Music notation specifically for accordion

[wirralaccordion]

Please can anyone advise on what conventions are commonly used for sheet music written specifically or the piano accordion. Some music has the suggested registrations at the start. Some music might have the bass chords denoted by just the bass note and a capital M above for major chords and a small m above for minor chords, some music incluses triple arrows pointing up which I don't understand. Is there a book that you can recommend containing all this information in one place for easy reference or is there in fact no set of rules and it's all made up by the individual writers?

 

[wirralaccordion]

This photo shows examples of the above

 

[debra]

The two examples are pretty standard, except for these double and triple arrows which I have not seen before (but I'm not that experienced; I only play the accordion for 47 years so obviously I have not seen everything) but my guess would be it means a glissando with 2 or 3 notes.
Other than fingering hints there is no difference between sheet music for PA versus CBA. (Music for CBA may occasionally use more notes (larger range) than you have on PA or chords that are impossible without giant hands.)

 

[JeffJetton]

There are some rules, but they vary from place to place, and not everyone is aware of them even then! FWIW, heres an old one-pager on the most common form used in English-speaking lands:

http://www.zisman.ca/squeezebox/About Accordion Bass Notation.pdf

But youll see different styles used elsewhere. In much of Europe they write out the notes of the left-hand chords, often supplemented by fixed do bass/chord names (except for German-speaking countries, where they tend to use letter names).

 

[JeffJetton]

BTW, those triple arrows mean that, at that point in the music, you are supposed to go out and plant a fir tree.

Okay, not really. I suspect its just a font and/or pdf problem. Those should actually be regular notes, as they are in this other rendering of the same arrangement found here: http://www.arrigotomasi.com/eng/accordion-sheet-music/view.asp?ref=10034

 

[Zevy]

BTW, those triple arrows mean that, at that point in the music, you are supposed to go out and plant a fir tree.

Okay, not really.

<FONT font=Garamond>Thanks for the humor, Jeff!!!

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Jeff,
Yes, the AAA came up with this system of notation. I've heard that one of their motivations at the time was to use a system that made sense for those using stradella bass. At some point, and it may be a long time from now, I just might get familiar with one of the several free bass systems out there, and then writing out the chords may make more sense, since inversions will also be covered.

Alan