MakeMusic! Releases Finale 2005, the Most Recent Upgrade to Its Award-Winning Music Notation Software

Business Wire, August 18, 2004

MINNEAPOLIS -- Finale Performance Assessment, a revolutionary new education tool, leads a long list of new features and requested enhancements for both Macintosh and Windows users

MakeMusic!(R) Inc. (Nasdaq:MMUS) announced today the release of its much-anticipated Finale(R) 2005 music notation software for Macintosh(R) and Windows(R) computers. The latest upgrade to the Company's award-winning music notation software offers a variety of powerful and timesaving new features for educators, students, composers and publishers.

Exclusive New Features Include:

--Finale Performance Assessment(TM) (FPA) - Utilizing SmartMusic(R) technology to be further differentiated from its competitors, Finale 2005 can create music files which students can see and play in the revolutionary FPA application (now available as a free download at www.finalemusic.com). Students can practice the music at any tempo, hear how it is supposed to be played, and even be assessed with red and green notes which show them what they did wrong and how to do it right. Students can also record themselves for instant feedback and self-evaluation. The recordings can be saved to disk or e-mailed to teachers along with the grade FPA gave their performance. No other notation product offers a similar feature.

--Engraver Tuplets - Default tuplet positioning looks great (even when tuplets begin with rests) and tuplets automatically reposition when notes are moved on the staff. Tuplet brackets avoid staff lines and rests and follow the angles of stems and notes. Many new automatic positioning and editing enhancements have been added.

--Create SmartMusic Accompaniments(R) - A new SmartMusic Wizard makes it easier than ever to create accompaniments with advanced features for solo works, exercises, warm-ups, and more, for use in the classroom or for student use at home.

--Row-Loff Marching Percussion Sounds - Dozens of high-quality marching band sounds are included free with Finale 2005.

--Human Playback(TM) Enhancements - Users can now combine multiple Human Playback styles in a single piece and edit the results with the Finale MIDI tool. Additionally, Human Playback has more control and new features for 2005 - the result is that music plays back with more lifelike nuance than ever before.

--Macintosh/Windows on a single CD together - For the first time ever, both Finale for Macintosh and Finale for Windows are found on the same CD. Those who have a Windows computer at work and a Macintosh computer at home have all they need with a single purchase.

--Intelligent repeats, grace note and other music-spacing improvements, expanded Setup Wizard, new TG Tools plug-ins, transportable staff lists, the ability to record continuous data in HyperScribe(R), and third-party sound font support are among the many other new features.

"SmartMusic technology has enabled us to give Finale 2005 a breakthrough education feature with its new Finale Performance Assessment," stated John Paulson, MakeMusic! President. "Teachers can now notate difficult passages from their band literature and make them into assessable and recordable assignments for their students. Students download the free FPA software, and then practice the assignments with special practice tools including a tuner, fingering charts, practice loops and more. Even before the first band rehearsal of the piece, the teacher can receive an FPA grade and recording of every individual student's competency and progress with the difficult passages."

About MakeMusic! Inc.

MakeMusic!(R) Inc. is a world leader in music-education technology whose mission is to enhance and transform the experience of making, teaching and learning music. Among its leading products are Finale(R), the world's best-selling music notation software, and SmartMusic(R), the complete music practice system that features Intelligent Accompaniment(R) and the world's largest interactive accompaniment library. MakeMusic! maintains its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company can be reached at www.makemusic.com .