Finale From PraiseCharts
Finale® has long been the industry standard music notation program. Now you can purchase the original Finale files to many of our PraiseCharts arrangements. This special add-on product empowers anyone who is familiar with Finale to be able to make some personal customizations to our arrangements, without having to spend the time re-entering all the parts from scratch. To see a complete list of songs in our catalog that have Finale files available, go to the Song List page and click on the Finale files checkbox under Search Filters in the left sidebar. That will narrow the list of titles down to only those that have Finale files available.
Our Finale files can be opened up in Finale, Finale Allegro, and Finale PrintMusic. You can see a comparison of the three programs here. It is important to note that your program needs to be of the same version or a newer version than the file itself. For example, Allegro 2012 can open Finale 2012 (and older) files, but not Finale 2014 files. However, we do recommend the full-fledged Finale software for its "linked parts" functionality. This makes working with the score and parts much more efficient and convenient.
Finale Comparisons
Here are some important comparison notes between the different Finale program options available:
- Finale® is the ultimate music notation program giving you complete control over every aspect of the printed page while providing full MIDI capabilities and unparalleled audio output. At $600/$350*, with upgrades available from $119.95, Finale provides unmatched power and flexibility. (*Academic and Theological pricing).
- PrintMusic® was designed for educators, worship directors, performing musicians, composers and arrangers who don’t require the advanced features in Finale or Allegro. PrintMusic is easy to use and fun to learn. Create sheet music up to 24 staves. No other software with scanning capabilities provides an output of such exceptional quality for only $99.95.
Finale Features
Here are some of the most widely used features of Finale. Additional features may be available in the latest version.
- Entering Notes - From MIDI to your mouse, from scanning to Finale’s exclusive MicNotator, no other software offers you more note entry options.
- SmartMusic Support and Other Educator Tools - Only Finale can create SmartMusic accompaniments and Finale 2012 makes it easier than ever with support for linked parts, repeats, and more. With the Exercise Wizard, Studio View to teach composition, educator templates, and more, Finale is the first choice of music educators worldwide.
- Garritan Sounds - Finale now includes more than 300 world-class instrument sounds from the makers of Garritan Personal Orchestra, ranging from orchestral instruments to choirs, jazz brass to marching percussion, handbells, world instruments, and more.
- Record/Import Audio - Give arrangements authenticity and life with a real vocal or instrumental track. Only Finale lets you record or import a mono or stereo audio file to enhance playback.
- Linked Parts and Other Timesavers - Finale’s introduction in 1988 represented a revolution in saving time. Today we take it for granted that you don’t have to start over if you decide to add another bar on page one. Finale offers a variety of time-saving tools like linked parts, multiple page editing, ScoreMerger™, and more.
Finale Files from PraiseCharts
Finale Files are now available as an add-on purchase for those who have purchased the original PDF arrangement. You can either order the Finale file after you have purchased the PDF arrangement or at the same time. You cannot order the Finale File of a song for which you have not ordered the PDF arrangement.
Technical Notes
- Our Finale files have been created in several different versions of Finale, from 2001 through and including 2014, but that information is not available on our server. As a result, we highly recommend that you upgrade to Finale 2014 in order to make sure you can access all of our files. Our arrangers currently create in Finale v26.
- Some of our Finale files include “linked graphics” which will reference files not on your computer. In these cases, Finale will insert a “placeholder” graphic which you may delete if you like.
- Please be aware that PraiseCharts Finale files created in Finale 2006 and earlier can have as many as 36 or more files, including the score and all parts in two keys. Files created in Finale 2009 will include a single Finale file containing the score and all the parts, with a few exceptions. In every case, these files are delivered in a single ZIP file to the customer. You will need to first expand the ZIP file using your operating system or a file compression utility before you can open the files (with a .MUS extension) in Finale.
List of Titles
To see a list of titles for which we currently have Finale files available, see the Song List page to show only titles that have Finale Files.
Where To Buy Finale
For information on how to buy Finale for the first time, or upgrade to the latest version of Finale, please visit www.finalemusic.com.