Tempo markings  

A tempo marking in Finale can be purely graphic or it can be defined for playback. Several of these markings have been predefined and stored in a Text Expressions Library. If you load such a library (or if your Maestro Font Default file, which already contains these markings, is in place), you won’t have to create the markings anew. See also Engraver Font characters.

Note that you can easily generate full-featured metronome marking expressions with the Create Tempo Marking plug-in. See Create Tempo Marking Plug-in.

Once these Text Expressions have been loaded into your document (or created), you can place them into the score as expressions.

To place a tempo marking in the score

1. Click the Expression Tool  .
2. Double-click on, above, or below the note or measure to which you want to attach the marking. The Expression Selection dialog box appears.
3. Click Create. The Expression Designer dialog box appears.
4. Type the text for the tempo marking. You can enter Allegro, Moderato, or whatever marking you want. The font, size, and style is applied automatically based on your settings for tempo marks in the Category Designer dialog box. Use the Font popup menu to mix music characters with regular test.
5. Press return three times. The tempo indication appears in the score.

To move or delete a tempo marking

1. Click the Expression Tool  .
2. Drag the handle to move the tempo marking. Select it and press the arrow keys to “nudge” it for fine positioning; select it and press delete to remove it.

To define a tempo marking for playback

1. Click the Expression Tool  . If you haven’t yet placed the marking in the score, double-click any note or measure. When the Expression Selection dialog box appears, click the desired marking, click Edit, and then skip to step 3.
2. Command -double-click the handle. The Expression Designer dialog box appears.
3. Click the Playback tab to display the playback options. The dialog box expands.
4. From the Type popup menu, choose Tempo; then enter a number in the Set to Value box. The number you type into the box is a standard metronome setting. (This setting is measured in quarter notes per minute, but you can change it to half notes—or any other value—using the Tempo popup menu.) You’ve just defined the Expression to change the playback tempo to this setting whenever the marking appears in the score.
5. Click OK (or press return). Any time Finale encounters the expression you’ve just defined when it plays back your score, the tempo will change to reflect the expression’s playback definition.

Note: To easily record, or ‘conduct,’ a unique tempo change for any region, use TempoTap.