Platform? Finale version?

DO NOT try to do it as you have suggested! That way lies madness.

Layers are an integral part of the program, and are the first (OK, maybe second) thing you must learn about. In short, each of your measures must have 3 complete beats. If you have two layers, then each LAYER must have three complete beats, as well. Please post a screen shot. That will be the easiest way for us to help you.

Thanks Mike.  It's Windows 2008 PC I'm using and latest Finale version, after downloading latest update

You can get rid of the unwanted rests. In Speedy, hide them with the O (letter) key.

Gaius Coleman,

In your attached screen shot you are asking how to add another quarter chord after the 16ths.

Each layer must have three complete beats.

* What notes/rests should be in Layer 1 (three complete beats)?

* What notes/rests should be in Layer 2 (three complete beats)?

By The Way:

The first measure looks like a 3/4 measure that really should be a 1/4 pickup measure.

With the Time Signature Tool you can make it a 1/4 measure, displaying a time signature of 3/4.

Many thanks to Peter, Michel and Mike.  I'll try that out this morning and see how I get on. 

It's just that the cost of the complete software package is over £400 Sterling which is a lot of money to shell out.  However, I'm actually quite enjoying seeing the music appear, but looking professional.  I gave up on actually playing the music at my digital piano and so use manual note entry now. 

Allegro 98 I invested in years ago, was poor also e.g. a demisemiquaver arpeggio run came out as a block chord!

Me again

As my 30-day period has ended, I cannot save the latest draft now and have been experimenting a bit with the layers idea.  I attach another screen shot and need to know how to add the extra chord in bar 2, using layers.  It's to do with each layer adding up to 3 of course, but what isn't helping is the first chord being a minim and Finale doesn't appear to recognise the significance of the crotchet rest below this chord.  Can any of you suggest what I need to do now to get the extra crotchet beat in?  Do I change it to 4/4 time?

Gaius Coleman,

I am afraid I do not understand.

Each layer must have three complete beats.

* What notes/rests should be in Layer 1 (three complete beats)?

* What notes/rests should be in Layer 2 (three complete beats)?

Could you perhaps attach a scanning of the manuscript?

The better we understand, the better we can help.

With the info we have now, we can only guess.

One possible guess:

Layer 1: the half note chord + quarter rest

Layer 2: quarter rest + the 16ths + the quarter chord

Is this for piano?

If it is for piano, you could notate like this (without using Layer 2):

Gaius,

You have three quarter rests in layer two. That uses up all possible beats in that layer. Is this an original composition, or are you working from a score? As Peter said, if we could see the original, it will let us help. Screenshot, scan, even a photo from your phone.

Perhaps this?

If you contact me via email, we could do a Zoom. My address is encoded in my signature.

Hi Mike & Peter

The version I prefer is that shown in Mike's version.  I now attach a version from a book and also a pianist's version as to how she played it in 1981.  The arrangement is my own, but having listened, many times, to the pianist's way of playing it and wanted to get it on manuscript paper, which I have now, but want it to look neat and now professional, so that anyone can play it.

Your sixteenth run should be on beat two of layer 2 and not part of the top voice just as Mike Rosen illustrated. Part of the problem is that the manuscript is very poorly notated (I am sorry to say).

Thanks, Adrian! I used JW Change to move the layer 2 rest on beat 3, off the page. I’m not a pianist, so can one of you tell me if that rest is needed for clarity?

EDIT: Looking at it again, should the run be stems down, with the last chord stem up?

>> ...should the run be stems down, with the last chord stem up?

I would say yes; stem direction in the handwritten manuscript is problematic.

Hi J Adrian - your comment is interesting.  In what way is it poor?  Do you mean musically, or the way I've physically notated it?  Or both?  I need to point out that I only have my Grade 5 ABRSM Theory, I play piano, but never sat a piano exam in my life.  Let's not forget the great composer/pianists didn't have this software and many handwritten music scores are of course messy.

Mike - thanks for your help.  I'm slowly appreciating the 'layers' idea and what you say about each layer has to equal 3 in my 3/4 notation.  As I have not paid for Finale (a lot of money and difficult to justify the expense) and because I've used up my 30 days free trial, it won't let me save anything new.  I have to go back to the last saved version and further add to it, which is better than nothing.

J Adrian - thanks for your tip here too:  beat 2 of layer 2.  Really what's needed is a physical centre I can attend to learn how to use the software properly.  As the guy at Finale said, that's probably just not going to happen.  I need to watch more YouTube videos!

Gaius,

I’ll be happy to set up a Zoom with you, and see if I can get you over that hump. I’m in Seattle, so we would have to figure out the times. If you’re interested, send me an email. The address is encoded in my signature.

Gaius,

As I said, the notation is poor; I didn't even look at the music, since that was not what you were asking about and this is not the forum to judge that sort of thing anyway.

I am pretty sure most, if not all, of us have gone through a stage when our manuscript was pretty awful. As the person who was to become my mentor told me some sixty years ago, "If you want people to read your music, you need to make it readable."

The most notable shortcoming of the manuscript is precisely the reason you have trouble putting it into Finale. You need to distinguish (primarily through stem direction and perhaps additional rests) different voices (called layers in Finale) that occur simultaneously. As a prompt to you, who has written it down and knows what you want to play, your pencil sketch works; but for those who do not already know what you want (including the Finale program) the manuscript is a guessing game.

Get in touch with Mike, if you can; he will likely be able to set you on the right track without much difficulty given the opportunity for a back-and-forth.

Hi Mike - that would be excellent.  I'm off from work all day on Thursday and Friday.  May I suggest either 1430 hours Thursday or 1500 hours Friday please?  I think this is mid morning for you, but have no idea.  I'm in Scotland.

Thanks J Adrian.

Gaius, send me an email, and we can work it out.

My email is encoded in my signature, below.

Gaius,

I might add to the above suggestion and advice. Is this a one time song you want to put in digital form so it can be printed or is it the start of a whole project? If it is a one time thing perhaps paying someone to do it would be the best way to proceed.  If you have further desires to do more of this type work than I urge you to go ahead and purchase Finale 27.2.  Then have someone do a one-on-one meeting with you. Much better than YouTube!

Almost anybody can write a simple song with Finale with just a minimum of effort. However, if you want to delve into the more involved score writhing it can take a sometime to get  to know your way around Finale. Problems can arise when you go from a handwritten score to Finale. Handwriting there is no one that is keeping strich control over how you do it besides yourself, the composer. Unless you disable that feature Finale does require you adhere to strict control.

I know Finale is a big purchase so have you looked at Finale Notepad?  It may do what you want.

Hi Ernest

No, this would be used for various annotation of arrangements I have that are in handwritten format, so not a one-off.  Thank you for your tips.