Finale’s Setup Wizard makes it easy to customize the look of any new piece, including the fonts used for music and text. Sometimes, however, you want to change these elements later in the creative process. Fortunately, that’s easy, too.
Sample Files Included with Finale
Before we change all the fonts in your magnum opus, let’s try it in something else. For today’s example, we’ll use a sample file that came with Finale, and you can, too. We picked Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, as seen above. To open it, go to File > Open Worksheets & Repertoire > Repertoire > Large Ensembles.
Changing the Music Font
To change the default music font in any Finale file:
- From the Document menu choose Set Default Music Font.
- Under Font, select the new music font you wish to use (we selected Broadway Copyist, a music font with a handwritten appearance) and press OK.
Voila! Finale automatically converts all the music characters (including notes and accidentals, clefs, key, and time signatures, dynamics, etc…) to the new font: 
Changing Text Fonts
Want to change every occurrence of a specific music font in the document as well? Try this:
- From the Document menu choose Data Check > Font Utilities.
- Place a check next to Search for This Font and click Select.
- Choose the text font you have in your document (such as Times New Roman).
- Click Select next to Replace Font With and choose the new text font you wish to use (we chose Finale Copyist Text Ext).
- Click Apply then OK.
The character of the resulting music is very different from where we started:
Fonts with a Handwritten or Engraved Appearance
Switching from an engraved to a handwritten appearance (or vise versa) is a very dramatic change, ideal for highlighting how quickly you can manipulate existing music. However, these same steps work for more subtle changes, like switching from one “handwritten” font to another. You might, for example, prefer the bolder look of the Jazz font or the more refined appearance of Broadway Copyist.
If you haven’t done so already, take a few minutes to experiment changing the music and text fonts in this sample file to explore some of the many options available. You might discover something you like so much you’ll want to create a new template or default file.