Tools for your chromatic button accordion in MuseScore

I am learning the chromatic button accordion and use MuseScore a lot to prepare my music. I needed an assistant to:

• see at glance which buttons the right hand should press for a track,
• check the fingering in the annotations,
• expand the chords to make them playable with the Stradella bass system,
• find some suitable chords within a defined scale.

For what it's worth, here is the plugin for doing that! Enjoy.

Setup

Download the QML file into the folder C:\GoToFolderOf\MuseScore\plugins\, then run MuseScore.

1. Work on your track
2. Activate the plugin ChromaticButtonAccordionRight in the manager (if not done already)
3. Call the plugin from the menu
4. Look at the docked accordion

The accordion refreshes itself every 3 seconds.

Known limitations

General

• The score in the screenshot is the typical supported format

Usage of the buttons

The feature counts the notes and highlights them with 6 possible layouts.

• To rotate the accordion by default, or dock the plugin (MS3), edit the plugin with a text editor
• First track only
• 8va/8vb not supported
• Grace notes not supported

Possible scales

The feature finds the scales that contain as much notes as possible. It helps you to define the key signature and the associated chords.

• Multiple scales per song not supported
• The more various notes, the more accurate the proposed scales
• Manual choice of the final minor or major scale with the help of the virtual accordion

Fingering

The feature verifies if each note is assigned to a finger. It is very useful at the stage of learning a new song.

• First track only
• First voice only
• Multiple time signatures not supported
• Chords not supported
• First finger only not supported
• Grace notes not supported
• No physical validation of the hand movement
• No musical validation of the order of the fingering

Expanded chords

The feature is dedicated to the Stradella bass system to split a complex chord into simple chords.

• Chords combinations displayed in descending order of accuracy
• Single chords and notes displayed in ascending order of pitch
• Some chords are simplified and partially transposed
• Some chords require a diminished chord on your accordion

Harmonization

The feature finds playable and simple chords to create your bass line. The chords that belong to the current scale are displayed on the first line.

• Multiple key signatures not supported
• Complex chords not suggested
• No musical validation of the chord progression