Pickup measures

Follow these steps to convert the first measure into a pickup measure. If you wish to add a pickup measure before the first measure, insert a measure stack at the beginning of your piece (select the first measure and choose Edit > Insert Measure Stack). Finale also automatically skips over your pickup measure when displaying measure numbers. There is another method which some users prefer to create both pickup measures at the beginning of a piece and pickup measures within a piece. See To create a pickup measure within a piece (below).

To create a pickup measure at the beginning of a piece

  1. Choose Document > Pickup Measure. The Pickup Measure dialog box appears containing rhythmic values.
  2. Click the rhythmic value corresponding to the sum of the pickup note or notes. If the duration of the pickup notes is equivalent to a dotted note, click the dotted note.
  3. Click OK (or press ENTER), and enter the pickup notes, replacing the rest(s). Finale still plays the entire measure (as there are invisible rests behind the scenes). If you’ve entered the notes before creating the pickup measure, you may need to reapply music spacing.

To remove a pickup measure at the beginning of a piece

  1. Choose Document > Pickup Measure. The Pickup Measure dialog box appears containing rhythmic values.
  2. Click Clear Pickup. The value in the EDUs text field changes to 0 and the selected rhythmic value is deselected.
  3. Click OK (or press ENTER). The pickup measure has been removed.

To create a pickup measure within a piece

  1. Enter the pickup notes first, at the beginning of the measure.
  2. Choose the Time Signature tool icon.
  3. Double-click the pickup measure. The Time Signature dialog box appears.
  4. Set the Number of Beats to match the sum of beats in the pickup measure.
  5. Under Measure Region, specify the measure number of the pickup only. For example, Measure 24 Through 24.
  6. Click More Options to expand the Time Signature dialog box.
  7. Check Use a Different Time Signature for Display.
  8. Set the Number of Beats to match the sum of beats in the full measures of music after the pickup measure.
  9. Set the Beat Duration to match the beat duration in the full measure of music after the pickup measure. Click OK.
  10. Choose the Measure tool icon and double-click the pickup measure. The Measure Attributes dialog box appears.
  11. Uncheck Include in Measure Numbering and click OK.