Making a Mod Wheel Cresc in Finale for GPO Studio Playback
I use a PC. If you are a Mac user I assume there is something you do that is the equivalent to the PC Right Mouse click which I’ll make reference to below.
You control the volume of many instruments in GPO with the Mod Wheel CC#1 (MW). This tutorial will show you how to create a Shape Expression in Finale to play a MW cresc.
At the end of this tutorial you will have a Finale shape expression cresc which is ready to use in your Finale score.
You’ll also learn how to make modifications to the Shape Exression cresc to meet your artistic needs. And I expect that you'll want to make copies of this Shape Expression for all sorts of cresc's and build a library which you can use over and over again to make music with GPO Studio.
For this tutorial you need to create the following 4 dynamic markings.
Dyn = p: MW = 40.
Dyn = mp: MW = 56.
Dyn = mf: MW = 72.
Dyn = f: MW = 88.
Even if you already have your own working set of dynamics, I urge you to use these just for this tutorial. You’ll hear some playback and you’ll see some pictures of the playback, but the sounds and images will not match your own unless you and I both use the same dynamics.
After you have these 4 dynamics, continue with the Tutorial...
Start GPO Studio.
Load “Cello Solo 1" into Player 1, Slot 1.
From Finale we’ll reference this Cello with a “Channel = 1" text expression.
Open Finale.
Create a new document with 1 staff, bass clef.
Set time signature to Common Time.
Set key signature to C major.
Name the staff “Cello.”
Now change the time signature of measure 1 to 1/4. (I have discovered that playback falters on the first note unless I give a little lead time, like an empty beat.)
Starting in measure 2 enter 4 whole notes, one to a measure, all of them middle C.
Note-attach the p dynamic to the first C whole note. Note-attach the mp dynamic to the second C whole note. Note-attach the mf dynamic to the third C whole note. Note-attach the f dynamic to the fourth C whole note.
It is important that the dynamics are note-attached, not measure-attached, expressions. By default, Finale shows the note attached expressions in red.
Now create 4 measures of C whole notes in measures 7-10. Leave measure 6 blank. Note-attach dynamics to the last 4 C whole notes in the opposite order from before, f, mf, mp, and p.
Setup the staff for GPO Studio playback.
Create an expression that selects channel = 1, and place it in measure 1. We’re telling GPO Studio to play the GPO instrument loaded into Player 1, Slot 1. (That will be the Cello loaded earlier into GPO Studio.)
Create a text expression that sets channel volume = 60, and place it in measure 1 immediately after the channel assignment expression. You’re giving GPO Studio an average channel volume for the Cello playback.
We’re using Finale as a simple sequencer so we need to control the relative balance of channel to channel. Since we only have 1 channel in this tutorial – No Problemo! But it’s a good idea to get used to placing a channel volume assignment at the beginning of your staff.
You should have something like this pictured here:
To disable Human Playback open up the “Playback Settings” window, and set “Human Playback Style” to “None”.
Playback your Finale score and verify that it is similar to mine here.
Onward to...
Create Shape Expressions
Still in Finale, open the Expression Tool. Click the Shape radio button.
Time to create the shape and define it to playback a MW cresc.
Click the “Create...” button.
I don’t know what version of Finale you are using so your menus may be different. I’m using Finale 2004.
I click the “Shape” tab, then the “Select...” button to bring up the “Shape Selection” window--to create the visual appearance of the shape.
You should be in the “Shape Designer” window right now.
I’m going to draw a shape that looks like a cresc with the number 4 above it. This will visually tell us that we’re going to get a 4 quarter note cresc.
The little circle is the origin.
Select View: “100%”.
Click the jagged line button to draw the two lines that make the hairpin shape.
Click the button with the A in it to type in the numeral 4.
Make something like the following pictured here:
Save this shape and click back to the “Shape Expression Designer” window that we started at.
So far we have no audio playback. We just created what our new shape will appear like to you as you place it in your score.
Next step,
Create another shape that executes the actual playback.
You need to go to the playback portion of this shape designer. In Finale 2004 click the “Playback Tab”.
Set Controller to “1: Modulation”
Click the “Execute Shape” radio button.
To the right of the “Execute Shape” text box click the “Select...” button.
You should now see the “Executable Shape Selection” window.
We need to create a new shape.
Click the “Create...” button.
You should now see the “Executable Shape Designer” window.
To create the executable shape click the “Shape ID...” button.
We're back a the "Shape Selection" window again. Nothing to select because we haven’t made the shape yet. So in the “Shape Selection” window click the “Create...” button.
You should now see the “Shape Designer” window.
Note the little circle, it is the origin. This is important. The origin indicates: no MW change at time 0.
Do the following things for setup before we do any drawing,
1. If you do not see a bunch of dots (the grid), click “ShapeDesigner”, click “Show>”, click “Grid.” Now you should see the geometrical layout of dots called the grid.
2. Click “ShapeDesigner”, click “Rulers and Grid...”, select “Eighth Note” radio button, type in a “1" (the digit one) in the text box. This specifies that 1 dot to the right = 1 eighth note in time. Click the “OK” button.
