Finale 2005 Power! Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Finale Power 2005a book review.

The book starts off with the usual preliminary global view of the whole program. I expected this part to be boring, but I read it through and picked up lots of details that I did not know. Throughout these first chapters, there are references to the subject to later chapters, where you can find more details. The book itself is well layed out with tips throughout. The whole book reminds me of the format used by David Pogue's Missing Manuals.
Although there is a comprehensive Finale manual on line, this book actually goes into more detail, not so much in describing every little detail, but more into how you actually perform the functions. Years ago I printed out the whole Finale manual which filled two 3-inch binders. At the beginning of each chapter, I wrote out all the `How to's" at the end of each chapter, so that I could go to a function right away. The Finale Power 2005a book expands on all of these `How to's', to show you how to handle these functions in detail.
The end of the book tackles integration of Finale with the web and other programs and also shows some examples of using third party plug-ins. I hav not gone into specific details of the functions, but I will just mention that I did find one plug-in of real interest to me. It is `Smart explosion of Multi-part Staves. I did not find it in TGtools in Finale, and found that I needed to download it. It can be used free of charge for 30 days. The book describes how to use it. What it does is it takes a staff with multi parts in it, and seperates the parts, such that each part is on a different stave. A little bit like the explode function, but much much smarter. There are other plugins that are explained in this chapter, and references to all the third party sites where you can obtain those extra plugins that make Finale so much easier to use.
As an intermediate user of Finale, I would say that the book is most helpful for me. I think that when I have read through it, I will be able to be a more powerful user and if I need even more nitty gritty details, I will be able to read the online comprehensive manual more easily and also be very savvy to the more advanced details that are often discussed in the Finale bbs forums.
I would recommend the book to all Finale users; beginner, intermediate or advanced.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Finale 2005 Power

Product Description:
Music notation can be a tough task to master. Finale is the ultimate tool for conquering it. And now you have the ultimate guide for mastering Finale 2005! With "Finale 2005 Power!", you'll learn how to create professional-quality sheet music with Finale quickly and efficiently. Begin by establishing a solid understanding of Finale's framework. Then get ready to master the everyday shortcuts and tricks that make Finale a breeze to use. Walk through each step of the score creation process-from starting a new document, to entering and spacing your music, to layout, extracting parts, and, finally, printing your score. Learn how to quicken your pace using special tricks, new features in Finale 2005, little-known options, and supplemental third-party plug-ins.
Provides comprehensive coverage of the most up-to-date version of Finale.
The author, an experienced technical support representative and quality assurance technician for Finale and other notation products, discusses the application's features, screens commands and controls in a writing style free of jargon and techno-babble.
Intermediate and advanced users find helpful tricks and guidance through some of Finale's most cavernous regions, while step-by-step tutorials walk readers through the score creation process thus making it accessible even to beginners.
Companion Web site contains third-party plug-ins, fonts, examples and other materials.

Want to read more honest consumer review about Finale 2005 Power now ?