Types of guitars: six-string and seven-string guitars. Seven string guitar

Previously, I already wrote about the connection between sound, color, chakras and seven human shells (auras), as well as their connection with vibration frequencies - Quantum Transition - how will it happen?

There is also good excerpt from the cartoon "Avatar: The Legend of Aaang", which simply and clearly explains how to work with chakras How to open all seven chakras - a guide for children

Theoretical basis

Sound

As you know, music deals with sounds. Sound is created by vibrations of a body, such as a string. Sound has the following properties:

Height is the frequency of vibration.

Timbre - the presence of overtones (overtones) depends on the sound source.

Duration - the duration of the sound.

Volume is the amplitude of vibration.

Musical sounds form a musical system. The sounds used in music are called tones. The most important property of sound in music is pitch: the more often the vibrations, the higher the sound. The pitch of a sound (tone) is measured in hertz (Hz) and determines tonality.

For example, the note A (A) of the first octave has a frequency of 440 Hz. Thus, any sound of a music system has its own pitch. Sometimes the vibrations are so fast that we may not hear the sound being produced, such as the very high-pitched sound of a dog whistle. But not all sounds are used in music.

Our hearing is capable of distinguishing between musical and noise sounds. Noise sounds do not have a precise pitch, such as creaking, thunder, rustling, the sound of train wheels, etc., so they are not used in music. (Already used in modern - for example, the ambient direction).

Music system. Scale. Steps and their names.

The music system is a series of sounds located among themselves at a certain height. On a guitar, the musical system is represented as the sum of all sounds located on the fretboard.

Sounds arranged in height among themselves in ascending or descending order form a scale, and each sound is a step of the scale. Moving in an ascending (descending) order, we seem to

we climb (descend) along the steps of the ladder, that’s why the sounds are called steps, each step of the scale is numbered and has its own name.

The full scale of the musical system includes 88 different sounds, but we do not come up with a name for each sound, but use seven names of notes included in one octave.

These are the names: C (do), D (re), E (mi), F (fa), G (sol), A (la), B (si). On a piano, these sounds correspond to the white keys. The steps have syllabic designations, they correspond to the names of the notes (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si), and numerical (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

1. C (Before)

2. D (D)

3. E (Mi)

4. F (Fa)

5. G (Salt)

6. A (A)

7. H (Si)

We use the same note names for all sounds, but we divide the scale into octaves to differentiate sounds by pitch.

The octaves have the following names:

Sub - counter - octave

Counter-octave

Major octave

Small octave

First octave

Second octave

Third octave

Fourth octave

Fifth octave

It is important to note that the vibration frequency (height) of the first step of one octave and the first step of the next octave (this distance is called an octave interval) will differ exactly 2 times. For example, note A of the first octave has a frequency of 440 hertz, and note A of the second octave has a frequency of 880 hertz.

Halftone and whole tone. Name of derivative stages. Flat and sharp.

In the musical system, each octave is divided into twelve equal parts, these are called semitones. A distance of two semitones forms a whole tone. Only between two pairs of notes there cannot be a whole tone: E, F and B, C. Thus, between the main steps of the scale there are five whole tones and two semitones.

As was written above, there are 7 main steps, on the piano they are represented by white keys, and there are also derivative steps, black piano keys, they are formed by raising or lowering the main steps by a semitone. This process is called alteration. To lower or raise the main steps, accidental signs are used: flat (♭) - lowered by a semitone and sharp (#) - raised by a semitone.

Thus we get 12 equal semitones: A, A# | Bb, B, C, C# | Db, D, D# | Eb, E, F, F# | Gb, G, G# | Ab. Remember that between E, F and B, C is a semitone, so C and F cannot be C♭ and F♭, and E and B cannot be E# and B#.

There are no other notes in music other than these, and each song is written using combinations of them in different octaves, so a melody is simply a sequence of notes with a certain rhythm.

Notes on the guitar fretboard.

You also need to know where all these notes are located on the guitar fretboard. Once you know the notes that are played with open strings, you can find all the others using the knowledge you previously acquired. An open string is a string that is not pressed against the frets with the left hand when playing. A closed string is when we play a note while left hand presses the string between the frets, causing the string to remain stationary relative to the fret and play a higher note.

