Score Manager

How to get there

Choose Window > Score Manager (or press CTRL+K).

What it does

The Score Manager is a resizable floating window that allows you to view, edit, reorder, and delete score Instruments, including mid-score instrument changes. This includes the ability to change staff settings, including the first clef, transposition, notation style (percussion/tablature), and others. The Score Manager also allows you to assign VST and MIDI sounds. These staff and sound assignment options are available under the Instrument List tab.

To resize the Score Manager window, click and drag the lower right corner.

The Score Manager also includes a File Info tab with options that allow you to include information about the score, define standard text like the title and composer, and view file statistics.

As a modeless, floating window, changes made in the Score Manager apply instantly to the score. All of Finale's menu commands remain available when the Score Manager is open.

Instrument List tab

The Instrument List tab of the Score Manager includes two portions: the list of Instruments in the top portion, and the staff settings below. The list includes an expandable row for each Instrument in the score. If the Instrument contains more than one staff, such as a piano grand staff, click the to the left of the Name to expand the row, showing the individual staves. Click an individual Instrument (directly on the Name) to activate the settings in the lower portion of this window, which can be used to edit the staff properties, such as the clef or notation style. Click the to the left of any staff name to display the individual layers, chords, expressions, and mid-score instrument changes. (Individual staves, layers, expressions, and chords in mid-score instrument changes are not available for editing).

The several columns of the Score Manager also allow you to adjust mixer settings (mute/solo/pan) and assign (VST or MIDI) sounds to Instruments. These settings can be assigned to Instrument's layers, chords, expressions, and mid-score instrument changes.

Use the drop-down menu to select the available columns. See Instruments for more details regarding how to manage Finale's Instruments in the Score Manager.

Noteman says: The available columns change depending on whether you are using MIDI or VST for playback.

• Instrument. This column lists the Instruments in the same order displayed in the score. This identifier corresponds to Finale's internal list of Instruments, and usually matches the Name (although it isn't required to). Click the arrows to the right of the slot to open a drop-down menu, which you can use to change the Instrument at any time. When opening a file created in an earlier Finale-family notation product, (like Finale 2011), you will see "Unknown" listed in this column if Finale was not able to identify the instrument using the staff attributes of the old file. (You can click the adjacent arrows to assign the "Unknown" instrument to one of Finale's integrated Instruments, with standard clef, transposition, and other attributes.) If you change to an instrument of a different register (e.g. flute to tuba), existing notes will be transposed into the range of the new instrument (or as close as possible). See Ranges.
• Name. This is the Full Staff Name of the Instrument (as defined in the lower portion of the Score Manager).
• R (Record). A Record (R) column that specifies which Instruments or layers will be recorded into, with the HyperScribe Tool, always appears. When the Record column is blank, no staves (or layers) of staves are selected to record into. Click in the R column next to the staff you want Finale to record into. A red circle appears in the R column, indicating that Finale is set to record into the active layer of that staff. You can also record into a particular layer of a staff. First expand the staff by clicking the down arrow next to the Name; Layer 1 through Layer 4 appears. If the staff is selected to record into (a red circle appears in the R column for the staff name), a small red circle indicates the layer that will be recorded into. If you change the current layer using the Layer Controls, the small red circle moves to reflect the current layer that will be recorded into. To specify a particular layer to record into, click in the R column next to the layer of the staff you want Finale to record into. Note that you cannot record chords or expressions in an expanded staff; Finale ignores any clicks in the R column for chords and expressions. If you’re not multitrack recording (Record into One Staff or Split into Two Staves is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe menu), you don’t need to use the Score Manager to specify which staff to record into; simply click the staff in the score that you want to record into. If, however, you prefer to use the Playback Control’s Record button (instead of clicking a measure in the score), then you must use the R column in Score Manager to indicate the staff or layer to record into. Click in the R column next to the staff or layer you want Finale to record into. Click on a different staff or layer to select it instead. The red circle moves to the staff or layer you clicked. If you are multitrack recording (Multitrack Record is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe menu), click in the R column next to the staff or layer you want Finale to record into. Click the R column to select additional staves or layers to record into. Click again to remove the triangle (so Finale won’t record into the staff or layer). In an expanded staff list, a small red circle shows the default layer that is enabled for recording. If you specify one or more layers of a staff to record into (for multitrack recording only), a circle with a small red dot will appear in the R column for the staff name to indicate that one or more layers will be recorded into for the staff. The dotted circle also appears in a collapsed list so you can immediately see, without expanding the staff, that one or more layers will be recorded into.
• RChan. The Record Channel (RChan.) column only appears for multitrack recording (HyperScribe > Record Mode > Multitrack Record). RChan indicates what channel(s) will be recorded into the staves (or layers). Enter the channel number(s) that you want Finale to record from for each staff or layer. By default, Finale records from channel 1 (RChan is set to 1).

