Finale Allegro 2007

Reviewed by Daphne Kalfon

Introduction

Finale Allegro is music notation software that allows you to compose, arrange, edit, print and share your music, as well as save as mp3s and create CDs of your final projects.

Getting Started

I inserted the install disc. The Read Me file came up, so I briefly read it. It tells of new features and improvements and other changes to the software, explains software authorization, as well as some additional info for those using notebook computers as opposed to desktop computers.

Then I double-clicked on the install icon and a new window came up asking me to click “Continue” to install Finale Allegro 2007. The material I read in the Read Me file showed up again, so I ignored it and clicked “Continue.”

When the Software License Agreement showed up. I clicked “Agree”. At that point you are asked to select a destination volume on which to install Allegro , so I did, and then I was asked to enter my password to authenticate. This launched the installation process. A window then showed up saying that I have 30 days to register before saving and printing are disabled, so I chose to authorize now. You then have to fill out a User Information form and very brief User Survey, click “Finish” and you can then proceed to the Launch Window.

I must say that this process was much faster and less hassles than I have had installing other software, so it was much appreciated this time around.

Using the Software

Allegro comes with a soft cover book called “Installation and Tutorials” which I will explain a little bit more about later, a “read me first” document, and a handy quick reference guide which contains an explanation of the main tool palette as well as a complete guide to all the keyboard shortcuts the program comes with.

I should mention that in addition to the soft cover manual which contains installation directions and tutorials, there is a 35 chapter online User Manual which is installed directly to the hard drive when you install Allegro, a “QuickHelp” online guide, a “Help” feature which provides context-sensitive help within a dialog box when you are working within the program, and a series of QuickStart Videos. I decided to start with the videos.

After I clicked on “QuickStart Videos” a new window came up with a table of contents:

Basic Skills, Getting Started, Adding Details, Measures and Staves, Editing Your Music, Wrapping Up Your Project, Playback, Education Tools, and Using These Videos. Within each of these chapters are several topics covered. For example, if you select “Measures and Staves”, a subset will then appear with the following contents: changing the key signature, changing the time signature, changing the clef, adding and deleting instruments, tablature, slash and rhythmic notation and percussion notation.

At the bottom of the tutorial video window, there are transport controls which allow you to go back, stop, rewind and fast forward through the tutorial. As the voiceover speaks, an active screenshot of what is being explained is shown. Also, as you watch and hear the voice over, an intermittent notice will pop up to indicate that the item being explained is only included with Finale or only with Finale and Allegro.

My only complaint would be that I felt the voiceover was much too fast. A slower pace would probably be much more helpful for the first time user trying to learn the ins and outs of this program. Other than that, the video tutorials provided with this program are a great learning tool.

There was no indication in the manual as to how to set up audio in order to hear playback through speakers. After some searching, it was found under the MIDI menu - choose “internal speaker playback”, choose “SmartMusic Softsynth Playback Settings” and there, choose the output source, which in my case is my MOTU interface.

It’s very confusing to have to choose “Internal Playback” as the menu option in order to be able to choose an external audio device. “Internally” here happens to mean “from within the program”, and not from a hardware standpoint, which can lead to confusion.

I decided to then try out some of the tutorials in the soft cover book, starting with the first section of the first tutorial, Tutorial 1a: Simple Entry. This first section is titled “Creating a New Document with the Document Setup Wizard.” Following the directions, everything went fine and I ended up with exactly what was shown on the page in the manual.

Then I went on to the next section in Tutorial 1a, which takes you through the process of entering music using the Simple Entry Tool. There are directions to open a new project file, and once opened, each section of the window is explained further, such as the menu bar, the Main Tool Palette, the Simple Entry Palette and more. I like the fact that as you touch each different tile on the palette, a small description of what it is shows up. If you actually click on the tile, then something called the “Message Bar” explains what you have chosen and how to proceed using it. These quick dialogues are really helpful for new users.

