AAA accordion notation in LilyPond?

[Alan Sharkis]

I'm a very new LilyPond user and I play accordion.  I've been asked by my small band to do some arrangements.  I can write lead sheets off the top of my head, but since our keyboardist needs help with reading music, it would be unfair for me to teach him to read treble and bass clef and use lead sheets for me.

 

When I first learned to play accordion, I learned AAA (American Accordionists Association) notation.  AAA  notation was invented many years ago to take advantage of the Stradella bass system that's fairly common on piano-accordions and, with some variation, on chromatic button accordions.  There are six rows of buttons for the bass -- two of them sound single bass notes and five sound ready-made chords.  In AAA notation, the treble clef is the same as it would be for piano. 

 

The bass clef is different, and here's where I need help in designing a template for AAA accordion notation.  Here are the bass clef properties:

 

1. All notes below the third line and third-line notes with stems pointing up represent single bass notes (there would be no problem with my doing these in LilyPond.) 

 

2. Bass notes as above that are intended to be played in the counter-bass row have a short line under them below the staff.  To distinguish it from a ledger line, it would be a little thicker.  When such a note is called for, this line would have to be there whether there are fingering numbers below the staff or not.  I'd be interested in any ideas you might have for doing this.

 

3.  All notes above the third line and third-line notes with stems pointing down are chords.  The type of chord is represented by a single character above the first chord of its type in a given measure as follows -- M for major, m for minor, 7 for dominant-seventh and d for diminished-seventh.  

I would guess that the easiest way to do this would be to include those symbols as lyrics, but if any of you can think of another way to do it, I'd be interested.

 

Thanks for any help you might offer.

 

Alan