So what are open strings? Starting with the highest (and thinnest) string and moving up (you are looking at the guitar from above), the notes are arranged as follows: E, B, G, D, A, E - remember this! Each string also has a serial number. The thin E (E) string is called the first string, the B (B) string is called the second string, and so on until the 6th E (E) string.

(it seemed to me alone)

Now how to play other notes is very simple... The rule is very simple. Moving a fret implies moving a semitone. Let's play the G note or the 3rd string, but there are many other options and you can play one or more G notes on each string. Let's take the first string. We know it's an open E string, so on the first fret it's an F, remember there's no E#. The 2nd fret will be F#. The 3rd fret will be G! Let's try another way. We start with the B string - B, C (not B#), C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G - 8th fret.

Am I the only one who thought it was strange that one of the notes was thrown away? Or have I not yet fully grasped why everything is exactly like this?

In general, for me, as a person far from musical wisdom (I only like to listen to music, but I already have a desire to learn how to play any musical instrument), the fact of using six strings instead of seven ( after all, seven notes!) seems quite strange.

Therefore, we will learn more about the seven-string guitar - wouldn't it be more logical to use the model: one string - one note? Or am I still not understanding something?

Russian seven-string guitar- plucked string musical instrument from the guitar family. It became widespread in Russia from the end of the 18th century. Its main feature is its tuning, which is different from the classical tuning. six string guitar.

The Russian seven-string guitar appeared in Russia in late XVIII century. The exact fate of her formation is unknown. According to some researchers (M. A. Stakhovich, M. I. Pylyaev, A. V. and S. N. Tikhonravov), the inventor of the Russian guitar is Andrei Osipovich Sihra (1773-1850) - the founder guitar art in Russia, who wrote about a thousand for her musical compositions and treatments of folk and academic music. He made his first experience of creating and playing the Russian guitar in Vilna (Vilnius) in 1793, with its subsequent improvement in Moscow. Andrey Sihra gave concerts, published popular guitar magazines, and taught a lot.

Considering the fact that the major triad system has been known in Europe since the 16th century and was used on the English guitar (in the key of C, strings: (g1, e1, c1), (g, e, c)), we can assume that Andrei Sikhra borrowed this principle of tuning for his invention with the addition of the seventh (bass) string D (strings: (d1, h, g), (d, H, G), D). It is also known that the author of the first ever School of playing the Russian seven-string guitar, published in 1798, Ignaz von Geld (Ignatius Franzovich Geld, 1766-1816), played the English guitar.

Regarding the shape of the instrument body and design features, the seven-string guitar is generally similar to those of the classic six-string guitar.

In general, I'm not good at music. Maybe someone can explain it simply and clearly, and not like below (too much specific terminology)

The sound of the open strings forms the tuning of the guitar. The sequence of tones, starting with the first string, the highest in tone: D (first octave); Si, Sol, Re (small octave); Si, Sol, D (large octave). This tuning is standard and academic for the Russian guitar.

The tuning is mixed - terts-quart, formed by a major triad in the key of G: (d1 ← h ← g), (d ← H ← G), D) (letter notation according to Helmholtz). In total, the tuning contains two single-tone triads, formed by groups strings 3-1 and 6-4, with octave intervals between the corresponding degrees of triads. The group of strings 7-5 forms a G major quartet-sex chord (the second inversion of the G major triad) with the triple fifth D, doubled prima G and third C[KI 1][KM 2].

Intervals between adjacent strings: d1(m.3)h(b.3)g(m.4)d(m.3)H(b.3)G(b.4)D (m.3 and b.3 - minor and major thirds, part 4 - perfect quart). Thus, the scale contains two identical groups of intervals: (m.3, b.3, part 4) (m.3, b.3, part 4) - only 2 quarts and 4 thirds.

And the pyramid in the picture at the beginning of the post is not shown in vain.
The seven chakras of a person are like seven levels of the frequencies of his vibrations - from the lowest to the highest.
From Muladhara to Sahasrara.

Does the picture remind you of anything?

