Chemnitzer concertina music

• Jul 7, 2018 - 21:53

I just returned to take another look at musescore to see if it can produce Chemnitzer Concertina Music. I tried this a while back but I hit a snag someplace and quit trying. I'm hoping that maybe new changes have come in or maybe someone else has already done this.
My problem is Chord notation. All Chemnitzer Concertina music must have the chord name at the bottom of the stave, one name per bar regardless of the number of notes unless the chord changes. Inserting the name of the chord isn't the problem however. I need to have the chord played during the playback to help verify that I have the correct chord. It is also essential that the name of the chord changes if the music is transposed.
Is this possible with Musescore?

I would very much appreciate any help you can come up with
Ken

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• Jul 7, 2018 - 22:02

I'm not a programmer, but I've seen a lot of requests for chords to be played. There is a problem with how the chords should be played in various situations. I'm curious HOW the chords are played on the Chemnitzer Concertina. Do they match the rhythms on the staff or some other rhythm?

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• Jul 7, 2018 - 23:01

Thank you for your reply.
The chord name is only necessary for the bass notes. The rhythm of the chord playback is not important because the chord is only played while writing the music to let us hear that we have the correct chord. We also may not know for sure what chord to use and having the ability to hear it makes it much easier to come up with what sounds best. It is extra important to have the correct chord be noted because Concertina players all know exactly what buttons to press for the alternating bass notes and afterbeat notes for any chord name. Without having the ability to hear the chords during the playback it would be very difficult to assure the chord names are correct. The obvious answer is "Just play the song and you should be able to hear an incorrect chord". However Concertina players that are vey familiar with the song may play the correct chord even though its written wrong just because they know what should be played, especially players like myself that write the music.

I am currently using another music notation software but I'm hoping I can get musescore to work because there are a number of other people that would like to write their own Concertina music and with this software available to everyone it would be ideal.
I guess it is possible with musescore to automatically change the chord names when transposing and that is a major plus.
Ken

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• Jul 8, 2018 - 00:58

If this feature were based upon the current chord entry system, then transposition of chords is simple.

What is confusing is that you said two apparently contradictory things:

The rhythm of the chord playback is not important because the chord is only played while writing the music to let us hear that we have the correct chord.

and

Concertina players all know exactly what buttons to press for the alternating bass notes and afterbeat notes for any chord name.

It sounds as though the musician plays the bass based upon the chords written below the staff but the actual notes and rhythm are not written.

In the other program, what is the process for writing your music? For example

Write a chord below the staff and when you advance the cursor the chord sounds

or

Write all of the chords then press play and the chords sound

or

Both of the above apply.

Which brings us back to your two statements. Do you want the chords to playback with the melody or only sound on demand or both? Also, it sounds like the musician uses some sort of pattern (rhythm) to play the notes in the chord.

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• Jul 8, 2018 - 12:08

The playback rhythm is always controlled by the song timing (2/4, 3/4, 4/4,etc). The timing of the chord is determined by the type of note selected within that rhythm. For example if a song is written in 3/4 time, the writer could enter three chord names, each assigned a quarter note each for each bar. The chords would then sound according to the instrument chosen which often is a acoustic guitar. Using the 3/4 timing example again, the writer could also choose to enter just one chord for each bar and use a dotted half note for the chord name. The chord is sounded at the time it is entered and at playback. The chord is sounded only for the writer to verify that it is correct. The timing of the chord is not important because the chord playback is only used while writing the music. Concertina music is never written with expectation that playback from the music software is offered to the public.
You are correct that the musician plays the entire bass section based on the names of the chord presented. For example if the score has 2/4 timing, and the chord name is "G", a Concertina player knows the bellows must be pushed together for a "G" chord and there will be two alternating bass notes, each followed by the same 3-note chord. The bass is always played with the buttons on the left side. The Concertina musician must memorize whether or not the bellows are pushed together or pulled apart for each chord name, and the button numbers for the alternating bass notes and the 3-note chords. Once that is mastered writing the music is greatly simplified because the entire bass section is completed by only entering chord names.

I hope that helps explain the need for chord playback

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• Jul 8, 2018 - 16:11

You wrote:
The chord is sounded only for the writer to verify that it is correct. The timing of the chord is not important because the chord playback is only used while writing the music.

My understanding is that the concertina plays 'basic' chords - i.e. major, minor, seventh.
So....
Create a staff with the music and chord names, as you previously have done.
Add a second staff to enter/verify the chords during playback. (Afterwards, you can uncheck the 'Visible' box in Edit -> Instruments... or delete the staff completely.)

Now...
To expedite the chord entry on the second staff, open a brand new score and create triads (or chord inversions) - major, minor, seventh - used in that song's key. Once created, this separate file can be saved as a kind of 'chord chart', and used for future compositions.

Finally...
Using the View menu, place the two documents side-by-side (or stacked) and copy/paste the triads from the 'chord chart' as needed onto the concertina score's second staff. You will now have your chord verification.

The timing/rhythm of the 'chord chart' is not important (as stated, the chord playback is only used while writing the music) so the triads can be entered in whatever durations you desire. The created 'chord chart' can be expanded as needed (for other keys) and is reusable (for future compositions).

Regards.

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