To anyone out there who teaches Finale (over the course of a semester): Could you contact me privately? I'd love to swap syllabi to see the chronology you take. I've done the class a couple of different ways but am not completely satisfied with either ordering of topics.
Thanks. -Carolyn On 8/7/07, Carolyn Bremer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi David: > > The class is taught every fourth semester and so the last time it was > taught, students were on 05 or 06. The lab computers will probably be > on 07 when I teach it in the spring with some of the laptop users on > 08. All those different keystrokes ought to be fun... > > You handle bugs any way you can. Find kludge workarounds or ignore > them for now. There is so much for them to learn that the > non-centering of a hyphen is easy to write off. > > As for the 9-key enharmonic flip issue, it is something I have not run > into yet. (Why? I don't know. Luck?). But, I don't make them enter new > music every week when the task at hand is something different such as > page layouts or percussion maps. They don't have as much opportunity > to create 9-key enharmonic flip problems as the work from partially > completed files already. > > As for the SIbelius users, some stay with Finale because of > familiarity. I don't think it is often a matter of deciding one > program is better than the other -- they see the strengths and > weaknesses of both programs -- but they now know how to do most > everything they need in Finale, so why bother to learn the steps to do > it in Sibelius. Some back to Sibelius because they don't have $250 to > buy Finale. Some go back to Sibelius because they prefer it, too. > > By the way, the thing that keeps the class full each time seems to be > the last assignment. I take them through basic Illustrator skills and > then have them replicate a system from a George Crumb piece. Then the > realize they can create a thing of beauty. Something for the fridge. > > -Carolyn > > > On 8/7/07, dhbailey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Carolyn wrote: > > > I teach at Cal State Long Beach, in a department that's 40-50% music ed > > > majors. They get some Sibelius instruction early on. Even still, almost > > > half the ed majors use Finale. A majority of the other music students > > > use Finale and about 30 of 35 comp majors. We never require them to > > > choose one or the other. > > > > > > What they all come to realize is that both programs take work to learn > > > and they tend to make their choices based on what their friends use, as > > > they'll be their sources for help. Of course some choose by which ever > > > one they can find in bootleg. Only a small handful ask about the > > > learning curve. Money and friends with knowledge seem much more important. > > > > > > I teach the advanced Finale class and find that not just the composers > > > are interested. I usually get one or two Sibelius users as well. Less > > > than half return to Sibelius after the class. > > > > > > Beginning next spring, all majors will be required to take a basic tech > > > class so they can negotiate a simple recording and a basic score. We'll > > > gladly offer PC and Mac versions for both Finale and Sibelius. I'll be > > > interested to see the enrollment numbers in the various sections. > > > > > > > Thank you for sharing this with us -- I agree that many people who don't > > know about a technology area will follow the lead of their peers, since, > > as you point out, their local tech support will be their friends. > > > > Please keep us posted on what you observe with that basic tech class > > (what a great idea for a requirement -- I'm sure more and more music > > departments will be requiring such things in the coming years). > > > > It would be interesting to learn (although I can't begin to figure out > > how one would do this) about the reasons for people to take your > > advanced Finale course, and then to remain with Finale rather than > > return to Sibelius (if that was what they started with.) One reason may > > well be that with Finale, once one is shown how to use the great > > adjustability to advantage, it becomes much less scary, and is indeed > > one of the greatest strengths of Finale. > > > > How did you handle the hyphen issue and the 9-key enharmonic flip bug in > > Speedy Entry? Did you not get into situations where those might arise, > > or is everybody there still working with Fin2006 or earlier? > > > > > > > > -- > > David H. Bailey > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _______________________________________________ > > Finale mailing list > > Finale@shsu.edu > > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