That's right - the same pyramid. Only at the top of the post it is truncated, without Sahasrara, so to speak. Those. without high frequencies, the Divine Principle.

The correct selection of an instrument is of paramount importance for a beginning musician, since the pace of learning depends on this factor. In particular, many beginners are faced with the problem of choosing a guitar depending on the number of strings, which can be 6 or 7. And before you do final choice in favor of one option or another, you need to understand the difference between a six-string and a seven-string, which is associated with the peculiarities of the sound of these musical instruments.

Difference between six and seven string guitars

The six-string (classical or Spanish) guitar appeared around the end of the 18th century in Spain, as is clear from its name. Afterwards, this musical instrument underwent certain design changes, as a result of which its modern appearance was finally formed by 19th century. The 6-string instrument is tuned in fourths (except for one pair of strings, which are tuned to thirds). Such a system allows both accompanying and performing songs that are distinguished by the ease of playing polyphonic works.

A seven-string (Russian or gypsy) is a guitar with one additional string, which appeared precisely on the territory of Russia. Due to the appearance of the 7th string, the tuning of this musical instrument changed - it became third (with the exception of two pairs of strings that are tuned to fourth). This influenced the playing technique - it became even easier to play chords, and the emphasis shifted towards accompaniment (usually romances). In addition, the special system allows you to extract unusual overtones - overtones, which are very similar to Russian folk music.

Which guitar is best for a beginning musician?

There are 3 main arguments in favor of choosing a six-string guitar for a beginner:

• Most chords for most popular songs, as well as approximately 98% musical compositions famous rock bands and performers are written specifically for 6 strings.
• Buying strings and other spare parts for a six-string is much easier, again, due to its greater prevalence.
• If you need to sell your old guitar, serious problems may arise if we're talking about about the seven-string - now they are used by a very small number of performers.

And if you have already decided in favor of choosing an acoustic guitar with 6 or 7 strings, it’s time to think about the form of training. The most convenient are video lessons from the author's school of guitar playing, recorded on discs. With their help, you can master the basics and improve your level of proficiency in this musical instrument as quickly and easily as possible.

The power and range of sound of seven-string electric guitars exceeds the capabilities of more conventional six-string instruments. An additional string at the bottom gives more room for the guitarist's self-expression, and updated chords with changed fingerings and new sounds open the way to new interesting sound solutions.

How to play a seven-string electric guitar. Content:

What is the difference between a seven-string guitar and a six-string one?

Comparison of six-string and seven-string electric guitars

Among the main differences, in addition to the number of strings, six-string and seven-string instruments differ in pickups and their characteristics, the length and width of the neck, as well as a different sound range. But first things first.

Pickups

Fokin Pickups Demolition 7-String Guitar Humbucker Set

Seven-string guitars are used in extreme and heavy styles of music - alternative metal, various cores and even djent. The low-end sound of these guitars is provided by special high-output humbuckers like those found in DiMarzio, EMG, or Fokin Pickups products.

7-string guitar pickups are designed to accommodate the increased number of available sounds and range of the instrument.

Mensura

Often lowering the sixth string to regular guitar causes problems with tuning the instrument, even when using extra-high tension strings.

Seven-string guitars are equipped with necks with scales ranging from 26 to 29.4 inches (660 mm to 749 mm). This size gives greater tuning stability. Sometimes there are guitar models on the market with necks like six-string instruments - the scale length of such necks is 25.5 inches (648 mm), just like Fender guitars.

The increased length of the neck and the use of extra-high tension strings force manufacturers to play it safe when designing. Many necks of seven-string instruments are reinforced with the help of additional materials.

Neck width

Jackson Chris Broderick Pro Series Soloist 7

The standard neck width of an electric guitar is 43 mm. The neck width of the seven-string guitar has been increased to 48 mm.

Manufacturers are actively working to improve the playability of such guitars. Thanks to this, when playing, guitarists do not feel discomfort along the entire length of the neck and are not limited in the speed of movement along the frets.

Seven-string guitar tuning

Standard tuning for a seven-string electric guitar: B, E, A, D, G, B, E

In the industry, the standard tuning for such instruments is considered to be (from low to high):

• Si (B);
• Mi (E);
• A (A);
• D (D);
• Salt (G);
• Si (B);
• Mi (E).

