Tuplets
You haven’t explored Finale’s tuplet (triplets,
quintuplets, and so on) features in Speedy Entry yet. Scroll to measure
2—which is empty—and try the Tuplet Tool.
- Click
the Speedy Entry Tool , and click measure 2.
- While
playing any MIDI keyboard key, press the 5 key four times. You’ve
just entered four quarter notes on the same pitch.
If Finale doesn’t automatically advance the
editing frame to the next measure, press the right bracket key ( ] ).
- Press
-3 (Mac: -3). You do this before
entering a triplet; Finale puts a tiny “3” in the upper right of the editing
frame, letting you know it’s expecting the next three notes to constitute
a triplet.
- While
playing any MIDI keyboard key, press the 6 key three times. As
soon as the third note appears, Finale centers the “3” over the triplet.
You’ve just created a half-note triplet.
- Press
the 0 (zero) key to exit the editing frame. In measure 2, you have
four quarter notes; in measure 3, you have a half note triplet. You can
modify each with the Tuplet Tool.
- Click
the Tuplet Tool in the Main Tool Palette. Click the first quarter
note in measure 2. The Tuplet Definition dialog box appears.
At the top of the screen there are various
options for defining the temporal (time) definition of the triplet. Using
these drop-down lists and text boxes, you’ll answer the question, “How
many of what value are to be played in the time of how many of what value?” Look at the two text boxes at the top of the Tuplet Definition dialog box (that you just opened). As you see, Finale has guessed that you want to fit three quarter
notes in the time of two—precisely the definition of a quarter-note triplet.
In the Appearance section, there are options
where you can specify how the triplet should look in the score. Should
it have a slur or a bracket? Should it be expressed as a ratio? Should
it have a number? For now, the default settings are fine.
- Click
OK. You’ve just turned ordinary quarter notes into a triplet by
clicking the first of them with the Tuplet Tool. (You can edit the tuplet
to look any way you’d like.) Notice the six handles that appear. These
handles control the various elements of the bracket:
You can modify the triplet you made in Measure
3, too.
- Click
the first note of the triplet in measure 3. The tuplet handles
appear.
- Drag
the handles until the triplet appears the way you want it to.
You can create tuplets within tuplets, too.
It doesn’t matter whether you begin by creating the inner or outer tuplet.
If you find yourself defining the same kind
of tuplet over and over again in a piece, define it as a Tuplet Tool Metatool.
Here’s an example:
- Click
the main handle of the triplet in measure 3 and press Delete. This
is how you turn tuplet-defined notes back into normal notes.
Now let’s define a Tuplet Metatool. You can
create thirty-six predefined tuplets, complete with brackets and temporal
information. Start by programming a basic, straight-bracket half note
triplet.
- While
pressing , press the 1 key (on the number row, not the
numeric keypad). The Tuplet Definition dialog box appears. First
you need to describe the temporal value of the triplet you want this metatool
to produce.
- Type
3 in the first text box. Tab to the second text box and type 2.
Choose Half (s) from both duration drop-down lists. Click OK. You’ve just
specified that this metatool will create a tuplet that fits three half
notes in the time of two.
- While
pressing the 1 key, click the first note in measure 3. Finale pops
the fully formed tuplet bracket into the score. Now you can move quickly
through a score, inserting tuplet definitions on any notes that need them
without having to enter a dialog box, confident that they’ll look right
on the first try.
Finally, if you’re creating a piece with many
tuplets, you’ll want to predefine their visual definition. With this shortcut,
you’ll never have to define visual appearance again when you create a
new tuplet, whether with HyperScribe or the Speedy Entry Tool; you can
specify a default tuplet appearance before you ever enter the tuplets
themselves. Note that the following shortcut is not the same as creating
a metatool which turns normal notes into tuplets after they’ve been entered
into the score. By using the following technique, you can specify what
the tuplets will look like when they first appear.
- -click (Mac: double-click) the Tuplet Tool . Document
Options-Tuplets appears. It is similar to the Tuplet Definition dialog
box.
If you prefer a slur to a bracket or a ratio
to a number, choose different options from the drop-down lists.
- Click
OK. That’s all there is to it. From now on, any new tuplet you
create will pop into the score with your predefined settings. Try it!
(Remember: to enter a triplet with the Speedy Entry Tool, press -3 (Mac: -3) just before you enter the notes themselves.)
Changes to the Document Options-Tuplets
only affect future tuplets, not existing tuplets, in that document.
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