Traditionally, when localizing the Japanese version of Finale, the Default Document, files created by the Setup Wizard, and templates were based on the English version, and the layout was adjusted to A4 paper size instead of letter size, the music fonts and libraries have been modified to the Japanese version specifications.
In addition to that, Finale v27 Japanese version expands the template types, which used to be 70 types in the English version and 50 types in the Japanese version, to 113 types and recreates them from scratch. The software library also incorporates a lot of SMuFL symbols, and Finale itself has been greatly remodeled by making it possible to download these templates from a special site and adding a button to the link on the Launch Window.
The biggest feature of this template is that it introduced a system that allows the template collection can be updated online at any time, which was previously provided by the installer and could only be updated when the updater was released.
As far as templates are concerned, the Japanese version of Finale v27 is not only just a localized version of the original English one, but it can be said that it is a development of Finale that surpasses the original for the first time in terms of functionality.
One of the most Japanese-like templates is "Guitar solo (guitar melody score + guitar tab)", which covers the symbols according to the score published in "Young Guitar" magazine, one of the leading guitar magazines in Japan. In addition, it is a specification that allows you to draw Japanese style tablature with stems etc.
In addition, the library of barre symbols, which is often seen in classical guitar scores, is also loaded from a separate library.
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Originally, Finale had a functionality called Setup Wizard, and one of its selling points was that you could easily create your own templates each time. But in fact, templates created through the Setup Wizard often had to be fine-tuned using the Layout Tool which is not easy to operate, and this was one of the factors that made the product difficult to handle.
Revamped in v27, this new “Active Template” system is designed to make up for Finale's weaknesses, allowing you to skip layout work and start your creation immediately. I believe that this will alleviate the difficulty of using Finale to some extent, so I’d like you to give it a try.
[P.S. for guitarists]
You can download the template, which has been carefully designed to look like the score and is closer to the specifications of Young Guitar magazine, from the article below.
(Of course, the tone is also set to the distortion guitar.)
▼ A must-see for guitarists! Why is the tablature of YOUNG GUITAR easy to read and beautiful?
- Assault interview with the editorial department, unravel the mystery! -[Part 2]