A six or seven string guitar is better. Seven-string guitar: features and selection rules

A modification of six-string acoustics that is not very common, but has a place on the stage, is the seven-string or Russian guitar. Unlike a seven-string electric guitar, where the 7th string is additional, in a Russian guitar the seventh string is completely independent, which changes the usual tuning. Chords and playing techniques learned on six string guitar, cannot be transferred to a seven-string, also known as a gypsy.

Seven-string guitar for a beginner

Who is it suitable for?

Which guitar is better to buy? Which guitars are good and which are not so good? What types of guitars are there? Why does one guitar cost 3,000 rubles and another 30,000 rubles, although they look the same in appearance? These and many other questions torment a person who decides to learn to play the guitar. This article contains answers to frequently asked questions

(abbreviated FAQ from the English “Frequently Asked Questions”).

1. I’m a beginner and don’t know which guitar is better to choose / I need a guitar as a gift, but I don’t understand anything about them...
Great, you're just at the right place! First, decide on the type of guitar. Do you need an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar or maybe a bass guitar? Think about it and read on...

2. What is the difference between a learning guitar and a professional guitar?
In fact, this division is conditional. Any professional guitar can easily be used for training. Professional guitars They are distinguished by first-class wood, fittings, and high precision settings.
But you shouldn’t look for any special guitar designed specifically for learning. You can learn to play any guitar. Then what is the best guitar to buy for beginners? The main condition is that it doesn’t fall apart in your hands and stays in order, otherwise learning will turn into torture :)

3. Which acoustic guitar is better, please advise.
First, decide on the type of acoustic guitar.

Classical guitar: not very large body, wide neck, nylon strings, soft warm sound. This guitar is best chosen for beginners, primarily from the point of view of playing comfort. The nylon strings are softer on the fingers, and the body of the guitar is not very large and fits comfortably in the hands. In general, it is better to learn on such a guitar; it is often bought for studying at a music school.

Non-classical acoustic guitar(Western, Jumbo, Dreadnought): large body, narrow neck, metal strings, bright, ringing, loud sound. Such guitars are better for lovers of metallic ringing sound, for strumming, for playing blues and rock, for playing with “braces” and “slides”.

Electro-acoustic guitar : This is a guitar with a built-in pickup and the ability to output sound to an external speaker. The guitar is connected to the speaker via a cord; a small microphone is installed inside the body, which picks up the sound and transmits it to the speaker. The pickup is installed in both classical (less common) and non-classical guitars (more often).

Twelve string guitar. It is closest in characteristics to a non-classical acoustic guitar. The difference is in the number of strings (12 pcs.) and the reinforced body, which is designed to restrain the tension of the strings. The playing principle and tuning of a 12-string guitar are no different from conventional acoustics; additional strings merely duplicate the main ones, making the sound richer and brighter. 12-string guitars are presented in a separate section of our store.

Exclusive acoustic guitars : There are other varieties (seven-string guitar, resonator guitar, semi-acoustic guitar, etc.). We will not touch on this issue here.
At the following link you can read about their sound and specialization. And if you need detailed help with choosing an acoustic guitar, then contact this article .

4. I need an electric guitar, what do you recommend?
The question is also not an easy one; you can’t answer it in one sentence. Each electric guitar has its own tone. In general, you can play any music on any guitar, but rock music will sound better on one instrument, blues on another, and jazz on another. The quality of the pickups and the wood from which the body is made plays a big role in the choice. Read more about choosing an electric guitar In this article .

5. What is a bass guitar?
A bass guitar is an electric musical instrument similar to an electric guitar, but with a lower range of sound frequencies (bass). The strings on a bass guitar are much thicker than regular ones and they sound lower. Typically bass guitars come in 4 or 5 strings. For a beginner without special needs, a four-string instrument will be quite sufficient. The principle of choosing a good bass guitar is the same as with choosing an electric guitar. Read more about bass guitars In this article .

6. Which guitar is better for a child?
Often bought for children scaled down guitars . Typically, children's guitars are labeled in two sizes: 1/2 (half) and 3/4 (three-quarters). These dimensions are based on a full size guitar. Most often, children take a smaller acoustic guitar with nylon strings (they are softer for the fingers), but you can also find smaller electric guitars (for example, Cort G110 Junior BKS). You will find more information about children's guitars In this article .

