Why and when would you beam over barlines?

While schools of thought vary, many composers want to highlight hemiolas and other rhythmic effects with their beaming – even when this might seem at odds with basic engraving principles. Most frequently, this involves beaming over the barline to show performers that the metric pulse of the passage contradicts the written time signature. This encourages phrasing in performance that more closely matches the composer’s intent.

Want to create something like the above in Finale?

Select the group of notes you wish to beam across a barline. Choose Plug­ins > Note, Beam, and Rest Editing > Patterson Plug­Ins Lite > Beam Over Barlines > Create. Finale will beam the selected notes together and across the barline.