Simple entry allows you to click notes onto the staff, enter notes with your computer keyboard, or with a MIDI keyboard. Following the instructions step by step, I was able to input notes using both the mouse and computer keyboard, but when it came to using my MIDI keyboard, I ran into several snags:

It seems there is a bug in the SmartMusic Softsynth Playback - it will occasionally just stop working, which means that no sound will be produced upon playback. The only way I could find around this problem was to choose the Quicktime playback option under the MIDI menu, or simply restart the computer.

So now that the playback problem was solved, I still wasn’t able to actually input notes using my MIDI keyboard, or hear them on entry. In order to use my controller keyboard as input, I had to go under the MIDI menu and choose MIDI setup, and for channels 1-16, select my MIDI keyboard from the dropdown menu. Problem solved.

This along with the issues just previously mentioned, were not found in the manual, and if they are in it, they are not easy to find. In all fairness however, I must say that when it comes to MIDI input and playback, notation programs often seem to be rather problematic and/or buggy, so this was pretty much to be expected.

Be that as it may, Finale offers free technical support to registered users, and that contact info is included on the front of the Quick Reference Guide.

Moving on, I also tried out things like adding and removing accidentals, using the mass edit tool, creating tuplets, changing key signature and time signature, and creating chords. All these things seemed to work fine.

Tutorial 1b covers Speedy Entry. The manual indicated that Finale comes with over 30 different kinds of templates such as piano-vocal scores, choral setups, chamber orchestra scores, lead sheets etc. This can be a big help to get quickly started on a new project. For this tutorial, I was directed to choose the lead sheet template. Unfortunately, upon choosing it, a window came up that said “While attempting to access “Lead Sheet” the File Manager reported an error.” So it doesn’t look like I can use that template. I then chose instead a jazz band template, and that too resulted in the same window coming up. I’m not sure if it’s me or another bug in the program. Several other attempts to access other templates resulted in the same thing, so that may be another bug in the program.

At any rate, I just chose to create a new project by using the Setup Wizard, and continued along with the tutorial. Following the instructions for speedy entry I could see why this might be the method of choice once you get the hang of it. What I did find annoying was that as I entered the notes for my B flat clarinet, they sounded as I played them. But on playback, they played not at concert pitch anymore but at the “official” pitch. I have come across this before and find it really unnecessary unless the piece is going to be played by an orchestra (unlikely). And even then, it doesn’t have to be notated at concert pitch.

The sounds I used for this project were B flat clarinet, acoustic bass and violin, and I would say that sound quality was quite good. Pressing the note harder once it has been depressed, for the clarinet sound for example, creates a type of vibrato, but I wouldn’t say that it sounds all that natural however.

I then tried the Hypescribe method of entry, which is where notation takes place as you play. It went okay but even the slightest discrepancy in my playing resulted in some very strange timings which I would have to go back in to correct.

However, I had much better results when I used the “tap” method indicated, so I would recommend doing it that way. Just to note, any velocity changes that I played as I recorded this hyperscribe session were not noted upon playback. This may or may not also be a glitch. I did see that changes in velocity from MIDI input was checked in the playback menu, so I have to wonder if this is another glitch.

I proceeded to the tutorial for articulations, following the instructions to open a new tutorial, and two things happened. Finale Notepad was somehow launched, and repeated attempts always resulted in the same thing. As well, once again I was no longer hearing sound out of my speakers but only internally. I can only assume that the articulations for Finale Allegro are at least as good if not better than what I found for my review of Finale Notepad, so I will leave it at that.

Note: the inadvertent launching of Notepad as described in the paragraph above turned out to be an error on my part. The manual does specify that Allegro has to be running, and from the file menu, choose “open” and from the drop down menu, choose whatever document you need, be it a tutorial or a template. Using this method, the tutorial opened in Allegro. However, the template problem as described earlier in this review, persists.

Conclusion

There are many more features of this software, too numerous to go into, but suffice to say that there are plenty of help menus and tutorials to get you well on your way to quickly using this powerful and versatile notation software. There do seem to be a number of bugs and glitches in the software so patience is key (no pun intended), but if you can get past them, this program has a lot to offer.

Recommendation

I would recommend trying the demo version as indicated at the beginning of this review. There are so many varying needs for those looking to use notation software, that the best way to evaluate whether or not something is going to fill that need, is to try it out first.