Please help! Notating swing eighths in Finale

[fumblefingers]

Hey guys - how the heck do you notate a swing eighth in Finale when you want to show a bracket over a quarter note and an eighth note with the little 3 above the bracket?

Many thanks!

[docbop]

Well it let you use three eights and tie the first two?

[jazzguy100]

this might help

[fumblefingers]

Well it let you use three eights and tie the first two?

yep i can do that. its just not as slick.

[setemupjoe]

You want it to look like this?

[ronjazz]

Don't bother, just write straight eighths and put the "Swing feel" instruction at the top of the page. Virtually nobody writes that triplet stuff.

[targuit]

Of course, sometimes you want to score a triplet figure. In Sibelius if it is quarter note, you highlight the note and then hit C+ 3. This gives you the note as the first in a triplet. You then enter the notes. I am not familiar with Finale, but I would think they do something similar.

As for scoring the triplet feel with eight notes, better to score 'em straight and play with swing. Less messy.

[henryrobinett]

Just write 8th notes and say "swing". Like Ronjazz said.

Now if you want Finale to playback swing feel, I'm sure there's a setting for that in the playback preferences.

[setemupjoe]

It's easy. Enter in three eighth notes for a triplet. Then delete the middle eighth note and change the first eighth to a quarter note.

Alternatively you can type a quarter and an eighth, then go to the tuplet tool and say you want eighth note triplets. It will change your quarter and eighth into a triplet.

[matt.guitarteacher]

http://www.finalemusic.com/blog/crea...s-with-finale/

[henryrobinett]

It's easy. Enter in three eighth notes for a triplet. Then delete the middle eighth note and change the first eighth to a quarter note.

Alternatively you can type a quarter and an eighth, then go to the tuplet tool and say you want eighth note triplets. It will change your quarter and eighth into a triplet.

I don't think that's what he's talking about. But maybe it is.

[setemupjoe]

I don't think that's what he's talking about. But maybe it is.

Yeah I'm assuming this is what he means but he hasn't checked in on this post to clarify.

I know in finale it can be a little confusing writing a quarter and an eighth as a triplet because once you type a quarter note as your first triplet note finale assumes you want quarter note triplets.

[henryrobinett]

The question is notating swing 8ths, not triplets.

[matt.guitarteacher]

The question is notating swing 8ths, not triplets.

Yeah. I'm not clear. You just notate 8ths.
If you're talking playback, you can quantize or define your 8ths to varying degrees of swing etc., but don't really know the intent.

But the original post is talking about notating as triplets basically...quarter note triplet plus 8th....

[matt.guitarteacher]

I guess if it's otherwise straight 8ths and you wanted to throw in a few which swing, you'd notate it that way???

St Louis blues like, but 1 bar instead of an entire section...

I don't know.

[henryrobinett]

Well swing 8ths IS like triplets. But it's not written like that. That would be WAY too confusing to read. You just write it as 8ths and indicate swing.

[henryrobinett]

Or actually for a jazz chart you generally don't indicate anything. If it's not swing you write "straight 8ths."

[Stevebol]

Creating triplets with Finale

That's what I would think. He doesn't say whether it's for a jazz chart or not. Not that I would know what a jazz chart is. Looks to me like Finale tried to emulate Sibelius with everything since it was such a superior program long ago. It should be a breeze with either program.
I think he wants to notate something that would play like swing but it's not a jazz chart.
I was going to finish my piano trio masterpiece in Sibelius then I realized I sucked at coming up with anything good with the left-hand on piano. Can't play piano. Sibelius used to be a blast but real composers aren't going to write with audio playback. That's lame. That's a problem with working that way. It's better to just flop notes around without a clue and clean things up later. Also so much transcribing. When I realized I had no clue what I was doing I started improvising with the mouse. Why not. I think he might be transcribing something.
These programs can be fun it you don't think too much. This wasn't that hard to do. It's all mouse;

https://soundcloud.com/stevebol/junk-2

I can't play a drum machine but damn it I can play Sibelius.
Read the manual.

[Stevebol]

Whether you're using Finale or Sibelius I'd read the manual back and forth. Sibelius was known for it's manual. I know Finale became a much better program after a while.

[MarkInLA]

Yeah I'm assuming this is what he means but he hasn't checked in on this post to clarify.

I know in finale it can be a little confusing writing a quarter and an eighth as a triplet because once you type a quarter note as your first triplet note finale assumes you want quarter note triplets.

Don't you mean 8th and a 16th ?

[targuit]

One thing about Sibelius is that you can suggest the 'degree of swing' in terms of playback under "performance".

[grahambop]

One thing about Sibelius is that you can suggest the 'degree of swing' in terms of playback under "performance".

There is something similar in Finale. So you can notate it in straight 8ths but then play it back with 'light swing' for example.

[Petimar]

There is something similar in Finale. So you can notate it in straight 8ths but then play it back with 'light swing' for example.

In Finale it is called "human playback".

[henryrobinett]

Btw writing swing 8ths is now done this way in classical music too I just recalled. I've done a few concerts with string orchestras. Where the music called for swing they knew how to read and interpret the chart. Maybe they knew they were backing jazz musicians and had been drilled in it, I don't know. But the conductor told the orchestra, ok now, those 8th notes are swung!" Just like a jazz conductor!