Jazz Chord Symbols and More

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George Voland Posted October 20, 2016 20:39

Chord Definition Challenge

I am using a Mac, running El Capitan 10.11.6,

I am not sure how to change the way jazz chords get notated.If I do add my own nomenclature ("min" or "-" for minor), Finale tells me it doesn't know what that means. However, it allows me to add my version to the chord nomenclature chart that Finale presents when one clicks on chord definition, and then clicks on "select" in the "Suffix" section. (Lots of steps!)

However, my versions don't play back correctly when I listen to my score.

I would like Finale to understand and to use those symbols, plus a "∆" for major.

Any simple solutions for a guy who simply wants to compose easily, using easier, less confusing (for musicians to read while playing) universal nomenclature?

Am I Dreaming?

I thought that it was Finale that had a "drag-and-drop" chord syllabus/chart that DID include exactly the kind of diverse symbol choices, plus others, that I just described. That kind of feature would make it SO easy to create a score.

Is this feature on Finale? If so, how do I access it?

George

10 comments

Date Votes

George Voland Posted October 20, 2016 20:40

I forgot to mention I'm using Finale 25.0

PETER CRADWICK Posted October 27, 2016 19:25

Use the Select button at the bottom of the "Chord Definition" dialog to choose the suffix. The first suffix (no. 1) is the triangle for major 7th. To add your own, use the Duplicate button in the "Chord Suffix Selection" dialog then "Edit" to edit the duplicated symbol.

Jon Thingvall Posted January 24, 2017 04:04

Thanks, Peter! I had the same question!

J ADRIAN VERKOUTEREN Edited January 24, 2017 04:10

If you want Finale to recognize and use the Jazz symbols, you may need to replace rather than duplicate the original . Once you have done this, you should be able to save your own custom Jazz suffix library to import (into a document where you have deleted the existing suffixes) as needed. I think Tim Davies mentioned this in a video on his http://debreved.com site.

https://youtu.be/HeCuJfXhS9s

Jon Thingvall Edited January 24, 2017 04:45

Okay, J,

That's the problem I ran into-- the Edit Chord function Peter mentioned works just fine for Maestro font (regular, published font), but for the Broadway Copyist font with JABB, to "replace", how do I create the symbol to begin with? I started using ShapeDesigner, but it looked like that might be the long way around. (I'll check out the video you mentioned, so if it covers this, I'll see it.) Thanks! (By the way, I'm using Finale 2012)

ROBERT RAWLINGS Posted March 19, 2018 22:26

Why o why has this always been a problem . From day one it has been difficult to enter chords.I've been using Finale since the early 90's off and on so i'm not that good at it but other programs like iRealPro have great fonts and menus to choose the fonts variables .

We shouldn't have to go through all these steps .

MIKE HALLORAN Posted March 19, 2018 23:24

>We shouldn't have to go through all these steps <

You probably don't. I answered your half-diminished question in another thread. If that doesn't do it, we need more info about a) your OS b) your version of Finale c) exactly what you are trying to accomplish and d) in which font.

PETER CRADWICK Posted March 20, 2018 04:03

Don't know if this is still relevant, but the first thing I do when opening a new document is Document Options->Load Library and add the 'Chord Suffix Expanded Times' library. It seems to have everything and haven't needed to create my own (recently).

I'm using Finale 2014 (on Linux) and 25 on Windows running under a VM.

STEVE SAMPLE Posted October 12, 2018 21:52

How do I install the Jazz Font universally in new scores?

MIKE HALLORAN Posted October 12, 2018 22:21

>How do I install the Jazz Font universally in new scores?<

You can create and save custom templates that always load the fonts and instruments you prefer.

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