I thought I'd share this capo placement chart for all the guitar players here on the Ramp.  It takes the guesswork out of knowing where on the neck to place your capo to play in different keys.  Hope you find it helpful!! 

I was going through some of the lessons I'd done in the past about different guitar and music theory topics, and I ran across this one.  I thought I'd share it here on the Ramp.  It basically shows how a chord can be played up and down the neck in different voicings, using the basic open chord "forms"  C-A-G-E-D.  

I've had a few people ask me about "slash chords", and I thought that it might be a good topic for a lesson to share here on the Ramp. I've attached the lesson as a PDF file.      

With SongRamp being a site in support of all things songwriting, I thought I'd offer some "lessons" from time to time (as PDF attachments)  about different musical aspects of songwriting, specifically dealing with chords. I got the idea of this first lesson when I remembered a question a songwriter had asked me several years ago about "spicing" up her chord progression.  She already had basic chords for her song, but she wanted to add some "color" to them, to make her existing progression a litt...

I've never had a Blog before. Can i have this one?

Like millions of fans and admirers, I was in a state of total shock and heartbreaking disbelief when I learned of the death of comedian and actor Robin Williams yesterday. As the all the news reports have stated, Robin's death is being ruled a suicide from asphyxiation.  At first, my initial response was "Why, Robin?  With the wonderful career that you've had and the millions and millions of people who's lives you've touched with your comedic genius, why did you do this?"  As more details of the...

                                                                                              The Path Chapter Three                                                                                               © 2014 by John Kenney     We went past the garden and I got a better look at it as we did. All of the rows were so perfect, very few weeds, so it was clear this was a well tended to garden. It takes time, effort and diligence to keep a garden looking this good. I know because dad and I wo...

    So, here we go on our new adventures in SongRamp - new look, new feel - but the same cool folks and laid-back atmosphere.  That said, I know that some of you are asking:  "WTF?? Why did we do this?" The Admins and I have been posting about this on the legacy site for a couple of years now.  The original developers of SongRamp - Bondware - made a business decision to focus on their more profitable lines, which are heavily directed at the newspaper and magazine businesses.  That decision left...

BERT By Paul Evans Pedersen, Jr. It's amazing how many thoughts can go through your mind after seeing a face you're sure you think you know, but yet aren't sure enough about it to assign a name to it. As I stood at the front counter that cold, snowy Monday morning in my White Horse Pike jewelry shop in south Jersey, re-arranging the jewelry I'd been making for the Christmas season that was upon us, the old gal happened in from out of the snow that had been falling since before dawn. She ...

The Path Chapter Two by John Kenney © 2014 The inside of the cabin was unremarkable for the most part as I recall, but warm and comfortable. ‘Now Nathan would you care for some tea?’ ‘Thank you yes sir.’ I replied, still looking around to see what treasures might be in this home of a man who was gradually enthralling me. There were no appliances as I recall. By that I mean a refrigerator or such. Just an old iron stove, a large bowl, some shelving, a bed, and table and chairs that very...

The Path Chapter One by John Kenney © 2014 It was very early morning, school finished for another year. One more summer of my youth about to begin. Waking to the ticking of old Dimes toenails on the hardwood floor, the day begins. A pretty normal night's sleep with ‘those dreams’ again. The good ones, where you don’t remember your feet touching the ground and all the colors are sharp and clear. Another breakfast, another day where all the parts inside wake up one at a time. The sun...

I've never done a blog before...perhaps I'm doing it all wrong, but....... that has never stopped me in the past. Phase 1 (background) I decided I wanted into music on February 9th 1964 (google that date). By into I mean...somehow, someway, I wanted to go in that direction. I didn't think "yea drums!" or "yea guitar player!" simply "yea!" A recognition of huge proportions to my 14 year old mind, dare I say the first! (Ok girls were neat but this seemed attainable.) Never fancying myself a gr...