want to incorporate into the playback. Captured MIDI data is created with the MIDI tool or imported in a standard MIDI file from another sequencer.
    • Select Play Recorded Key Velocities and Play Recorded Note Durations if you want the playback to incorporate the key velocity (volume) information and Start and Stop Time data (tiny anticipations or delays of the beat such as rolled chords and swing) from the original performance.
    • Select Play Recorded Continuous Data if you want the playback to use the pedaling, pitch wheel, and other MIDI continuous data information from the original performance.
    • Check Send Patches to MIDI Device on Playback if you want Finale to send initial patch settings to your synthesizers before beginning the playback. The initial patch settings are determined by the ScoreManager (see Patches).
  7. Click OK (or press ENTER).

If you want, you can tell Finale to scroll the music, so you can follow the score as you’re listening to the playback.

  1. Choose Window > Playback Controls. The Playback Controls appear.
  2. Click the Playback Settings button. The Playback Settings dialog box appears, offering additional controls.
  3. Select Scrolling playback. You may now play the music in the normal way.
  • While pressing CTRL and SPACEBAR, drag the cursor across your score. As the cursor strikes each note, you hear it played on your MIDI keyboard. You can drag in any direction, and at any speed, and from one staff to another. You might use this trick for checking chord voicings, scanning small sections for wrong notes, or just for fun.

Configuring playback sounds

The sounds Finale uses are either MIDI (a SoundFont like Finale's SoftSynth, sound card synth, or external MIDI device) or VST, which are professionally recorded sound samples that make your music sound like a live performance. Using MIDI for playback is a good way to make the most of your computer's resources. They require little RAM and load instantly, making them ideal for quickly auditioning playback as you work with a score in progress. To use MIDI playback, choose MIDI/Audio > Play Finale Through MIDI. If you need the highest-possible sound quality, use VST playback. These sounds require more computer resources, especially for large scores, but offer performance-quality sounds and additional features. For example, if you use Human Playback with the included Garritan VST sounds, Finale includes playback of performance markings automatically (such as changing from arco to pizz.). To use VST playback, choose MIDI/Audio > Play Finale Through VST.

Noteman says: See the Garritan Personal Orchestra & Human Playback Tutorial for details regarding the use of Human Playback with Garritan sounds (including the full version of Garritan Personal Orchestra).

Human Playback vs. recorded MIDI data

When you record music using Transcription Mode, HyperScribe, or when you import a MIDI sequencer file, Finale captures the expressive data including key velocity data (how hard you struck the keys), MIDI continuous data information (the pitch wheel, and other controllers and wheels), and tempo fluctuations. If you “capture” this data before transcribing the performance into notated form, Finale retains it even after the performance has been turned into notation, and can play it back—nuance for nuance—at any time. However, if a score was not recorded from a live performance, you can still listen to Finale’s interpretation which was designed to replicate a live human performance. This feature is called “Human Playback.”

Noteman says: IMPORTANT! To playback a piece using recorded MIDI data, or if you want to include any adjustments to playback added with the MIDI tool or Expression tool, first set Human Playback to None. Human playback overrides all other MIDI information. See To specify playback parameters. The Human Playback Preferences dialog box allows you to select what types of data you want Human Playback to ignore or incorporate. You can also enable or disable human playback by region by adding expressions defined for Human Playback On and Human Playback Off in the playback tab of the Expression Designer dialog box.

Human Playback, which applies to playback by default, generates a MIDI performance far more sophisticated than a straight MIDI performance. This method of playback is designed to read the MIDI data from a score, interpret additional markings, and replicate a human performance during playback. Finale intelligently interprets markings such as tempo indications (i.e. “accel.” or “rall.”), hairpins, tremolo markings, harmonics, and more. You may notice other subtle changes as well, like a slight ritardando at the end of a piece, or an increased volume applied to a solo staff. Because an accurate performance of notated music heavily depends on the style, Finale offers several style choices, including Romantic, Classical and Jazz, to more accurately interpret the score. See Playback Settings dialog box.

When Finale plays back without Human Playback enabled, it responds to any custom musical markings you’ve placed in the score, such as staccato or accent marks, dynamics, and MIDI patch and channel indications. Human Playback interprets default markings automatically, so no further intervention is needed. For details on creating your own playback-intelligent symbols, see Articulations, Expressions.

If you plan to transcribe your real-time performances or use Finale as a notation-based “sequencer,” then it’s important to understand the distinction between a playback of the score and a playback using the captured MIDI data. A number of Finale functions apply to one or the other kind of playback only; the MIDI tool is a good example. Many of its options are specifically intended for the editing of the captured MIDI data, just as you would edit the raw MIDI data of a performance in a sequencing program.

Finally, remember that the notated score and the captured MIDI data aren’t completely independent. Suppose you hadtranscribed a performance with the Transcription Mode in an earlier version of Finale and captured the MIDI data. When you play the piece using the captured MIDI data (with Human Playback set to None), you’ll hear it played with your original “feel”—volume, tempo, pedaling, and so on. Yet you can edit the transcription by changing notes, transposing, adding dynamics or other playback expressions—and you’ll hear the edited music play back with the captured MIDI data still intact.

For instructions on capturing performance data, see To import a MIDI file.

Troubleshooting audio playback

On rare occasions, you may encounter a situation called MIDI lock, in which your synthesizer is “stuck” on a certain note or chord.

Choose MIDI/Audio > All Notes Off. Finale sends an “all notes off” message to every note of every channel. You should find that, after a moment, the situation is corrected.

See To correct erratic MIDI playback.