(For a full description of learned chords, see Chord symbols. These instructions describe how to teach Finale several learned chords before you enter them with either of the automatic chord symbol entry methods described above. Of course, you can always create a learned chord while you’re entering chord symbols; when Finale displays its Unknown Chord Suffix“Finale cannot find a match” dialog box, click I’ll Do It. The chord you then construct in the Chord Suffix Editor dialog box is a learned chord.)

If you plan to enter chords from your MIDI keyboard (or by letting Finale analyze existing chords in the score), you can save time by anticipating the learned chords you’ll need to teach Finale. For example, if your piece contains “V11” chords (such as F/G or Dm7/G), major sixth chords, or any chords with nonstandard names (C2, for example), use this method to teach them to Finale before you enter them. Once Finale has learned such chords, it will automatically display the proper symbol when it encounters them (via MIDI or by analyzing the notes in the score).

To teach Finale “learned chords”

1. Click the Chord tool . The Chord Menu appears.
2. Choose Chord > Edit Learned Chords. The Edit Learned Chords dialog box appears. Remember that Finale always associates a learned chord with a particular scale degree; therefore, if the key signature in the display isn’t the correct one for the music to which you’ll be adding chord symbols, click the Set Key button and specify the correct key, so that Finale will be able to recognize the new chord in the correct context.
3. Click Learn. Finale asks you to play the chord on your MIDI keyboard.
4. Play the chord. What counts is the bass note and the selection of pitches in the chord; the voicing and the octave register don’t matter. As soon as you play the chord, Finale displays the Chord Definition dialog box, where you can build the actual chord symbol you want to associate with the pattern of notes you just played.
5. Construct the chord symbol in the usual way. Click OK (or press ENTER). See To define and enter a chord symbol manually or To enter a chord symbol manually with MIDI data input, for instructions in the use of the Chord Definition dialog box.

   When you return to the Edit Learned Chords dialog box, you can once again click Learn to repeat the process, teaching Finale as many new chord symbols as you want. Note that Finale stores learned chords along with regular Chord Suffixes in a Chord Suffix Library (see To create or load a Chord Suffix Library). Therefore, you can load the learned chords you create in one document into another one without having to redefine them.

6. Click OK (or press ENTER). The next time you add chord symbols to your score using Finale’s automatic (MIDI or note-analysis) methods, Finale will recognize the chord you’ve just taught it, and it will display the chord symbol you’ve told Finale to use. (Finale will also recognize the learned chord in other keys—but only if it falls on the same scale degree. That is, if you teach Finale to recognize Csus2 in the key of C, it will also recognize Fsus2 in the key of F—but it won’t recognize Fsus2 in the key of C, unless you teach it that chord too.)

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