Finale is being retired

[Chris]

https://slate.com/technology/2024/09...dely-used.html

It's hard to believe the industry standard music notation software will no longer be developed. Think of all the music that was written and saved in Finale files!

[Quijote]

Thanks for that, Chris, that article gave me a lot of insight into why Finale is getting retired. I've used Finale for years and only ever mastered about 25% of its functions but that was OK for me, I used it mainly for my harmony and counterpoint classes. I've also been offered an excellent discount if I make the switch to Dorico ($149 instead of $579) but I'm not sure I can be bothered to embark on another steep learning curve.

[Chris]

I started out with Encore in the 90s and then made the switch to Finale in the mid-2000s. That took some getting used to, as the two pieces of software did some things very differently. Dorico looks to be the future of professional music engraving, but there are excellent free options out there now that seem worth exploring, and of course there is always Sibelius.

The main thing that struck me from the article was that even though Finale still has a lot of users, the codebase has become such an unmaintainable pile of garbage that it isn't even worth working on anymore. As someone who works on a giant piece of software that is even older than Finale, this reminds me of the daily fight I have to keep our codebase organized and maintainable. There are always fashionable new ideas that come along in programming that are ridiculous and threaten to make everything overly complicated and incomprehensible. Now the current idea is to just let AI do all the programming. After all, human programmers make mistakes and cost money, so what could go wrong with turning everything over to a mindless process instead? Except for the last several times the industry tried that and collectively lost billions of dollars. Sigh...

[Zevy]

I have many files (mostly accordion arrangements) in Finale. I took advantage of the Dorico discount and I am s-l-o-w-l-y embarking on the new adventure of learning a new program. One day at a time.

[Sorrano]

I also downloaded Dorico, but have not been able to validate my account in order to install the software. Regardless, Finale should continue to be usable, though it isn't being updated anymore. Support may have to come from user forums, but I expect these will last for a long time.

[Zevy]

I also downloaded Dorico, but have not been able to validate my account in order to install the software. Regardless, Finale should continue to be usable, though it isn't being updated anymore. Support may have to come from user forums, but I expect these will last for a long time.

Finale might not work with future operating systems. So we are probably safe for the near future, but I am taking my baby steps learning Dorico.

[Sorrano]

Finale might not work with future operating systems. So we are probably safe for the near future, but I am taking my baby steps learning Dorico.

I did get Dorico installed, finally, but I had to use a different email to validate. I used Emagic's Logic Audio many years ago and still have projects tied into that. However, as you suggested about Finale, after OS upgrades/changes, the software no longer works except on the older OS's.