Can anyone please tell me how to change the tempo/time signature in Finale? I want to slow some parts down, but not the whole song.

Thank you in advance!

~Starwonders

There are a few ways of doing this!

For time signatures:


Select the time signature tool.
Double-click on the bar where you want to change the time signature.
In the pop-up window, put in the new time signature.
You can change the time signature back to the previous one later in the piece by double-clicking on the bar where you want it to change back.
OR
Select the time signature tool.
Highlight the section of the piece you want in the new time signature by dragging the box shape around it.
Enter the new time signature in the pop-up window, and only that section will be in the new time signature.
OR
Select the time signature tool.
Double-click on the bar where you want the time signature to change
In the pop-up window, put in your new time signature AND the bar numbers of the beginning and the end of the new time signature section.


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For changing the tempo:


Select the expression tool (in Finale 2005, it's got an "mf" on it).
Double-click on the bar where you want the speed to change.
Choose from the list in the pop-up window which speed you want it to change to. If what you want isn't there, you can edit a current one or make a new one.
Click "select" on the right.
Choose which parts you want the expression to appear on, and click on "beginning of the measure" for playback (unless you changed the speed in the middle of the bar, which isn't that great :P)
Click "OK".
You can edit your expression by double-click on it.
In the "Text" tab, you can change what it says. In the "Playback" tab, you can change how fast the computer will play it back to you. "Note Positioning" and "Measure Positioning" you can mess around with and figure it out for yourself.
If you want the piece to go back to the old tempo, you need a new expression, so double-click on where you want the old tempo to come back and follow the steps again, this time putting in the details of the old tempo.

If you want your piece to slow down or speed up:
Select the expression tool.
Double-click on the bar where you want the piece to slow down or speed up.
From the list, pick "rit." for slowing down or "accel." for speeding up.
Press "Select" on the right.
Where it says "Distance from alignment point", you should put a whole number for the number of beats (instead of loads of decimals like it probably gives you). So if you want it to slow down from the 2nd beat onwards, put in 2.
Click "OK".

I made those instructions while looking at Finale 2005. If you have a newer version it might be a bit different, but I think it should probably be pretty much the same. ^^