Product Reviews

Multimedia software

Makemusic Finale 2006 [Computer Shopper]
COMPANY: Makemusic	PRICE: Ł299 inc VAT
RATING:	ISSUE: 218 DATE: Apr 06

Computers lend themselves well to music notation. Scores must adhere to a lot of esoteric rules, but software can be programmed to ensure these rules are met. However, while many MIDI-sequencing packages display and print scores, the presentation is often scruffy. Finale has been a frontrunner in professional score production for almost two decades, providing classy automatic layouts and tremendous scope for customisation. But it needed to pull out all the stops to compete with Sibelius 4, which we reviewed in What's New, Shopper December 2005.

Finale 2006 leaves nothing to be desired in terms of score styles and formatting options. It handles lyrics elegantly, even when adding multiple sets of lyrics to a single melody for alternate verses. There's support for guitar tablature, percussion staves, a wide range of extended technique markings and just about anything else you could hope for, except the odd obscurity such as proportional timing. We particularly like the extent to which slurs can be customised, with handles to adjust position, angle and curvature while maintaining a neat, parabolic shape. This level of control is common throughout the software.

The downside of Finale's comprehensive options is that it isn't quick



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to learn. Many functions are well implemented, but new users are unlikely to figure them out by trial and error. The narrated Flash tutorials are a great help, but more than once we had to refer to tutorials we had already viewed, as some functions require long sequences of menu delving and keyboard-and-mouse actions. The interface also has some odd quirks. For example, if you use the Eraser to delete notes, the remaining notes in the bar shuffle forward, and there's no warning when you exceed an instrument's range.

The latest version of Finale comes with a good smattering of new features, the most interesting of which is an improved integrated synthesiser for score playback. This draws its sounds from the acclaimed Garritan Personal Orchestra sample library and, with the addition of a new reverb effect and some excellent interpretation of performance markings, playback quality is very high. Up to 64 instruments can be used at once, which is a vast improvement over the eight instruments available in Sibelius's built-in synth. However, Finale's new library omits non-orchestral instruments such as guitar and saxophone, and it can't be used in tandem with the older synth, which isn't as high quality but has a wider range of instruments.

Finale 2006 is a worthwhile update to an extremely capable program, but ultimately it can't compete with Sibelius for ease and speed of use. Both programs offer comprehensive formatting options, but Finale leaves the user to find the right tool and know how to use it, while the scores in Sibelius are manipulated by clicking and dragging, which means faster editing and a shallower learning curve. Sibelius is more expensive at around Ł450 including VAT, but the more polished interface and ingenious timesavers such as the Dynamic Parts function make it worth the extra expense.

By Ben Pitt