Finale Ignoring Dynamic Markings...sometimes?

I really only have this issue sometimes - in different works. I usually use the last file I worked on, as my template, and 'delete all' existing material. Sometimes, it ignores my markings. It affects my playback in Finale, but that didn't really matter to me much, but when I upload it into a DAW, the MIDI data still is this way (of course)...Which is pretty tedious to fix, covering all instruments, and such...

As of now, it is set to where my dynamics affect CC7, rather than CC1...which I will be changing soon, now that I've started using my DAW again. But, I wonder if the reason behind this is that Finale is not deleting all my old markings, even though they are 'non existent'...

Does anyone else have this issue? Like I said, a lot of the time, it is correct...but, sometimes (a section here, or there) the mix just gets all sorts of imbalanced...

I'm not going to be much help, but Sibelius seems to do some really screwy things like that too. My favourites are when a crappy inner voice plays forte, completely covering up my melody and countermelody, and when it keeps worse time than a half-assed student performer.

If you recycle templates sometimes it helps to remove all MIDI data as well.

I have had similar problems. And if this occurs it seems there is sometimes a slight alignment issue with the dynamic mark as well. That indicates that the dynamic isn't tied to the note but to the measure. Be consistent in this. I always add dynamics to the note. That helps Human Playback to interpret as I do. If that doesnt work I add an hidden dynamic marking to the 2nd note as well, that sort of helps finale to understand what I mean and somewhat improves the imbalance.

Another thing to note is the use of long notes. Human playback adds a natural decrescendo to long notes, but sometimes seems to forget to set the volume to normal when the long note is over. When I see this I often add an hidden dynamic mark to fix this.

The ultimate solution is to disable Human Playback. But the result gets really square. :(

A variant on this bug:

Finale applies the dynamics correctly... BUT for the second layer of a certain single staff (i.e. Bassoon 2). No matter how soft do you instruct it to play, it still plays forte and overshadows the pp played by the other woodwinds. And you can't ever find what's wrong (since the second layers of the other staves play correctly). Suggestions...?

I don't know about previous versions, but Finale 2010 has this edit you can try.

Document > Data Check > File Maintenance.

Check the box (at minimum), "Remove deleted items".

This MIGHT help. As to why a deleted item wouldn't be deleted when you delete it... you'll have to ask the brilliant programmers at MakeMusic about that one.

Also, if anyone knows about fixing this other bug, I could use help with that as well:

Finale applies the dynamics correctly... BUT for the second layer of a certain single staff (i.e. Bassoon 2). No matter how soft do you instruct it to play, it still plays forte and overshadows the pp played by the other woodwinds. And you can't ever find what's wrong (since the second layers of the other staves play correctly). Suggestions...?

Though mine is a bit different of a problem. Let's say you have a grand staff with a piano, no matter what I do, if I put a different dynamic on the treble than on the bass, it ignores the quieter dynamic.

Also...

Quit using computers, they suck at reading music.

Care to tell us where we can find an orchestra to perform our scores for free? Individual instruments that are decent are expensive enough as it is, not to mention that I cannot try to learn all brass and woodwinds on top of knowing how to play harp, guitar, bass, viola, violin, cello and concerto bass.

If orchestras aren't willing to play your music maybe you should try writing for a different ensemble?

If orchestras aren't willing to play your music maybe you should try writing for a different ensemble?

That's irrelevant. An orchestra typically will only play something you wrote if it was given by a publicist.

Regardless of how one goes about it, if you're not born famous or are not the son/daughter of somebody famous or didn't gain fame in another way on your own, nobody will even answer your phone calls or open the package you mail them.

Hell, I can't even get the university music department to even consider answering the phone or looking at anything even though I greatly impressed many of the professors in that department with some of my compositions.

Not famous = never going to happen.

It's this way everywhere. The school sanctioned plays suck, the ones drama students put together on their own can sometimes be brilliant, and that is when they perform plays written by semi-famous or famous playwrights.

You either need to know somebody or know somebody who knows somebody.

That's irrelevant. An orchestra typically will only play something you wrote if it was given by a publicist.

Regardless of how one goes about it, if you're not born famous or are not the son/daughter of somebody famous or didn't gain fame in another way on your own, nobody will even answer your phone calls or open the package you mail them.