Just as on six-string guitars the sixth string is lowered to D to create a drop D tuning, on seven-string electric guitars use drop A tuning, dropping the seventh string to A.

Drop A tuning for seven-string electric guitar: A, E, A, D, G, B, E

Thus, the guitar tuning looks like this:

• A (A);
• Mi (E);
• A (A);
• D (D);
• Salt (G);
• Si (B);
• Mi (E).

Strings

Jackson Chris Broderick Pro Series Soloist 7

Understanding how to play a seven-string electric guitar requires a lot of patience and a change in your own thinking. The sixth string is no longer the lowest, get used to it!

How to play a seven-string electric guitar. Scales and chords

Adding a seventh string better reveals the sonic potential of an electric guitar. When playing a seven-string guitar, the guitarist can use new chord fingerings, enriched with additional notes. For example, chords often have added IX or XI degrees.

For the purposes of this material, we will only use the standard tuning of seven-string electric guitars - B, E, A, D, G, B, E.

To understand how to play a seven-string electric guitar, let's understand the principles of constructing chords on such an instrument. The examples given are chords familiar to a six-string guitar, enriched with additional steps.

Badd9 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Badd11 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Bm9 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Bsus9 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Cmaj7 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

D5 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

The situation is similar with respect to scales: the form remains the same, but additional space for maneuver appears. The seventh string adds new colors to the sound, and the guitarist can cover almost three octaves within one scale when playing. At the same time, changes in positions during the game are kept to a minimum.

Pentatonic scale in E minor for seven-string guitar

Scale E major for seven-string electric guitar

Which seven-string electric guitar should you choose under $1100?

Most seven-string instruments can be found in the lines of Japanese guitar manufacturers Yamaha, Ibanez, LTD, Caparison, as well as American companies Schecter, Washburn, Jackson. Other well-known companies also make seven-string electric guitars, but the choice of models is much smaller.

Seven-string electric guitars are divided by quality. How better quality tool, the higher its cost. We chose three guitars - cheap, mid-priced and expensive in the price range up to $1100.

Schecter Diamond Series C-7 Deluxe

Schecter Diamond Series C-7 Deluxe

Price: $299

The C-7 Deluxe from Schecter is a versatile budget model with a basswood body and maple fingerboard.

LTD EC-407BFM

LTD EC-407

Price: $782

A killer-heavy seven-string electric guitar with a mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and a pair of EMG pickups.

Ibanez RGIR27E

Ibanez RGIR27E

Price: $1099

A high-quality tool in the middle price segment. Pronounced bottom, bright top. Basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. The guitar has a locking vibrato and killswitch.

How to play the seven-string guitar. Exercises and examples

Example 1. Getting used to the instrument

When first introduced to seven-string electric guitars, one is surprised by how low the extra string sounds.

To understand how to play a seven-string electric guitar, try a simple palm muting exercise. This exercise will help you understand the specifics of playing a seven-string guitar and teach you how to control the resonance of the instrument.

Example 2: Muting the Strings

Because the 7th string continues to sound as it moves to other strings, playing riffs with open strings runs the risk of polluting the sound.

To avoid dirt, mute the open string with the tip of your finger, which you use to pinch notes on other strings.

Example 3. Playing scales

Due to the wider neck, at first you may have problems playing the lower (bass) strings.

The third example is aimed at improving finger stretching. As you play it, you'll get used to the wider neck of a seven-string electric guitar.

For greater convenience, place thumb at the bottom of the bar, that is, make the reach of your palm as wide as possible. This will make it easier to reach the lowest strings.

Example 4: Changing strings

The fourth exercise develops clarity and purity of sound production of individual notes, especially those located on different strings. Please note that in the example the game is on alternating stroke, not straight.

Example 5: Power Chord Riff

Having become familiar with the instrument, let's play power chords. The difference between power chords on six- and seven-string electric guitars lies in the number of strings - on a seven-string instrument, power chords can be played on four strings. Thanks to this, the chords sound more powerful, and due to muting with the palm, you can achieve an even heavier sound.

