Writing a Song Using Finale Notepad

In this course we will work together to write an original song using Finale Notepad. No prior musical knowledge is needed for this class. We will learn the basic features of the Finale Notepad software. We will learn about time signatures and music notation. In this class, we will focus on how to use quarter note, whole note, and half note rhythms. We will learn how to input these rhythms into the program. We will use the musical alphabet to write the notes on a grand staff. We will be using both bass clef and treble clef notes and practice using our ears to hear which notes sound good together. After we get the notes written, we will learn how to listen to our composition. We will learn how to adjust the tempo. We can learn how to add lyrics and dynamic markings into our new song. After we write our song, you can save it to your computer and share it with your friends!
For this course, students will can download the Finale Notepad software onto a Windows based computer. This software is free to download. Unfortunately, Finale Notepad isn't available for the Apple Operating System at this time. Students under the age of 13 should be supervised by an adult. Students will need a separate device for the classroom, or will need to run multiple windows on the same computer. 
Students can still participate in writing the original song without downloading the software.