Instrument List dialog box

How to get there

Choose Instrument List from the Window menu.

What it does

The Instrument List provides a quick and convenient way to manage the playback of the various staves in your score. For example, you can silence a staff with a single click, or you can "solo" a staff with a click, muting all other staves.

If your MIDI instrument is multi-timbral—capable of playing more than one instrument sound at once—the Instrument List also lets you assign a MIDI channel and patch (program information and optional bank change information which act together to provide an instrument sound) to each staff—and, in fact, to each layer of each staff.

The Instrument List also lets you create Instrument assignments for each staff and each layer of a staff. An Instrument is a MIDI channel/patch setting. For example, you might create an Instrument named Strings which will be mapped to your MIDI keyboard’s channel three, and will have the patch set to change your keyboard to its second bank of sounds and use the Strings program on that bank.

Then, it’s a simple matter to assign each of the string staves in your score to this same Instrument, saving you the trouble of assigning a channel and patch to each staff individually. Instead of mapping multiple staves into one Instrument, you can also do the reverse—map a single staff into multiple Instruments—by setting a staff’s layers to play on different MIDI channels with different patches.

The Instrument List window also affects recording with HyperScribe. Two columns in the Instrument List, R and RChan (R always appears; RChan only appears for multitrack recording), identify which staves or layers of staves Finale will record into, and from which channels, during HyperScribe recording. These settings appear only when View by Staves is selected.

The Instrument List, by the way, is a standard Finale floating window. You can move it by dragging the title bar at the top, close it by clicking the control-menu box in the upper-left corner, click the Maximize button in the upper-right corner to make it fill your screen, or make it taller or shorter by dragging the resizable frame. (You can also hide the Instrument List window by choosing its name a second time from the Window menu.)

• R (Record). A Record (R) column that specifies which staves or layers will be recorded into, with the HyperScribe Tool, always appears. When the Record column is blank, no staves (or layers) of staves are selected to record into. Click in the R column next to the staff you want Finale to record into. A black triangle appears in the R column, indicating that Finale will record into the active layer of that staff.

You can also record into a particular layer of a staff. First expand the staff by clicking the down arrow next to the staff name; Layer 1 through Layer 4 appears. If the staff is selected to record into (a black triangle appears in the R column for the staff name), a small triangle in parentheses indicates the current layer that will be recorded into. If you change the current layer using the Layer Controls in the Document window, the small triangle moves to reflect the current layer that will be recorded into. To specify a particular layer to record into, click in the R column next to the layer of the staff you want Finale to record into. Note that you cannot record chords or expressions in an expanded staff; Finale will ignore any clicks in the R column for chords and expressions.

If you’re not multitrack recording (Record into One Staff or Split into Two Staves is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe menu), you don’t need to use the Instrument List to specify which staff to record into; simply click the staff in the score that you want to record into.

If, however, you prefer to use the Playback Control’s Record button (instead of clicking a measure in the score), then you must use the Instrument List’s R column to indicate the staff or layer to record into. Click in the R column next to the staff or layer you want Finale to record into. Click on a different staff or layer to select it instead. The triangle moves to the staff or layer you clicked.

If you are multitrack recording (Multitrack Record is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe menu), click in the R column next to the staff or layer you want Finale to record into. Click the R column to select additional staves or layers to record into. Click again to remove the triangle (so Finale won’t record into the staff or layer).

In an expanded staff list, a triangle in parentheses shows the default layer that Finale will record into. If you specify one or more layers of a staff to record into (for multitrack recording only), a striped triangle will appear in the R column for the staff name to indicate that one or more layers will be recorded into for the staff. The striped triangle also appears in a collapsed list so you can immediately see, without expanding the staff, that one or more layers will be recorded into.

• RChan. The Record Channel (RChan.) column only appears for multitrack recording (Multitrack Record is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe menu). RChan indicates what channel(s) will be recorded into the staves (or layers). Enter the channel number(s) that you want Finale to record from for each staff or layer. By default, Finale records from channel 1 (RChan is set to 1). If you specify more than one channel for layers of an expanded staff, Finale displays the word Mixed in the RChan column for the staff (next to the striped triangle in the R column) to indicate that several incoming channels will record into this staff.

Note: If you’re using multitrack recording, you must set up the Instrument List window’s R and RChan columns for each staff (or layer) you want to record into.

