 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kdk
Date: 2026-05-29 00:20
Is anyone here using Dorico, especially anyone who was experienced in Finale before MakeMusic pulled support for it?
Karl
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2026-05-29 03:08
Yes.
I used Finale since its introduction in the early 90's (I had a three-digit serial number!) but have exclusively used Dorico for the past six or seven years.
Using both Finale and Dorico (and Sibelius) I have created tens of thousands of pages, from solo pieces to entire operas.
What do you want to know?
Just keep in mind that Dorico has its own logic and workflow - much different than Finale.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2026-05-29 04:43
(Apologies for the length of this post - it reflects my frustration level)
Maybe it's my age (79 earlier this month), but the logic and workflow is exactly what I don't seem to be able to adapt to. Most of the (simple) things I want to do in Dorico aren't (or don't seem to be) represented directly by icons or menu items, and when I look them up (simple, basic things) in the help file, the menus it tells me to look for often don't seem to exist.
I'm trying now to correct some simple errors in a file that I originally notated in Finale and exported to .pdf files. I can't go back to Finale with the .mus versions because a recent computer crash took my Finale installation with it, and, afaik, there's no way to reinstall Finale (I still have the installation files) because I can no longer get a new installation authorized, meaning printing and saving aren't available.
My first frustration with both Dorico and Sibelius is that neither ever provided a straight-forward conversion utility for Finale .MUS files, even after Finale was no longer in competition. I've scanned the PDF versions of my files with Neuratron PhotoScore and imported the resulting .XMLs, but the imports still need correcting, which is where I'm stuck.
One very quick example: .xml ignores multi-measure rests and substitutes a single measure rest. So, I need to insert the additional bars and then get Dorico to show the 14 bars of rest as a single rest with a 14 above it. The help instructions seem to cite menu choices in the Layout section, which I can't seem to find when I open Layout. It isn't (or shouldn't be) a difference in versions - I'm using the help files generated by v.6.2 that I'm working in.
Of course, neither Finale, nor Sibelius nor Dorico has provided printed documentation in decades, so I'm trying to figure this out by jumping from open screen to open screen.
This is obviously, I think, not the way to learn Dorico, and I accept that there's a certain amount of proactive interference going on (my first Finale experience was with v. 3), but this seems for me more like a wall. What is the best approach for me to take to try finally to learn Dorico and say a final goodbye to Finale?
Karl
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2026-05-29 07:06
Karl, you should be able to download your most recent version of Finale from your account. Finale is still usable as long as your computer will support it (my Windows 11 computers work just fine).
https://www.finalemusic.com/
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2026-05-29 10:39
Ron, thanks!!
It solves the problem in the short run. I can update my old projects without having simple edits become roadblocks. Maybe at almost 80 I should just accept the solution and go on with Finale for as long as I can still remember how to start my computer in the morning.
But in the long run I still, however stubbornly, want to learn Dorico - it has now become a challenge. Self-deprecation aside, I don't really think I'm incapable of learning new software. I need a more sequential approach to the "logic and flow" than simply looking things up in the Help file. My best approach, now that I have Finale back and running, may be to go back to Steinberg's tutorials. I originally found them to be incomplete, but maybe I just gave up on them too quickly.
Thanks, rmk54, for confirming that there is a light at the end of the Dorico tunnel. It's just a longer tunnel than I was ready for.
Karl
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2026-05-29 17:08
Have you watched the many YouTube tutorials available, including those expressly aimed at (former) Finale users? They are very helpful.
Once you are more familiar with the software, remember that Dorico makes it easy to make custom shortcuts.
Learn about the jump bar (press "j"). That will make life easier.
FWIW, I'm in my 70's as well.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2026-05-29 18:15
rmk54 wrote:
> Have you watched the many YouTube tutorials available,
> including those expressly aimed at (former) Finale users? They
> are very helpful.
>
Well, yes, I did watch several of them, but they weren't helpful for what I was trying to do at the time. More due to my impatience than anything else. Most of what I saw seemed aimed at persuasion more than instruction. I'll go back and look again.
Thanks,
Karl
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2026-05-29 18:38
There are also videos that deal exclusively with percussion.
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Author: lydian
Date: 2026-05-29 18:42
As long as you're not writing for an orchestra, MuseScore works very well and is much simpler to use. I switched to it instead of Dorico, and it's been fine. I write for big band, quartets and other small groups and do lots of solo transcriptions. But all music software is going to be fairly complex due to the feature set required. Whatever you pick, you just have to use it over and over until you memorize the process.
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2026-05-29 19:08
I also should have mentioned the Dorico forum. People are quite helpful there (for the most part) and often a member of the development team will chime in.
Questions are often answered within minutes.
Also, although I tend to be skeptical of AI, I have had a few situations where I was really stumped, and AI either gave me a correct answer or at least pointed me in the right direction.
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