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Playback Controls

How to get there

Choose Window > Playback Controls.

What it does

Playback Controls is a docked toolbar or floating window that give you a console for controlling the playback of your score. Click on the Playback Settings button to open the Playback Settings dialog box where you can specify a number of playback options, such as the tempo, range of measures to be played, overall volume level, and so on. Also, Playback Settings give access to the Playback Options dialog box, where you can further specify Finale’s playback behavior.

Playback Controls supports Finale’s HyperScribe recording and playback functions as well. To start recording, you can click Record in Playback Controls after selecting “R” for a staff in the Mixer, Staff Controls or Score Manager.

Rewind to Beginning . Click this button to enter the number 1 into the Measure text box, which indicates where playback begins. If the music is already playing back when you click this button, Finale stops playback for a moment, jumps to the beginning of the score, and resumes playback from there.
Rewind . Click this button and hold the button down to make the number in the Measure text box decrease rapidly. If the music is already playing back and you want to hear something again, click this button for a moment, then release; playback will resume from the measure number (that you just changed) in the Measure box.
Stop • Play • Pause . Click Stop to halt playback and reset the Measure text box to its original value (or, rather, to the value indicated by the Play From controls; see below). Click Play to begin playback. While the music is playing, the Measure text box shows you the measure being played. If you click Pause playback will stop and the Measure text box will show the measure you stopped at. After you click Pause, click Play to resume playback from the place you stopped.
To resume playback from the location when you clicked Pause, the Current Counter Setting option must be selected in the Playback Settings dialog box.
Record . Click Record to start recording when HyperScribe is the selected tool. Be sure that you have specified a staff for recording into in the Instrument List window. Based on your settings in the Click and Countoff dialog box, Finale either starts recording immediately or after playing the indicated number of countoff measures. Unless you’re tapping to provide the beat (Tap is checked in the HyperScribe > Beat Source submenu), Finale waits for the start signal you selected in the Playback and/or Click dialog box before playing the countoff measures and recording your performance.

Noteman says: As a shortcut you can click a measure in your score to start recording, instead of using the Record button. Finale starts recording into the measure you clicked, according to the click and countoff settings, just as if you clicked the Record button. If Multitrack Record is selected in the HyperScribe > Record Mode submenu, you must set up the Score Manager to specify the recording information (which staves or layers to record into, and which channels to receive from).

Fast Forward . This button makes the number in the Measure text box advance rapidly. If the music is already playing back and you want to skip ahead, click this button for a moment, then release; playback will resume from the measure number (that you just changed) in the Measure text box.
Fast Forward to End . When you click this button, the Measure text box shows the number of the last measure in the score.
If the music is already playing when you click this button, Finale stops playback for a moment, plays the last measure of the score, and stops.
Measure __ • Time. This text box has two functions. Before you begin playback, it indicates the first measure and beat to be played. And while playback is underway, it changes to show you the current playback location and EDU.
If Current Counter Setting is selected in the Playback Settings dialog box, you can click the UP and DOWN ARROW to adjust the measure. To specify a start point within the measure, simply enter the desired measure, beat, and EDU separated by “|”s [measure]|[beat]|[EDU]. (See Equivalents for an explanation of EDUs). Note that when you do this, the beat and EDU may temporarily disappear from the display.
Playback Settings . Most of the time, the controls described above are adequate for controlling playback. If you want to use some of Finale’s more powerful options, click the Playback Settings button. The Playback Settings dialog box opens to reveal several other controls and options. See Playback Settings dialog box.
Tempo: Whole Note • Half Note • Quarter Note • [etc.]. The Playback Tempo is used for playback only. The tempo used for recording is set in the Playback and/or Click dialog box. The Playback tempo controls let you establish the playback tempo for your piece. Of course, if you’ve set up the tempo in other ways—by placing tempo markings into the score, for example—then this tempo setting will have no effect. See Playback and/or Click dialog box.
Not every tempo is measured in quarter notes per minute, of course, so you can select the basic unit of the tempo pulse (Half Note, Dotted Quarter Note, and so on) from the Tempo drop-down list. To set the number of beats per minute—the actual tempo—either type a new number into the text box, or click the arrows to increase or decrease the displayed number.