FINALE

Having three children that play different musical instruments, there are interesting difficulties when arranging music for them for performances in church.

The horn alone challenges my transposing mind to the outer limits.  When a hornist looks at middle C, and plays what they think is middle C, it actually comes out sounding like G.  Or is it F?  See the problem?

Violas go between reading treble and alto clef.  Although I knew alto clef existed, I was forced to become better acquainted with it since Johannah took up viola.

Seriously, when it comes to violin, I just breathe a sigh of relief :-)

Sometimes the clefs and keys are the least of my problems.  Trying to voice arrangements for an 11-year-old violist, an accomplished violist, and a loud brass instrument, all playing at the same time?  In church?

I have written, or arranged, many arrangements of Primary songs and hymns as my children have grown.  With Ethan, it was fairly easy to arrange vocal parts, and with three children with adult voices now, it is even easier.  Through the years, I have handwritten everything--all the parts and the accompaniment.  I actually really enjoy it.  I took a class in college that covered musical notation, and I haven't stopped since.  Too, with good penmanship, even the smallest children can read my scores.  Yay!

I don't say any of this to brag--just to set up the story.

So, another musical friend of mine who also was the beneficiary of one of my hand-written arrangements (for B-flat clarinet, no less!) asked me if I had ever heard of "Finale", musical notation software.  I told her "no", and I wasn't really interested.  When I had looked into software in the past, it was so tedious to use, or I needed to plug in a keyboard to my computer, that it was easier to just keep writing.  However, she encouraged me to get it and try it.

So, for Christmas, John asked me what I wanted, and I told him "Finale".  He bought it for me, and as of yesterday, it was still sitting behind the chair where I originally opened it.

I had the great idea of having a viola duet for Mother's Day in church.  I recognized that the headache of all that alto clef was daunting to say the least, so I opened the box.  Within minutes, I could manipulate the data, and my music came out of the printer looking like I ordered it from Sheet Music Plus!  It probably only took me 3-4 hours to write the whole arrangement, voice the parts and print it up.  In the past, that would have just been the time on writing the score alone.

The best part?  I arranged the viola parts, but knowing that I don't have two violas around to try the arrangement, I quickly changed it for horn and violin.  Ta-Da!  When the kids came home from school, no sooner had they sat down then I had them get out their instruments and sight-read the piece with me (at piano).

Oh man, they don't know what they're in for now!  I just might find the whole software package in the trash tomorrow!