Finale cannot do what you're asking. There are other options, one product which can do this is Melodyne. Here's a youtube showing Melodyne taking an audio file and turning it into a midi file. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Zkznqs-f8 

Once you have a midi file you could import that into FInale, and the midi will be transformed into music notation. This will only be notes. Any other music elements will need to be added manually, like slurs, accents, staccatos, dynamics, etc....   There is no software available which will give you a perfect transcription which includes all musical elements. Manual editing is always necessary.

But the reality is, any performance by a live instrument, even playing a single note melody, will contain rhythmic inaccuracies that will need to be manually corrected. Now assuming that you have the Finale skills to correct the notation which came from midi, why not just enter the notes manually and correctly right from the beginning?

You say this is for your musical compositions. Is this music that you want to print out and have musicians play, or is your goal to make recordings in Finale your your own enjoyment?

What Jeff said. Your best bet is to learn Simple or Speedy Entry, and enter your music directly. That assumes that you know how to read music, and not that you “play what you feel.” (I don’t mean to insult you, but we get a lot of that around here.)

Having said that, Finale does have a feature called Hyperscribe. You can read up on that in the Help files. There may even be some videos. But many (most?) people find it more trouble than it’s worth.

First and foremost Thank you for the prompt response!

I checked out the software that Jeff wrote about and that is an option. Given that I am on a retires budget I need to do a bit more research.

Jeff does correctly point out that direct input and timing may well require a large amount editing. That can be a tedious task.

Yes I do read and play in both treble and bass clef (Guitars and Euphonium (think baby tuba)). Ledger lines take a bit more planned and consistent practice. 

Have been reading scores and playing for more years than I want to count. Decided to get serious about music composition since I retired in 2017.

Responding to Jeff's' query as to what I want to do with my composition. My intention is both for my enjoyment and having other musicians play the music as well.

Learning to use the Finale Simple and Speedy entry tools are most likely my best choice at this point. There are videos and I want to the help section.  I will also check out the help pages on Hyperscribe  as well.

Jeff and Mike Thank You once more.  You have pointed me to a workable solution.

Art M.

Backstory stuff.

For what it is worth you can check out Energy City New Horizons Symphonic Band on YOUTUBE.

The band formed in 2009 and I am a charter member. 99% come back players. We sounded like a Junior High way back then. Today we are as good as if not better that a strong collage or professional band.

I was playing trumpet until 2015 then switched over to low brass to play Bairtone and later Euphonium. 

At church I play every Sunday on a five string bass and we play traditional as well as contemporary music.

I needed the low B string to play form the hymnal. The choir director was happy to have me play traditional (hymnal) music as long as when a contemporary  song where he is playing guitar I am playing bass.  His comment is the organ is loud enough that most people would not hear me. At his request I set my bass to as much treble as I could and we discovered that yep they can hear me as well as the pipe organ.

Instruments:

A number of guitars (5, 6, and 12 string) to the point my wife is opposed to obtaining any more.

A Cornet, Trumpet, and a Euphonium.

I got a lot of un-selected comments from many people that I should have started with low brass primarily due the fact I played a lot better.

These days I pretty much only play my Euphonium. The Coronet and Trumpet are sitting on the shelf waiting to see if my granddaughter takes more than a passing interest..

Art M.

since I am on a retired 

There are many ways to generate MIDI so that you enter into Finale. The most basic is simple entry where you play a note after selecting a note value on your computer’s keyboard. Used keyboards with MIDI out via USB don’t require an interface.

Guitar MIDI controllers have been around for nearly 40 years. There are many ways to do it—here’s an overview.

https://www.musicrepo.com/guitar-midi-connection/

If single note entry, you can get something used that isn’t complicated.

You can get MIDI apps for smart phone or tablet. These will lay out a guitar fretboard. Tap on the glass to generate MIDI that you can export to Finale. Some do it in real time. Apple’s iOS has a good deal more of these than Android but they’re out there.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the suggestion. I knew about Guitar MIDI devices but had totally forgotten about it.  Primarily due to not having a need. 

Being retired I now have time to dig into this along with the other suggestions from Jeffery and Mike.

Thank you,

Art  M.

Art,

You mentioned in your first post that you have Finale 25. Open it up, under the help menu, you'll see quickstart videos. Go to the Entering notes section, and watch the videos, as Mike suggested, for simple entry and speedy entry. You can use these tools to enter notes without having a midi keyboard. These videos are a great resource to learning Finale. It's much easier to watch and learn, rather than just reading the manual.