The end of development of the Finale was announced this week.
https://www.finalemusic.com/blog/end-of-finale-new-journey-dorico-letter-from-president/
As you know, it brought considerable confusion to the whole industry. Now, I’d like to write down some of my thoughts on the matter.
■ Concerns are how to save the heritage of past files
As everyone has pointed out, the biggest concern is that you won’t be able to open files you created in the past. Even though MakeMusic has changed its policy; Finale authorization will remain available for the foreseeable future, and Finale will work only on the current computers and OS. Perhaps in a decade or so, the operating system will be equipped with AI, and Finale will no longer work by that time. In other words, with the replacement of machines and operating systems, the history of the Finale will literally morendo or perdendosi (gradually disappear).
The solution at present is to convert .mus/.musx files to PDF and MusicXML while Finale is still working. Even so, the fine adjustments of engraving in the data will still be lost.
I’m also hoping that there will be third-party software to convert .mus/.musx files to XML, or mus/.musx files can directly be opened in Dorico, just like QuarkXPress files can be opened in InDesign.
The end was only a matter of time.
I’m an amateur at programming, but it was easy to see that Finale was an antiquated programm
The year 1989, when Finale was developed, was the era of Dragon Quest III on the Famicom (NES) in terms of games. Its ROM was only 256KB which is about a quarter of the size of an iPhone photo! The fundamental ideas of the programme were conceived in that era, so it is rather surprising that it is still running on computers in the 2020s. Looking at the recent version-up policy, it was clear that Finale had no intention of fundamentally rewriting the programme
Looking at urban infrastructure just as an example, it is easy to see that the same is true for PC software, as in the case of low ceilings on the Tokyo Metro Ginza and Marunouchi lines, or the fact that in areas where urban development has progressed earlier, combined sewers for rainwater and sewage are still in place.
In this respect, we had anticipated that Finale would one day come to an end. However, the timing was sooner and more abrupt than expected.
Expectations for new software
In light of the information I’ve received, I should move to Dorico. It’s hard to learn new software, but it’s definitely more modern and streamlined than Finale, and once I get used to it, I have high hopes that it will be more efficient.
Metaphorically speaking, it will be like practising a ‘new instrument’. Just as switching from a woodwind instrument to a brass instrument is not completely free from the experience of playing the woodwind, I believe that if I understand the fundamentals of music scoring and engraving, I will be able to create sheet music more efficiently shortly even though the efficiency would decline for a while.
Let’s pass on the baton to the next generation
I am aware that I have played the role of something like an opinion leader in Finale since I was just lucky with the timing of the times. The Finale User’s Bible, which I co-authored, has been picked up by many people. I have been a Finale instructor at Yamaha Music Avenue for 24 years. In the formulation of the format for wind band published scores, my opinions were adopted to a certain extent, and this is still the standard. As a preliminary step, when proofreading the Japanese edition of the user’s manual, I compared all pages of the English and Japanese editions and added red marks.
I have been asked for opinions on this matter and I will try to respond to them as much as possible.
On the other hand, there are many people, mainly of the younger generation, who have already conducted various studies and practices in Dorico. I myself am still pretty young to be called a ‘veteran’, but even so, it is an old person’s bad behaviour to use the achievements of the previous software and make wrong use of my advantage as if I understand the new software. In this respect, I already expect the next generation to lead the way. There, I would like to offer my knowledge and experience in terms of engraving, etc., as needed.
So, the whole industry is likely to be in a state of confusion for some time, but let’s work together to get through this difficult period!
