Though after 18 years have passed, there is one thing I still clearly remember today. That was when I started to use Finale as a teaching material at the Berklee College of Music, back in 2005.
At the time, there was an extracurricular activity called Lab at the college, in which senior students instructed junior students (many of whom were beginners in music production software) one-on-one. It was there that I learned how to use Finale for the first time, at that time my instructor said, "Finale has a unique operational feel that may be confusing at first, but once you get used to it, you will feel good about it." .
Photo: Berklee College of Music Finale lab handout (2006 version at the time)
Later on Finale's technical support (we call it "tech-suppo" for short) has become a big part of my job, and now that I look back on it, I feel it's true.
If I had to sum up Finale's features in one word, I would say that it is "a product that is highly functional but difficult to operate". In my opinion the difficulty of operation is due to this "unique operation feeling", and the thing is that the hurdles to get used to it are extremely high, but as you get used to it, you can enjoy the high functionality that Finale inherently has. Sometimes you would be surprised to discover its ability beyond your expectation and it became more and more fun to use it. Then your impression about Finale will change to "a product that is difficult to operate but highly functional".
In this blog, I would like to discuss various topics related to music in general, with a focus on music notation software from now on. To begin with, I would like to write a little bit about Finale, which I am most immersed in right now, especially about its technical support and usage.
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