I reached out to Daniel Spreadbury, the Product Marketing Manager for Dorico, and asked about the process of moving from Finale to MusicXML. Daniel had some advice, which is listed below (and had already been shared on a Finale user’s group).
I also noticed that Dorico has already placed some Finale to Dorico videos on their YouTube Channel. Logically, they knew this was happening as MakeMusic Cloud suggested that Finale users migrate to Dorico.
I may be oversimplifying Daniel’s response, but Dorico cannot read Finale MUS or MUSX files because those files simply contain the information they need to make a score work in Finale, not all the aspects that would be needed for another program to decode them.
However, Dorico can read MusicXML files relatively well, though there may be some editing required (see the linked video below).
Daniel did suggest one method of bulk conversion—which Finale users with a large library of MUS or MUSX files will need to do before their current version of Finale stops working—straight from Finale.
You go to File > Export > Translate Folder to MusicXML. The batch process embedded in Finale can handle subfolders, so you set it to a master folder, and let it work its way through.
Nonetheless, as you are likely making a move and never opening a Finale file again, I would suggest moving all your MUS and MUSX files to one folder before starting the process, letting your computer do the work, and then back up your new MusicXML files somewhere.
It is nice that this is an option, and wonderful that Dorico is being incredibly supportive of new users to their application.
I will enter three short additions to this post.
First, I have found out that the method above does not work for sub folders, and that’s okay. I just converted more than 1800 of my Finale Files (ones that I created) to MusicXML files.
Second, I found my oldest living score, which is a partial draft of the “Yo Yo March,” which I would have been working on for my junior year in college in 1994. It isn’t very good, and it isn’t complete, and it is one of the few works that I saved from that time. But that’s 30 years ago (yikes). So, Finale has been in my life, albeit distantly, for the past 30 plus years…more than 1/2 my life. So the discontinuance of Finale is a bit like losing an old friend.
Third, I did decide to buy Dorico at the cross grade price. It is odd that you pay MakeMusic (about $158 with taxes) to get Dorico, instead of paying Dorico directly, but considering that you cannot purchase Dorico that inexpensively even as an educator—its one of those things that you just go and do. As the future continues, I’ll definitely continue to use Notion and keep dabbling with MuseScore (it does colored notes, like Boomwhackers, which is important for my current position)…but I’m also going to move ahead with Dorico, which I have loosely played with—but now this is proof that it’s time to really get going with it.