Nonstandard key signatures

Most music is written with one of the standard key signatures. This traditional system is based on a scale of twelve half-steps and a harmonic scheme where a new accidental is added to the key signature with every advance around the circle of fifths.

In certain advanced and twentieth-century music schemes, however, these traditional key signature practices don’t apply. A piece may be based on the quarter-tone scale, for example, in which there are four chromatic steps from C to D. See To create a quarter-tone Scale or key signature for instructions. In Finale, you can create your own key signatures in any format, based on scales with any number of steps from one note to the next. Using the five dialog boxes accessed by the Nonstandard Key Signature dialog box, you can create up to 128 linear or nonlinear key signatures that are available at any time within the document.

To create nonstandard key signatures

Because this aspect of Finale is among its most technical, you’ll find only a summary of the steps for creating a nonstandard key signature in this entry. In some of the steps, you’ll be directed to a corresponding (more detailed) discussion. Steps for a sample key signature of B, E and F have been provided where appropriate.

1. Click the Key Signature Tool  , and double-click the measure in which the key will change. The Key Signature dialog box appears.
2. Choose Nonstandard from the popup menu next to the scroll bar. The Nonstandard Key Signature dialog box appears. In the center of this dialog box you’ll find a pair of buttons with which you tell Finale which kind of nonstandard key signature you want to create: Linear or Nonlinear.
3. Click Linear Key Format or Nonlinear Key Signature. Click Next or Prev to find an open Key Format. Click Next twice to advance to a key signature you can edit. The first two are the Major and minor formats (that cannot be changed). (See Nonstandard Key Signature dialog box.)

A linear key format is one whose scale is composed of a repeating sequence of diatonic and chromatic steps. The standard diatonic major scale, for example, is a linear key format—in Finale, it’s called Linear Key Format 0. (Linear Key Format 1, which you can choose by clicking the Next button, is the standard minor scale format; a key signature with no sharps or flats that’s been set to this key format considers A, not C, to be the first note of the scale. Because these two formats have been predefined, you’ll find that only the ClefOrd and Attribute icons [two of the five icons whose associated dialog boxes define the key format] are operational. Once you’ve selected Key Format 2 or higher, all five icons are active.)

The keys of a linear key format, however, need not proceed around the circle of fifths. You could create a system that proceeds around a circle of sixths, for example. As long as the scale in each of the key format’s related “keys” is formed by the same sequence of whole and half steps, and as long as the upper and lower halves of the scale are formed by the same sequences of whole and half steps (such as the tetrachords in a standard diatonic scale), the system of keys is considered a linear key format.

A nonlinear key signature is one for which there’s no “circle of fifths”; in fact, there’s no circle of anything. Whereas a linear key format is a system of related keys and key signatures, a nonlinear key signature is a key signature unto itself, unrelated to any other key signature. It can contain one sharp and one flat, for example, on any notes of the scale, and there need not be any logic to their positions.

4. Specify the number of diatonic and chromatic steps you want in the scale by clicking the KeyMap icon. The Key Step Map dialog box appears, in which you specify how many steps you want in an octave, and which steps are “diatonic” and which “chromatic.” It also determines the playback of your key signature. Choose the total steps in your signature. Using the buttons under Total Steps, set the key map so that the scale notes are white and accidentals are black. In our sample key signature of B, E and F, the Total Steps would be 12 and the key map as follows:

See Key Step Map dialog box for details.

5. Specify the order in which accidentals appear in each sequential key signature by clicking the AOrdAmt icon. Click this icon to display the Accidental Order and Amount dialog box, in which you specify the new accidental you want to appear with each progression (if any) to a new key, and on what line or space it should appear. The Unit number is the order in which the accidentals appear in the staff display of the key signature. For example, in E major, B=Unit 1, E=Unit 2 and A=Unit3. The Step Level is the distance from middle C. For example, B=Step Level 6. The Amount is how far, in half steps, to alter that pitch. For example, flat=Amount -1, sharp=Amount +1, and unaltered=Amount 0. The Next and Previous buttons select the Unit. For Units that are not sharped or flatted, enter zero for the Amount. In our sample key signature of B, E and F:

See Accidental Order and Amount dialog box for more information.

6. Specify the tone center (root) of each key by clicking the ToneCnt icon. The Tone Center(s) dialog box appears, in which you specify the relationship of each new “key” (tone center) to the appearance of a new accidental. See Tone Center(s) dialog box for a more complete discussion.
7. Specify the octave in which each of the accidentals appears (on the staff) by clicking the ClefOrd icon. The Accidental Octave Placement dialog box appears, in which you can specify the octave in which you want each accidental to appear according to each clef. Click the Next and Previous buttons to select the accidental to edit. In our sample key signature of B, E and F:

      Clef 0 (treble)   Clef 3 (bass)

See Accidental Octave Placement dialog box for details.

7. Choose the font and character to be used in place of the normal sharps and flats (if you want) by clicking the Attribute icon. The Special Key Signatures dialog box appears, in which you can specify a number of miscellaneous attributes for the key format you’re creating. For example, you can specify nonstandard symbols to be used instead of the normal sharps and flats in the key signature. See Special Key Signature Attributes dialog box.
8. Click OK (or press return). You return to the Key Signature dialog box.
9. Specify the transposition effect and measure range. See Key signatures for an explanation of these options.
10. Click OK.  

To create a quarter-tone scale or key signature

After following these instructions, Finale will display quarter symbols where appropriate as accidentals and in the key signature. It will not affect the playback.

1. Click the Key Signature Tool  .
2. Double-click on a measure. The Key Signature dialog box appears.    
3. Choose Nonstandard from the popup menu next to the scroll bar. The Nonstandard Key Signature dialog box appears.
4. Make sure Linear Key Format is select, then click the Next button until Linear Key Format 2 is listed. The first two Key Formats have been predefined for major and minor scales. When you select an open Key Format, the five icons will all become active.
5. Click the Attribute button. The Special Key Signature Attributes box appears. From this dialog box, we will specify a different font and symbols for the quarter-tone sharps and flats.
6. Click the Symbol font button. Finale displays the Font dialog box, from which you can choose the new font. Choose Maestro Percussion or any font with the desired symbols.
7. Click OK. You return to the Special Key Signature Attributes box.
8. Click the Symbol List ID button. The Symbol List dialog box appears. This is where you tell Finale what symbols to use for your quarter-tone accidentals. To view your choices, Maestro Font Character Sets and look under Maestro Percussion Character Set The table below lists a common set of quarter-tone symbols which apply to the Maestro Percussion font. Obviously, you can substitute any symbol you like. Note that the characters will appear in the system font regardless of the actual font you’ve chosen. For example, if you’re using the Maestro Percussion font to create an symbol, you’ll see a capital L in this box. Characters will appear in the proper font when you return to the document.

9. Enter the Alter Amount and Character, then click Insert. Finale adds the information to its database. Repeat for each character.
10. Click OK twice. You return to the Non-Standard Key Signature box.
11. Click the up and down scroll-bar arrows until the desired new key signature appears. Scroll up for sharp keys, and down for flat keys. Note that quarter tone symbols will appear in the key signature.
12. Click OK (or press return). You return to the Key Signature dialog box.
13. Specify the transposition effect and measure range. See Key signatures for an explanation of these options.
14. Click OK. You return to the document window. When you enter music with accidentals, quarter symbols will appear where appropriate. For example, a C with one plus added will display a C-quarter tone sharp.