Notation for Chemitzer Concertina

[Dan F]

I am a windows user, running Finale 2012(I own Finale 25 but have not 32 bit processor)

Has anyone developed a way to do notation for a concertina? It is unique in that it has notes and then numbers for the buttons on the right and left hand.

Chemnitzer Concertina is unique in that there are 52 buttons 26 on each hand. Each button plays 2 sounds, one when you push and one when you draw.
So 104 notes are possible. Some notes are duplicated. The music notation has a few variations. The one I see the most is just a chord chart. Each bar has the name of the chord and if necessary a rhythm pattern and rests if needed. Each button has a number. So the purest form of the music notation has the notes on a treble cleff with numbers above the staff for right hand melody. Under the melody right hand, the numbers for the left hand appear. A lot of players play by ear and never learn to read the numbers or correlate the notes to the buttons in order to be able to read 'normal' music. They would use the Chord charts.
Most players that 'read' the numbers use the numbers for the right hand and just the name of the chord for the left hand since they all know what buttons to play on the left hand for chords. I have attached a sample of each kind of chart. A chord chart, A chart with RH numbers and chord names, and an old school chart with numbers for left and right hand.
So I am new to Finale and only have access to 2012. Someone suggested that the CHORD tool would work for the left hand and maybe the ARTICULATION tool for the numbers. But someone else mentioned a new tool with 2012 called FINALE NUMERICS would be best.

Has anyone developed a way to do notation for a concertina? It is unique in that it has notes and then numbers for the buttons on the right and left hand.

I could not add a PDF attachment to this post, not allowed. My JPG files were too large only 250KB is allowed. I have samples if anyone would like to see some I could send them to you.

Thanks for the help

Dan Fabeck

[miker]

Dan,
Send them to me, at wawoodman at aol dot com.

[Peter Thomsen]

Dan Fabeck,

* Take a look at the attached Finale 2012 document.

HappyAnniversaryWaltz2012.mus

(9.84 KiB) Downloaded 273 times

It shows a way to do it.


I did not finish the Tone Grip numbers for the Right Hand (upper staff), since I do not understand the symbols.
* See the attached image of the manuscript:

HappyAnniversaryWaltz (Manuscript).jpg (228.73 KiB) Viewed 12904 times

1) What is the meaning of the “upside down” V symbol?

2) What is the meaning of the + symbol?

3) What is the meaning of the “fractions” - like - 1/0 - 3/0 - 4/0 - 5/0?

4) What is the meaning where there are two symbols above a single note?
Like e. g. above the very first note:
8
2
If it means playing a dyad (two-tone chord), then shouldn’t the staff display two noteheads on the stem?

[Dan F]

Once a develop a custom staff for concertina music how do I save it and then associate it with the instrument so when I select the instrument the custom staff will always be used for it?

[Peter Thomsen]

Once a develop a custom staff for concertina music how do I save it and then associate it with the instrument so when I select the instrument the custom staff will always be used for it?

I suppose that you are talking about the Document Setup Wizard, right?

Instead of using the Document Setup Wizard I suggest that you create a template for Chemnitzer Konzertina, and use that template when creating new documents.
The template can also be ready made with your preferred articulations, expressions, metatools &c.

To create a new document from a template:
File menu > New > Document From Template…
When you select the menu item “Document From Template…”, Finale will display a directory dialog box showing Finale’s Templates folder.
Select the desired template, and open it.
Finale will create a new, untitled, unsaved duplicate copy of the template.

[Dan F]

Peter. I got your sample notation. I set up my custom staff. I see that you had 2 instruments with a 5 line staff for the top and a 2 line staff at the bottom. How do you stop the Cleff and time signature from displaying on the bottom staff?
And how do you move the bottom staff closer to the top staff.?

[Dan F]

OK I figured out how to get rid of the cleff and key signature on the bottom staff. But I still get a time signature on the top and bottom staff but only on the first bar. I want the time signature at the beginning f each line but only on the top staff.

[Peter Thomsen]

… how do you move the bottom staff closer to the top staff.?

Staff Tool.
Staff menu > Respace Staves…
Do you want to respace the staves in Scroll View, or in Page View?
You can respace staves in Scroll View and Page View independently so that you have one staff spacing in Scroll View, and another staff spacing in Page View.

… I figured out how to get rid of the clef and key signature on the bottom staff. But I still get a time signature on the top and bottom staff but only on the first bar …

To get rid of the time signature on the bottom staff, use the same trick as you did to get rid of the bottom staff’s key signature and clef:
Staff Tool.
Double-click the bottom staff, to get to the Staff Attributes.
In the pane Items to Display, de-select what should not display, e. g. Time Signatures.

… I want the time signature at the beginning of each line, but only on the top staff …

While it is standard practice to display the key signature (e. g. two sharps) at the beginning of each system, it is not standard to display the time signature (e. g. 3/4) at the beginning of each system.
Perhaps you by your words “time signature at the beginning of each line” meant “key signature at the beginning of each line”?

[Dan F]

Thanks Peter. Perfect. Now I just have to figure out how to enter numbers for the top staff.

[Dan F]

Also, how do I get rid of the indent on the top staff?

[miker]

To get rid of the indent, choose the page layout tool. You will see borders and handles around each system. Just drag the handle of the first system to the left.

[Peter Thomsen]

… Now I just have to figure out how to enter numbers for the top staff.

I would use the already created number expressions:
Duplicate an expression, and edit the duplicate.

Note that in my attached document I created two different expression categories:
- one category for Tone Grips in the Left Hand (lower) staff,
- one category for Tone Grips in the Right Hand (upper) staff.

… how do I get rid of the indent on the top staff?

Are you saying that only the upper staff, the right hand staff, is indented? - and not the lower staff, the left hand staff?

Or did you perhaps mean the first system (rather than the first staff)?
You can edit a system’s margins in the Page Layout Tool dialog box Edit Systen Margins.

[murphybridget]

Hello,

Notating for the unique Chemnitzer Concertina can be challenging but fascinating. Finale 2012 might have limitations, but tools like the CHORD and ARTICULATION tools could help. Exploring FINALE NUMERICS could be beneficial as well. For sharing samples, consider using cloud storage or online platforms. Hopefully, someone here has developed a suitable method or workaround for notating this instrument. Best of luck with your musical endeavors!