Note** These instructions were not written by www.anwd.net. They were taken from a post on the Drum Corps Planet percussion forum which you can read here: DCP thread
ok, I figured out how to work this thing after downloading it. There are a few steps that you have to take to make sure it will all work........
1. Make sure the soundfont is loaded into your soundcard. I used the program Soundfont that came with my soundcard and loaded it.
2. Open Finale. When you have the document open that you want to use the soundfont in, open the Instrument List under the Window drop down list. (By the way, it is best to configure this for a new document and then save it as a template for later use. I've tried setting it up on an existing document, and it's pretty hairy. So, if you have something already written that you want to sound cool, it's pretty much tough luck unless you want to write it out again.)
Anyway, in the instrument list, for the first instrument (mine is Snare), Click the drop down list that says what instrument it is and click "create new instrument".
Then, when box comes up, call the new instrument "Marching Percussion" or something like that.
Then, in the drop down box below that, change the selection to Program Change, Bank 0.
You also want to change the channel to something other than 10. I used channel 2. If you set it up on channel 10 it won't work because the default percussion sounds are set up on that channel.
3. OK, now this part takes a little more time. For each staff (Snare, Tenor, Bass, and cymbals I guess), open the staff attributes box by using the staff tool and double clicking the handle at the beginning of the staff.
Then, at the bottom change the notation style to "Percussion".
Then, hit the 'Select' button next to it.
Now, you have to create a percussion map for the sounds.
Click "create" and title it whatever you want at the top.
For each corresponding sound in the sound font, you have to find that one on the list and do a couple of steps:
1. For each staff, you must seperately open the percussion map to assign the sounds.
2. So, to set up the snare sounds, go to the percussion map you create through the "Snare" staff attributes box.
Now, find line 77 in the scroll box at the left.
Then select 77, and in the right, click the box that says "Use in Snare"
Then, give it a name like "Snare Note" or something like that.
Then, designate which line you want to put that note on. Leave the default notehead as just the regular one.
Now, go to box 79 on the left, and click "Use in Snare", put it on the same line as the previous, title it "Rim Shot", or "Gak", and select a different notehead for this one, such as the "X" notehead.
Now, go to line 81 on the left and repeat, except select a different notehead such as the other "X".
OK, now close all the boxes by clicking "OK" and whatnot, and go back to the document.
If you input a notehead on the line you indicated for the Snare Voice, it should playback as the snare sound.
Now, to get the gak and ping shots to work, enter a note, and select the accidental tool. (It's the one thats either an up or down arrow, it doesn't matter which one you use)
If you click the notehead you input once, it should become either the X you denoted for the gak, or for the ping (depending on which accidental arrow you use).
Click it again, and it will become the other shot type.
OK, so thats how you do it. You really don't have to fool around with the accidental button for the other Voices, but in the snare one it took me forever to figure that out. If you set up the other voices the same way, it should all work out fine. Just make sure when you want to set up tenor sounds, that you open the staff attributes box, and then the percussion map through that by first clicking on the tenor staff, and the same with the bass and cymbal voices.
Hope this will be of some help.
Toph