  Noteman says: If you’re using multitrack recording, you must set up the R and RChan columns in Score Manager for each staff (or layer) you want to record into.

  When you’re not multitrack recording (Record into One Staff or Record into Two Staves is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe menu), the RChan column does not appear. In fact, you don’t need to set up the Instrument List window at all; use the Receive On channel in the HyperScribe Options dialog box to indicate what channel will be recorded for the staff (or layer). Click the measure of the staff you want to record into. (Finale uses the R column to determine which staff to record into only if you click the Record button on Playback Controls.)

• M (Mute). In this column, a gray circle appears across from the name of each staff that you want to mute when you play your score. By clicking in this column across from a certain staff, you make the circle disappear, indicating that the staff will sound when you play the score. If you’ve expanded a staff to view its individual layer assignments, and you turn on the Mute setting for some layers but not others, the circle in the Mute column will be white with a small gray dot. That is your signal that the individual layers of the staff have mixed settings in the Mute column. Note that the Playback check box in Document Options - Layers provides the same function.
• S (Solo). When you click in the Solo column across from a staff name, a green circle appears. You’ve just isolated a staff so that only it will play back, and all the other staves are silent. You can solo more than one staff, if you wish—for example, you can solo two or three staves, and all the others will be silent. In fact, you can solo all staves, although there wouldn’t be much point, because you may as well solo none of them.

Noteman says: If a dot appears in the Solo column, only the soloed staves (or instruments) will play back.

• Vol. You can use this text box to specify an exact volume value, 0-127, for a staff, and all other staves set to the same channel. This setting is dynamically linked to the Volume sliders in the Mixer and Staff Controls.
• Pan. Use this text box to specify an exact pan value, 0-127, for a staff, and all other staves set to the same channel. A higher value pans right, a lower value pans left. Playback volume will be weighted to the left or right speaker accordingly. 64 is center. This setting is dynamically linked to the Volume sliders in the Mixer and Staff Controls.
• Device. This column lists the playback device for each Instrument. If you are playing through VST, this column lists the Sound Map or VST player. If you are playing through MIDI, this column lists the MIDI output device specified for the channel in the MIDI Setup dialog box.

Noteman says: If the sound listed here doesn't match the playback sound, or if the playback sound is incorrect, this could have been caused by moving files across platforms and back. For example, if you created a document on Windows, then moved it to a Mac and changed some sound assignments in the Score Manager, then saved and reopened it on Windows, Finale displays the sounds you defined on your Mac in the Score Manager. But, at the same time, Finale has remembered the original sound configuration, and plays the sounds as they were originally assigned on Windows. If you don't notice any incorrect sounds during playback, you can leave the assignments alone (with the incorrect display in the Score Manager) in order to transfer back to the other platform without needing to change sound assignments again. If you hear the wrong sounds for one or more Instruments during playback, a change to the channel assignments were required when you assigned sounds on the other platform, which prevents Finale from being able to restore the original sound configuration. If this is the case, simply choose the correct sound for the Instrument under the Sound column in the Score Manager to resolve.

