We’ve had a big year here on the Finale Blog! From announcing a new version of Finale to our behind the scenes look at Hamilton, we’ve had a great year sharing stories about Finale and the world of music notation with you. Today we’ve compiled the top Finale Blog posts of 2016 in one list.

7. The Next Version of Finale

This February, we published our first post about what would become the 25th version of Finale. Although we weren’t able to share much at such an early stage of development, our goals for the new Finale were clear. We illustrated ways that the new version would improve performance and playback. Most importantly, we announced that the new version would be a 64 bit application. The teaser video of faster Human Playback processing certainly got the buzz started! To see what version 25 looks (and sounds like), download a free trial.

6. New Finale Quick Reference Card

We’ve all experienced the frustration that comes when you can’t quite remember a keyboard shortcut. Our documentation and customer success teams debuted our new Quick Reference Card in January to help avoid those situations.

5. Free Update for Finale Version 25

In October (only two months after the version 25 launched) we released our first free update. Being able to share this post so soon after version 25 launched represented a critical milestone in our initiative to share bug fixes and new features as soon as they’re ready.  In this vein, we released a second update in December, and we’re looking forward to continuing this approach in 2017.

4. Great Sounds for the Next Version of Finale

We debuted many features in version 25 here on the blog in the months leading up to release. The only one to make this list was our post sharing the changes to Garritan sounds. In April we discussed the ways that the latest ARIA player would improve navigation, add convolution rooms, and expand the number of instruments included in version 25.

3. New Finale Keyboard Skin

Without a doubt, this article caused the most buzz here in the MakeMusic office. We had no idea that a simple blog post about a new keyboard skin would garner the level of attention that this post did. Obviously, lots of you were excited about the prospect of having Finale shortcuts literally under your fingertips. 

2. The New Finale is Here!

Some of the happiest moments in our office involve product launches. The work isn’t finished (often it’s just beginning), but everyone here savors the excitement from Finale users on release day. The response to this blog post announcing the release of version 25 was no exception.

1. Finale Spotlight on Alex Lacamoire, Orchestrator of Hamilton

What could keep a new version of Finale out of the number one spot on a list of the best Finale Blog posts? Hamilton. We went inside the room where it happens to see how Alex Lacamoire, orchestrator and musical director of the hit show, makes Finale his right hand man. Alex was kind enough to share his favorite Finale tips and give us an insider’s perspective on the workflow that turned Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music into notation on the page.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this look back at 2016 on the Finale blog. See you in 2017!