Note: View the Importing MIDI files QuickStart Video for an overview.
To create the MIDI file, follow the instructions from your sequencer. There’s no need to quantize the sequence; you’ll
probably find Finale’s quantization powers to be more effective than your
sequencer.
- Choose File > Open. The
Open dialog box appears. The file types
are listed in the drop-down list at the bottom of the window.
- Click MIDI File. The names of any available
MIDI files appear in the list box.
- Double-click the desired document name.
The Import MIDI File Options dialog box appears, listing various transcription
options.
- Specify the way in which you want the MIDI
file extracted onto Finale staves. If you click Tracks Become Staves,
each sequencer track becomes a Finale staff. If you click Channels Become
Staves, the contents of each MIDI channel (regardless of their track assignments)
become a Finale staff. In either case, Finale will choose a clef for each
resultant staff based on the range of notes in the track. (If it discovers
that the notes in a track have a very wide range, it will automatically
notate its contents on two staves. See Import
MIDI File Options dialog box for details.)
For even greater control over the track and channel extraction, click
Set Track-to-Staff List; the Track/Channel Mapping to Staves dialog box
appears, in which you can specify extremely sophisticated track and channel
splitting.
- Click Quant Settings. The Quantization
Settings dialog box appears.
- Click the icon representing your smallest note
value.
- Choose your quantization type. See Quantization Settings dialog
box for more details.
- Click More Settings. The More Quantization
Settings dialog box appears.
- Select the quantization settings you desire.
You can select options for grace notes and voice 2, as well as retain
key velocities and note durations. See More
Quantization Settings dialog box for details.
- Choose Key and Time Signature options.
Most MIDI files contain key and time signature information already, so
you usually won’t have to change the default selection (Use the File’s).
- If you’ll want to hear the sequence played
back with its original tempo fluctuations and continuous data (controllers
and wheels) data, make sure Tempo Changes and Continuous Data are selected.
These options capture some of the MIDI performance data from your sequence.
- Click OK (or press ENTER).
Finale transcribes the MIDI File into standard notation. If you discover
that your settings weren’t quite right, you can close the new Finale document
and try again—the original MIDI file is unaffected by Finale’s transcription
efforts. Or, for smaller sectional changes, use the Retranscribe function
under the MIDI/Audio menu. For more information about the elements of the Import
MIDI File Options dialog box, see Import
MIDI File Options dialog box and Retranscription.
