# Issue with crescendos in Finale



## brkootnekoff (Jan 3, 2023)

I recently purchased Finale for my PC and am still learning how to use it.
I've been trying for over an hour to get the crescendos and decrescendos to sound like they should. I only get a really weak build up with the crescendos and I can't detect the dynamic shifts at all in a busy arrangement.

Is there a setting that I can adjust to get louder crescendos?

Thanks in advance!


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## JJP (Jan 3, 2023)

First, check to see to and from what dynamics your crescendos move. (pp to p won't be much)

Second, in Preferences > Human Playback > Dynamics/Volume you can adjust the crescendo settings. Then make sure Human Playback is turned on when playback.


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## brkootnekoff (Jan 3, 2023)

JJP said:


> First, check to see to and from what dynamics your crescendos move. (pp to p won't be much)
> 
> Second, in Preferences > Human Playback > Dynamics/Volume you can adjust the crescendo settings. Then make sure Human Playback is turned on when playback.


Oh ok. I'll try that. Thanks.

I've also been having an issue with hyperscribe as well.
It doesn't like my MIDI interface for some reason and it has been driving me crazy. By default it connected to my other MIDI devices, so I got rid of those, but it still doesn't seem to work. I was getting the error message that says that I have to select and arm an instrument to be able to record something. 

I solved that problem, but now it's putting up this message when I hit record.






And I still don't hear anything when i play my MIDI keyboard and Finale is in "MIDI mode". However, it does connect and it works when I select "play finale through vst". Do you have any idea what's going on here?


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## proggermusic (Jan 3, 2023)

I've been using Finale for about twenty years... and, I'll admit, I stopped trying to get Finale playback to sound good about twenty years ago.

(I know that's not much help, but from a practical perspective: I segregate my notation projects and audio demo projects intentionally. If I want a good-sounding demo of a piece I'm writing, I'll make it in Logic with better-sounding instruments and more control over audio. I'll then transcribe myself in Finale, but I'll only use its playback for pitch accuracy.)


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## brkootnekoff (Jan 3, 2023)

proggermusic said:


> I've been using Finale for about twenty years... and, I'll admit, I stopped trying to get Finale playback to sound good about twenty years ago.
> 
> (I know that's not much help, but from a practical perspective: I segregate my notation projects and audio demo projects intentionally. If I want a good-sounding demo of a piece I'm writing, I'll make it in Logic with better-sounding instruments and more control over audio. I'll then transcribe myself in Finale, but I'll only use its playback for pitch accuracy.)


I got it working, so all is good. 
I'm not trying to make it sound good in Finale. I'm planning to use Finale to do some improvs/sketches that I will then transfer to my DAW where I will further tweak the MIDI data. I was hoping that Finale will give me a starting point with note velocity as well as CC1 data.


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## proggermusic (Jan 4, 2023)

Aha, I gotcha! Well, I'm glad you got it working, you're clearly more patient with that program than I am. 

Don't get me wrong, I actually like Finale quite a bit at this point, I think it's capable of really beautiful publisher-ready scores and parts. Their visual game is strong! I've just taken it for granted at this point that I'll never like the audio playback.


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## dtoub (Wednesday at 2:38 PM)

YMMV but I've gotten pretty good playback, although I have GPO5 rather than the more bare-bones included Garritan sounds. And I use NotePerformer of course, which works really well for a lot of things (and also for some things, Reason is optimal; better to have multiple tools for audio realization). 

I just digitized a 40-year-old work of mine in Finale and recorded an audio file using NotePerformer, and the output is really good. One of my friends wanted to know how I got such great playback, and in this case is was from NotePerformer. So I would not abandon hope of getting great playback from Finale. You just need some additional tools (Garritan Personal Orchestra 5, NotePerformer, Reason, all in my case).

Here's a string orchestra work that was also done in Finale with NotePerformer. I'm hoping to release this commercially on a European label in the next year or so.


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## brkootnekoff (Wednesday at 3:08 PM)

dtoub said:


> YMMV but I've gotten pretty good playback, although I have GPO5 rather than the more bare-bones included Garritan sounds. And I use NotePerformer of course, which works really well for a lot of things (and also for some things, Reason is optimal; better to have multiple tools for audio realization).
> 
> I just digitized a 40-year-old work of mine in Finale and recorded an audio file using NotePerformer, and the output is really good. One of my friends wanted to know how I got such great playback, and in this case is was from NotePerformer. So I would not abandon hope of getting great playback from Finale. You just need some additional tools (Garritan Personal Orchestra 5, NotePerformer, Reason, all in my case).
> 
> Here's a string orchestra work that was also done in Finale with NotePerformer. I'm hoping to release this commercially on a European label in the next year or so.


My DAW is Reaper and I still haven't been able to get Finale to sound good--I think it's a lost cause at this point. I also couldn't figure out how to input CC1 (or CC11) data properly. I was chatting with this support guy who showed me how terrible Finale is when it comes to MIDI automation. 

I'm now using speedy input mode (hyperscribe is basically useless)


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## dtoub (Wednesday at 4:01 PM)

Can’t help you there probably but if you import MIDI from Finale to Reaper then you can use Reaper’s sounds. I do that with Reason. But for anything involving keyswitches as for around string effects etc then I don’t think that is a good way to go. This my suggestion of NotePerformer.

I’ve never used hyperscribe and I’ve used Finale for several decades. I also only use Speedy Entry. Never used Simple Entry after a week or so of teaching myself Finale around 1992.


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## Composer 2021 (Thursday at 2:24 PM)

Been having issues with crescendos and decrescendos in Finale for years on several different versions.


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## dtoub (Thursday at 2:31 PM)

I think you might want to pose these issues to the Finale Forum since this is more of a Dorico-focused site I think. The crescendo issue is likely a function of human playback. i don’t have this issue but I have HP on and it handles these things nicely. You can even set up a shape to accommodate any nonstandard change in volume. Again, best to commune with folks on that user forum. There is also the main Finale Forum run by MakeMusic.


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