Slurs

Noteman says: View the Slurs, hairpins, and other shapes QuickStart Video for an overview.

Graphically, there isn't a large difference between ties and slurs, but musically and functionally in Finale there is. A tie connects two notes to hold a pitch for the duration of both notes, while a slur phrases two notes together (sometimes on different pitches, but always re-struck). Additionally, slurs and phrase markings technically serve different musical purposes. However, you use the same Finale techniques to create both. In this discussion, the term slur also refers to phrasing.

There are two ways to create a slur in Finale. The simplest way is to use a Smart Shape. A Smart Shape slur expands and contracts with the music and automatically breaks in two if it straddles a line break. A bend (with regard to Finale behavior) is just a special case of a slur.

If there are times that you don’t want to create a note-attached slur, choose Smart Shape > Attach to Beats to create beat-based slurs. If you want all note-attached slurs or bends to be over or under, choose the slur direction without any slurs or bends selected. This menu action sets the default direction. See Adding slurs and hairpins for a step-by-step tutorial on adding slurs.

Engraver slurs

Engraver slurs avoid collisions with stems, beams, noteheads, “inside slur” articulations, and accidentals. Engraver slurs will make most of your slurs look perfect the first time, although nothing can completely replace an artistic judgment call from a human!

Font annotation is critical to proper functioning of Engraver slurs. If you’re using a MakeMusic font, such as Maestro or Broadway Copyist, we’ve already provided font annotation files. If you’re using a third-party music font, you should create a font annotation file. See Font Annotation dialog box.

Any manual edit to an Engraver slur will make it immune to Engraver slur settings. It will still be marked as an Engraver slur in the contextual menu, but will be frozen. When frozen, Engraver slurs will no longer reshape to changes in the notes. To revert the slur to behaving like an Engraver slur or unfreeze the slur, use the Remove Manual Adjustments command or the Engraver Slur > On command, both found in the contextual menu when the Selection tool or Smart Shape tool are selected.

Because Engraver slurs depend heavily on the spacing of notes, they may appear slightly different between Page View and Scroll View. Many factors, such as locked measure systems, cause this difference. We recommend that you make final adjustments to Engraver slurs in Page View, as this is the view that will print.

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