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Here is a short composition that I did on my new Finale program.

Tell me what you think. The chords in the RH in section C are too loud and would like them quieter.

Does anyone know how to be able to have the RH sound quieter in Finale while bringing out the LH melody through playback?

Thanks in advance!

http://savefile.com/files/537751

The piece was nice, but for my personal taste it was a little too consonant and "four-square" and it didn't seem to have the most memorable melody. It just seemed to be basic chord progressions with a simple melody on top of it. That said, I did enjoy it and I'd be interested to hear a real performance.

As for Finale, I haven't played around too much with the playback features, but I know in my version (I'm running Finale 2006 with Garritan Personal Orchestra), you can open up the score in studio view and adjust the levels of each staff. You can also get some control over dynamics by adding in dynamic marks. Lastly, I believe there is a feature where you can specify the playback to be more "human-like", but I haven't played much with that.

OK, this is my third attempt to write a reply. I keep losing what I wrote. I guess I didn't realize I wasn't logged in or something. What version of Finale do you have? How do you like it so far? I only have tried the Finale Notepad but just figured I'd goof around on that to learn the basic ropes before upgrading (if I ever have any extra money floating around).

It's a very pretty, relaxing piece. It sounds like something that would be nice to sit and relax to in the evening after a stressful day.

What about a little, longer drawn out ending, maybe some sort of arppegiated-something in the relaxed mood of the rest of the piece?

When I took a basic class once, the thing that was stamped in my brain was variety so that's what I tend to listen for if I write something or listen to compositions on the forums. What about some places that build in intensity followed by calm either rhythmically, with notes that add tension, and/or dynamics? I would guess you had a lot of neat dynamic variation in the piece that the software didn't allow for.

I really like the sound and the mood the piece evokes. I bet it sounds even more beautiful than it already is on the piano.

You can either use dinamics, ex: assign a mezzoforte to the right hand staff and a piano to the left one and then turn on human playback.

Or you can lower the LH in studio view, but in order to do that you must create a new instrument since altough it has two staffs the default piano is a single instrument on one channel only, so both staffes volume controls are conected. To do so, create a new instrument, assign it a piano and a diferent channel, and then create a new staff, assign the piano you create it, copy your LH
notes to this new staff/instrument and delete the old LH hand staff, that alows you to control each staff volume independently.

8ude,

Thanks for listening. Your right it is a simple little piece. More of a song, if you will.

I am experimenting with simplicity, but I do want a melody that is catchy.

Perfect example and not a piece that I terribly like is John Williams' Star Wars Theme, how utterly simple can you get?

But still, a very strong melody.

I am hoping to share some of my verstality. I want to do a more classical genre too, perhaps a chamber piece. At the same time my 17 year old son, has exposed me to hip-hop. God Forbid!! It is amazing though to hear what sells... a simple, but catchy beat. I'm going to try that too. For fun.

For this little piece that I wrote... try to imagine it orchestrated, or a band playing it... such as Green Day? Perhaps I could make it a little jazzy, not so "four square?" Anybody care to have fun and see what they can come up with?
It does need more than what I have down, but it is my first piece. And will probably leave it as such.


Sarabande,

Thank you for your listening and your comments.

Yes, your right about the ending... I wrote the ending quickly to finish the piece. I was anxious to post it. Never have done this before. I need to learn patience.

I, like you, started with Finale's Songwriting Program and found it too limiting, so I upgraded. Before this I did own Sibelius, but found it too touchy and frustrating to use. I really like Finale. I don't know anything about Notepad. Is this their introductory type program to Finale?


Pedro,

Thanks for the technical aspects of Finale. I did try mixing it like you said, but it did not stick. And it is only those 4 measures that I want the RH chords to be quieter than the LH. I'll continue to experiment.

Thank you all for taking the time to listen and giving your feedback. It means a great deal.

Thanks again!!