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MIDI tool

This tool lets you edit the actual MIDI data that Finale stores with your music—key velocities (how hard each note was struck), Start and Stop Times (rhythmic information), channel pressure (pressure applied to a key after it’s been struck), controller data (pedaling, modulation wheel usage, and so on), pitch bend information, and patch change events. When you click the tool, the MIDI tool menu appears, containing all the commands you need to increase, decrease, or gradually change any of these data types.

To use the MIDI tool, you begin by selecting a region of music whose MIDI information you want to edit; you then choose commands from the MIDI tool menu. If you only want to affect a one-staff region that fits on the screen, you can double-click the selected region to enter the MIDI tool window, where you can view a graphic representation of the MIDI values you’re editing. Using this technique, you can edit MIDI data on a note-by-note basis—for example, you can increase the key velocity of only certain notes in a chordal passage.

To enter bank and program change data from the MIDI tool, follow the procedure for entering patch changes. Remember, a patch is a combination of bank and program information. See Patches.

To send bank and program changes immediately, choose Send MIDI Value from the MIDI/Audio menu, and then enter the program change and bank select values into the modified Send MIDI Value dialog box. Sending controller data is simple. To choose a controller, click Controller, then choose the name of the controller, such as 7:Volume from the Controller drop-down menu.

Other effects you can create with the MIDI Tool include inserting and editing pitch bends, creating smooth crescendos and decrescendos, creating true swing-feel playback, randomizing certain playback variables to create a more human feel, and so on. See Send MIDI Value dialog box, Pitch wheel, Crescendo/Decrescendo, Swing, and Playback.

Note that Finale’s Human Playback feature can automatically assign playback effects throughout a Finale document. To hear any playback effects assigned deliberately with the MIDI tool, you first need to disable Finale’s Human Playback feature. To do this, from the Windows menu, choose Playback Controls and then click on the Playback Settings button on the Playback Controls. Click the drop-down menu for Human Playback Style and choose None. For more information, see Playback Settings dialog box.

Tip: In order to hear effects applied with the MIDI tool during playback, you must set Human Playback to None in the Playback Controls.