Accidentals
Let’s add some blues to our melody line
to illustrate how to add accidentals. If using the mouse or the Caret,
you can specify an accidental by choosing both a duration tool and an
accidental tool prior to entering the note. You can also specify accidentals
as you enter notes by using keystrokes to apply a sharp (+= key) or flat
(- key) to the note you just entered. By selecting an accidental tool
exclusively, you can click to add accidentals to any note in the score.
The Sharp Tool and
the Flat Tool add
a sharp or flat to the note, if needed by the key signature. If you use
the Half Step Up Tool or
the Half Step Down Tool , you’ll raise or lower the note. If the note is already sharp,
raising the note will add a double-sharp.
- Click
the Selection Tool . First,
we’ll clear a measure to show how to enter accidentals while entering
notes.
- Click
measure 9 in the top staff so it is highlighted, and then press (Mac: ). This method clears all entries
in the selected region.
- Click
the Simple Entry Tool .
- Click
the Eighth Note Tool , or press numeric
keypad 4, and then enter a second line G at the beginning of measure 9.
An eighth note appears in measure nine.
- Press
+ (plus) on the numeric keypad. Finale adds a sharp to the note.
- Press
- (minus) on the numeric keypad twice. The note is now flat. Finale
alters the pitch of the note chromatically with each keystroke. You can
also use the Sharp and Flat Tools in the Simple Entry Palette to specify an accidental
before entering a note.
- Click
the Flat Tool in the Simple Entry Palette. Now both the eighth note
and the flat are selected in the Simple Entry Palette.
- Press
the right arrow key to activate the caret.
- Type
F. Finale places an F flat on the staff. Notice an F flat is actually
a whole step down from the diatonic because we are in the key of G. In
this way, the Flat Tool is said to be ‘absolute’—not relative to the key
signature.
- Double-click
the eighth Note Tool (or press numeric
keypad 4 twice) to deselect all other tools.
- Finish
entering the measure by typing G, and then A. Notice Finale does
not add a natural on the G. That’s because Simple Entry’s accidentals
are ‘smart.’ In other words, they apply through the remainder of the measure.
Of course, you can always add or remove accidentals manually where needed
to override a smart accidental. You
can delete accidentals with the Eraser Tool. Now, let’s use the mouse
to edit existing notes.
- Double-click
on the Flat Tool . Only the Flat Tool is selected.
- On
the last note of measure 9 in the top staff, click on the A. An
A flat appears next to the quarter note.
- Click
on the Half Step Down Tool . Click the A again. A double-flat appears next to the A. The Half Step Up/Down Tools are ‘relative’ - they increment the pitch up or down a half step with each click. When you selected the Half Step Down Tool, the Flat Tool is automatically deselected. You can only have one accidental tool selected at one time. Let’s try a sharp now..
- Click
on the Sharp Tool . Click the first note of measure 9 (G flat). A sharp
appears next to the note. Also notice Finale automatically places a flat
on the second G flat because it is no longer implied by the first. Because
this melody probably wouldn’t sound too great, we’ll remove the sharp
and the double-flat.
- Click
on the Eraser Tool .
- Click
the Sharp and the double-flat to remove them. These items disappear
as you click.
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