MakeMusic has released Finale 2008 (Mac/Win, $600; academic edition, $350), the latest version of its flagship music-notation and composition program. This updated edition has a streamlined user interface, new playback options, tool consolidation, and greater control over printed musical scores. Finale 2008 lets you quickly transcribe your musical ideas in standard notation and immediately hear the results. The program now comes with more than 250 instrument sounds from the makers of Garritan Personal Orchestra. You can combine those with hundreds of other included sounds, add any Native Instruments—supported sound library, and save the results as an audio file.

Improved notation features include an enhanced setup wizard, document styles, and colored note heads that support the Chroma-Notes system. Tool consolidation lets you use a single tool to copy music, transpose, add repeats, adjust expressions, and much more. Now you can use intuitive keystrokes to select measures or even partial menus, either horizontally or vertically, without ever touching your mouse. The new ScoreMerger function combines multiple movements (even if they have different instrumentation) into a single document, or it merges individual parts into a score.

For many users, Finale 2008's most significant new feature will be its ability to record or import a mono or stereo audio track. You can record a vocal, import a stereo percussion performance, or add a live trumpet solo to a jazz arrangement. After you import a recording, you can match its playback using TempoTap, line up the bar lines, and compose additional orchestration. Finale 2008 features Windows Vista compatibility, searchable help files, improved music scanning, and expanded support for MusicXML. Upgrade pricing starts at $99.95. MakeMusic; tel. (800) 843-2066 or (952) 937-9611; email finalesales@makemusic.com; Web www.finalemusic.com.