Find out how to notate lever and pedal changes, pedal diagrams, rolled chords, pdlt, and many more harp-specific markings from Elizabeth Jaxon in our exclusive video series.

Take a moment to picture what is currently on your music stand. What do your music scores look like? Maybe there’s a thick method book, threatening to push the rest of your music off the edge, or a piece left open to the last page you were practicing. Whatever is there, whether it is simple or advanced, Debussy or Andrew Lloyd Webber, it was all printed using music notation software. It may seem that such professional-looking scores could only be printed by music publishing companies, but like so many things in this Internet age, the high-end tools of the music publishing industry are more accessible than ever. This means that you can also create professional-looking scores yourself, and it’s much easier than you might guess.

Imagine what you could do with the ability to print music. You could compose a piece and share it with the world, arrange music your own way for the harp, or write an etude individually tailored for one of your students. Suddenly, your stand becomes much more personalized.

Follow the the steps in the article to create this sample harp piece in Sibelius or Finale.
Follow the the steps in the article to create this sample harp piece in Sibelius or Finale. (Click to enlarge; right click to save and print.)

If you are curious to get started writing music on the computer but overwhelmed by the technology, or if you already dove in and would like to discover more about what you can do, then read on. The following guide is designed especially for harpists, to address specific issues that you may encounter when writing music for the harp. Using this short waltz as an example, this guide will walk you through each step of the notation process, from creating a new file to adding the finishing touches. In addition to the explanations here, you can also view our series of accompanying videos illustrating each of these steps and download the original music notation file for the waltz. Before you can get started, however, you will need to install some music notation software on your computer.

Which program should I use?

Sibelius and Finale are the two main industry standards in music notation. They are both powerful, high-quality programs with a great range of capabilities. There is much debate among composers and type-setters about which one is best, so this guide will offer advice for both programs, side-by-side. Most of the concepts necessary for creating a basic score are similar between Sibelius and Finale. The example waltz here was printed using Sibelius, on a Mac, but the same score created in Finale would look very similar.

Music Notation Prices

An important factor to consider when making a software choice is price. In the table to the right, you can see a comparison of several different options. The full professional versions of these programs are not cheap. It is a large investment to purchase them up front. Fortunately, Sibelius has recently introduced a plan where you can subscribe on a month-to-month basis, with no up-front investment. There are also lighter versions of each program available for just $120. As another alternative, there are also several free programs. Of course, the full-price options will give you the most freedom with what you can do and flexibility with how your music can look. But if you are just starting out and only need a basic level of functionality, there is plenty you can achieve with very little money or none at all. For the purpose of this guide, we recommend that you either subscribe for one month of Sibelius or download Finale’s free trial. After that, you can shop around and decide which solution you prefer.

Setting Up

Quickstart w_o custom templates
Getting started in Sibelius.

Once you have installed either Sibelius or Finale on your computer, you are ready to get started. The first thing you will see when you open the program is a small introduction window. In Sibelius this is called the “Quick Start” window, and in Finale it’s the “Launch Window.” This little window is like the restaurant server who greets you at the entrance to welcome you and guide you to your seat. Except, instead of being asked whether or not you already have a reservation, you will be asked whether you would like to create a new score or open one that you have previously saved. And instead of being asked how many people are in your group, you will be asked what kind of score you would like to set up.

Finale Launch
Getting started in Finale.

In Sibelius, click on the “New Score” tab at the top and then select “Blank.” In Finale, click “Setup Wizard.” (See examples; click to enlarge.)

You are now seated comfortably at your table in the restaurant, and the server has given you the menu. It is time to look through the choices and decide what you would like to order. This is the moment that you may select which size paper you would like to write your score on, which instruments to use, the time and key signatures of your piece, the title, etc.

To set up our test Waltz score in Sibelius or Finale, follow the steps below (click photo to enlarge; right click to save and print):

Waltz steps in Sibelius and FinaleEntering Notes and Rests

Sibelius keypad
In Sibelius, use the “Keypad” to select a note value.

If everything has gone smoothly up to this point, you should now be looking at a page full of blank measures. Only the title, composer, tempo, key, and time signature will be in place so far. You are ready to start adding notes, which you will do using the mouse. In both Sibelius and Finale, you must first select the rhythmic value of the note you want to add. So, beginning with the bass line, select the quarter note and the dot, to form a dotted quarter note.

Once you have selected a note value, then your mouse is loaded up like a fork, ready to place that note value on the staff. Try hovering your mouse pointer over the staff, and you will see a shadow of the note. Click to place the bass notes of the first two measures: E, B, C, D. (Just in case you make any mistakes as you’re going, remember it is always an option to undo, by pressing ⌘-Z on a Mac or ctrl-Z on Windows.)

