Percussion MIDI Map Editor dialog box

How to get there

  • Choose MIDI/Audio > Device Setup > Edit Percussion MIDI Maps.

Or,

  1. Choose Window > ScoreManager. The ScoreManager appears.
  2. Choose the Instrument List tab and select a staff.
  3. Next to Notation Style: Percussion, click Settings. The Percussion Layout Selection dialog box appears.
  4. Click Edit or Create. The Percussion Layout Designer dialog box appears.
  5. Next to Current Percussion MIDI Map, click New.

What it does

Use this dialog box to edit ClosedPercussion MIDI MapsA Percussion MIDI Map is simply a list that matches each percussion instrument in a sound library with a particular MIDI note number (e.g. bass drum = 36, snare drum = 38, etc.). These maps are required to properly assign the same percussion notation to various playback devices, and are also used to accommodate the many different percussion sound banks that can be used for input with an external MIDI device., which are used to assign instrument sounds to MIDI note numbers. Each percussion note is assigned to a MIDI note behind the scenes, which allows Finale to accommodate any playback device (whose MIDI notes may be mapped to different instruments) easily by selecting the appropriate percussion MIDI map from the ScoreManager.

When you click or type percussion into the score Finale assigns the MIDI note properly. But, if you want Finale to use a different percussion instrument for playback throughout your score (e.g. the "electric snare" sound instead of the "acoustic snare"), or, if you would like to configure percussion sounds for input with a particular external MIDI device, you can assign your own MIDI notes to percussion instruments in this dialog box. (A Percussion MIDI Map configured for input from an external MIDI device can be selected in the Percussion Input Maps dialog box.)

Note that the same Percussion MIDI Map can be used, and often is, for both MIDI input and playback. Choose MIDI/Audio > Device Setup > MIDI Thru to audition the percussion sounds Finale interprets if you want to use your MIDI keyboard for input and not for playback.

Noteman says: When you install a new version of Finale on your computer, percussion MIDI maps are not copied from the previous version. To migrate these files, see To migrate settings and support files from one version of Finale to another.

  • MIDI Device. This dropdown menu contains a list of the sound libraries installed on your computer, as well as the General MIDI library. Choose from this list to display the percussion Note Types and corresponding MIDI Note numbers for the device.
  • Map. Click this dropdown menu to choose the Percussion MIDI Map that you would like to edit. Choose (New Map) to define a new Percussion MIDI Map from scratch for the current device. For example, if you would like to create a Percussion MIDI Map for several percussion patches of an external MIDI keyboard, choose (New Map) to add and define a new map for each percussion patch you would like to use on that device. Click Remove to delete the selected Percussion MIDI Map. If all Maps for a selected MIDI device are removed, the device is also deleted.
  • DisplayName. Click in this text box to rename the selected Percussion MIDI Map. After choosing New Map from the Map dropdown menu, you are prompted to enter the new map name here.
  • New • Remove. Click New to start a new Percussion MIDI Map for the selected MIDI device. This creates a new XML file in the MIDI Device Annotation folder (see Finale installation details) that contains your customized mapping. Click Remove to delete the selected MIDI map. This deletes the corresponding XML file and can be done for any existing MIDI map, pre-installed or custom maps created with the New button.

    WARNING! Clicking the Remove button does not prompt you for confirmation before deleting the MIDI map. Once the map is deleted, there is no automatic way to retrieve it, as the corresponding XML file has been deleted.

  • Select a Note Type to Add • Add Note Type. From this dropdown menu, select the note type you would like to add. After you select it, click Add Note Type to insert it in the list.
  • [Note Type List • MIDI Note List]. All percussion instruments in the selected Percussion MIDI Map are displayed here, along with their corresponding MIDI pitches. Select one of these instruments and play a note on your MIDI keyboard to assign that MIDI pitch to the selected instrument, or click under the MIDI Note column and type to specify a MIDI note.
  • Remove Note Type. Select a percussion instrument and choose Remove Note Type to delete the instrument from the list.
  • Custom Note Type Name. Use this text box to enter the name of a custom note type that you've defined.
  • OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm your changes and return to the score. Click cancel to dismiss this dialog box without making changes to your Percussion MIDI Maps.

See also:

Percussion

Staff tool