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MakeMusic! Inc.
Finale is a music notation program that gives you control over every aspect of the printed page and provides control over MIDI I/O.
Academic/theological pricing ($350) available.
Download link requires email registration. Installer downloads, followed by full application (158MB).
Academic/theological pricing ($350) available.
Download link requires email registration. Installer downloads, followed by full application (158MB).
What's New
Version 2012.0.r3:
New features include:
- ScoreManager™ takes care of the details - controlling how your staves look and sound - so you don't have to. Easily change a flute staff to a clarinet staff. Switch between flute and clarinet on the same staff. The ScoreManager knows how a clarinet staff transposes, looks, and sounds, so it makes all the necessary arrangements. The ScoreManager also handles playback and sound setup, so you don't have to navigate to various players or assign correct MIDI channels. In one setting, the ScoreManager lets you change staff name, order, transposition, clef, and playback sounds. Let Finale's new ScoreManager handle all the details, so you can focus on the music.
- With Finale 2012, you have access to even more Garritan sounds. Based on your requests, new instrument sounds include:
- Soprano sax
- Celeste
- Mandolin
- Accordion
- Euphonium solo
- Recorder
- Pipe organ - Baroque Plenum Reed stop
- Pipe organ - Pedal stop
- Sound setup: With the updated Setup Wizard, you simply indicate what instrument you're writing for. No need to specify a sound library first. Finale automatically associates the instruments you've selected with the sound libraries on your computer, even if you've added libraries not included with Finale. It even remembers which sound libraries you prefer.
Version 2012.0.r3:
New features include:
- ScoreManager™ takes care of the details - controlling how your staves look and sound - so you don't have to. Easily change a flute staff to a clarinet staff. Switch between flute and clarinet on the same staff. The ScoreManager knows how a clarinet staff transposes, looks, and sounds, so it makes all the necessary arrangements. The more...
Requirements
- PPC / Intel
- Mac OS X 10.5 or later.
- PowerPC G4 processor or better.
Finale User Discussion (Write a Review)
Overall:
(5)
(5)
| Downloads:24,790 |
| Version Downloads:482 |
| Type:Multimedia & Design : Audio |
| License:Demo |
| Date:08 Oct 2011 |
| Platform:PPC / Intel |
| Price: $600.00 |
Overall (Version 2012.x):  |
| Features: |
Ease of Use: |
| Value: |
| Stability: |
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Finale is a music notation program that gives you control over every aspect of the printed page and provides control over MIDI I/O.
Academic/theological pricing ($350) available.
Download link requires email registration. Installer downloads, followed by full application (158MB).
Academic/theological pricing ($350) available.
Download link requires email registration. Installer downloads, followed by full application (158MB).
Copyright © 2012 MacUpdate LLC
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--marc reviewed on 13 Mar 2012
... so, I switched from Sibelius to Finale. The tipping point for me was that Finale can export to MusiciXML versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0 and better MusicXML imports (in my test). Sibelius only exports MusicXML 2.0.
I use MusicXML exports for SeeScore on the iPad.
As an adjunct to Finale, I use Harmony Assistant create midi with lyrics like the karaoke *.kar format files. and rich midi files for transport to Logic Pro and MainStage. (I've not yet found a way for Finale to put lyrics in the Finale generated midi file)
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PiotrGM reviewed on 18 Aug 2009
But what is also true is this. I have been using it heavily since 1994 to create a variety of scores - including graphics driven experimental ones - and during that time it crashed twice (yes, twice). Not bad, right? It makes it one crash per seven and a half years. I would like to see another Mac programme which is so sturdy. Finale offers unmatched flexibility in terms of advanced notations, MIDI manipulation and the like. It is very highly customisable - you can focus on some modules only, those which you know you will use. The other modules are always out of your way unless you need them. Once you've mastered it, Finale is a delight, many of its plug-ins saving the conscious user dozens of hours of potentially crippling, time-consuming work.
Finale is not perfect and never will be, but it is nonetheless way ahead of its competitors in terms of the sheer number of options it gives the user.
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E.g., 2007 could not be quit with the cmd-Q key combination (probably THE oldest key command in the history of the Mac OS). This bug was never fixed in the updates on 2007. It wasn't even fixed in the payed for upgrade 2008, but only in 2008a. And there are bugs like this,
I'm a user since 3.0 and have paid the app SIX times over since, for 'upgrades' only. I am still satisfied with what I can do with the app and that's why I use it, but I strongly protest against the way MakeMusic declares us all morons and sucks us all dry with their abjectable policy that defies any etiquette of software development. They know their app is the best in the market, and they'll make sure we'll know it as well ... through our wallet.
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E.g., 2007 could not be quit with the cmd-Q key combination (probably THE oldest key command in the history of the Mac OS). This bug was never fixed in the updates on 2007. It wasn't even fixed in the payed for upgrade 2008, but only in 2008a. And there are bugs like this, in more or less serious degree, in each and every version that I have used todate, and that is ever version since 3.0.