Note: When you’re not multitrack recording (Record into One Staff or Record into Two Staves is selected in the Record Mode submenu of the HyperScribe menu), the RChan column does not appear. In fact, you don’t need to set up the Instrument List window at all; use the Receive On channel in the HyperScribe Options dialog box to indicate what channel will be recorded for the staff (or layer). Click the measure of the staff you want to record into. (Finale uses the Instrument List’s R column to determine which staff to record into only if you click the Record button on Playback Controls.)

• Staff Name • [Arrows]. In the Instrument List, you see the staves in your score. (If you haven’t named the staves, they appear numbered.) Using the controls in this staff’s row (Play, Solo, and so on), you establish its various playback features.

When the small arrow next to the staff name points down, each setting you make affects all layers of the staff. If you want to give different playback settings to each of the four transparent layers of each staff, click the arrow. It turns to point upward, and six new rows appear in the Instrument List, one for each layer, plus one each for Chords and Expressions. At this point you can change the Play, Solo, Channel, and other parameters for each individual layer. Click the arrow a second time to "collapse" the layer rows into a single staff row again. If there are too many rows to see in the window, use the vertical scroll bar to adjust your view.

• Layer 1 • Layer 2 • Layer 3 • Layer 4 • Chord • Expression. These rows of information only appear when you click the downward arrow next to a staff name. Using these subdivisions of a staff, you can assign an Instrument, MIDI channel, or patch to each of these playback elements—allowing the music on each layer, for example, to have its own sound. Chords refers to the chord symbol you’ve placed in a staff; they can actually play back over their own patch and channel, if you wish. (If you don’t want chord symbols to play back, route them to an unused MIDI channel, or deselect chords from the Play column.) You can also specify patch and channel settings for the Expressions of a staff. Unless you plan to connect the computer to a MIDI-controlled mixing or lighting board—in the event that you’ve created expressions that control these external devices—you can leave the expression assignments alone.
• M (Mute). In this column, a black square appears across from the name of each staff that you want to mute when you play your score. By clicking in this column across from a certain staff, you make the square disappearturn white, indicating that the staff will sound when you play the score.

If you’ve expanded a staff to view its individual layer assignments, and you turn on the Mute setting for some layers but not others, the square in the Mute column will appear striped. That is your signal that the individual layers of the staff have mixed settings in the Mute column. Note that the Playback checkbox in Document Options-Layers provides the same function.

• S (Solo). When you click in the Solo column across from a staff name, a black circle appears, and the black-square Play indicators for all other staves turn white. In other words, you’ve just isolated a staff so that only it will play back, and all the other staves are silent. (You could achieve the same effect by clicking in the Play column for all other staves, so that their Play squares each turn white—but that would take much more time and effort.) You can solo more than one staff, if you wish—for example, you can solo two or three staves, and all the others will be silent. In fact, you can solo all staves, although there wouldn’t be much point, since you may as well solo none of them.
• Vol. You can use this text box specify an exact volume value, 0-127, for a staff, and all other staves set to the same channel. This setting is dynamically linked to the Volume sliders in the Mixer and Staff Controls.
• Pan. Use this text box to specify an exact pan value, 0-127, for a staff, and all other staves set to the same channel. A higher value pans right, a lower value pans left. Playback volume will be weighted to the left or right speaker accordingly. 64 is center. This setting is dynamically linked to the Volume sliders in the Mixer and Staff Controls.
• Instrument. By clicking on the word Instrument, you produce a drop-down list containing all of created instruments, as well as, the New Instrument command. This command brings up the Instrument definition dialog box, where you can define the MIDI channel, program change, and bank change assignment for a new virtual Instrument (see Instrument Definition dialog box), whose name will now appear in this column.

Once you’ve defined and named one or more Instruments of your own, their names appear in the Instrument drop-down list across from each staff name. Now you can start to save time when it comes to assigning patches and channels to other staves or layers—simply choose one of your Instrument names from the Instrument drop-down list, and the staff you’re working with will automatically get the same MIDI channel, program, and bank settings as other staves with that Instrument.

Here’s an example. Suppose you have a piano part with two staves. Across from the top piano staff, choose New Instrument from the Instrument drop-down list, and create an Instrument called Pno Sound, that plays on MIDI channel 4, program 22. Now, for the bottom piano staff, simply choose Pno Sound from the Instrument drop-down list. Finale automatically gives it MIDI channel 4, program 22—and if you change the program or channel for either staff, the other staff’s program or channel will change to match.