7. What is the difference between an electro-acoustic guitar and a semi-acoustic one?
Electro-acoustic guitar is a regular guitar with a built-in pickup inside the body. The pickup performs a complementary function, i.e. You can easily play such a guitar without a connection, it will sound loud and without distortion. Electro-acoustic guitars presented.
Semi-acoustic guitar is a specific instrument - a hybrid between an acoustic and electric guitar. The body of such a guitar is quite thin and is equipped with a non-standard resonator hole (usually in the form of a treble clef or small circles). Without a connection, a semi-acoustic guitar sounds quite quiet, but louder than an electric guitar (which does not have a sound hole at all). The sound of a semi-acoustic is also closer to an electric guitar and is most often equipped with electric guitar pickups. Often such a guitar is bought by blues and jazz musicians, as well as as a gift to respectable men :) You will find semi-acoustic guitars in this section.

8. Which guitar is better: six-string or seven-string?
Both types are good in their own way. However, there is one “but”: 99% of guitars produced today are six-string, and very few seven-string instruments are currently produced. Majority teaching aids, video courses and schools also focus on six-string guitars.

9. I need a seven string guitar, why are they so hard to find?
The seven-string guitar (also: Russian, gypsy, seven-string) is a rare species in our time, it can be included in the Red Book. This type of guitar appeared in the late 18th - early 19th centuries and dominated in Russia until the beginning of the 20th century. Mostly Russian romances were performed on the seven-string. Well, then most guitarists turned to the classical six-string guitar, then to non-classical modifications and electric guitars. The seven-string guitar gradually died out as a species and now only people remember it older generation, grew up in Soviet years. 7-string guitars presented in this section our store.

10. Which guitar is better: new or used?
Complex issue, causing a lot of controversy and discussion among guitarists. If you buy an inexpensive tool (up to 10,000 rubles), then in general it is better to take new guitar, because Inexpensive guitars are more prone to wear and tear and various types of defects over time. If you choose from mid- and high-priced guitars (using solid wood in the body), then it’s more complicated. On the one hand, good wood begins to sound even better over time. Those. A good guitar is like wine: the older, the better. At the same time, you will pay less price than for a new guitar. On the other hand, if you are not well versed in guitars, then they may sell you an instrument with a hidden defect. Therefore, if you are planning to buy a guitar secondhand, be sure to invite a knowledgeable specialist to inspect and listen to it.

12. What is a pickup, what types of pickups exist?
A pickup, in general, is an electronic device that reads sound, converts it and transmits it to an output device (speaker). Roughly speaking, this is a microphone. It is known that there are different microphones (speech, vocal, instrumental). In addition, the sound changes when the microphone location is changed. It’s the same with pickups: in order to achieve a certain sound, guitarists often struggle for a long time with choosing a good pickup. In the following article you will find information about types of pickups for electric guitar .

13. Why do some electric guitars have 7 or 8 strings instead of 6?
An additional seventh and sometimes eighth string is needed mainly for professionals. These strings are thicker and seem to complement the overall structure. Often, such guitars are also chosen by fans of heavy music who play in low tuning.

14. What is a truss rod and what is it used for?
An anchor rod or bolt (anchor) is a metal rod that regulates the amount of deflection of the neck. It is located inside the neck of the guitar. Adjusting the neck deflection allows you to change the height of the strings above the neck. Typically, this procedure is relevant when the season changes (winter/summer) or under conditions of a sharp change in humidity. Read more about the anchor and its settings In this article .

15. What is a cataway?
Cataway (from the English “cut away”) is a cutout on the body of the guitar that facilitates access to the upper frets. There is an opinion that the cutout degrades the sound characteristics of the guitar. If so, then the influence is negligible, giving it special attention not worth it.

16. What strings are best for a guitar?
For classical - nylon, for non-classical - metal, for electric guitar - electric guitar metal, for bass guitar - bass. There are strings different thicknesses and are made from different materials. The thicker the string, the more difficult it is to clamp it on the fingerboard. The thinner the strings, the greater the likelihood of strings rattling. The average thickness of 1 (thin) string for an acoustic guitar is 0.11 mm, for an electric guitar - 0.10 mm. .

17. How often should you change the strings on your guitar?
Strings are short-lived by nature. Over time, they accumulate grease, sweat and dirt from your hands, so they lose the beauty of their sound. Nowadays it is enough to buy a new set. In general, with a daily playing of 1.5-2 hours, the strings need to be changed every 1-2 months.

