appogiaturas?

how do i create running scales in FINALE 2007 out of grace notes that sound correct and rgh i dunno how to explain, but any advice on them would be great.

thanks heaps.

I don't know about finale but it might help to be clear about what you need to know. Grace notes and appoggiaturas aren't the same thing.

M

goodridge_winners asked me the same question in a PM. I will copy my reply to that PM below just so that the answer to this question is on public record.

1) Increase the time signature of the bar to be able to fit all the notes you need, whether they are big or small.

2) Hide that changed time signature.

3) Highlight all the notes you want small with the Mass Mover tool.

4) In the Mass Mover menu, click Change > Note Size, and then I set it to 80% (some people do it as small as 75% and it's up to you to choose what looks good).

I like the above procedure for when you have lots of notes. However, for a simple one-note appoggiatura or a small grace note figure, the following procedure is more efficient:

1) Input the notes you want as grace notes just as you would input any other notes. (If you want the grace note to have one stem, input it as an 8th note, etc...) The bar will have too many beats in it; this is OK.

2) Go to the Speedy Entry tool. Click the bar with the notes you want to make grace notes. Navigate the Speedy Entry cursor to the first note you want changed (arrows or mouse) and press the g button on your keyboard. This changes the note into a grace note.

3) Do this for every note.

4) If there are multiple notes you want beamed together, press the / button on your keyboard while the cursor is on the note you want beamed.

I really don't think the "changed time signature" method is ideal, since the grace note function in Finale actually deals with the notes for playback.

BTW, if you start from one end of the run of grace notes (I forget if it's the rightmost or the leftmost note) you don't even have to beam them together, it gets done automatically as you transform the regular notes into grace notes.

Don't forget to slur your grace note run, as well. Slurs for groups of grace notes generally go above the notes, from the first grace note to the target non-grace note.