Accordion chords notation

General notation questions, including advanced notation, formatting, etc., go here.

Moderators: Peter Thomsen, miker

IvanM
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 8:02 am
Finale Version: 2005
Operating System: Mac

Post by IvanM » Wed May 07, 2014 8:21 am

As you might know piano and chromatic button accordions have two sides and as a result two staves are needed in notation (like piano). The right side are not different from piano. But the left side and the F-clef staff differ greatly. Accordions have only 12 basses and the preset collection of chords (maj, min, 7th, 7dim). You can see a good scheme in Wikipedia to get an idea if you don't know. 120-button_Stradella_chart.svg

So in the bass or accompaniment staff you can enter only what you have. You can't write down any chord. Some can see this fact as a drawback of accordions but nevertheless this is how they work. But it simplifies the notation process.
There are several ways to write down chords but the most wide-spread one is to write them entirely. In Finale you need enter note by note and this is a little tiring. If you enter using only letter notation you won't get all the notes on the staff.

How to resolve this problem? I want to have the preset library of chords and if I enter, say, C then I would get not only the letter itself but also C-E-G notes on the staff.
Finale 2005, WinXP SP3


User avatar
Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6603
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by Peter Thomsen » Wed May 07, 2014 11:59 am

Welcome to the forum!

What Finale version are you using? - 2014? - 2012? - 2011? - 2010?
IvanM wrote:…There are several ways to write down chords, but the most wide-spread one is to write them entirely…
It is not that simple.
Accordion notation varies a lot around the world.
See the attached PDF file for a few variations on the theme (Russian Notation, AAA Notation, Single Line Notation).
AccordionNotation.pdf.zip
(53.31 KiB) Downloaded 727 times
IvanM wrote:…In Finale you need enter note by note, and this is a little tiring…
What entry method are you using?
- MIDI keyboard, computer keyboard, mouse?
- Speedy Entry, Simple Entry?


For whom are you engraving?
I recommend that you consult the accordion players, you are engraving for, to find out what layout they would prefer to see.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

IvanM
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 8:02 am
Finale Version: 2005
Operating System: Mac

Post by IvanM » Thu May 08, 2014 6:44 am

I'm still using 2005 + TGTools. Obviously too ancient but enough for my limited needs. It is only the "chord library" feature what I miss. I think I just do not know where it is as I didn't use Finale often.
I'm writing for myself. I've tried to adapt some sheet music for accordion. The melody part doesn't make any problems but the accompaniment one does. I'm inputing with my mouse.

Thank you for your file it is very interesting. I was speaking about the first one, I'm more acquainted with this. Yes, I can use the "American" way, but I was wondering if it's possible to write in the "Russian" one. Frankly, I'm a novice and do not like the full notation it looks redundant for me. But most sheet music collections I can easily get are in it, so in spite of my preference I have to get used to it.

BTW, are there other notations apart from those three? I'd like to know.
Finale 2005, WinXP SP3

User avatar
Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6603
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by Peter Thomsen » Thu May 08, 2014 10:51 am

IvanM wrote:…BTW, are there other notations apart from those three? I'd like to know.
There are many.
Don’t get me started!

I attach a single example: German Accordion Notation.
See the attached PDF file.
GermanAccordionNotation.pdf.zip
(31.6 KiB) Downloaded 475 times
Since you are interested in “full notation”, I think you should know the German variation on the theme.
You probably don’t want to write in German Notation (because of the note names), but it could be useful for you to know it, in case you get across some German accordion editions.

Some other variations, just to mention a few of them:
* The note names are quite different in Italian/French/Spanish accordion notation: La, Si, Do, Re, Mi Fa, Sol.
* Some (older) Italian editions have the left hand notated in the Treble Clef.

IvanM wrote:…It is only the "chord library" feature what I miss. I think I just do not know where it is as I didn't use Finale often…
The so called chord libraries are libraries with chord symbol suffixes.
To load a library (e. g. a suffix library):
File menu > Load Library…

If you have your own chord suffixes, you can save them as a Chord Suffix Library:
File menu > Save Library…
Of course you can load a library into other documents.