18. How to extend the life of strings?
Wash your hands thoroughly before playing the guitar. Advice for poor students: Soviet time There was a shortage of strings and they were periodically boiled :) By the way, there are durable strings using nanotechnology (for example, Elixir), which, although more expensive than usual, last an order of magnitude longer.

19. Is it possible to put metal strings on a guitar with nylon strings?
If you don't mind the guitar, you can experiment. The problem is that the tension in metal strings is much greater than the tension nylon strings. In most cases classical guitar is not adapted to such loads, replacement may lead to damage to the guitar. There are exceptions. The company Strunal (Cremona) has 2 models of guitars that differ only in strings: the 4670 model has metal strings, and the 4671 has nylon strings. But the guitar is the same, which indicates the possibility of replacing the strings. But if you decide to change nylon to metal, then select thin metal strings with the lowest tension.

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 instruments 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 (resonating 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 spanish guitar, the shape of its body and so on. Due to this, the sound of the instrument has changed somewhat. Nowadays, acoustic guitars come in 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 a large 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 the instrument. 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.

Having said “Sihra’s guitar”, it is unlikely that many will guess what we're talking about, although everyone in Russia knows about this musical instrument. This is what experts call the seven-string guitar, invented Russian composer and musician Andrei Osipovich Sihra. Although no one is 100% sure that the seven-string was completely invented by Sihra. The exact data simply has not been preserved.

It is known that the guitar appeared in the late 1780s, and it was Andrei Sikhra who was its first popularizer. He not only wrote great amount works for the seven-string guitar, and he masterfully performed these works on it. Approximately, Syhra's first seven-string guitar was made somewhere in 1788-1789, because. Sihra brought it to Moscow in 1790.

The seven-string guitar is still known throughout the world as the “Russian guitar”. The second name of the guitar is gypsy. Hence the prevailing opinion that the seven-string is a gypsy folk instrument and she came to Russia from gypsy camp, but this is wrong. Rather, on the contrary, the gypsies learned about the guitar because they themselves lived or wandered around Russia.

Before the revolution, the seven-string guitar was very common in the country. Classical works were performed on it and accompanied during singing. The guitar was a favorite instrument among the military elite - the hussars and an obligatory participant in various entertainment events.

The structure of the seven-string guitar made it possible to adjust it to the characteristics of a particular voice, as a result of which the guitar was often used to perform bard songs. So, for example, Vladimir Vysotsky, who played only a seven-string guitar all his life, tuned it a tone, or even a tone and a half lower than required classical tuning, but this did not affect the sound at all.

The main difference between a seven-string guitar and a six-string guitar, except, of course, the number of strings, was that the tuning of a seven-string guitar is consonant, while the tuning of a six-string guitar is dissonant musical instrument. In other words, if you simply run along the strings without pressing anything on the fretboard, you will get a euphonious chord on the seven-string, and a set of unpleasant sounds on the six-string. Therefore, the musical possibilities for a seven-string are wider, but playing it is considered more difficult than playing a six-string. Although, of course, everything depends on the skill of the performer.

Until the mid-60s, Soviet industry produced seven-string guitars in quite a large quantities. But with the infiltration into the USSR Western culture and the desire to imitate the same The Beatles and other popular musicians and groups, the popularity of the seven-string among the population began to fall. At first, young musicians of that time simply removed the extra string and rebuilt the guitar, and a little later the industry reoriented itself to the production of six-string instruments.

Today Syhra's seven-string guitar is used professional musicians quite rare. Mainly for performance classical works, written specifically for her or a traditional Russian romance. But, nevertheless, the guitar continues to exist and still remains an original Russian guitar.

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?

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

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, dropping the sixth string on a 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

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

In the industry standard formation for such instruments it is considered as follows (from bottom to top):

• 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.

Thus, the guitar tuning looks like this:

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

Strings

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.

In this material we will only use standard setting 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 from American companies Schecter, Washburn, Jackson. Other well-known companies Seven-string electric guitars are also made, but the choice of models is much smaller.

Seven-string electric guitars are divided by quality. The better the quality of the 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

Price: $299

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

LTD EC-407BFM

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

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, turn off open string 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 running variable stroke, and not direct.

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 weak share, 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 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.