Making changes

Editing with Simple Entry.

Whether you make a mistake when entering notes, or you change your mind about a passage, Simple Entry is the fastest, most efficient way to change music that has already been entered. With Simple Entry, you can change existing pitches or durations as well as add notes above or below a written note to create chords.

By the end of this lesson, you will know how to:

1. Edit using the Simple Entry palette
2. Edit using your computer keyboard

Note. To begin at this point, open "Tutorial 2a.MUS." (The accompanying Finale NotePad tutorial music files are available here. )

Editing using the Simple Entry palette

One option is to use the tools on the Simple Entry palette to make changes.

To use your mouse to delete, add, and change the pitch and duration:

1. Select the Simple Entry tool.
2. Click the Eraser tool in the Simple Entry palette. Notice an eraser appears next to your mouse cursor.
3. Click the first note in measure 1, top staff. The half note disappears. Subsequent notes in the measure shift to the left.

Note. At this point, do not choose any other tools or click another measure. If you do, Finale will automatically fill this measure with rests and you will need to undo (press COMMAND+Z) until the automatic rests disappear to resume.

4. Now, let's insert the half note back into the measure. Click the Half Note tool and click the D space just to the left of the quarter note.

5. Immediately after you enter a note, you can click it again and drag vertically to change the pitch. Let's do that now. Click the quarter note D you just entered and drag it up one step to E, then back again.

6. To click and drag any pitch at any time without changing its duration, hold down the OPTION key, then click and drag. (Simply clicking a note without the OPTION modifier will first change the note to the selected duration).

Note. If you increase a note's duration you'll need empty space in the measure–Finale prevents you from overfilling a measure. If you are unable to lengthen a note or add new notes to a measure, try deleting some other notes first or change one to a shorter duration.

Editing with Simple Entry and your computer keyboard

Alternatively, use your computer keyboard to make changes. As was just pointed out, you can select any individual note in the score by holding down your OPTION key and clicking on the note. Once you’ve selected a note, there are many keyboard commands you can use to edit it.

To edit notes with Simple Entry using your computer keyboard:

1. OPTION+click the A in the top staff, measure 2. The note is purple, indicating it is now active, and can be edited. Let's use our keyboard to make some common changes, starting with the duration.

Note. If you make a mistake, you can always press COMMAND+Z to Undo.

2. OPTION + 1-8 changes the duration. Hold down OPTION and type 4 on your keypad to turn it into an eighth note. Then, press OPTION+6 to change it back to a half. At this point, you could choose from many editing keystrokes. For example, you could press T to add and remove a tie, or OPTION+G to convert the note to a grace note. All these keystrokes are listed under the Simple menu > Simple Edit Commands.
3. The arrow keys can be used to navigate. Press RIGHT ARROW to select beat 3. Press COMMAND+DOWN ARROW to move down a staff, then COMMAND+UP ARROW to move it back.

Tip. Using your MIDI Keyboard to specify the pitch in Simple Entry: With the caret active, simply play the desired note or chord to add it to the score. Use the Simple Entry palette or your computer’s keypad to change to a new duration.

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