Swing

1. Choose MIDI/Audio > Quantization Settings. The Quantization Settings dialog box appears.
2. Select a Smallest Note Value.
3. Select Space Notes Evenly in Beat. Finale notates swung eighth notes as normal eighth notes, but will accurately notate triplets if you play them.

   It’s a good idea to tell Finale beforehand exactly how you want the triplets notated—whether or not they should have a bracket or slur, and so on. Instructions for defining the default tuplet appearance can be found under Document Options - Tuplets.

4. Click More Settings. The More Quantization Settings dialog box appears.
5. Select Soften Syncopations.
6. Click OK twice.
7. Record your performance. See Recording in HyperScribe–To record into one or two staves.

1. Choose the Expression tool , and double-click the measure where you want swing playback to begin. The Expression Selection dialog box appears.
2. Click the Tempo Marks category from the list on the left. Click on the swing shape - “two eighth notes equals a triplet quarter and eighth.”
3. Click Assign to add the marking to the score. To move the Swing marking, drag its handle anywhere you want. You can delete any marking by clicking its handle and pressing DELETE.

   Note that although this expression is located in the Tempo Marks category, it affects playback in the top staff only. To affect all staves, continue with the next set of instructions below.

1. Double-click above a staff not displaying the swing expression, such as the second staff on the score.
2. Choose the Tempo Marks category.
3. Click once on the Swing expression and click Duplicate.
4. Click Move To and select the Miscellaneous category.
5. Click Edit and delete the contents of the Text box. This will prevent the text 'Swing' from appearing on every staff in the score.
6. Click OK and Assign this expression to each of your instruments (see Assigning an expression to multiple staves).

Noteman says: In order to apply swing playback with an expression, Human Playback must be set to None.

1. Choose the Expression tool . Double-click the measure where you want to stop swing playback. The Expression Selection dialog box appears.
2. Select the Miscellaneous category and click Create Misc. Expression. The Expression Designer dialog box appears.
3. In the Text field, type "Swing" or something similar.
4. Click the Playback tab.
5. From the Type drop-down menu menu, choose Swing.
6. Select Set to Value and type a number or select a choice from the Swing drop-down menu.

   The number you type into the box indicates the "weight" of the swing (100 is standard). The larger the percentage of swing, the more delay before the second note.

7. Click OK and click Assign (to affect all staves, see Assigning an expression to multiple staves). Any time Finale encounters the expression you’ve just defined when it plays back your score, the playback will change to reflect the expression’s swing definition.

1. Choose the Expression tool . Double-click the measure where you want to stop swing playback. The Expression Selection dialog box appears.
2. Select the Miscellaneous category and click Create Misc. Expression. The Expression Designer dialog box appears.
3. In the Text field, type "Straight" or something similar.
4. Click the Playback tab.
5. From the Type drop-down menu, choose Swing.
6. Select Set to Value and type "0".
7. Click OK and click Assign (to affect all staves, see Assigning an expression to multiple staves).

This method is for generating swing feel from an otherwise “straight” score. If you’ve used HyperScribe to record a performance, you can “capture” the swing feel. Make sure Retain Note Durations is checked in the More Quantization Settings dialog box and Play Recorded Note Durations is checked in the Playback/Record Options dialog box. When you playback, you’ll hear the music with your original feel, including swing, played back.)

Note that you can also apply a Swing feel using the Jazz Human Playback Style which can be configured in the Playback Settings dialog box.

Noteman says: If Jazz or Blues Human Playback is applied, swing settings are set automatically. Swing settings are grayed out if the Human Playback style does not incorporate swing, as is the case with the Classical or Romantic styles.

1. Choose Window > Playback Controls. The Playback Controls appear.
2. Click the Playback Settings button. The Playback Settings dialog box appears , offering additional controls.
3. From the Swing drop-down menu, choose Standard.
4. Click the Play button.

Use the Apply Human Playback dialog box to apply Human Playback’s swing interpretation to a region of your score. To define swing manually, do the following:

1. Choose the MIDI tool and select a region of measures.
2. Choose MIDI Tool> Apply Human Playback. The Apply Human Playback dialog box appears.
3. From the Apply a Defined Style menu, choose Jazz (or another style that incorporates swing).
4. Choose Apply Specific Elements .
5. From the Swing drop-down menu, select the desired swing percentage.
6. Click Apply. Swing playback has been applied to the selected region. Playback the score to review the results.

These instructions assume that the time signature is 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4; the “backbeats” that Finale delays are, therefore, every other eighth note. If the meter is 2/2, however, the backbeats are every quarter note, so the swing playback you get may seem erratic if you were expecting traditional eighth-note swing. To solve the problem, change the time signature to a quarter-note–based one before using the MIDI tool.

Noteman says: In order to apply swing playback with the MIDI tool, Human Playback must be set to None.

1. Choose the MIDI tool . Select the region where you want the playback to have a swing feel.
2. Choose MIDI Tool > Edit Note Durations.
3. Choose MIDI Tool > Alter Feel. Type 171 into the Backbeats By text box.

   If you enter a number larger than 171, your swing effect approaches a dotted-eighth/sixteenth feel, which is useful in slower swing tempos; if you enter a number smaller than 171, the swing effect approaches an even-eighth-note feel, which might be better at faster tempos.

4. Click OK (or press ENTER). When you play back the selected region, you’ll hear genuine swing—Finale is playing the second eighth note of every eighth-note pair slightly late, just as a jazz player would.