1. Select any four-voice vocal piece (chorale) with lyrics, sixteen measures long or more.
2. Start Finale.
Set up the score
1. Create 9 staves by selecting the staff tool and double clicking on the score eight times, each stave under another.
2. Select the key signature tool and click on the top stave's first measure.
3. Use the scroll bar in the dialog box to set the key of the composition (in major, minor, or non-standard harmony) and click on OK.
4. Select "This measure through end of piece" and "Transposed"
5. Set the Time Signature as in the prior project.
6. Select the Staff Tool then choose Edit Staff Attributes from the Staff menu. Make sure that [Staff 1] is displayed in the drop down menu at the top of the dialog box. Next to Full Name, click on Edit and type "Soprano." Click OK. Next to Abbr. Name, click on Edit and type "Sop." Select Staff 2.
7. Set up Staff 2 to be the "Alto" staff as above. Select Staff 3.
8. Set up Staff 3 to be the "Tenor" staff as above. Click on the button next to First Clef to change the clef. Click on the Bass Clef symbol and OK. Select Staff 4.
9. Set up Staff 4 to be the "Bass" staff as above. Remember to set the Bass Clef. Select Staff 5.
10. Staff 5 will be your descant's staff. Set its clef and name properly. (Your choice of instrument.)
11. Staff 6 will be the soprano part for your orchestral group, Staff 7 the alto, Staff 8 the tenor, and Staff 9 the bass. Set their instrument names and clefs properly. (Your choice of ensemble.)
Use Simple Note Entry for the Vocal Parts
1. Select the Simple Note Entry Tool.
2. Click on the first measure of the Soprano Part and enter soprano line.
3. Click on the first measure of the Alto staff. Enter its notes. Repeat for the Tenor and for the Bass. Remember to save soon and often!
Playback the Vocal Parts
1. Under the "Window" menu, select "Playback Control" and click on its "Play" button.
2. If you hear mistakes, select the Simple Note Entry Tool and use the eraser and other tools to correct them.
Add a Descant
1. Click on the first measure of the Descant staff. Enter an original descant part. Use the Simple Entry Tools to correct any mistakes.
Add Expression
1. Select the Articulation Tool and go to the last measure of the composition. Click on the last note head of the Soprano part. Click on the Fermata symbol and click Select. If the fermata is not above the note, click on the note head again to make the fermata's selection box appear. Drag the selection box around to put the fermata in the correct place. Do the same thing to the Tenor part and the Descant Part. Do the same to the Alto and Bass, except drag the fermata under the note.
2. Select the Smart Shape Tool to add some crescendi and decrescendi to the chorale. If the Smart Shape Palette does not appear, make sure the option is checked under the Windows menu. These expressions should go above the Soprano, and Tenor and below the Alto, Bass, and Descant. To add a crescendo or decrescendo, select the desired tool. Double-click where the expression should begin, holding down the second click. While holding the mouse button down, drag the ends of the expression to the right. To move the expression around or change its shape, click on its selection box. A dotted box will appear around the expression. Dragging on its horizontal lines will move the whole expression around. Dragging on the vertical lines will change its proportions. To delete an expression, click on its selection box and press delete. Add an expression to each part, above the Soprano, Tenor, and Descant, below the Alto and Bass.
4. Select the Over Slur and/or Under Slur tools to add phrases to your music. The Slur Tools work similarly to the Crescendo and Decrescendo Tools. Phrases go above the Soprano and Tenor, below the Alto and Bass, where convenient for the Descant.
Copy Vocal Parts to Orchestral Parts
1. Select the Mass Mover Tool. Click to the left of the beginning of the Soprano part. The entire staff should be highlighted.
2. Under the Edit menu, select Copy. Click to the left of the first orchestral part to select it, then choose Replace under the Edit menu.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the Alto, Tenor, and Bass parts and their corresponding orchestral parts (parts two, three, and four).
4. If your Descant or any of your Orchestral instruments are transposing instruments, select the Staff Tool and use the drop down menu at the top of the dialog box to select any part which should be transposed. Click on the box beside Transposition. Click in the circle beside the desired transposition and click on the box beside "Set to Clef" to change the clef if needed. Click on OKs until back to the music.
Combine Vocal Parts
1. All notes have been entered in layer one. To combine two staves, each set of notes must be set to different layers so that each set of notes can exist on the same stave. First, set up the options for each layer by doing the following. Under Options, select Layer Options. In the dialog box, set Layer One to Freeze Stems, Up, Freeze Ties in the Same Direction, set Layer Two to Freeze Stems, Down, Freeze Ties in the Same Direction. Also select Apply SettingsOnly if Notes are in Other Layers. Click OK.
2. Select the Mass Mover Tool and select the entire Alto part. Under the Mass Edit menu, select Move Layers and select Move Contents of Layer One to Layer Two. Click OK. Do the same thing with the Bass Part.
3. Select the Alto part. Choose Copy under the Edit menu. Select
the Soprano part. Choose Replace under the Edit menu. Do the same thing
with the Tenor and Bass Parts.
Clean Up Your Work
1. Select the Staff Tool. Click on the Alto staff's selection box and press Delete. Do the same with the Bass staff.
2. Option-click on the Soprano staff's selection box. Click on "respace staves", then click OK.
3. When you are happy with the positioning of the staves, use the Staff Tool to make any changes in the names of the staves (e.g. Soprano/Alto).
4. To add brackets to the score, select the staves you wish to be bracketed using the Staff tool and shift-clicking (or dragging). From the Staff menu, choose Add Group and Bracket. Make sure that the correct set of staves is selected in the dialog box, then select the kind of Bracket you wish by clicking it. Click OK. The selection boxes on the bracket allow you to move, stretch, shrink, or delete the bracket.
5. Go to Page View under the View Menu, then select the Resize Tool. Click in the upper left corner of the page. Select a percentage to resize the page (50 or 60%) and click OK.. Then select Update Layout under the Edit menu.
6. Use the Page Tool and the Page Layout menu to group measures. (Try eight per system.) Click on the music to preview the printout and to change the location of staves. Remember to save often while doing page layout so that you may recover your layout if you mess it up.
7. Use the Text tool to name the composition and to add your "credits."
8. Use the tools you used to create dynamic expressions to move or change the first and third orchestral staves' expressions to underneath those staves, if needed.
Add Lyrics
1. Select the Lyrics Tool.
2. Under the Lyrics menu, select Type Into Score.
3. 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 delete to back up and erase.
4. When you are finished, select Adjust Syllables 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. To add a syllable, select On Page Create and click on the appropriate note head.
Play Your Composition
1. 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.
2. Select the Playback Control under the Windows menu.
Save/Print It
1. Save it to floppy and print it (Print Score).
2. Go back to Finale and select Extract Parts under the File menu. Extract the descant part by using the arrows to select the correct stave number. Choose note spacing for a more professional look. Click OK for the page setup options. The Descant part's file should automatically open a window. Edit the page's layout. Then print the part using the Print Score command.