AlphaNotes for Transposing Instruments

• About AlphaNotes
• Using AlphaNotes for Transposing Instruments
• How to Clear AlphaNotes made by AlphaNotes plug-in
• How to Apply AlphaNotes with Staff Styles
• How to Apply and Alter AlphaNotes with JW Change

About AlphaNotes

AlphaNotes indicate the note name inside the notehead for educational purposes. You can apply AlphaNotes easily using one of these three methods:

1. Staff Styles (Staff Tool)

2. AlphaNotes plug-in (Note, Beam, and Rest Editing)

3. JW Change plug-in (JW Tools) 

Each method has its own pros and cons:

• Staff Style

  • Pro: Note names will change accordingly if you transpose the section and when toggling Display in Concert Pitch on or off

  • Con: Does not indicate accidentals by note names (a C# will display as "C" on the notehead)

• AlphaNotes plug-in

  • Pro: Note names indicate accidentals

  • Con: Note names will not change if you transpose the selection, will only ever display sounding (concert) pitch name

• JW Change plug-in

  • Pro: Note names indicate accidentals, easy to switch between displaying sounding and written pitch note name

  • Con: Note names will not change if you transpose the selection or toggle Display in Concert Pitch on or off

Using AlphaNotes for Transposing Instruments

For transposing instruments, using the AlphaNotes plug-in will always display concert pitch note names, regardless of whether you have Display in Concert Pitch (in Document menu) enabled or disabled. To deal with this issue, you'll need to clear out the AlphaNotes created by the plug-in and use one of the other two options. JW Change and the Staff Style AlphaNotes work better for transposing instruments than the AlphaNotes plug-in.

How to Clear AlphaNotes made by AlphaNotes plug-in

1. Choose the Selection Tool .

2. Select the region of notes with AlphaNotes on them.

   • For more on selecting music, see: Selecting Music (Win / Mac).

3. From the Edit menu, select Clear Selected Items.

4. Click None.

5. Check the box next to Notehead, Accidental and Tablature String Alterations.

6. Click OK.

How to Apply AlphaNotes with Staff Styles

1. Choose the Staff Tool .

2. Click and drag to select the region where you want to apply AlphaNotes.

   • For more on selecting music, see: Selecting Music (Win / Mac).

3. Right-click (Win) or CTRL+click (Mac) the selected area and choose 20. Apply Finale AlphaNote Notenames.

   • Note: if this Staff Style is not listed, you may need to load the default Staff Style library. Select File > Load Library and choose Default Libraries > Staff Styles.

   • To remove the staff style, see: To clear Staff Styles from a measure region (Win / Mac)

How to Apply and Alter AlphaNotes with JW Change

Note: this feature is only available in Finale v27.3 and later

1. Choose the Selection Tool .

2. Click and drag to select the region where you want to apply AlphaNotes.

   • For more on selecting music, see: Selecting Music (Win / Mac).

3. Select Plug-ins > JW Tools > JW Change.

4. Scroll down to find the Noteheads section on the left and click the + plus button (Win) or > arrow button (Mac) beside it to expand the options.

5. Select AlphaNotes.

6. If you want the WRITTEN pitch note name, leave Sounding Pitch unchecked. If you want the SOUNDING (Concert) pitch note name, check Sounding Pitch.

7. Click Apply.

   • To remove the AlphaNotes, repeat steps 1-4, select Clear Shape from the Noteheads section and click Apply.

Note that you can repeat these steps on notes with AlphaNotes to both reapply the plug-in, as well as change whether you want the written or sounding pitch.