Finale NotePad 2005

Finale NotePad 2005 is a quick, easy and inexpensive (free) way to create your music and share it with others. You can create and listen to your music as you create it. You can share it online at the Finale Showcase and you can download music from the Finale Showcase to use in Finale NotePad 2005. You can print your music. You won't be able to save sound files such as midi or audio but if you know someone who has a higher version of one of the Finale products you may be able to get your music converted to sound files. For a small price you can upgrade to Finale NotePad Plus ($24.95 (US)) which will save and open MIDI files.

Below is a screenshot of the Finale NotePad 2005 user interface. You can click on the image to open it in a new window to see a larger version.

Click on image to view larger size in a new window.

Below are the tool palettes available in Finale NotePad 2005.

Getting a score going is really easy using the Document Setup Wizard. Just answer a few questions, fill in the blanks and you're on your way to creating your very own masterpiece.

Choose what type of score you want to create by highlighting the voices and clicking the add button.

Choose the key signature and time signature.

Click the finish button and your blank score will open ready for you to start entering notation. Notes can be entered either by clicking your mouse on the staff where you want the notes or using the computer keyboard. It is really simple.

You can add repeat bars quickly and easily also.

Add Articulation and expression with the Finale NotePad 2005 built in tools. If you want to add lyrics there is a tool specifically built for that and it automatically fits the text under the notes. Use the Human Playback feature to hear your music just the way you should hear it.

The Turkish March took about 20 minutes to enter into Finale NotePad 2005.

If you download Finale NotePad 2005 you can open the Turkish March music file and have a close up look at it and play it using the Finale NotePad 2005 playback tools.

I found a couple of limitations in Finale NotePad 2005 but there are work-arounds. The first was that I couldn't specify a pick up measure and the second that I couldn't change keys in the middle of a score. A work-around for the pick up measure was to arrange the music around that. The work-around for changing keys was to start in the correct key and when I got to a place in the music that the signature changed, to just transpose the whole piece which seems to have worked fine.

TurkishMarch.MUS

The Turkish March was sequenced using Finale 2005 and you can hear it from the link below.

TurkishMarch.MID

Finale NotePad 2005 is absolutely free and is a wonderful way to get started creating your own music!

If you need to be able to sequence the music you create, try Finale NotePad Plus. It has all the great features of the free Finale NotePad 2005 but also allows you to create and open MIDI files.

New Features for NotePad 2005

Guitar and Bass Tab

Just choose Plucked Strings>Guitar and Plucked Strings>Guitar TAB in the setup wizard to create your guitar music.

You can use the Simple Entry tool to enter notation and/or you can copy music from a standard notation staff into a TAB staff.

Engraver Tuplets

Tuplets automatically reposition when notes are raised or lowered on the staff. The brackets follow the angle of the stems when on the stem side and of the notes when on the note side. The brackets stay away from rests and staff lines.

Finale NotePad 2005 supports a variety of languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, UK, English and more languages are slated to be added.

You can check all this out for yourself for just the cost of getting it downloaded. Finale NotePad 2005 is a free product! Check it out today by downloading it from here.

Showcase

Another cool deal with Finale NotePad 2005 (as with all the other Finale products) is that you can share your creations with others and they share with you for free. Finale has a showcase you can visit to download files for use in Finale NotePad 2005. You can find the Finale Showcase here.

System Requirements

 NotePad & NotePad Plus 2005 for Windows

• Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
• Monitor with 800X600 resolution.
• Internet connection OR CD-ROM drive (for installation).
• 256MB RAM recommended (128 MB may be sufficient in older Windows operating systems).
• 25MB hard drive space required

 NotePad & NotePad Plus 2005 for Macintosh

• G4 or higher recommended.
  OS 10.2 and higher.
• Monitor with 800X600 resolution.
• Internet connection OR CD-ROM drive (for installation).
• 256MB RAM recommended.
• 25MB hard drive space required

 Optional

• Printer

If you need NotePad for Mac OS 9 or Windows NT you can download NotePad 2004 here. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page for the download link.

Pricing

Finale NotePad 2005 is free! If you decide that you want to move up to other more powerful products, you can and get a deal by looking at the trade-up offers that are available from the Trade-Up menu item in the software.

Where To Get It

You can download your free copy today. This program is absolutely free!

Copyright © Music Of Yesterday, All Rights Reserved