IvanM wrote:…I'm inputing with my mouse…
Indeed entering chords note by note with the mouse can be “a little tiring”.

I suggest that you try some other entry methods:

1) In the folder with Tutorials there is a document called “EntryExercise.mus”.
I recommend that you make a duplicate copy of that document, and spend some time with the duplicate.
The time is well spent.
If you go through these exercises, you will learn a lot about the Simple Entry Tool you did not know, including fast chord entry via the computer keyboard.
By default the Simple Entry Tool is set up for the American keyboard layout.
But you can customize each and every keyboard shortcut in Simple Entry!

2) Using a MIDI keyboard for note entry can be quite easy and fast.
I think that the fastest way to enter chords is “MIDI keyboard in Speedy Entry” (but “MIDI keyboard in Simple Entry” is also quite fast).
I know that you are not a MIDI keyboard user, and not a Speedy Entry user - I just wanted to let you know.

IvanM wrote:…I was wondering if it's possible to write in the "Russian" one…
Indeed it is possible.

1) The chord type “stenography” can be entered with the Articulation Tool.
You can save the 4 articulations as an Articulation Library that you can load into other documents.
If I were you, I would consider loading my chord type “stenography” Articulation Library into my templates so that the 4 articulations are automatically available in all new documents.

2) The root note in parenthesis can be added with the Expression Tool.
There is a notehead character in the music font, in character slot #207 (are you using the Maestro font?).
To get a smaller notehead character, do not use it in its default size of 24 Points, but rather in a smaller size, e. g. 18 Points.
I would consider saving it as an Expression Library.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

IvanM
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 8:02 am
Finale Version: 2005
Operating System: Mac

Post by IvanM » Sat Jun 28, 2014 11:59 am

Peter Thomsen wrote: Some other variations, just to mention a few of them:
* The note names are quite different in Italian/French/Spanish accordion notation: La, Si, Do, Re, Mi Fa, Sol.
* Some (older) Italian editions have the left hand notated in the Treble Clef.
I'm aware about the different note names in various languages, but thanks anyway. If this is all the principal difference then good. It is unlikely I'll step outside these four variants.
And while researching I found this thorough explanation written by some good guy.
planet-accordion.com / en / the-standard-basses-structure-and-notation
I suggest that you try some other entry methods:
Thanks! I'll try your advice about entering. I've also tried Freepiano through MIDI Yoke but nothing worked and I gave up. But this deserves a separate topic.
2) The root note in parenthesis can be added with the Expression Tool.
There is a notehead character in the music font, in character slot #207 (are you using the Maestro font?).
To get a smaller notehead character, do not use it in its default size of 24 Points, but rather in a smaller size, e. g. 18 Points.
I would consider saving it as an Expression Library.
Thanks for the idea. For the root notes I found #101 in Maestro percussion, it already has parentheses. I only couldn't figure out how force it to be exactly under/above or on the line. And why is it green, hm? But I like to show letters for the roots, so I probably won't use this thing #101.

I didn't clearly understand your library and articulation stuff but I'll try to dig into this direction, I hope I'll understand how all these work.
Finale 2005, WinXP SP3

User avatar
Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6603
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by Peter Thomsen » Sat Jun 28, 2014 1:10 pm

IvanM wrote:
Peter Thomsen wrote:2) The root note in parenthesis can be added with the Expression Tool.
There is a notehead character in the music font, in character slot #207 (are you using the Maestro font?).
To get a smaller notehead character, do not use it in its default size of 24 Points, but rather in a smaller size, e. g. 18 Points.
I would consider saving it as an Expression Library.
Thanks for the idea. For the root notes I found #101 in Maestro percussion, it already has parentheses. I only couldn't figure out how force it to be exactly under/above or on the line. And why is it green, hm?…
1) Do not worry about the green color.
It will print in black (green is just the expression’s display color on the computer screen).

2) To position the notehead vertically correct, use Points as Measurement Units.
The height of a staff is 24 Points => the height of one scale step is 3 Points
To move a notehead up by one scale step, increase the vertical position by 3 Points.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

Post Reply