Hi Nicholas

It sounds like you have not set the instrument up correctly.

Open the instrument list (Window > Score Manager or <command>K and click the Instrument List tab)

Highlight the staff which has you Tenor sax part

My system is windows, but the Mac system should be similar to the pic below

Note the transposition setting.

If you have already entered in a lot of musc, changing the transposition setting will modify your score and transpose all of your music (and probably your key signature)

You may need to go through and manually adjust the music (and key sig) that you have entered in already

Cheers...

Daz :o)

You should also check to be sure "Display in Concert Pitch" is not checked in the Document menu.

The problem is, the transposition setting is correct in the Score Manager, and concert pitch is not being displayed. but a G on my Tenor Sax sounds like a G in my piano.

Hi Nicholas

The playback that you're talking about, is that when you're actually entering the notes, or when you play back the music.

Entering the notes will play an untransposed sound. Finale 25 included a new feature that plays back transposed sounds as you're entering.

If the transposition is not working when you play the score, possibly you could post a link to your file here. You will need to upload the file to a service like dropbox, then post a link to the uploaded file.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

You're right, and I'm an idiot. 

Do you know anything about making audio files? When I make one, it plays back with all sorts of craziness. Chords aren't right, instruments are different. It's weird.

Hi Nicholas.

No, you're not an idiot. That particular 'feature' has driven enough people crazy that MM decided to add it into Finale 25 to stop the requests and complaints. <grin>

As to the audio... well it's hard for me to help without the score (or an excerpt),  and/or a little more detail as to what is going on when you export.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

Sorry, I'm really bad at this. How do I get you my score/audio? I really need to make practice CDs. The audio file is just really different than in regular playback. The instruments are definitely off for some of them. Otherwise, it's hard to say what's going on.

Hi Nicholas

You will need to upload the files to a file sharing service, such as dropbox or google drive (you can create a free account).

Once you have uploaded the file there, come back here and post a link to the file (use the icon that looks like a chain at the top of the text entry area when you're writing your post)

Cheers...

Daz :o)

Thanks. Here are links to both my Finale document and its audio file.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i73c8kxtlcpjk7o/ShRedryk.musx?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bm1hi5dvvx4kj3m/ShRedryk.aiff?dl=0

Hi Nicholas.

I've downloaded the Audio and score. (Nice music BTW)

On the first play through it sounds ok, but then I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

Can you let me know what the issue is, and at around where (either in absolute time for the Audio, or measure for the score)

Cheers...

Daz :o)

Have you listened through the Human Playback vs. the Audio File? 

For me, they are entirely different. The Ukuleles play as pianos. The Guitars are muffled. The Organ overpowers everything. Frankly, all the levels are off.

Does the Audio File inherently sound different than the Playback? As far as levels go, do I just need to play with the mixer? I have them set for the Playback, but if it needs to be adjusted for the file, I get it. I was just expecting it to sound more like the MIDI.

Hi Nicholas.

On my system, the Audio and the Score play back almost exactly the same.

The sounds are the same.

The difference ins sounds may be as a result of your MIDI output settings.

What is your setup for MIDI output when playing back?

If you're using an external MIDI device for playback (I believe) you will not get the same sounds when you save to Audio.

I'm pretty certain that saving as Audio will use the Softsynth sounds if you've got set Finale to playback via Midi.

That would also explain the levels.

You will have to give me some time to play around a bit, but those are my initial thoughts.

Something to try... Do you have the Garritan Sounds installed? They produce a better sound. However the levels are all way out there as well.

If you go to the score manager, you can set the initial volume levels there (If you do not see the Vol and Pan columns, click on Customize View... and select "Mix")

As I say, I'll play a bit more and get back to you.

But also let me know what your MIDI settings are (MIDI/Audio->Device Setup->MIDI Setup)

Cheers...

Daz :o)

I really appreciate the help.

MIDI System: CoreMIDI

Playback To: QuickTime Playback

Software Channel:

Input-none

Output-none

I figured something out.

When I changed it from QuickTime to SoftSynth, the Playback sounds like the Audio file.

Hi Nicholas

Thats because the sounds that quicktime uses are not available to Finale when saving to Audio. As I say, when saving to Audio and you're playing back via MIDI, Finale will default to using the Softsynth.

You will have to go through and play with your levels to get the sound to be similar to QT.

I can only offer one suggestion (and I'm not certain if it will work)

If you have an Audio app which can record what is played out of your speakers, you could try to capture the audio that way. Else, if you have another computer (or portable device) which can record, plug the speaker output from your computer to the line in/mic input of the other computer/device and just record Finale playing back via QT.