• Sound. This column lists the playback sound, when available. If you are playing through VST and a Sound Map is selected for the Device, this column lists the name of the sound sample in the selected Sound Map. (If you are using a 3rd party VST sound library, "Edit Player" appears, which you can click to reference and change the sound set to the specified Finale channel. See To assign 3rd party VST sounds to instruments.) If you are playing Finale through MIDI, this column displays the General MIDI instrument (or equivalent). You can click the arrow and choose from the complete list of General MIDI sounds. Click the arrow and choose Edit Patch to open the Set Patch To dialog box where you can assign Program data for playback through an external MIDI device. See To establish MIDI sound settings for a score Instrument. If SmartMusic SoftSynth is selected, to select percussion, choose "MakeMusic GM : Bank 128." (See also Percussion MIDI Maps: SmartMusic SoftSynth).
• Bank. The Bank column is available when playing back through VST. The number listed here is the bank assigned to the device in the VST Banks and Effects dialog box. Click to reveal a menu including all the banks that use the same device. Finale assumes 16 channels per bank when assigning sounds automatically, but you can make manual adjustments as required (if, for example, a particular device has less or more channels per bank, or if you do not wish to use all available channels in a bank and instead start a new bank). To load a player on a new bank, click this column and choose Next Available. Doing so loads the Sound Map or Device into the new bank in the VST Banks and Effects dialog box.
• Prg The Program column is available when playing back through MIDI. The number in this column identifies the program (synthesizer sound) number assigned to each staff (or layer). To edit it, just double-click the number and type a new one.
• Ch. When playing back through VST, this column indicates the channel used by the instrument (or layer) in the selected device accessible through the VST Banks and Effects dialog box. When playing back through MIDI, this column displays the MIDI channel assignment for each staff (or layer), from 1 to 64 (or 32, if your MIDI interface is a 32 bit card). To change this number, double-click, and type a new channel. If you’ve assigned several staves to the same Instrument, by the way, remember that they’re all linked to the same MIDI channel. Therefore, if you edit the Ch. assignment for any one of these staves, the Chan. for all of them will change to match, because any given Instrument can only have one channel assignment.
• Perc. MIDI Map. From this drop-down menu, choose the desired percussion MIDI map for playback.
• Start Meas. This column indicates the starting measure of an instrument after adding an instrument change. If a staff switches to a different instrument mid-score, a start measure other than 1 will be listed here. See Adding mid-score Instrument changes. The measure shown here depends on the setting under Measure Numbers in Preferences-View. If "Display Defined Measure Numbers" is selected, Finale displays measure numbers as defined in the Measure Number dialog box. If "Display Actual Measure Numbers" is selected, this column displays Finale's count of actual measure numbers consecutively from 1, starting with the first measure in the document, even if it is a pickup measure.
• X icon . Click this button to delete Instruments from your Score.
• Add Instrument. This button is available while viewing the score (Document > Edit Score). (Instruments that have been added can be introduced to parts in the Manage Parts dialog box). When you click this button, a three-tiered menu appears displaying the available 1) Instrument types, 2) families, and 3) individual instruments. (Optional) Select a type from the leftmost list to concentrate the list of families and Instruments to include only those of the selected type (or leave All selected to show all Instruments). Click a family to view its Instruments. Double-click an Instrument to add it to the score. Once you have added an Instrument, its type and family are selected automatically the next time you add an Instrument. (This allows you to easily enter multiple Instruments in the same family, one after another). Instruments are added according to the selected Score Order. If the Score Order is “Custom,” Instruments are inserted below the currently selected row. To add an Instrument to the top of a score when Custom is selected, add the Instrument, then click and drag its icon up to the top of the list. (See Reordering Instrument Staves.) To define a custom Instrument, choose Blank Staff > Blank Staff, then use the options in the lower portion of the Score Manager, and the Staff Attributes, to define the Instrument properties.
• Unlink All Instruments in This Part. This check box is available when viewing a part (Document > Edit Part > [Part]). With this command checked, changes made to the staff settings below (clef, transposition, etc.) will apply only to the current part. The respective staff or staves in the score will be unaffected. Uncheck this box to revert to score staff settings for all staves in the current part. Note that with this box checked you can select an entirely different instrument (using the Instrument column), in which case the part's Instrument differs entirely from that of the score.
