I'd like to share some random thoughts. I downloaded my copy, and though there were a couple of crashes on installing, after I thought I'd need to give up, it suddenly started working flawlessly. I'm upgrading from 2011 on a Mac.
I'm a "keyless" composer who doesn't like C scores, and I just tried writing an Eb clarinet part, using the setup wizard to create it. It runs exactly like I'd want it to run. I put in the notes (and hear them in C) as written, but then playback transposes as it is supposed to. It would be nice to have the option of hearing the transposition as I enter, but I can live with this. After entering a few challenging measures (accidental-wise), I ran the finale cautionary accidental plugin. Though it created parentheses when I specifically told it not to, after taking them out, I saw that the accidentals do, indeed, stick. SUCH a huge improvement! I am SO happy not to have to create accidentals as expressions for non-sticking situations. I hope they fix this plugin to stop it from giving parentheses (which, to my eye, in my kind of music, just clutter things up). I like all of the new Garritan sounds. Classical saxophones! With the instant orchestra sounds, Finale could be, now, a decent orchestral short-score sketch pad (though it would be nice to have winds without extra octaves). Nice to see the string things like snap pizz and col legno. And Eb/A clarinets, alto flute, and so much more. Odd that these aren't all available through the setup wizard (especially the instant orchestra ones), but, being a long-time Garritan user, I know how to go in and change sounds. I'd recommend that Finale PLEASE get all sounds accessible through the setup wizard. At least they are accessible through the player. A huge deal for me, though, is the smart-shape positioning and greater control of linked items when creating parts. For the first time since linked parts were introduced, I will NOT have to create a score file and a parts file. That will make proofreading SO much better. No more handwritten sheets of found mistakes in the parts that need to be entered in the score. Even in an instrument-with-piano score, this (and the sticking accidentals in keyless scores for transposing instruments) will save hours for me. I don't write a lot for percussion, but a cursory glance and a few minutes of playing around makes me think this is vastly better. I've not used the score manager until this version, but right now, after a bit of fooling around, it looks manageable and learnable. Tempo control seems fixed, especially using the MIDI tool's menu. I wonder why one would want to use the seemingly-redundant Tempo tool. The other MIDI tool controls accessed through the menu also will be useful. That's it for now. I think, at least for me, this was a VERY good upgrade, and well worth the wait (especially since I skipped 2012). I'm sorry the backwards compatibility is not so useful for me, except for when I need to communicate with 2012 users. I hope future releases will retain the backwards compatibility, at least back to 2012. For now, though, 2011 will remain on my computer (especially as I complete ongoing projects started in 2011). David Froom _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
