Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent » Printables

Piano Scale Chart

Scott Bradford — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 17:42:56 +0000

Following up on my Piano Chord Chart, I have now developed a Piano Scale Chart. The chord chart made it possible for me to play some basic rock-style piano without any formal training, and this new chart will allow me to move even further in the self-teaching process. Expect some more of these ‘cheat sheets’ as I continue learning (and, if it works well, I might even eventually write a ‘Scott Bradford Piano Method’ book).

The two-page scale chart includes common scales that are used in most music—the major scale, the harmonic minor, the melodic minor, the pentatonic major, the pentatonic minor, and the pentatonic blues. Print it out and put the two pages side-by-side to begin memorizing your scales and creating new tunes today!

Piano Scale Chart (PDF).

‘Bad Parking Job’ Notice

Scott Bradford — Sat, 23 Apr 2005 17:44:16 +0000

Don’t you hate it when somebody parks their car in a discourteous manner? Almost every day I see a car parked across multiple spots, too close to a neighboring car, or parking in a spot that isn’t a parking spot at all.

Because it annoyed me so much, I created a notice that you can leave on people’s cars to let them know what they’ve done wrong. Download the PDF, print out some copies for yourself, and start making the universe of parking a better place. There are two notices per-sheet, so you’ll need to cut them in half before use.

‘Bad Parking Job’ Notice (PDF).

Piano Chord Chart

Scott Bradford — Sun, 17 Apr 2005 17:40:12 +0000

The beauty of learning guitar is chords. You memorize the important chords, and you can play almost any song passably. This makes the instrument accessible to anybody who wants to play without making them go through any formal training (not that there’s anything wrong with formal training).

Piano is not so accessible. Generally, to play the piano passably, you have to invest in expensive lessons and learn all that ‘music theory’ stuff and learn to read music and so on. That’s all well and good, but I (for one) don’t have the time, money, or patience to go through all that.

That’s why I made this piano chord chart. With this chart, you can begin playing piano in an informal ‘shorthand’ chord style just like you can with guitar. Memorize how to play the chords, and you can play almost any song on the piano by using its guitar chords. The only thing you have to do with the piano that you don’t with guitar is to pick your octave(s). Use your best judgment for that.

My two-page chart includes common chords from the guitar world for each note: maj, m, 7, m7, dim, and sus. Print it out and put the two pages side-by-side to begin translating your chordal guitar skills to the piano today!

Piano Chord Chart (PDF).