The Finale Primer: Mastering the Art of Music Notation with Finale (Paperback)

by Bill Purse (Author) "To create a new document you must click on the word File in the top menu bar and hold down the mouse button..." (more)
Key Phrases: Staff Tool, Speedy Entry, Setup Wizard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"An extremely helpful book. Getting started in Finale can be difficultbut The Finale Primer makes learning Finale simple. The directions and illustrations are extremely clear and easy to follow. The appendices are excellent references." -- MITs Computer Music Journal, Summer 1999

"Clear and comprehensivevery helpful." -- Catholic Music Educator, April 1999

"The Finale Primer makes the trek to the notational summit feel like a walk in the park...an excellent shortcut to learning the software." -- Guitar Shop, January 1999

Product Description
Bill Purse is the chair of the music technology and guitar departments at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. His new book, fully updated for the latest version of Finale, remains the authoritative guide for understanding and using the most powerful, state-of-the-art software that generates publisher-quality notation. FinaleÕs wide range of capabilities yields a steep learning curve, but this book guides users through the programÕs powerful intricacies one step at a time. It assists with all facets of music preparation - from transcribing an existing piece of music to creating an original work - and helps maximize the benefits of FinaleÕs invaluable capabilities in editing, reformatting, and reorganizing musical material.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books; 2 edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879306025
• ISBN-13: 978-0879306021
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,355,131 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hooked on the software but the book........., December 2, 2000

By	Liz (a music educator) (Nassau, The Bahamas) - See all my reviews

I began to read with great anticipation but was sorely disappointed. There were too many errors in the 2000 edition, which apparently had been revised in a hurry to catch up with the software upgrade. Many of the existing shortcuts were either inaccurate or, in the case of the new ones, omitted altogether. The author also geared much of his commentary towards Mac users and referred all unexplained problems back to the Final Manual. Very sketchy - and I still have not figured out how to set up the percussion so it sounds like the instruments I want. A complete waste of money.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Superb software, lousy book., June 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Finale Primer: Mastering the Art of Music Notation with Finale (Paperback)

The Finale Primer is a waste. If you purchased Finale 98, the book that comes with it is nearly identical, so I now have virtually the same book twice. Also, it is very poorly indexed and cross-referenced, resulting in much frustration as I try to find assistance on various topics. You are much better off saving your money and using the original manual and HELP screens.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too little - too basic and incomplete, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This book spends too much time explaing computer operation (pull down menus, command keys) and not enough on Finale. Too often as it gets close to having some depth it says "but this is beyond the scope of this book, read your Finale manual." The one page index is worthless. The book does things like wastes 4 pages on a windows/mac keyboard comparison chart and yet does not show how to setup notating a drum kit. If this is your first piece of software, maybe it would be helpful, but if you think it gives insight and tricks beyond your manual, forget it. I feel cheated. I found some mistakes in the book and certainly the title "mastering" is an overstatement.