Depending what you had earlier, the grid may look a little more cluttered than before, but we need the fine detail that this gives us.
3. Right click and hold to drag the work area around. Move the work area to the grid point at position Horizontal: 31, Vertical 32. The two indicators on the right in the "Position" pane monitor the pointer position. Here is what you want to see:
H: 31
V: 32
Draw a square around this grid point. From the row of buttons, click the button with the square in it. In the work area (left) click and hold to drag a square around this grid point (just to mark it as important).
This is the DESTINATION dot.
Some words about this dot:
The horizontal distance (to the right) between grid points is 1 eighth note. The 32nd eighth note is 16 quarter notes, or 4 measures in Common Time. 32 dots = 4 measures. But we need exactly 1 measure, and no more! What we're going to do is adjust the "Time Scale" that we saw earlier, to scale 4 measures down to 1 measure. We want to do this because Finale generates midi messages once per grid dot at most! We want a lot of grid dots packed into a single measure to make a smooth sounding cresc.
But notice that the horizontal dot is 31 (not 32). The reason for this is that we want to terminate the cresc immediately before the full duration of 1 measure. The 32nd dot is actually the downbeat of the following measure.
The vertical distance (upward) between grid points is 1 value of the MW. So a vertical distance of 32 is a relative change to the MW of +32. In other words, the MW will increase 32 by this cresc. But for our purposes here in this tutorial that's too much. But like the horizontal distance we'll scale it down to an increase that suits our needs (later in this tutorial).
Set view to 50%, and you should see something similar to the following:
Now set view to 400% and look at the origin.
Select the button with the arrow in it. Then double click the line. At the end of the line is a hollow square. (It should not initially look like a solid black square.) A hollow square indicates that you can grab and move the end of the line separately from the other points of the line.
Grab the hollow square at the end of the line and move it so that the end of the line rests on top of the dot that is 1 dot diagonally up and to the right of the origin, like in the following picture.
Like before, double click the line. Grab the hollow square at the end of the line and move it so that the end of the line rests on top of the DESTINATION dot.
Set view to 50% and your work should look similar to what's pictured here:
Click the OK button to save the cresc.
Back in the “Shape Selection” window, click the “Select” button to select the cresc you just made.
Now you’re back in the “Executable Shape Designer” window.
Recall what I said about the cresc being drawn over 32 eighth notes? That is a total of 4 measures in Common Time. We need one fourth of that .
So, in the Time Scale boxes put a “1" and then a “4". That says, “Every real eighth note is represented by 4 of our drawn eighth notes.” So now our cresc will be played within exactly 8 eighth notes (that 1/4 of 32), which is 4 quarter notes, which is exactly 1 of our measures in Common Time.
Next, consider the “Level”. That was the vertical direction we drew. Recall that the DESTINATION dot was located at V:32.. That is a change of 32 on the MW. That’s too much for our needs, assuming we’re making a cresc that goes only from 1 dynamic marking up to the next dynamic marking. Look back up this page at the values of the dynamic markings. How far apart are they?
16.
That’s half of 32.
So, for the “Level Scale” put a “1" and then a “2", which says for each real MW 1 value, use 2 of our drawn values. That comes out to 16.
Summary: Time Scale = 1:4. Level Scale = 1:2. Cresc plays within 4 quarter notes for a relative increase of MW 16.
In “Executable Shape Designer” window, click “OK” button.
Back in “Executable Shape Selection” window click “Select” button.
Back in “Shape Expression Designer” window, click “OK button.
Back in “Expression Selection” window, you’ll see the new expression highlighted. Just click the “Cancel” button for now.
I recommend saving your Finale file at this point.
Well now, how about hearing our work?
Make sure the “Expression Tool” button is selected.
Double Click on the note in measure 2.
Select the 4 beat cresc. Create a note-attached expression.
Recall that the shape started 1 grid dot to the right of the origin. This allows you to note-attach a dynamic marking on the note so that the cresc starts after you establish a base volume.
And remember that the cresc lasts for 4 quarter notes no matter where you place the cresc., so that’s why I wanted you to attach it directly on the note, rather than in the measure somewhere.
Attach the cresc to every whole note.
Play it!
Although the cresc. is barely noticeable, you can verify that it is working by looking at GPO Player 1; you’ll see the Mod Wheel move in real time to the cresc’s that you put in the Finale staff.
Here’s my recording.
Find your way back into the “Shape Designer” editor to modify the executable shape.
Let’s change the line to a curve that swoops downward and curves upward. I think you’ll find the sound more interesting.
Click the button with the jagged line.
Click once on the start of the line (don’t drag, just click), then, move down and to the right, click, then keep on clicking to draw a curve. End the curve at the DESTINATION dot.
Click the button with the arrow in it to terminate drawing.
Delete the old straight line.
Save your work.
Play it!
Here’s what mine sounds like.
Hope you enjoyed it. And I suspect you realize is that this only scratches the surface of the possibilities. You probably want to make your own library of cresc/decresc for playback.
Burford Gallopade http://www.burfordgallopade.com