I love the phrase, “I was this many years old when I discovered…” that Flat.io has recorder fingerings! During Midnight Music’s webinar last week, Batya, one of the Midnight members, told us about the recorder fingerings found in Flat.io. To find them, do the following:

• Launch Flat.io

• Click on Score Library

• Click on Instrument Settings

• Click on Manage Instruments

• Click on Recorder

• Click on Recorder Fingerings

• Turn on Recorder Fingerings

• Click Save and then click Done two times

The recorder fingerings will now appear on the score.

How does this assist in the classroom?

• This helps learners who need visuals to recall fingerings.

• This assists beginner recorder players in learning new fingerings.

• This is one way to introduce new recorder fingerings.

• You could create a large poster-sized image from Flat.io file so that your students can use it during a concert.

I have the EDU version of Flat.io where this can be found. However, Batya showed me that you can find this in the paid version of Music Snippet, which in the States is $19. Music Snippet’s basic feature, the ability to create score snippets, is free to use and can be used for an unlimited amount of time. If you want to edit the snippets, save them to their library or export them, and have unlimited storage, you will need to upgrade for $19. Music Snippet is also included with any Flat for Education or Flat Power subscription.

RIP Finale

Yesterday’s announcement of “The End of Finale” from the president of MakeMusic left many musicians, composers, arrangers, educators, and others in shock. This news is just so sad. I understand why it happened and I learned Sibelius years ago, so I could jump over to it. But I believe that the creators of Dorico were Sibelius’s original creators before Avid took it over. I might try to learn it, but it will probably be next summer when I’ll be able to have the time to learn it. In the meantime, I begin converting my decades of finale files into XML files.

MakeMusic has approved Dorico as the next alternative for Finale users, offering a special deal for those looking to make the switch. More details can be found at the end of the official announcement from MakeMusic. Additionally, Daniel Spreadbury from Dorico has shared a blog post outlining the transition process from Finale to Dorico.

RIP Finale Music Notation Software.