Q: I have the templates for Finale, but I have more auxiliary percussion parts than what is on the template.How do I add another percussion staff that uses the correct notation?

The templates for Finale and Sibelius both come with a set number of staves that can be added to.In Finale, this can be done by using the Staff Tool to add more staves.

  • Click The Staff Tool.
  • Go to the Staff Menu. 
  • Choose “New Staves (with Setup Wizard).”
    • You will see the Finale Setup Wizard appear.
    • In Finale 2006 and newer, make sure the Instrument Set is “SmartMusic SoftSynth.”
  • From the far left column choose “Percussion.”
    • You will see “Percussion” then appear in the middle column with other instruments.
  • Highlight “Percussion” and click Add.
    • Once you see “Percussion” in the column at the right, you can click “Finish”

You have now added a percussion staff to the bottom of the score.If you want to add a staff above a certain staff that is already on your music, you will want to first highlight the staff you want to be under your new staff (i.e., whatever staff you highlight will be the staff that is immediately under your new staff).

You will now want to go to the Staff Tool (if not already selected) and change the Percussion Map for this new staff to be using the correct Map for the VDL sounds that you want to use for that staff.

  • Click on the Staff Tool
  • Double click the first measure of that staff.
    • Staff Attributes appears.
  • On the left side, under where it lists the Full/Abbreviated Staff Names, you will see “Notation Style : Percussion.”
    • Click Select.
    • The Percussion Map designer appears.
  • Highlight the Percussion Map that says, for example, “VDL: Rack Combo A” and click Edit from the right side of this window.
  • At the Bottom of the Percussion Map Editor, you will see a button that says “All Named Notes."Click this button so that only the notes that have been assigned to this map will be selected for use.Rack Combo A was only an example, and this process would be used for any of the percussion maps available.
  • Click Done.

You are now using the VDL:2 Rack Combo A Percussion Map and have successfully set up this staff to use the correct notation.You will want to now make sure that this staff is accessing the correct channel where your Rack Combo A sound is loaded so that the notes will use the correct sounds when playing back. You can use this same procedure when adding more mallet instrument staves as well. You would not need to go through the extra steps of setting up the percussion maps, however.


For other Finale Related questions you may find some useful information at http://support.makemusic.com where you can search the Knowledge Base for frequently asked Finale-Based questions. If you have a technical issue with Finale, you can click the "Ask a Question" button. You will need to provide your E-mail or registered serial number, and your password for your online account with Finale.