Tempo markings

1. Choose the Expression tool . Double-click on, above, or below the note or measure to which you want to attach the marking. The Expression Selection dialog box appears.
2. Choose the Tempo Marks category from the list on the left and choose a tempo marking.
   • If the tempo marking you would like to add appears in the list, double-click it to add it and return to the score.
   • If not, click the Create Tempo Mark button. The Expression Designer dialog box appears. Type the text for the tempo marking. Use the Font drop-down menu to mix music characters with regular text. Click OK then assign to return to the document. The tempo indication appears in the score.

     The font, size, and style is applied automatically based on your settings for tempo marks in the Category Designer dialog box.

Because a metronome marking generally appears in all parts, it’s best to create it as an expression, which allows you to specify in which staves it will appear. Metronome markings added as expressions can also be defined to affect the playback tempo. See Adding tempo markings and dynamics for a step-by-step overview of adding tempo markings.

1. Choose the Expression tool .
2. Double-click above the measure to which you want to attach the marking. The Expression Selection dialog box appears.
3. Click the Tempo Marks category.
4. Click Create Tempo Mark. The Expression Designer dialog box appears.

   Use the Font drop-down menu to enter characters in the Text, Music, or Number Category Fonts. (Category Fonts are defined in the Category Designer dialog box.)

5. Type any desired text (e.g. Allegro, Largo, etc). If you don’t need text prior to the metronome marking, skip this step.
6. To insert a note, click Insert Note and select the desired duration from the drop-down menu.
7. To tell Finale to automatically match playback to the number of beats per minute specified, click the Playback tab and select Match Playback to Metronome Marking Text.
8. Click OK and Assign.

1. Choose the Expression tool . Handles appear on all expressions, including the tempo marking.
2. Edit the marking:
   • Drag the handle to move the tempo marking.
   • Select the handle and press the arrow keys to “nudge” it for fine positioning
   • Select the handle and press DELETE to remove it.

Noteman says: To easily record, or ‘conduct,’ a unique tempo change for any region, use TempoTap.

If your tempo marking includes a metronome component as described above, Finale automatically interprets it for playback. If not, follow these instructions to define its playback effect.

1. Choose the Expression tool .

   If you haven’t yet placed the marking in the score, double-click where you would like to add the marking. When the Expression Selection dialog box appears, choose Tempo Marks, click the desired marking, click Edit, and then skip to step 3.

2. CTRL+double-click the handle. The Expression Designer dialog box appears.
3. Click the Playback tab to display the playback options.
4. From the Type drop-down menu, choose Tempo.
5. Enter a number in the Set to Value box. This defines the expression to change the playback tempo to this setting whenever the marking appears in the score.

   The number you type into the box is a standard metronome setting. This setting is measured in quarter notes per minute, but you can change it to half notes—or any other value—using the Tempo drop-down menu.)

6. Click OK (or press ENTER). If you just defined a new expression, click Assign to add it to the score. Any time Finale encounters the expression you’ve just defined when it plays back your score, the tempo will change to reflect the expression’s playback definition.

The method listed above for creating metronome markings is quick and easy, but it can’t handle sophisticated tempo indications like the one shown at right. In these cases, you can use Finale’s Shape Designer to create metronome indications as complex as you wish. We’ve provided a swing indication as a Shape Expression in your default library. You can use this indication, duplicate and edit it, or create your own using the Shape Designer.

1. Choose the Expression tool .
2. Double-click a note or measure. The Expression Selection dialog box appears.
3. Click the Tempo Marks category. Notice the swing indication in the list.
4. Select the swing indication and click Duplicate, then Edit. The Expression Designer dialog box appears.

   If you would like to create a metronome marking from scratch, click Create Tempo Mark.

5. Use the tools in the Expression Designer to design your metronome marking. You can use the Maestro Times font to place musical characters and numbers on the same baseline.
6. Click OK.
7. Click the Playback tab. Assign the playback effect here. Choose Type > Swing to specify a swing feel, or Tempo to specify a tempo (beats per minute). Choose Effect > Set to Value and enter the swing value, or the number of beats per minute (respectively). See Expression Designer - Playback dialog box for more information.
8. Click OK then Assign to return to the score. The shape expression appears.