Finale - How Music Software Dies

Finale: once the industry-standard of music notation software, now a cautionary tale. In this video, I explore how it slowly lost its crown through decades of missed opportunities - eventually leading to creative collapse due to various bureaucratic intrigues, unforeseen technological changes and some of the jankiest UI/UX you've ever seen.

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ARTICLES & BLOGS

Review of Polywriter
https://www.music-tech-solutions.co.jp/en/post/finale_polywriter_en

Contemporary review of Polywriter
https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/the-gentle-art-of-transcription/7906

Early review of Coda’s Finale:
https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/coda-music-finale/2300

Finale obituary by Scoring Notes
https://www.scoringnotes.com/news/makemusic-ends-development-and-availability-of-finale/

Phil Ferrand’s website
https://philfarrand.com/contact-me/

MakeMusic acquire Weezic
https://techinmusiced.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/makemusic-acquires-weezic/

Gear Fischer
https://www.scoringnotes.com/people/following-up-with-gear-fisher-makemusic-ceo/

Peaksware Article
https://endurance.biz/2018/industry-news/peaksware-holdings-announces-launch-of-ventures-division/

Andy Stevens - We’re ‘Profit Cycle Hunters’ https://www.artisanpartners.com/investment-professionals/news-insights/thought-leadership/insights/bloomberg-interviews-andy-stephens.html

Conquering Finale
https://www.scoringnotes.com/tag/conquering-finale/

Changes of Peaksware & MakeMusic management, 2020
https://mmrmagazine.com/stephens-transitions-to-ceo-of-peaksware-leading-both-music-and-sports-brands/

Erato
https://www.scoringnotes.com/meta/preparing-david-newmans-matilda-score-live-orchestra/

On Igor Engraver
https://www.ooloi.org/home/why-resurrect-igor-engraver-now


PAPERS ON SHORTCUT USAGE

Hidden Costs of Graphical User Interfaces
https://www.ruf.rice.edu/~lane/papers/hidden_costs.pdf

Keyboard Shortcut Usage: The Roles of Social Factors and Computer Experience
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/154193120404800513

'Satisficing' and the Use of Keyboard Shortcuts
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8154909

Accommodating Both Expert Users and Novice Users in One Interface
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221096713_Accommodating_Both_Expert_Users_and_Novice_Users_in_One_Interface_by_Utilizing_Multi-layer_Interface_in_Complex_Function_Products


SEC FILINGS
https://www.makemusic.com/investors/sec-filings-annual-reports/


VIDEOS

Mockingbird notation demonstration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dxaEDKoTys&ab_channel=ComputerHistoryMuseum

Interview with Phil Farrand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b2IlzMbupw&ab_channel=EvangelUniversity


SCORES FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO

Yoshiaki Onishi - Envoi I für Violoncello solo (2015)
Copyright © Edition Gravis Verlag GmbH, Germany. https://www.amaverlag.com/produkt/envoi-i-fuer-violoncello-solo-2015/


---------- CHAPTERS ----------

00:00 - Our modern technological landscape. Yum.
04:43 - Introduction
06:45 - The beginning: how Finale was born
13:50 - Getting started in V27
17:31 - Pain
26:18 - Shortcuts
31:57 - Note input
41:17 - Pain 2 - The progressive disclosuring
53:48 - Engraving
57:47 - What happened at MakeMusic?
01:09:30 - The Kelley Krew
01:16:46 - The Rooster
01:18:16 - The eternal backlog
01:20:12 - Ascension
01:21:55 - Garbla-sinc, alon, a-maralurbre