… I have checked all 3 areas affecting tempo …

Checking all 3 areas may not be enough.

I would clear rather than check.

Edit menu > Clear Selected Items…

De-select everything, and select Tempo Changes.

{Tempo Changes} is at the top of the “tempo hierarchy”, overriding expressions and Playback Controls.

If clearing the Tempo Changes does not help, try clearing all the expressions.

… I have checked all 3 areas affecting tempo … in my original post referred to having gone through the hierarchy affecting tempo: Expressions, MIDI Data, and Playback.

Yes, I DID clear everything under MIDI Data (Continuous Data, Performance Data & Tempo Changes).

I have also tried clearing all Expressions, and tempo still does not playback properly.

HELP! 

I am having the exact same problem today. Every file I have is playing back at a lightning speed. All of these files were playing at the correct tempo's until today and I have not messed with any settings. If I Clear all tempo changes, nothing happens. If I clear all expressions, I am able to slow down the tempo with the playback controls, but it still is not the correct tempo. (ex: quarter = 72 is closer to quarter = 108). If I set it to the tempo I want (108) then it plays back around quarter = 170. This is happening in every file I have and I have restarted my computer already.

Drew,

I suggest using an Expression to govern your tempo. adapt or create the tempo mark in the Tempo category, and set the tempo you want in the expression's Playback Tab.

I only use the top screen tempo settings to find the tempo I want, since I can always reset an expression if I change my mind later, and then I know where to look for tempo issues.

Is your sound card set to 44.1K or 48K sampling? That might cause an issue if your program and sound card are not set to identical sampling rates.

… None of my files will playback the proper tempo …

… I DID clear everything under MIDI Data (Continuous Data, Performance Data & Tempo Changes).

I have also tried clearing all Expressions, and tempo still does not playback properly …

The next things to try:

1) Restart the computer (you probably already have tried that).

2) Trash the Preferences file (= com.makemusic.finale.fprf - look in {user account}/Library/Preferences).

3) Contact the folks in MakeMusic’s Tech Support.