MakeMusic (http://www.makemusic.com) is shipping Finale 2011, the latest version of its music notation software. It “adapts to the way musicians work,” says MakeMusic CEO Ron Raup. He says new features include:
° New staff layout capabilities that make it simple and intuitive to hide, move and edit staves, groups and brackets;
° Lyrics that are more easily entered and which instantly appear exactly as they’ll print out and are automatically spaced with even greater precision;
° Nearly 400 world-class instrument sounds from the makers of Garritan Personal Orchestra;
° An updated Garritan Aria player that offers control over these sounds with an integrated Ambiance reverb and a new Ensemble feature;
° New music that include a collection of percussion, mallet and handbell graphics, as well as enhanced percussion playback capabilities.
Features of special interest to music educators include the Finale AlphaNotes music font and an expanded collection of more than 800 customizable music education worksheets and flashcards, including jazz improvisation worksheets and more than 100 titles of classroom repertoire. Additional enhancements include automated Capo Chords, improved pickup measures, a new Quick Reference Guide with step-by-step instructions and colorful illustrations and more.
System requirements on the Mac are Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. Finale 11 costs US$600. Academic pricing is $350. Upgrade pricing is available; go to http://www.finalemusic.com/for details.