You don’t have to use a simple vertical line for a stem; you can customize stems by using any shape you can draw in Finale’s Shape Designer. This feature is particularly useful in creating “splayed” stemming for note clusters—for example, you might have a stem with three spokes extending to a C
, C, and C
struck at the same time.
- Click the Special Tools tool
, and click the measure in question.
- Click the Custom Stem Tool
. A handle appears at the base of each stem.
- Double-click the handle of the stem you want to change; in the dialog box that appears, click Create. The Shape Designer dialog box appears.
- Draw the new stem’s shape. For instructions on using the Shape Designer, see Shape Designer. As you draw, remember that the small white dot you see in the Shape Designer—the origin—will appear at the base of the notehead, where the stem is normally connected.
- When you’re finished, exit the Shape Designer by pressing ENTER twice. To restore the original stem, click the modified note’s handle and press DELETE. Once you’ve created custom stems in a measure, you can copy the stem information to other measures.