To edit an Instrument name or delete an Instrument, select View by Instruments (see below).

• Chan. This column displays the MIDI channel assignment for each staff (or layer), from 1 to 64 (or 32, if your MIDI interface is a 32 bit card). To change this number, double-click, and type a new channel.

If you’ve assigned several staves to the same Instrument, by the way, remember that they’re all linked to the same MIDI channel. Therefore, if you edit the Chan. assignment for any one of these staves, the Chan. for all of them will change to match, because any given Instrument can only have one channel assignment. (If you truly want a staff to have an independent MIDI channel, first assign it to a new Instrument.)

• B. The Bank column (B) appears between the channel and program columns in the Instrument List. If you set up a simple patch assignment by entering a program change number with no bank information in the Instrument List, nothing appears in the bank column. However, if you enter a bank change and a program change number for an instrument, Finale places a "B" in the bank column for that instrument.

To set up a bank change, click or ctrl -click the bank column to display the Instrument Definition dialog box. For details, see Instrument Definition dialog box.

• Prog. The number in this column identifies the program (synthesizer sound) number assigned to each staff (or layer). To edit it, just double-click the number and type a new one.

If you’ve assigned several staves to the same Instrument, once again remember that they’re all linked to the same Program. Therefore, if you edit the Program assignment for any one of these staves, the Program for all of them will change. If you prefer to set up your MIDI instruments so that their programs are already selected for each MIDI channel, you can ignore the Prog. settings in the Instrument List. Finale will only transmit these Program settings to the MIDI instruments if Send Patches Before Play is selected in the Instrument List window.

• GM. This column displays the General MIDI descriptive name of the Program number. By clicking on the name, you produce a drop-down list containing all of the names. Select the desired GM name to have Finale fill in the matching Program Number.
• Perc . MIDI Map. From this drop-down menu, choose the desired Percussion MIDI Map for playback. See Percussion MIDI Maps.
• View by Staves • View by Instruments. When View by Staves is selected, the information in the Instrument List is organized by staves, as they appear in the score.

You can also re-organize the list so it’s displayed by Instrument (by selecting View by Instruments). By doing so, you can see which staves and layers have been assigned to each Instrument.

• Play All • Play None. These buttons turn the squares in the Play column for all staves (and layers) on or off, respectively.
• Solo All • No Solos. These buttons turn the black circles in the Solo column for all staves (and layers) on or off, respectively.
• Edit Instrument. Select an instrument and click the Edit Instrument button, or ctrl-click in the Chan., B, Prog., or Instrument columns to display the Instrument Definition dialog box, where you can change all aspects of an instrument’s definition, including the bank or program change information.
• New Instrument. To create a new Instrument, click this button. The Instrument Definition dialog box appears. Here you can create the new instrument name, as well as define the instrument’s channel and Patch information. Note, this button only appears when View by Instruments is selected in the Instrument List window.
• Delete Instrument. To delete an Instrument, select an Instrument name in the left column, and then click Delete Instrument. The Instrument is removed from the list. This button is only available when View by Instruments is selected in the Instrument List window.
• Send Patches Before Play. Select this option if you want Finale, just before it begins playback, to transmit any patch information specified in the Instrument List to your MIDI instruments. You probably won’t want to select this option, however, if you prefer to assign programs to MIDI channels on your MIDI instrument before you begin playback, instead of letting Finale do it. If you select Send Patches Before Play, Finale will wipe out any MIDI channel/patch configurations you’ve set on your MIDI instrument, and use the information defined in the Instrument List window for playback.
• Auto-create Instrument. This checkbox only appears when View by Staves is selected. If this checkbox is selected, Finale will automatically create a new Instrument for each new staff created. You can rename them or change their channel and patch assignments by clicking View by Instruments and editing the various boxes. If this box isn’t selected, then Finale will assign every staff in your score to the same Instrument, channel, and patch (until you change them by creating new Instruments).

Note: To have this function take effect, you must first select the checkbox, then create new staves. If you create new staves then select this button, all the staves will be assigned to the same instrument.

Note: If a dot appears in the Solo column, only the soloed staves (or instruments) will play back.

See Also:

Instrument Definition

Window menu

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