for Windows, 
or 
for Macintosh).Before you begin
Thank You for Choosing Finale!
Finale is a powerful integrated program for music transcription, notation, playback, and publishing. Incorporating elements of a word processor, a graphics designer, a sequencer, and a page-layout program, Finale has all the power you need to create beautiful looking sheet music and a quality MIDI performance. Easier than ever to learn and use, this program has the potential to help you produce more music—both printed and played—faster and better than ever before.
Take a moment to look over the contents of your Finale package. It should include:
About these tutorials
In these pages, you’ll learn how to start
putting Finale to work right away. From installing the software, to entering
music, to printing the score, and everything in between, we’ll cover all
the basics you need to know to get up and running fast. The Windows and
Macintosh versions of Finale are similar enough that we have incorporated
instructions for both into this one book. You will notice, however, that
there are two separate versions of the Installation instructions—one for
Windows users and one for Macintosh users. These chapters provide platform-specific
installation and setup instructions. Beyond these initial chapters, the
book applies to both platforms; any differences will be indicated by separate
instructions for each platform, given in parentheses. (The majority of
these differences will involve keystrokes—e.g., for Windows, or for Macintosh).
Throughout this manual, you’ll find tip boxes; one is shown at right. These tip boxes contain helpful hints and tips that relate to the text where they’re found.
Tip boxes look like this. In these boxes, you’ll find helpful tips and tricks along the way.
Learning Finale won’t be difficult. Though the program offers hundreds of features and options, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with ignoring the ones you’ll never use. Don’t have a MIDI instrument? Then skip those sections of the book. Don’t plan to use guitar fretboards? Then don’t bother learning that feature. You may need some of the other options another day—or never, depending on the kind of music you want to create; that’s perfectly OK. To help you get a jump start, we’ve divided Tutorial 1 into separate entry methods. If you don’t have a MIDI keyboard, you can skip Tutorial 1cb. After reading chapter 1a, if you feel comfortable using Simple Entry as your primary entry method, skip tutorial 1b.
Be sure to look at the Read Me file, which the Finale Installer copies to your hard disk and installs in the Finale 2009 folder. This document contains important information about Finale that wasn’t available when this book went to press.
To receive all the benefits of being a Finale owner, be sure to complete the Authorization Wizard. To access the Authorization Wizard, click Authorize Now the first time you launch Finale 2009 (or, from the Help Menu, choose Authorize Finale). You have the option to authorize over the Internet, or by phone, fax, or mail. You will be asked to provide the serial number located on the interior of your Finale 2009 CD/DVD case. If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Finale, your serial number has not changed, and can be found in the About box of your previous Finale version (under the Help or Finale Menu, which is located next to the Apple menu on your Macintosh).
If you have a question about Finale and can’t find the answer in this book, the User Manual, or the QuickStart Videos, additional help is available. Authorized owners may contact MakeMusic for customer support at www.finalemusic.com/support. Our representatives are also available by phone at (952) 937-9703 between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM CST, Monday through Friday. Phone support is free of charge (although MakeMusic does not reimburse long—distance charges). Please have your serial number ready.
MakeMusic can also be reached by fax at (952) 937-9760, or by mail at 7615 Golden Triangle Drive, Suite M, Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3848.
Remember that extensive help is always at your fingertips: from the Help Menu, choose User Manual.
In addition to receiving customer support benefits, authorization means you can also be notified of free maintenance updates and discounts on future upgrades and new products.
Please visit www.finalemusic.com to download maintenance updates, learn about other Finale resources, and find more information about the Finale family of notation products. Here you can also search our Knowledge Base for answers to frequently asked questions, and participate in Finale’s online community through interactive forums.
Remember that extensive help is always at your fingertips: from the Help Menu, choose User Manual.
Installation and MIDI Setup for Windows 
Installation and MIDI Setup for Macintosh
Skip Installation and MIDI Setup