I've said a few times that I like Sunday Morning because that is when I take a little time to listen to the songs on the Songramp Open Mic.It's not the only time I listen but it's my favorite time to listen. When I was younger, I usually missed Sunday morning, if not the entire day, because of the antics of Saturday night. I never really felt very good on Sundays.  I'm older now, and although that still happens from time to time,it sure doesn't happen like it did when I was a dumb kid who though...

Okay, so I wrote a song about divorce and drinking though I have no personal experience with either one. So how did I come up with a divorce/drinking song? I've got a brother and friends that are pretty much experts in both and they "volunteered" their expertise. The jest of the song is that a guy getting a divorce seeks out a lawfirm at a local bar and finds the “Highly successful law firm of Walker, Daniels, & Beam”. After I finished the song I went on a golf trip to Arizona with the “muses”, ...

I recently started reading MAB's Questions and Answers thread found in the Songramp Music Industry Insider Forum. All 104 pages and getting bigger everyday, where you can find the do's and don'ts, ins and outs, ups and downs of becoming a songwriter in Nashville, Crashville write another Smashville, Music City, Tennessee, USA.Moderated by Marc-Alan Barnette, a fella who genuinely loves the music business, knows it inside out, and has successfully earned a living as a writer, performer, mentor, a...

As I sit here, the morning of my birthday, reflecting on this constant compulsion to create songs, I've come to the conclusion i can't live without it.  It's a sweet affliction - an addiction.  But one that I would never want to changeSongwriters and poets suffer from the same affliction . . . they both believe they have something to say.  I'd bet a buck that most of the following statements describe you: "I spend a large portion of every day thinking about writing songs.""I read scripture and t...

Everyone needs a hobby and some need cuts ... whatever the reason is you're here writing songs this is how I got here.I started stringing words together on paper as a form of self-expression when I was just a teenager. The idea of leaving something tangible, that wasn't there before, through writing has always been a way for me to blow off steam and have a little fun.  I guess I was writing a primitive form of poetry back when I was a youngster (45 some odd years ago), and it wasn’t a far leap t...

Everyday, tens of thousands of songs are written, all over the world. Most will never be heard. Many more will only be sung by the songwriter, either in small circles of friends, or on a small stage somewhere. Very, very few will ever make the mainstream of radio. But, that doesn’t stop the songwriters of the world from turning out new creations. From baring their souls, from sending their messages, from answering the call of the elusive Muse. Why? For the Sake of the Song. “Maybe she just has t...

Prior to leaving England 1972 for Australia, I had been a bass player for a couple of bands between 1964 to mid 1967. I was never very good and mainly a plonker around the root notes.I still have contact with the singer and drummer of the main band and when we get together we reminisce about the good old days. Over the last couple of years I have lost touch with the only surviving guitarist. In 2003 I met the drummers partner who was unable to work and when I asked her how she filled her day she...

This is the revised version of a lesson I'd posted previously here on the Ramp.  I came up with this particular lesson - geared for songwriters who use the guitar when writing  - to give them a "reference" tool of sorts which shows all the chords available to them in the five "guitar friendly" keys of C-A-G-E and D.  Chances are, if you're looking for that cool "elusive" chord to use, it'll be here.  I've provided a table for each key, showing all the different chords that can be derived from th...

This particular lessons offers some different useful ways that you can use to find different notes on the guitar neck. 

  I’ve always loved Physics – not just a good idea, it’s the law! For example, a “RAMP” is defined as an inclined plane: a supporting surface tilted at an angle, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. Ramps are widely used to move heavy loads over vertical obstacles; in our case, The Ramp is designed to help you move your songwriting skills from one level to a higher level. Scientifically speaking, moving an object up a Ramp requires less force than li...

Here's another reference tool I thought I'd share with everyone here on SR.  This is a chart showing different ways that you can modulate (change key) in your song.  It shows the original key, the key that you want to move to, and the "transition" or "pivot" chord(s) you could use to move you into the new key.   Hope you find this useful!