Charts for beginners
A beginner's problem is rarely a shortage of explanation. It is that what was explained last week has to be recalled this week, in the middle of doing something else, and it is not there yet. A sheet on the wall covers exactly that gap — and then quietly stops being needed, which is the point.
Most of what is here is for instruments: the first chords on guitar and ukulele, the notes along the fretboard, the layout of the piano keyboard, note values, intervals, the pentatonic box, and the alternate tunings worth meeting early. The rest is for people starting to write code — the flexbox properties, and where a change sits in Git.
Hang them where the practising happens. A reference that makes you put the instrument down has already failed.
UML DIAGRAMS
the fourteen kinds, and the notation a class diagram is made of
VIM COMMANDS
modes, motions and editing per the Vim 9.1 help — and the grammar that composes them into commands
FIRST FINGER FOODS
the size, the softness and the shape of a piece for a baby who feeds themselves, by the NHS guidance
MICROPHONE POSITIONS
where to place a mic around an acoustic guitar and how each spot sounds — after Shure’s guides
BARRE CHORDS
two shapes, twelve chords each
KINDS OF BASS
eight instruments at one scale · what each is about and how it sounds
CIRCLE OF FIFTHS
12 keys · key signatures · relative minors
DRUM KIT NOTATION
where every drum and cymbal sits on the staff — per the Percussive Arts Society standard
THE ELECTRIC GUITAR PICKUP
one coil or two · six builds · where it sits along the string, and how high above it
AMP MIC POSITIONS
where to place a mic in front of a guitar cab and how each spot sounds — after the Shure chart
ARPEGGIOS ON FOUR STRINGS
major and minor in one position · exactly an octave, one note per string
ARPEGGIOS ON FIVE STRINGS
major and minor in one position · an octave and a fifth from the root
ARPEGGIOS ON SIX STRINGS
major and minor in one position · two octaves from the root
ACOUSTIC BODY SHAPES
what each one was made for · from the front room to the stage, at true scale
FIRST CHORDS
15 chords every beginner starts with · standard tuning E A D G B e
NOTES ON THE FRETBOARD
standard tuning E A D G B e · first twelve frets
THE PENTATONIC
three positions · the root is marked
STRING MATERIALS
what they are drawn from, how one wrap differs from another and what of that is audible
MICROPHONE TYPES
what picks the sound up and where it stays deaf — five patterns from one formula
THE SEVEN MUSICAL MODES
the same white keys · a different root
NOTE VALUES
from whole to thirty-second · how many fit a 4/4 bar
C MAJOR FINGERING
right and left · one octave and two
B FLAT MAJOR FINGERING
right and left · one octave and two · two flats · B flat and E flat
D MAJOR FINGERING
right and left · one octave and two · two sharps · F sharp and C sharp