Do you have Garritan instruments for Finale installed? It does sound better than softsynth. You will need to change some of the levels and also play with the sounds that are loaded. In particular, the Organ and the Ukelele will need to be toned down. The Ukelele to around 65 and the Organ to around 60.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

Thank you again. I'll probably fiddle around until it sounds right. I don't have any other devices, and you see how technologically intelligent I am.

I do not have Garritan. That has some fee attached, right?

Hi Nicholas

Finale comes supplied with Garritan Instruments for Finale, a subset of the full featured sample library.

You do not need to pay to use/access those sounds. They have included everything required for a full orchestra, a full band and quite a lot of world instruments.

The following usermanual entry gives details -> https://usermanuals.finalemusic.com/Finale2014Mac/Content/Finale/GIFF.htm 

I'm on Finale 25 and they included some additional sounds, but every instrument that you piece uses is included. Simply switching to playback via VST loaded the correct instruments for me.

If you did not install them when you installed Finale, you should look at doing so.

If you purchased Finale from the demo (ie downloaded the demo then purchased after installing the demo) you might need to go to your user account at MM ( https://store.makemusic.com/MyAccount/MySoftware.aspx ) and download the full version from there.

Anyway, have fun playing with the score. As I said, it sounds nice.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

I can't seem to find anything that says that I have the Garritan sounds, but I just bought the program. Should it have downloaded automatically? Or was it a separate download? When I go to the Garritan site, there are only options to pay.

Hi Nicholas

The Garritan sounds are included in the Finale setup files. There's no need to go to the Garritan web site.

How did you purchase Finale?

Did you download the Demo then paid for registration?

If that is the case, you will need to log into your account (using the link I posted earlier) then re-download Finale from the "My Software" page.

Once downloaded, just run the installer again. When prompted, install Garritan Instruments for Finale

If you paid for the software before downloading, then just run the installer again. (Likewise install Garritan instruments for Finale when prompted)

Be prepared for a wait. The Garritan installer does take a looooong time to complete.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

I bought it before the download. I'm going to go through the installer again.

I really can't say how much I've appreciated the help and the compliments. I'm just hoping I can get my kids to perform it.

Hi Nicholas, just two thought.

1. An easy way to see if you have the 'full' installer is to see how big the file that you downloaded is. If it is less than aroung 3Gb, then you will  need to re-download Finale from your account
   
   
2. You stated (early on) that you're running Finale 2014.5 Is that the case? If so, how long ago did you purchase Finale. If it was within the last couple of months, you might be eligable for an upgrade to Finale 25. Contact Customer Support to see if this is the case. To contact support, scroll to the the top of this page and click on "Submit a Request" next to your username.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

I bought it no more than a month ago. 

The file is only 185.2 MB. I'm assuming that means I have to download it again.. and that Garritan is huge. lol

The installer didn't mention Garritan. I didn't just take up a bunch of space by re-downloading Finale, did I?

I found something in the "Download Library." 

Aria Player 1.872

Is this what I need to download?

Hi Nicholas

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you (dinner time)

You don't need to download The Aria player. It is included in the installer.

This is taken from the Finale for Mac manual. (Finale 25, as you purchased less than a month ago)

There are three parts to the Finale Installer: the Finale Installer,
the Garritan Instruments for Finale Installer, and the ARIA Player Setup Wizard.
The Finale Installer lets you select which files you want installed and where you
want them placed on your hard disk. The Installer offers to create a folder called
“Finale.” We recommend that you install all of the Finale files into this new folder.
For the most part, you can press Continue to confirm the defaults.

If you did not see all three of the installation steps when you ran the installation process, then something is wrong

Where did you download Finale from? Did you log into you user account and go to the My Software page?

(The page should look something like the image below)

Clicking on the "Download" button should have got you the correct version (ie very large)

If you did get that and it was what you used to try and install, then there is something amiss and you will have to contact support to enlist their aid

If you are in fact running Finale 2014.5 then contact support anyway and talk to themn about getting Finale 25. I'm not sure about this, but there may be something that they will do because you bought Finale so close to the release of the new version.

Cheers...

Daz :o)

Also, if you first downloaded the demo version, it would not have included the Aria Player and Garritan sounds. You would have to re-download the program.

But before you do, pull down the MIDI/Audio menu (on a copy of your file if you want to play it safe) and see if you can select "Play Finale through VST." If you have the Garritan sounds already, the program will automatically load them into the Score Manager.