Dynamic Differences Between Staves...

Ok so I'm sure many of you have come across this already.
You are writing a piece for the piano, and have this wonderful running passage in the left hand. Then in the right hand, you have scored a beautiful melodic line that requires it to be sung over the top of the running passage. Then on Finale 2007, You play it back...and Oh O, the melody is drowned out. So then you think, 'Ok, I'll put in dynamics; 'p' in the running bass, and 'f' in the melodic line...BUT WAIT...FINALE DOESN'T RECOGNISE THIS and plays both staves as Forte, or Piano...but not both.

So the reason for my post is: "How can I get Finale to play two staves at different dynamic levels? Or is this not possible because it is the same instrument...running through the same channel?

Is there really no help available...or do all of you just think I'm stupid?

you have to give each stave it's own midi channel.

thank you flint...wonderful information...but how do i do that?

would be greatly appreciated if you could step me through it

thanks again

Have you searched the finale manuals? I am sure there's something in there, and if there isn't, there is also a very good finale helpdesk on their website.

I don't have finale here, so I can't really tell, but a) what flint-wwrr said, and b) why do you care about playback? If you can play the piano, notate it as you wish and then record it yourself. Don't let finale get in the way of your compositions and let it dictate you how you write a piece

*grumbles* i guess you are right haha. Its mainly just laziness to play it myself. I can't play my own pieces...*blushes*...because i usually make them too hard. They are able to be played...i just dont have the time to learn them...yet i write them *raises eyebrow*.
Interesting.

Thanks for the help guys. I will take a look at the Finale thingo you told me to look at.

You'd want to go do that in the Instruments dialog (View > Instruments, I think). If I'm not mistaken, both staves are assigned to the same instrument. So create another piano instrument, assign it a different channel than the first (not 10—that's used for percussion), and assign that new instrument to either of the two staves.

If that doesn't work, all I can suggest is, for playback, use two pianos in your score, one for LH and one for RH.