I downloaded the free version of finale and then after using it for a while bought the Finale Print Music version. It adds some very nice features. It was about $59.95 at the Microcenter.
Ron
Their essay is really interesting for music and computer geeks like me.
-Craig
Nah..no copyright notice…the others are really easy to do as I have a template I made for the express purpose of making it easier to enter AABB irish tunes. So, with repeats (only like 4 clicks and 2 keystrokes normally, but built into my template), and ornaments (the ~ symbol–two clicks plus one per rolled note). It really isn’t that much work to put the stuff in. Triplets are honestly what take me the longest to enter. Grace notes are a snap..just like any other note, only holding down the grace note shortcut key instead of the other note-length key I’d normally hold.
It helps that i type about 90wmp on an average day 
Can it do quarter-note and dotted quarter-note rolls? Can it put in commas for pauses?
djm
They’re doing the Ennis book in Sibelius DJM
The more I use Finale, the more I find very wrong with it. Recently, I have been slamming out old folk songs for my group. Putting words below the notes with elisions is hellish, because Finale has this strange graphic interface issue of periodically re-drawing itself. If you let it do it automatically, it will drive you nuts with changing measure widths and staff jumps. If you do it manually, and forget after too many changes, it will completely lock up the file, even on a fairly powerful computer.
I have developed a near-Pavlovian response to doing tasks on Finale. I procrastinate and dread it. Sometimes, the work comes out okay. But sometimes, you just can’t get it beyond a certain point before the lock-up without creating a whole new file.
I think a person can become a master user and likely avoid the hang-ups but it just shouldn’t be that hard to use. By comparison, I use the Adobe Suite a lot. I am by no means a master user of Photoshop but it never lets me down in any way and it does as many complex tasks as Finale. It’s just designed much better.
If you can get it free, somehow, fine. If not, I would definitely check out other programs like Sibelius. I have the former situation, having received it as part of a grant process.
That’s good to know. Thx, Peter. Do you know if they will include the lyrics? I’m getting rather fond of his many songs. 
djm
I’ve never had this issue. But I’m using an older version, 2000b. Maybe it’s more stable..
You can throw ~ above any note easily. You drop rests for pauses, as easily as dropping any other note type. Or are you talking about rendering midi?
The tilde (~) is a turn/turn-about in orchestral music. It is not the same as a roll as played in ITM (although a turn is also a valid ornament used by a few players). In notaion for ITM, a roll is indicated by adding an arc above or below the note head (somewhat similar to a fermata). Also, a stacatto symbol is sometimes used in ITM notation, but this may be incorrect, as there may actually only be a pause on one side of the note, not both. Some newer transcriptions now use a comma in the notation to indicate this 1/64 or 1/32 rest without having to calculate stealing the value form a note on either side (which would make the notation too busy to read easily).
So I guess what I am asking is if Finale allows you to use these symbols, or to create them if they are too non-standard? I am guessing that Sibelius allows something like this if it is being used to transcribe Ennis’ playing.
I have queried several software companies that make OMCR packages, but none of them can handle grace notes or markings of any complexity. Maybe some day …
djm
I think they need the Grey Larson upgrade to have all the articulation thingies! Many of us ABC users are comfortable with the incorrect tilde for a roll; we know what we mean!
That arc thing you talk about is far from standard. Probably because there is no “standard” for irish sheet music 
The arc is what Bill Ochs used in his tutor, if memory serves, but I’ve seen the tilde used far more often.
That said, you can add an arc or any other fairly standard articulation mark with Finale. And you can draw your own and save it as a standard mark if the marks provided are insufficient.
Here are the standard marks that come with the 2000 version of Finale:
Maybe you didn’t look in the right places. The fingernail cutting was proposed by Breandan Breathnach for his collection Ceol Rinnce na hEirreann to indicate the ornamentation appropriate for the instrument of the players (i.e. roll, triplet, crann or whatever) and has been the standard among Irish musicians ever since. The fact that the ABC software’s use of the ~ is popular on the internet, out of necessity the half moon wasn’t available to them, doesn’t make it used ‘far more often’ it only shows exactly what Wanderer says: that he has seen it more often.
I’ve been using this for a couple of years and it suits my very limited needs very well. But if anyone can tell me how I can use it to print a piece of music without it having to start with an indent with the name of an instrument in it I’d be very grateful. 
Brendan Breathnach’s first volume in that series was published in in 1963. Regardless of how dang cool the guy is, that doesn’t mean he set any standards with his proposal. Besides, Peter, I thought the standard was more along the lines of writing the note names down on paper, and dispense with the whole sheet music notation altogether. Or, to write the barebones of a tune and not note ornamentation at all.
I have a ton of music books. I’d say 80% or more don’t note any ornamentation at all. That’s what I’d call the standard. Any time I find notation actually covered in a book of sheet music, there’s no guarantee that it’s covered in any particular way.
I have two books that use the half-moon notation. I have 4 that use completely differing theories for noting ornaments, such as noting via multiple grace notes or using the tilde. A Dossan of Heather (music from Packie Byrne) uses a plus symbol (+) to note cuts, for instance.
I think Breandan’s example set the standard both in major collections and literature about Irish music and among musicians. When ornamentation is indicated some transcribers prefer to write all cuts and graces in full. If you want to believe otherwise, work away at it.
I would try but my copy really belongs to the church I used to play for and another flute player currently has it.
If any of you are using a Mac I recommend BarFly by Phil Taylor. It uses ABC notation and gives you a very good print out + easy to add lyrics.