Free Notation Software: Finale Notepad

Jun 19 2008
Posted in music notation software
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I am amazed at the quantity of music notation software available on the market. The two most popular products, Finale and Sibelius, get most of my attention. However, there are many, many more titles from which to choose. A wonderful comprehensive list of music notation products is available at:
http://ace.acadiau.ca/score/others.htm
If you peruse the extensive list of notation programs on this site, you will note quite a few free notation programs.

Finale NotePad
The free notation program that I use most is Finale NotePad www.finalenotepad.com. It is a free download and a lite version of Finale. Finale NotePad 2008 added step entry via MIDI making it a viable option to use to communicate with other programs, as it will also export files in MIDI format. For a complete list of the features check out:
http://www.finalemusic.com/Notepad/New.aspx

The only major problem with Finale NotePad is that files are not backwardly compatible in Finale format. So, for example, you can’t open a Finale NotePad 2008 file in an earlier version of Finale. However, you can download earlier versions of Finale NotePad by searching the downloads section of the Finale Notepad website:
http://www.finalemusic.com/store/search.aspx

Opening Finale Files in NotePad
Finale NotePad can open Finale files. This makes it possible to create a file in Finale and then have others open it for playback and practice in Finale Notepad. I also find that Finale NotePad is a good place to start when teaching students how to use Finale. There is a limited number of tools.

Once students have the hang of NotePad, moving to Finale is a snap. There are some excellent tutorials that ship with Finale NotePad. From the Help menu, choose Tutorials.

Another free program that I have used is Nightingale Light
http://www.ngale.com/index_04.html

How are you or your students using Finale NotePad?

What other free notation software have you found helpful?

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    Christopher Giroir
    Jun 20, 2008 at 7:56 am

    http://lilypond.org/web/

    But I’m a geeky linux type of guy. I love it though!

    Laura
    Jun 23, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    Is the free Finale Notepad any better than Finale PrintMusic?

    brie
    Jul 16, 2008 at 7:01 pm

    hey it rocks

    Jessica
    Jul 25, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    So the link you give to finale is absolutely free? Why does it ask you to make an account with your information if all you’re doing is downloading the program? I really want to download the program but I do not want to pay anything for it. I just want to make sure this wont cost me a penny.

    Tom Rudolph
    Jul 30, 2008 at 9:22 am

    Chris:

    Thanks for the Lilypond link. I’ll check it out and add it to my list of free notation software.

    Tom

    Tom Rudolph
    Jul 30, 2008 at 9:24 am

    Jessica and Laura:

    FinaleNotepad is really free. They do require that you register on their site, but that is not a big deal. I have been using Finale Notepad for 10 years and there is no charge.

    Finale PrintMusic is much more powerful than NotePad. The big difference is with PrintMusic you can play in real-time with a metrnonome click (called HypersScribe) and there is built-in free scanning. It lists for $99 and is worth it if you do a lot of notation entry. However, you can’t be the price of NotePad. Free.

    Tom

    Mark Brand
    Oct 7, 2008 at 5:51 am

    Sadly, MakeMusic has replaced Finale Notepad 2008 with Finale Notepad 2009, now at a $10 charge. Laughably low in dollar terms, I agree, but significant at third world exchange rates to prompt me to look elsewhere for a tool with which to introduce teachers (and their students) to notation software. Thank goodness for http://www.musescore.org/en/blog/2008/09/07/comparing-musescore-and-finale-notepad-feature-feature (found via Tom’s link above). If that doesn’t work, I guess it’ll be Denemo + Lilypond, but I have my doubts about how well that’s going to be received - too geeky for most music educators, I think.

    RAV
    Oct 11, 2008 at 5:43 am

    how do you change key in the middle of a song like if you modulate to another key?

    Carlos Q.
    Oct 12, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    One Thing:

    it is possible, since i tried it, to modify the Ftm file in notepad, with finale to make adjustements like margins, percent, and many more other stuff. they will be permanent, but you can have a bunch of templates to choose from, still using the free software.

    Hope it helps.

    ciara
    Nov 25, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    finale notepad isnt free any more!
    if anyone knows if you can still download it anywhere for free could they please tell me?

    Tom Rudolph
    Dec 4, 2008 at 8:48 pm

    Clara:

    You are correct - as of August, Finale NotePad is now $9.95. I don’t know of any site where you can download Finale 2008 or earlier.

    Tom Rudolph

    ANON
    Dec 12, 2008 at 5:38 am

    But you can’t save on the trial version…

    Daks
    Dec 28, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    Ciara…try mininova.com for your free version download

    Jon Ophoff
    Jan 12, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    Those who miss the free download of Finale Notepad might want to take a look at the Noteflight beta at http://www.noteflight.com/

    It takes the concept of an online word processor like Adobe Buzzword and applies it to music notation.

    claudia humphrey
    Feb 10, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    the free download, finale notepad was used
    just as that and i finished college credit
    in directed study as a result.
    the music i wrote 30 years ago finally looks
    like publisher’s copy.
    what can i do to meet the giver of the “free”
    part i have already used and completed the work.
    but much arranging and other works wait to be done.
    thank you sincerely,
    claudia humphrey, missionary
    bishop_here@yahoo.com

    Jillian
    Feb 21, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    how do you download it though… is there a download button somewhere?

    Ashleigh
    Mar 4, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    hey, i downloaded the 30 day free trial and i loved it. my trial is up now and i can’t run it again since i’ve already tried it.

    KapLian
    Apr 25, 2009 at 7:19 am

    Thanks for free download for staff notation.

    Bruce Fraser
    May 17, 2009 at 10:08 pm

    Finale Notepad 2008 IS still available as a free download, on the FinaleMusic.com website no less. Apparently they forgot to clean out their old download pages!

    Here’s how:
    1) Go the the Finale registration page: https://www.finalemusic.com/store/login.aspx?t=download.aspx&id=392.

    2) Either register (if you’re new) or sign in (if you already are registered with Finale.

    3) It will take you to the download page. This page also has the serial number you will need to “unlock” the program.

    Enjoy! Probably not for long, once they realize this hole hasn’t been plugged.

    Brad
    Jun 13, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    Can you help with this: daughter’s piano teacher will send home floppy for student’s to use to practice lessons. Don’t think my iMac has floppy drive so I’ll buy one for USB port.Then I can download the 2008 Finale Notepad software & put it in the drive, it’ll come up on monitor & make sense to my child how to use it?

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