To create a repeat in the early days of Finale, you had to add a forward-facing repeat symbol at the beginning of a repeated section, add a backwards-facing repeat symbol at the end of the repeated section, and then configure the repeat to play back. As Tom Johnson’s recent blog post suggests, some long-time Finale users may still follow most of these steps when using Finale 2011.

However, there’s a much quicker method today: Use the Repeat Tool’s contextual menu.

To create a basic repeated section, try the following:

1. Select the Repeat Tool.
2. Select the region of music you want to repeat.
3. Right (Win/Mac) or Ctrl (Mac) + click on the selection and choose Create Basic Repeat. Done.

Now you have a repeat section that will automatically play the section twice through. If you’d like this section to repeat more times, Right/Ctrl + click on the repeat’s handle, choose Edit Repeat Assignment, and enter the number of passes you want under Play Section.

First and second endings are just as easy; just choose Create First and Second Ending. Need a longer first ending? Simply select more bars.

Here’s today’s final quick tip: You don’t even have to choose the Repeat Tool! The Selection Tool also contains the same contextual menu items so no need to switch tools to create these repeats.

Have any questions about repeats or anything else in Finale? Let us know by clicking on “Comments” below.

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