MakeMusic has announced that Finale 2010 is now shipping. The flagship of MakeMusic's family of music notation software, Finale 2010, offers a broad range of enhancements that "reduce the distance between inspiration and perfection on the printed page". From percussion notation and chord entry to rehearsal marks and measure numbering, dozens of everyday tasks have been automated and simplified, saving music professionals and educators time and money, and ensuring that the upgrade quickly pays for itself.

Highlights of these changes include:

• The power and flexibility of Finale's percussion notation is now simple to use.
• The creation and sequencing of rehearsal marks has been automated.
• Chord entry is greatly simplified – even when attaching chords to empty measures – and more efficient, requiring far fewer keystrokes.

In addition to ease-of-use and productivity enhancements, Finale 2010 now includes more than 350 sounds from the makers of Garritan Personal Orchestra. This provides a robust library rather than simply a sparse introduction to premium sounds found in other software. Among the dozens of additions to 2010 are new organ, guitar, bass, handbell, synthesizer and brush kit drum set sounds. Finale 2010 also adds support for VST/AU effects as well as instrument plug-ins, so those wishing to expand upon Finale's built-in sound capabilities will have no limitations.

Music educators will welcome the addition of more than 350 worksheets. Designed for K-12 students of general music, theory, band, orchestra and choir, these printable worksheets help teach basic elements of music and are easily edited and customized.

Additional features include the elegant new Broadway Copyist handwritten music notation font, scanning improvements, expanded graphic import/export support, additions to linked parts and much more.

"The best tools are designed by the people who use them," stated Ron Raup, MakeMusic's CEO. "The varied improvements in Finale 2010 reflect the work of the musicians of MakeMusic and their ongoing communication with other Finale users. More than 80% of MakeMusic employees are musicians, participating in nearly 2000 performances each year. We're thinking, talking, living and breathing music – and interacting with other Finale users – every day. This close interaction, whether it occurs at the office, tradeshow, studio, school, place of worship or performance hall, informs every decision we make. We're confident that our customers will find the changes in Finale 2010 will contribute to improved workflow while maintaining the robust power customers expect."

Short videos and details highlighting the improvements in Finale 2010 can be seen at www.finalemusic.com.

Finale 2010 costs $600 for new customers / $119.95/$169.95 for upgrades.