Hell, I can't even get the university music department to even consider answering the phone or looking at anything even though I greatly impressed many of the professors in that department with some of my compositions.

Not famous = never going to happen.

It's this way everywhere. The school sanctioned plays suck, the ones drama students put together on their own can sometimes be brilliant, and that is when they perform plays written by semi-famous or famous playwrights.

You either need to know somebody or know somebody who knows somebody.

How is it possible then that being the son of a welder and a county clerk and otherwise as unnoteworthy an artist as possible, I have three performances in the works for the next 6 months?

Maybe it's because I'm writing for musicians I know that will actually play my music, as opposed to writing for orchestra and then complaining about not getting any to look at it?

Or maybe your music just sucks?

Not everyone has the fortune of living in an area that even has any form of an orchestra and has to contact ones nowhere near them.

Now quit trolling and being generally irrelevant.

I definitely didn't have the "fortune" of living in an area with an orchestra. That's especially irrelevant since I said I DON'T write for orchestra. I write for ensembles who have already agreed to play my music. And they definitely don't agree to play my music because I am famous or have a publicist.

And don't you tell me what to do, quit bellyaching about how nobody will return your phone calls and GO CALL THEM AGAIN UNTIL THEY DO!

Not everyone has the fortune of living in an area that even has any form of an orchestra and has to contact ones nowhere near them.

Now quit trolling and being generally irrelevant.

That's irrelevant. An orchestra typically will only play something you wrote if it was given by a publicist.

Regardless of how one goes about it, if you're not born famous or are not the son/daughter of somebody famous or didn't gain fame in another way on your own, nobody will even answer your phone calls or open the package you mail them.

Hell, I can't even get the university music department to even consider answering the phone or looking at anything even though I greatly impressed many of the professors in that department with some of my compositions.

Not famous = never going to happen.

It's this way everywhere. The school sanctioned plays suck, the ones drama students put together on their own can sometimes be brilliant, and that is when they perform plays written by semi-famous or famous playwrights.

You either need to know somebody or know somebody who knows somebody.

Since you reported Locrian's post I thought I might as well reply and set some things straight.

First off, you really have no idea how performances work. There are two major things that you have to do to get an orchestral performance. 1) Write top-notch music that will rise above the absolute myriad of adequate or slightly-better-than-average amount of orchestral music out there. This is the absolutely most important part and often the thing that most composers fail at because it's really, really hard to write top-notch music. Why do you think so few composers get premieres anyway? There's so little actually excellent music out there. 2) You must impress the director with your scores. Basically you must have the compositional fortitude to show the director of the orchestra that your scores are worthy of rehearsal and concert time. Most orchestras are limited in their time they can give so they must plan accordingly to make the best use of their time. Often this is with a household name like Beethoven or Mozart because all of their pieces are amazing and (relatively) simple to put together. So your piece must be freaking out of this world because those are the people you're competing for stage time with. Getting to know the director and befriending them can go very far if you use those connections right. All of my large ensemble performances (of which I've have close to 10 I believe) have either been because of a direct connection with the director, or someone of higher caliber (i.e. "well known") recommended my work for premiere. The latter is how I got one of my pieces played by the New York Philharmonic as a practical nobody. You do not need to be famous, you just have to write amazing music.

So this whole thing about "knowing somebody" is true, but it's not the whole truth. Just because your name is John Adams does not mean orchestras will automatically clamor to have you on their programs. You still have to write good music. And, really, I'm not sure if being "famous" helps. You have to build those connections some way; John Adams was not "famous" when he started.

Regardless, this is all still highly off-topic.

So what if I'm not ENTIRELY correct in what I said, which was also not entirely wrong either, I'm not trolling or breaking the rules.

That's not proper moderation and that response is better left for a private message.

I remember why left this forum now...

Regardless, this is all still highly off-topic.

So what if I'm not ENTIRELY correct in what I said, which was also not entirely wrong either, I'm not trolling or breaking the rules.

That's not proper moderation and that response is better left for a private message.

I remember why left this forum now...

No one ever said you were. I was just responding to the topic at hand, musician to musician.