I'm a longtime user as well and have paid the app SIX times over since, for 'upgrades' only. I am still satisfied with what I can do with the app and that's why I use it, but I strongly protest against the way MakeMusic declares us all morons and sucks us all dry with their abjectable policy that defies any etiquette of software development. They know their app is the best in the market, and they'll make sure we'll know it as well ... through our wallet.
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Anonymous reviewed on 25 Jul 2005
However, for people to constantly put Finale down because they charge for their commitment to the product, in making it the absolute best notation program on the market, is simply outrageous.
Sibelius is great if you're a student or beginner, but nothing holds a candle to Finale for precise music notation. Sibelius simply produces sloppy scores. If you're a serious composer Finale is the ultimate tool.
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Anonymous reviewed on 14 Nov 2004
Anonymous reviewed on 12 Nov 2004
Anonymous reviewed on 13 Feb 2004
My favourite so far is Lilypond (http://www.lilypond.org). It's free, and the support base is immense. The big downside: you have to script your music in plaintext.
I would love to go to Sibelius, but I have musical needs that Finale does cover, even if only by kludging the files around, but Sibelius can't deal with at all. I deal with Arabic (Cairo Convention), Persian and Turkish music. They use microtonality and although I can clumsily appproximate them on Finale (in a bass-ackward sort of way...) I can't even get in the neighborhoood with Sibelius. Add to that, compound time signatures, limping irregular rhythms, etc. and microtones (comma system, 9 intervals inside of a whole note), I can't even get to first base in Sibelius. Finale does the job... badly, but it is possible.
The first engraver application publisher to figure it out will get a lock onto what is a really big potential market. Western pop isn't all there is! The other 95% of the world's music is waiting for you to wake up. Don't you guys want to make some money?
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Finale 2010 FTW - even though the installer is currently POS.
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I've posted a detailed list of Finale bugs (including some specific to case-sensitive HFS+) with workarounds over on VersionTracker, along with many other bugs for which no workaround is possible. Here's an abbreviated list:
0. Installer fails to work.
Workaround: In Terminal, type:
cd /System/Library/CoreServices/Installer.app
ln -s Contents contents
cd Contents/MacOS/
ln -s Installer installer
1. Finale repeatedly asks if you want to check for updates.
Workaround: In Terminal, type:
sudo chmod g+w /Library/Preferences
Next, run Finale and tell it whether to check for updates. Finally, in Terminal, type:
chmod g-w /Library/Preferences
2. Finale (since at least 2007) spews a bunch of warnings from the shell when it loads plug-ins.
sh: -c: line 0: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `''
sh: -c: line 1: syntax error: unexpected end of file
No known workaround, possibly harmless?
3. Finale installs 326 files with the execute bits set to true. Of these, probably only one (the main Finale binary) should be executable.
4. Finale help index won't open.
Workaround: In Terminal, type:
cd /Applications/
cd "Finale 2009"
cd "Help Files"
ln -s Finale_CSH.htm Finale_csh.htm
5. Very high CPU overhead and poor battery life. Basically, they keep their Core Audio worker thread running and providing audio data continuously even when no documents are open (much less playing). The result is 8-9% of the CPU wasted while the application is idle. This translates to a significant reduction in battery life on portables.
Workaround: Always quit Finale when not in use and carry a spare battery.
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I do make my living from engraving, arranging and original work, which makes that my profession. Nonetheless, I will stick with my original assessment of this "programme" (as you call it) as crapware. I'm not sure what being a professional has to do with it one way or another. I call 'em like I see 'em. I even tried 2009 thinking that after 10 years, surely they would have improved the interface. But no. It's still clunky as ever.
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I still think Finale is very good and yes, I have created a number of pretty complex scores using it, including pieces for orchestra such as a series of concerti (all performed) for violin and viola (double concerto), saxophone, and organ.
For a time, I supported myself as a copyist (or engraver, if you will) and used Finale for it. Finale is extremely flexible - and this is what I like. I tried Sibelius and was not too impressed. However, some people tell me it is easier to learn than Finale and hence its popularity with those who are not interested in extended notation.
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Finale seems pretty buggy to me, from a programmer perspective, and has really poor CPU performance, causing it to run down a normally six hour laptop battery in a little over two hours. IMHO, most of Finale's performance problems came when they moved to Mac OS X. It seemed like they did the port and then never bothered to go back and optimize it afterwards. I haven't done the same level of experimentation with Sibelius, but I would expect it to be better in both regards, if only because it is a much more recent code base with less legacy cruft lying around.
Finally, for what it's worth, Apple has a technical note, TN2096, that describes how to track down most case sensitivity issues. If MakeMusic hasn't read it, they should.