Posted on

Create White Space Where Text & Barlines Intersect In Finale & Sibelius

Question: I’m trying to create dynamic markings or other text over bar lines between staves. In the example above, the organ registration text appears “in front” of the bar line.  The text has a bit of white space around it so there is no collision.  Do you know of a way to do this?

The solution for this in both Finale and Sibelius is to define an enclosure or border area around the text (without a visible border line), then electronically “white-out” the background of the text within this enclosure. Here’s how:

more >> “Create White Space Where Text & Barlines Intersect In Finale & Sibelius”

Posted on

Archaic Techniques : Note Spacing : Centering Notes of Bar-Length Duration

“In traditional engraving, when a bar consists of a single note and there are no other durations in any part, the note is placed just to the left of the center of the bar. Such bars, by definition are usually fairly narrow. This spacing creates a better balance than a single note positioned at the beginning of the bar:

In widely spaced bars, the note can be placed closer to the barline so as not to appear isolated. When there are other durations in other parts, the single duration is placed at the beginning of the bar as normal.” 

from : Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation
by Elaine Gould (pg 41)

  more >> “Archaic Techniques : Note Spacing : Centering Notes of Bar-Length Duration”

Posted on

Finale Chord Symbol Spacing

Question: I was wondering if you’ve found a quick way to get a little bit more space around chord symbols in Finale. I keep having to correct the width of bars in order for chord-symbols to fit in and/or move them around. Is there an automated solution?

The short answer is yes, although the automated solution is only part of the story:

more >> “Finale Chord Symbol Spacing”

Posted on

Page Numbering in Finale & Sibelius : Ranges : X of Y

This tutorial was updated 9/26/12.

Question: A client wants the page numbering to read, page 2 of 7, page 3 of 7, etc., for pdf downloads of some piano pieces (regular numbering for print versions). These would be in the upper outside corners where standard page numbers would appear. If you can tell me whether this can be done and how, I would greatly appreciate it.

Depending on whether you are using Finale or Sibelius, you’ll be using text “Inserts” or “Wildcards: to facilitate this. Here’s how:

more >> “Page Numbering in Finale & Sibelius : Ranges : X of Y”

Posted on

Finale Special Tools : Double / Split Stem Tool

Frequently, in orchestral scores, 2 woodwind or brass parts are shared on the same staff. The staff may contain a mixture of divisi and unison notes.

Normally, if the two parts are homophonic, the line shares a stem as well as slurs and articulations. When the line goes to unison for any length of time, a common practice is to indicate “a2” at the start point of this unison. At that point, a single notehead and stem is written, and this carries until the next divisi section:

more >> “Finale Special Tools : Double / Split Stem Tool”

Posted on

Clean up MIDI Import for Drums and Percussion in Sibelius

Have you ever wondered why sometimes when importing a MIDI file containing drums or percussion, the resulting notation looks like garbage in Sibelius, while other times, the drum tracks import correctly, requiring only minor cleanup? Part of the answer can be found in the original General MIDI specification, which Sibelius uses to determine which tracks contain drums and percussion in MIDI files…

more >> “Clean up MIDI Import for Drums and Percussion in Sibelius”