In Finale, use the “Simple Entry Palette” to select a note value.
In Finale, use the “Simple Entry Palette” to select a note value.

Moving up to the right-hand line, the first measure starts with an eighth-note rest, followed by two eighth-note chords. To create this rest in Sibelius, go back to the keypad and this time select the rest key (lower left corner) and the eighth note. This tells Sibelius that you want to place a rest that has the rhythmic value of one eighth note. Once you place the rest on the staff, the mouse will automatically switch back to a normal note and you can continue by adding the notes of the chords one on top of another. Using Finale, you will need to open the “Simple Entry Rests Palette” from the “Windows” menu at the top of the screen to see the selection of rests. From there, you can select the eighth-note rest directly and place it at the beginning of the first measure. Now go back and select the eighth note and add the chords. Continue adding the remaining notes for the first two measures of the right hand, selecting the note value or the rest that you want and then placing it with your mouse on the staff.

Copying and Pasting

Since the third and fourth measures are almost an exact repeat of the first two measures, you can simply copy and paste the material you just entered. This trick is a big time saver. In order to copy a section of music, you first have to select it, but at the moment your mouse pointer is loaded up and ready to add more notes—not to select things. To change your mouse back to normal, press the escape key until your pointer returns to the color black and no longer shows a shadow of a note or a rest. Then you can click somewhere on the first measure of the right-hand staff (anywhere, just not directly on a note), hold down the shift key, and then click on the second measure of the left-hand staff. This should highlight both staves of the first two measures. Press ⌘-C on a Mac or ctrl-C on Windows to copy, then click anywhere on the third measure and press ⌘-V or ctrl-V to paste.

Adjusting Notes

You’ve probably noticed that there are a few small differences between the first and the second set of two measures in this piece, so even though copying and pasting is extremely convenient, it’s not quite enough in this case. In measure four, the third sixteenth-note should be an F instead of an A. If you are using Sibelius, click directly on that note to select it, and then press the down arrow twice to move it to the right place. In Finale, you will need to double-click on the note, or in the special case of a chord, double-click to select the whole chord and then press ⌘/ctrl-up or down to navigate to the specific note you want to edit. You can do this anytime you want to change any note in your score.

Adding Markings

Another detail you might notice is that the bass notes in the first two measures are accented. To go back and add these in Sibelius, select those two measures using the same approach as when copying and pasting: click on the first measure of the bass line and then hold down the shift key while you click on the second measure. Then select the accent key on the keypad to add accent marks to all four notes at once. If you are using Finale, you should select the articulation tool in the Main Tool Palette (the icon that looks like a whole note with an accent). Click on the note that you want to add the accent to, and a small selection window will pop open for you to choose your accent mark.

Now that you have the first four measures in place, you can get some more practice by entering the notes of measure five and then copying and pasting them to measure six. Arriving at measure seven, you will then encounter the first of several slur marks in this waltz. You can add these as you are entering notes. In Sibelius, place the first note in the slur (or tie) and then click on the slur mark in the keypad. After that, you can add the second note. In Finale, however, you must select the slur mark along with the note value in the Simple Entry Palette before you place the first note of the slur. Then you must remember to deselect the slur before you place the second note.

Adding Dynamics

In Sibelius, all the dynamic markings with letters (like f, mp, or cresc.) are to be found under the “Text” tab at the top, and then under “Styles”–> “Expression.” The hairpin marks (< and >) are under the “Notations” tab. This is good to know for reference, but you are going to be needing these so often when you write music that it’s worth it to know the keyboard shortcuts so you don’t have to shuffle through the menu every time. To add the f mark in the first measure, first click the escape key until your mouse isn’t loaded up with any notes and nothing on the score is selected. Then type ⌘-E or ctrl-E (E for expression). Click where you want to add the marking, and you will see a cursor appear. Then hold down the ⌘ or ctrl key while you type the letter f. Holding down ⌘ or ctrl is what transforms the f into a beautiful dynamic marking, but don’t use it when you are adding the cresc. marking in measure 19. To add the hairpins, make sure again that your mouse isn’t loaded and nothing is selected, then press L on your keyboard (L for line) and select the marking you want from the pop-up window. Click on the score where you wish the hairpin to begin, then adjust it to the right length by clicking and dragging on the end of the line.

In Finale, you can add dynamic markings using the Expression Tool from the Main Tool Palette (the one with the mf icon). Double-click on the score where you want to add the marking and then select your dynamic from the pop-up window. Hairpins are added with the Smart Shape Tool (the icon looks like a slur mark). When you select it, it should open the Smart Shape Palette, where you will find the crescendo and decrescendo marks. Select the one you want, then position your mouse where you would like to place the marking in the score. Double-click, and on the second click, keep the mouse button pressed down while you drag the hairpin out to the desired length.

