Is there a SIMPLE way to write a whole note with a bunch of text underneath it in Finale? Aside from changing meter, eliminating bar lines and writing an individual note for each syllable, I cant figure it out! Any suggestions?
It depends on your definition of simple. The way to do that is with non-breaking spaces. It's easiest to do on the Mac, where a non-breaking space is simply Option-Space. In Windows, the keystroke is Alt 0160 (typed on numeric keypad). If you're entering lyrics in the Edit Lyrics window, you can type it in once, then copy it, and paste it after each word. If you're using Type into Score, you can type the phrase without spaces, and then go back to the Edit Lyrics window, and insert them later. I.e. "Blessedindeedisthemanwhofollowsnotthecounsel of the wicked, norstandsinthepath with sinners,..."
By default, Finale will center justify any "syllables" that are not at the start of the system, or that don't have word extensions, so you'll have to go back through with the Adjust Syllables tool to left justify and left align the syllables.
Because of these headaches, I find myself doing Psalms almost exclusively in Score, which has it's own headaches, but is well suited to psalms.
In case you're interested, I've attached samples showing what's possible in both formats.
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