Playback

You’re about to discover that your folk song masterpiece, “Oh, Susannah,” not only looks good—it sounds good, too.

It doesn’t matter which tool is currently selected.

1. From the Window menu, choose Playback Controls (if they’re not already on the screen). The Playback Controls appear docked at the top of the screen.

2. Click the Play button . If your MIDI system is hooked up properly, you’ll hear Finale play the song.

If you don’t hear anything, consult the Installation for Windows for information on setting up your MIDI system.

As you’re about to find out, you don’t have to use the Playback Controls to play back your score:

3. While pressing the spacebar, click any measure . Once again, Finale plays back your score, this time beginning with the measure you clicked. Click anywhere on the screen to pause. Of course, this is only the tip of the playback iceberg. Try this fun—but useful—feature:
4. While pressing and the Space bar, drag the cursor back and forth across the notes in the score. This “scrubbing” playback feature lets you spot-check any part of the score—a useful feature when, for example, you’re entering lyrics and want to confirm your place in the music.

You can play any Finale document using either this “Space bar-click” method or the Playback Controls.

More playback features will be discussed in Tutorial 6: Playback.

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