MakeMusic, Inc. has released Finale NotePad 2009 ($9.95) music notation software and Finale Reader, a free program that lets you open, view, print, and play any Finale file.

With Finale NotePad, you can enter notes with your mouse or with step-time entry using any MIDI keyboard. NotePad also opens MIDI files and any other Finale file. It features a Setup Wizard that helps you create orchestrations of up to eight staves, as well as more specialized notation, such as guitar or bass tab; Human Playback that can be heard through over 128 included sounds or through an external MIDI device; a new Expression Tool; and the ability to import/export MusicXML files.

For more information, visit finalemusic.com.