Finale Lead Sheet Project
Last revised July 6, 1998,Kimberly C. Walls

The lead sheet will have the melody notated with guitar chord symbols and lyrics. In completing the score, one will use simple note entry, page layout, the most common Finale tools, and the print and save commands.
 

Setting up a stave

1. Find a computer that has Finale 98 installed on its C:/ drive. Start Finale by double-clicking on its icon. A new "Untitled" file will open. For this project, we will use a template (or stationery) file to help with the page layout and design. So, click on the File menu, New From, Template. The template folder will be displayed in the dialog box. Navigate to the General Templates folder and select the Lead Sheet template (LeadSheet.ftm).

The music can be changed by using the main tool palette which is usually at the left of the screen. The palette may be moved around the screen by dragging the gray bar at its top. It may be closed by clicking on its close box. When it has been hidden, it may be redisplayed by selecting "Main Tool Palette" under the "Windows" menu. When one of the tools on the palette is selected, a description of the tool's use is displayed n the bottom border of the Finale window.

Most of the work in Finale will be done in "Scroll View" (see View menu) in layer one (see layer indicator at bottom of window). In Scroll View, the staves extend to the right, so you must use the scroll bar or the measure selector at the bottom of the window to see measures which are before or after those currently displayed. If there are more staves than will fit on the screen vertically, you may use the scroll bar at the right of the window to see the other staves. The "Scale View To" option under the View menu allows you to display the music in a larger or smaller format, but it does not change the size of the printed notation. The layer indicator at the bottom of the window may be set to a different layer in case you need to have more than one voice on a stave. In this excercise, all notes will be input in layer one.

2. Click on the Time Signature Tool, then the first measure.  When the dialog box appears, change the time signature, select the "Measure 1 through End" option, then close the dialog box.

3. Click on the Key Signature Tool and the first measure's box. Set the Key Signature.
 
 

Adding notes

4. Click on the Simple Note Entry Tool.  Make sure that Simple Entry Palette under the Window menu is checked so that the palette is visible.

5. Click on the desired note value, then click on the staff where the first note should appear. Continue adding notes, changing the note value if needed, and erasing using the eraser tool (if needed). Hold down the Shift Key to place a rest. Use the Raise/Lower tool to add accidentals. Remember to use the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen to see the other measures. If the screen doesn't look right, press the Control and D keys on the computer keyset to refresh the screen. As you work, periodically save your file to your floppy or Zip disk.
 

 Adding ending barlines and deleting extra measures

6. Select the Measure Attributes Tool and double-click on the selection box of the last measure of the melody. Select the Final Bar and click OK to create an ending bar line.

7.  Click on the Mass Mover Tool.  Click on the first measure after the final barline and scroll to the last empty measure.  Hold down the Shift key and click on the last empty measure to select those measures.  Press the delete key to eliminate those measures.
 

 Adding chord symbols

8. Scroll to the first measure of the exercise. Under the View menu, select Page View.

9. Select the Chord Tool. Make sure manual input is checked in the Chord Menu. Click on the first note head. A dialog box will appear. It is automatically set up to print the major tonic chord in the key of your exercise. Click select if that is the desired chord. Otherwise, type the Guitar-style chord you desire (e.g., DMaj7).

Anoter way to set up a chord symbol is to type in the scale degree numbers in the middle section of the dialog box.   Type in the scale degree number of the root of the chord in the first box. If the root is altered, type a "1" to raise it one halfstep, type a "-1" to lower it one halfstep. To select another chord quality, click on the Chord Suffix ID button. Click on the box containing the chord quality desired, then click on "Select." Click "OK" to return to your score. Continue adding other chords by clicking on the appropriate note heads. To change a chord symbol, click on its associated note head. Then double-click on the selection box which appears by the chord symbol.
 

Changing the Title

10. Click on the Text Tool. Double-click on the Title at the top of the page. Then, type in your title.
 

Claiming the Credit You are Due

11. Now double-click on Composer at the top right of the page. Type in something similar to this (except use your name, not mine) "Arranged by: Dr. Kimberly Walls" in the Text box.

12. Make sure that the Title and the Composer appear only on the first page in the following manner.  Clickon the selection box of the text blocks, then under the Frame menu, select Attributes.  Select "Attach to Page, Single, Page1. Then click "OK."

13. Use the scroll bars if needed to find the copyright at the bottom of the page. E change the text (as in steps 10 and 11)or delete the text frame by darkening its selection box and pressing the Delete key.

14. Save the file before doing any lyrics or page layout and at each step of the page layout process so that you may revert to old versions if something gets messed up.
 

Add Lyrics

15. Select the Lyric Tool.

16. Under the Lyrics menu, select Type Into Score.

17. Click on the first note head of the soprano melody. Type in the lyrics, typing either a space or a dash to jump to the next note. Press Backspace to back up and erase.

18. When you are finished, select Adjust Syllables from the Lyrics menu and click on the note head of any syllable which should be moved. Click in the syllable's selection box and use the arrow keys to move the syllable around. When a selection box is darkened, the syllable may be deleted.
 

Play Your Composition

19. Select the Instrument List under the Windows menu. Use the window to set each part to a patch and channel. Select "Send Patch Before Play".

20. Select Playback Control under the Windows menu.  Click on the Play Button. (P.S.  You need headphones plugged in.)
 

Page Layout

21. Click on the Page Layout Tool. Set the view pentage to 29 to view the entire page if needed.

22. Under the Page Layout Menu, select Group Measures. Type in the number of measures you desire per line (probably 4) and click OK.

23. Double click the Page Layout Tool. Use the options in the Layout Box to set the position of Staff systems and Margins by darkening the appropriate circle and dragging selection boxes around. Click on OK to go back to page view. Choose "Update Layout" under the Edit menu to see how the page will look. Important: You should choose "Update Layout" after each page layout change! Continue until you like your layout.
 

Save/Print Your Work

 24. Now save your file to your floppy or Zip disk.

 25. Print your project by choosing "Print Score" under the "File" menu in Finale


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Copyright (c)1998 Kimberly C. Walls
Dept. of Curriculumand Teaching
College of Education
5040 Haley Center
Auburn University, AL   36849
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