Adding Harmonics and Glissandi

You now know how to do everything up to measure 23, and now it’s time to break out the fun harp effects: harmonics and a glissando. With Sibelius, you can add the harmonics starting in measure 24 as you enter the notes. First select the note value from the keypad, starting with a quarter note, then go to the fourth tab at the top of the keypad, which is marked with a fermata symbol—the articulations tab—and select the harmonic symbol. Now you can enter as many harmonic notes as you want, returning to the common notes tab to change the note value as needed. When you are finished entering harmonics and want to go back to entering normal notes, just deselect the harmonic symbol in the articulations tab by clicking on it again. In Finale, harmonic symbols can be added exactly the same way you added the accent marks at the beginning of the score, after you’ve entered the notes. Using the articulation tool, just select the harmonic symbol instead of the accent from the pop-up selection window.

You wouldn’t think notating a glissando has much in common with notating a hairpin crescendo or a decrescendo, but they are in fact exactly the same. In Sibelius, both hairpins and glissandi are lines. So, just as you did before, tap the L on your keyboard to open up the selection of lines and this time select the “Glissando (wavy)” line. Click once on the score where you want it to begin, and then click and drag to move the opposite end of the line into place. In Finale, use the Smart Shape Tool to create a wavy glissando line, double-clicking and then holding while you drag the line to the end note of the glissando. Finale helps you out by automatically attaching the ends of your glissando line to a note, but you also have the option of adjusting its position by dragging on the editing handles at the ends and in the middle of the line, as long as you are still using the Smart Shape Tool.

Sharing your Music

When you have finished creating your score, you can save it by typing ⌘-S or ctrl-S and give the file a name. If you want to print it out to add to your personal collection on your own music stand, or maybe to give to a student at their next lesson, first make sure your computer is hooked up to a working printer. In Sibelius, go to the purple-colored File tab at the top of the window, and select Print from the left menu. It will show you a preview of what your print-out will look like, and once you have set all your options, you can click the big “Print” button. Alternatively, if you want to send your score over the Internet or view it on a tablet, select Export instead of Print from the left menu, then choose PDF.

In Finale, simply go to the File menu and select Print, or press ⌘-P or ctrl-P, to create a paper version of your score. There is no direct way to export PDFs from within Finale, but it is still possible. On a Mac, this function is built right into the operating system of your computer, so that using the Print window, instead of clicking the Print button, you can click the PDF option from the lower-left corner and then select “Save as PDF.” Using Windows, you will have to install a third-party PDF converter like CutePDF or PDF Creator.

Taking it Further

Once you have worked through this guide from start to finish, you will have a solid foundation from which to start writing your own music. But there is so much more you can do. As you go further, you will want to be able to enter accidentals and notate the accompanying pedal or lever changes; you may want to work with multiple voices, notate rolled or blocked chords, or create special effects like pdlt or xylo.

As you can see, notating music on your computer is really no more difficult than using a word processor to write text. You just have to open the program and start digging in. Hopefully, this has been the kick you needed to do just that. The world is waiting to see what you will write. •

Help, I’m stuck!

It used to be that when you would get a new toy or an appliance, you could take a few minutes after opening the box to read the instructions, and then you’d know how it worked. Now, you are faced with new software and websites all the time, with millions of possible functions all nested into each other, and who has time to read instruction manuals? It is inevitable, when getting started out with Sibelius or Finale, that you will eventually get stuck and need help. It happens to everybody, and that’s why there are tons of resources online for answering your questions: reference guides, tutorials, articles, and help forums. So here’s a list of things you can try when you run into problems.

  • Type a keyword that relates to what you’re trying to do into the “Find in Ribbon” field at the top-right corner of the Sibelius window or into the search bar under the Help menu in Finale. For example, if you are trying to figure out how to change the clef in the middle of a line, type the word “clef.” This will point you to the tool you need in case you can’t find it buried in all the menus.
  • Google your question directly, e.g. “How do I change the clef in Sibelius 7?” Hint: make sure your search includes the name and version number of the program you are using. This will usually bring you to a discussion forum, such as the Sibelius Help Center or the Finale Forum, where someone has already asked your exact question.
  • Download the official user manual or reference guide from sibelius.com or finalemusic.com (make sure you get the one that corresponds to your software version) and find the section in the table of contents that pertains to your problem (e.g. Clefs). Scroll down and read. This is not the most efficient way to answer your question, but it will bring you to a better level of understanding of that aspect of the program and reduce the chances of getting stuck with a similar problem again in the future.