The first measure uses a straight stroke (downstroke), while in the second the exercise switches to an alternating one.

Example 6: Trivium style

The example is inspired by the playing style of Corey Beaulieu from the group Trivium. The point of the example is to combine power chords and short melodic lines.

Mute all power chords that fall on the downbeat, and play power chords on the downbeat without muting. This will place emphasis during the game and give the game more dynamics.

Playing melodic sections will also require muting, but we will mute the lower strings to avoid dirt and unnecessary noise (see Example 2 above).

Example 7. Chris Broderick's style

Example based on the playstyle of Chris Broderick from Megadeth and Act of Defiance. The example is performed in the Phrygian mode (see).

Do not chase the speed of execution; first practice a clean execution of the exercise at a slower pace.

The most difficult moment in the example is the transition from a rhythmic line to a melodic line. Practice the transition very slowly and gradually pick up speed. When playing the melody line, mute the lower strings to avoid mud while playing.

Seven string guitar appeared experimentally about two hundred years ago. The first half of the 9th century was marked by numerous experiments in guitar design.

The Parisian master Rene Lecomte created a model of a guitar with seven strings, and he also came up with the idea of ​​​​fastening the strings in the tuning mechanism. Apparently, this guitar was not given any importance in Europe.

That's probably why it's so popular seven string guitar is associated with the Russian musician Sihra Andrei Osipovich, who met it in Russia, appreciated its merits and dedicated his talent to this guitar as a performer and author of a huge number of musical works.

Some write that this guitar was invented by Sihra. But that's not true. He simply dedicated all his creativity to this guitar. There is a legend that Sihra established the seven-string guitar tuning, which still exists today. The seven-string guitar was and is played only in Russia. Hence the name: Russian seven-string guitar.

But still, the seven-string guitar has not gained as much popularity as the six-string guitar, which is considered convenient and versatile. Basically all the music we know belongs to the six-string guitar. And you won’t see a seven-string guitar in the hands of professionals performing on stage.

The seven-string guitar is used mainly for performing Russian romances and variations on themes of Russian folk songs.

In terms of its structure, a seven-string guitar is no different from a six-string guitar, except in size, shape and number of strings.

There are three types of guitars: quart? guitar, tertz? guitar and big guitar. They differ from each other in the distance from the top to the bottom nut, called scales.

The large guitar has a scale of 65 cm, tertz? guitar? 62 cm, quart? guitar? 58 cm. In accordance with the value of this distance, the size of the body and the width of the neck also change, and the distance between the strings for all types of these guitars is almost the same.

In addition to single-neck guitars, there are also double-neck guitars. The additional neck has no frets, and only open strings are used that are not pressed against the neck.

The difference between a six-string and a seven-string guitar

As I already said, the main difference between guitars is the number of strings, hence all the ensuing consequences. The tuning of these two types of guitars is different.

Six-string guitar tuning:

• 1 string? E - second octave
• 2nd string? B - first octave
• 4th string D - first octave
• 5th string A - small octave
• 6th string E - small octave

Seven-string guitar tuning:

• 1 string? D - second octave
• 2nd string? B - first octave
• 3rd string? G - first octave
• 4th string? D - first octave
• 5th string? Si - small octave
• 6th string? G - small octave
• 7th string? D - small octave

Six and seven string guitars sound an octave lower than they are written. That is, if you play a guitar text on the piano, you need to play it an octave lower.

Basically anything written for a seven-string guitar can be played on a six-string guitar. To do this, you need to tune the sixth string a tone below “D”. And then the range of a six-string guitar will become wider than that of a seven-string.

Of course, there is an exception - works that can only be played on a seven-string guitar or, conversely, only on a six-string.

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Solo numbers are performed on it. It is also often used as an accompanying instrument.