• Score Order. This drop-down menu is available when viewing the full score (Document > Edit Score). Use this menu to select a standard score order for your instruments. Instruments in your document will reorder immediately after you select a new Score Order. The Score Order selected in this menu is applied whenever new instruments are added to the document, and changes to “Custom” automatically if you manually adjust the order of your instruments.
• Customize View. Use this drop-down menu to select which columns you would like to display in the list of Instruments above.
• Full Name • Edit; Abbr. Name • Edit. The full or abbreviated names you enter for the staff appear in a regular text font. Click the Edit button to display the Edit Text window, where you can enter or edit the full or abbreviated staff name and set fonts and text styles. See Edit Text window.
• Notation Style: Standard • Percussion • Tablature; Settings. Choose a notation style, then click the Select button to display the dialog box for that style. See Percussion Map Designer for detailed information about setting up a percussion staff. Refer also to Tablature Staff Attributes.
• Color Noteheads • Settings. Check this box to use color noteheads in the staff. Finale's colored noteheads were designed for use with Boomwhackers® methods. Click Define to open Document Options - Notes and Rests where you can customize the color of each pitch.
• Transposition • Select. If the instrument whose staff you’re establishing is a transposing instrument (such as a trumpet or clarinet), select Transposition, then click the Select button. The Staff Transpositions dialog box is displayed, in which you can specify the interval by which you want the music on the staff to be automatically transposed. To make the staff non-transposing again, click the check box again to deselect it. Once you’ve established the transposing instrument staves, you can tell Finale to display the full score either in its transposed form or in its non-transposed (concert pitch) form. Choose Document > Display in Concert Pitch to show the score non-transposed. The staves in the full score always print out exactly as they appear on the screen (whether transposed or in concert pitch); when you extract parts, however, the resultant parts are always printed in their transposed form. (The exception is the Special Part Extraction method of extracting parts, which will print staves transposed or not according to your Display score in concert pitch setting.)
• Hide key signature & show all accidentals. Check this box to always hide the key signature for the selected instrument, in favor of automatically showing accidentals. This overrides the corresponding setting of any key signatures applied to regions in the score on that instrument.
• Staff: Standard 5-line • 1-line with Full Barline • 1-line with Short Barline • 0-line with Full Barline • Other. Choose from four commonly-used staves, or choose Other to display the Staff Setup dialog box, in which you can specify a custom staff. See Staff Setup dialog box.
• First Clef • Select. This display identifies the clef that will appear at the beginning of the staff. To change this clef, click Select. The Clef Selection dialog box is displayed with Finale’s eighteen default clefs. Double-click the one you want; you return to the Score Manager, where Finale displays the clef you clicked.
• Auto-Number Style 1,2,3.… Check this box to automatically number instruments in score sections (Flute 1, Flute 2, etc.). Choose the desired number style from the drop-down menu.

Functions available during playback

File Info tab

The File Info tab of the Score Manager includes important information about your document including title, composer, copyright information, and document description. Some of this information, like the title and composer, appears directly in your score as a text insert. (See Text menu.) You can type any file-specific information that you may want to refer to later on. If you’re sending the file to a publisher, for example, you might use the file description area to communicate information about the fonts that were used in the file. Below the document description you can enter the initials of the file’s creator and modifier. Finale automatically provides the creation and modification dates, the name of the application (Finale), the platform (Mac or Windows) that created the file, and the application version number.

• Title • Subtitle • Composer • Arranger • Lyricist • Copyright • Description • Score Name Insert • Created • Modified. Enter text in these text boxes to help manage your documents, and allow you to use the Text Inserts in the Text tool to easily place these items into your score, or automatically with the use of file templates.
• File Statistics. Click this button to bring up the File Statistics dialog box. See File Statistics dialog box.
• OK • Cancel. Click OK to use the information entered and return to the score. Click Cancel to return to the score ignoring any changes that were made.

Tip: Hold the Alt key and type 0169 on the Number pad to create a © character.

See also:

Window menu