In order for Finale to properly attach stems to the alternate notehead shapes you use in percussion notation (such as X noteheads), you must turn on Stem Connections in the Stems section of the Document Options dialog box (under the Document menu). Stem connection settings tell Finale precisely how to attach stems to the edges of noteheads.

To adjust stem connections on noteheads

1. Choose Document > Document Options > Stems. Then click the Stem Connections button. The initial settings in the dialog box are for the Maestro font’s X notehead character.
2. Click the notehead that you want to edit. Click Edit.
3. Select a new symbol for the notehead. Click Set Font to choose a font other than the Default Music Font, then click OK. For example, choose Tamburo, or any other font that contains noteheads. Click Select to choose a notehead character from the font you specified or the Default Music Font, then click Select.
4. Enter new H: and V: values for the Upstem and Downstem values.
5. Click Use Stem Connections. The dialog box is dismissed. Finale will now use these settings when it draws a stem on any of the noteheads you defined in the Stem Connections dialog box.

Tip. To turn off stem connections in a document, uncheck Use Stem Connections in the Stems section of the Document Options dialog box. Refer to Stem Connection Editor dialog box for more details about setting stem connections.

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