Origin of the instrument

The kinnor is considered the ancestor of the guitar. It consisted of a resonating body, strings and neck. The earliest evidence of it dates back to the 2nd century BC. Similar tools existed in Ancient India, they were called sitar and wine. Ancient Egyptian analogues are the zither, nefer and nabla. IN Ancient Rome and Greece, the cithara was popular; it was from its name that the word “guitar” came. The bodies of these musical instruments were made from turtle shell, dried pumpkin, or hollowed out from a piece of wood. In the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, the Ruan appeared in China. They consisted of a lower and upper deck, which were connected by a shell. In the 6th century, Moorish and Latin guitars appeared in Europe based on the Juan. Then the vihuela was born. And in the 18th century - a guitar.

Varieties

Today there are different kinds guitars. There are a lot of them, and they are all classified according to various criteria.

Depending on the method of sound amplification, there are the following types of guitars:

• Acoustic (sound is created thanks to the resonator body).
• Electric guitar (sounds thanks to an electromagnetic pickup).
• Semi-acoustic (the principle is the same as in the previous case, but plus it has a resonating body).
• Electro-acoustic (sounds thanks to the hollow body, but has a piezo sensor that amplifies the sound).
• Resonator (acoustic with metal resonators built into the body).
• Electro-acoustic bass guitar (consists of a hollow body, 4 strings and a piezo transducer).

Based on the body design, the following types of guitars are distinguished:

• Classical (resonant body with 6 strings).
• Folk (similar to the previous type, but adapted to use metal strings).
• Flattop (a subtype of folk guitar, but its top is flat).
• Archtop (the front deck is convex, and at its edges there are two resonator holes in the shape of the letter f; the body resembles a violin).
• Dreadnought (the body is enlarged, rectangular, which gives increased volume, and due to this, the timbre is dominated by low frequencies).
• Dobro (instead of resonating holes there is a metal cone; in some cases there may be a square neck with large frets).
• Jumbo (a larger version of the folk guitar).
• Gypsy jazz (convex soundboards, springs in the body, like a mandolin, metal strings).

There are also several other classifications for this musical instrument: by type of frets, depending on the range, by the genre of music performed on it, by place of birth, by the number of strings.

There are also such types of guitars as ukulele, fretless, tapping, synthesizer, Chapman stick, Warr guitar, etc.

Spanish guitar

During the Middle Ages, Spain was the center of guitar development. In the 15th century, a model was invented there that had five double strings. This guitar was called "Spanish". By the end of the 18th century it had undergone a number of changes. The number of strings has changed to six singles. The body has also changed somewhat. In the 18th century, the Spanish guitar came to Russia.

Acoustic guitar

It appeared in the 19th century. Its creator is guitar master Antonio Torres. He changed the size of the Spanish guitar, the shape of its body, and so on. Due to this, the sound of the instrument has changed somewhat. In our time acoustic guitars There are two types: with a wooden drum and with a plastic one. The sound quality depends on the material used. The best acoustic guitars are those with a drum made of expensive wood. This instrument has a rich and pleasant sound.

Russian seven-string

At the beginning of the 19th century, the 7-string guitar became widespread in Russia. It was born as a result of combining the characteristics of English and Spanish instruments. This guitar was called “Russian”. It gained popularity thanks to the composer, musician and teacher Andrei Sikhra. He wrote a large number of works for seven-string guitar.

Electric guitar

This musical instrument appeared in the 20th century. The first electric guitar was patented by the Rickenbacker company in 1936. It had a solid metal body without a resonator, and it sounded using an electromagnetic pickup. In the 1950s, Les Paul invented an electric guitar whose body consisted of a single piece of wood. But it did not immediately become popular. The design of modern electric guitars, after so many years since their invention, has not changed at all.

Jazz guitar

This instrument is a cross between an acoustic and electric guitar. It can reproduce sound with or without an amplifier. This is a 6-string guitar that looks like big violin. It is much larger than an acoustic one and has a convex soundboard. Also, a jazz guitar has resonator holes made in the shape of the letter f, like violins have. Due to all these features, the instrument has a special sound.

Guitar cost

Anyone who decides to master this musical instrument will certainly want to know how much a guitar costs. The price depends on the type of instrument, on what materials the body and strings are made of, since this determines the sound quality - the higher it is, the more expensive tool. The best acoustic guitars are made from mahogany, rosewood or maple. Accordingly, they are expensive. Prices different types guitars in Russia range from 1,000 to 200,000 rubles.