I purchased a MIDI interface the other day (Yamaha) and hooked our Yamaha keyboard up to it. I got it all installed and hooked up. Using Finale (the demo version, 2010 - I haven't decided on a notation program yet) I was playing around some. It recognizes all of the notes perfectly, but not rhythms - if it's set at 8th notes, it only plays 8th notes, etc. Is there any way around this on Finale? If not, what program lets you just play and notates the rhythms without you having to set it differently for each different duration?

(Am I making any sense at all?)

" Is there any way around this on Finale"

Yes, there are many ways of entering notes in Finale; with several keyboard methods. At your apparent level of familiarity, I would highly recommend reading the manual - this will provide a vastly quicker means of learning than waiting for replies on an internet forum .

I would recommend you try the speedy entry tool. You use the numeric keypad (on your computer keyboard) to stipulate note length, and use the music keyboard to enter pitch.

Keep in mind Finale's main purpose is to produce score, in the traditional sense. It isn't a sequencer and is less than ideal for recording keyboard performances; even when your aim is to create a score. There are ways of recording a "performance" as a score in Finale, but I have found I'm more efficient if I just plot the notes in, using the speedy entry or simple entry (and a range of keyboard shortcuts).