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Lyrics/Type Into Score

Instead of typing lyrics into the Lyrics window separately, you can enter them directly into the music so that you know at all times where you are relative to the melody.

To do so, first specify the lyric type and number for the lyrics you intend to create (by choosing Specify Current Lyric or using the Lyrics window). Choose Type Into Score from the Lyrics menu or click in the Lyrics window. A set of four positioning triangles appears at the left edge of the screen. These control the baseline of the lyrics (against which the bottom edges of the words line up).

Note: View the Using the positioning triangles QuickStart Video for a demonstration of how to use the positioning triangles.

Click on the staff at the position of the first melody note. Don't click the notehead - instead, click in the staff lines. A small blinking cursor - the insertion point - appears beneath the staff where you clicked. Type the lyrics normally; each time you type a space or a hyphen, Finale automatically moves the insertion point to the next note in preparation to enter the next syllable. As you type, Finale automatically scrolls the music so you always know where you are.

If you make a mistake, just BACKSPACE over it by pressing the BACKSPACE key. To change a word you've already typed, click in the staff lines above it so that it's highlighted, then type its replacement. If you encounter a melismatic passage, where one syllable is sustained through several melody notes, skip past each sustained note by pressing SPACEBAR.

Note that as you type, Finale stores each syllable in the Lyrics window - the Lyrics tool's text processor. It's important to understand that the Lyrics window and the lyrics in the score are dynamically linked. If you change a syllable in the Lyrics window, the syllable instantly changes in the score - and vice versa.