seven-string guitar
A seven-string guitar is a guitar with seven strings instead of the usual six. Such guitars are not as common as the six string variety but a minority of guitarists have utilised them for at least 150 years. Some types of these instruments are specific to certain cultures (i.e. the Russian and Brazilian guitars).
There are eight-string and ten string guitars in use as well, but these are even less common.
History and construction
In the renaissance period the guitar was generally strung with four pairs of strings, termed courses. By the baroque period it had five courses and used a variety of tunings, some of the tunings re-entrant. During the eighteenth century six courses became common and the modern practice of using six single strings became the standard practice after 1800. These developments illustrate an ongoing desire on behalf of players to increase the range of the instrument. Seven-string guitars arose from such a desire and have been in use for over 150 years. French guitarist Napoleon Coste (1805-1883) composed works with a seven-string guitar specifically in mind.
Extra strings are usually added to extend the bass range of the modern six string guitar. These strings are commonly added in two different ways. The first and most common construction is to increase the width of the fingerboard such that the extra string (or strings) may be stopped by the left hand. The second method is to leave the fingerboard unchanged such that the extra bass strings lie next to the existing bass strings and free of the fingerboard in the same fashion in which the archlute and theorbo are constructed. Such unfrettable bass strings were historically known as diapasons or bourdons. The Italian guitarist Mario Maccaferri (b 1899) was a celebrated advocate of the second type of construction.
The Russian Guitar
- Main article: Russian guitar
The Russian guitar, a seven-string acoustic guitar tuned to the Open G tuning, (DGBDGbd) arrived in the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, most probably as a development of the cittern, the kobza and the torban. It is known in Russia as the semistrunnaya gitara (семиструнная гитара) or affectionately as the semistrunka (семиструнка).
Its invention is attributed to Andrei Sychra, who also wrote a method for the guitar, as well as over one thousand compositions, seventy-five of which were republished in the 1840s by Stellovsky, then again in the 1880s by Gutheil. Some of these were published again in the Soviet Union in 1926.
This type of guitar has been called a 'Russian guitar', as it has been primarily played in Russia and later the Soviet Union.
The Russian version of the seven-string guitar has been used by professionals, because of its great flexibility, but has also been popular with amateurs for accompaniment (especially Russian bards) due to the relative simplicity of some basic chords and the ease of playing alternating bass lines.
The Russian guitar is traditionally played without a pick, using fingers for either strumming or picking.
 Tuning of the Russian guitar |
 An F# major chord |
 A B minor chord |
There are more than 1000 different chords for standard Russian 7-string open G D-G-B-D-G-B-D (low to high) and plenty of different schools for left hand (vibrato) and right hand (fingerstyle playing) and enormous classical music musical transposition archives and music composed for Russian 7-string guitar for 200 years in Russia nowadays.
7-string guitar appeared during the second half of XVIII century.
First school for 7-string guitar ever was published in St.-Petersburg, Russia in the year 1798, December, 15th. (15.12.1798) This school belongs to Ignatz Geld (1766, Chezh Republic - 1816, Russia). It seems impossible to find some paperback schools for 7-string guitar, published before the year 1798.
Spanish 6-string guitar have minor key E tuning on open strings, while Russian 7-string have G-major key tuning for open strings. After all, D-G-B-D-G-B-D tuning for russian 7-string was invented specially for arpeggios, since it have adopted for 7-string guitar harp tuning from the very beginning.
Standard Russian seven-string major key tuning since 1798 is D-G-B-D-G-B-D (low to high) Also named Open G tuning in Europe or USA.
"big guitar" G-C-E-G-C-E-G
1/3rd guitar F-A#-D-F-A#-D-F
Three more alternative tuning for Russian 7 string guitar - (strings from 1st to 5th is the same, than in standard russian tuning) - from 7th to the 1st
E-A-B-D-G-B-D
E-G-B-D-G-B-D
C-G-B-D-G-B-D
The only one unique Russian seven string minor key tuning D-G-C-D-G-A#-D
The Brazilian Guitar
The Brazilian 7-string guitar is an acoustic guitar used primarily in choro and samba. It was introduced to Brazil in the early 20th century as a steel string guitar. The style of "baixaria" counterpoint and accompaniment technique was developed throughout the 20th century, especially by Dino 7 Cordas and Raphael Rabello. In the early 1980s, guitarist Luiz Otavio Braga had a nylon string version made, and this has become the norm for most contemporary choro musicians. The Brazilian 7-string guitar is typically tuned like a classical guitar, but with an additional C below the low E as follows: C-E-A-D-G-b-e; although some musicians tune the C down to a B resulting in B-E-A-D-G-b-e.
The Electric Guitar
Hollowbody and Semi-hollow Electric Seven-String Guitars
In the United States, the jazz guitarist George Van Eps had a seven-string guitar built for him by Epiphone in the late 1930s. The guitar was basically a regular electric guitar with an additional bass string, usually tuned to A. Gretsch, also, built a seven string model for Van Eps.
Several jazz guitarists began using seven string guitars after Van Eps, including Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Ron Eschete, Lenny Breau, and John Pizzarelli, who is the author of the Foxwoods Casino theme and is the son of jazz legend Bucky Pizzarelli.
The first seven string guitars were built in the "hollowbody" or "semi-hollow" archtop styles, where the guitar has a central resonating chamber, or a central block with resonant chambers on the sides, respectively. This gave the guitar the dark woodiness, breath, and richness that is associated with traditional "jazz" tone, but made it too prone to feedback to be practical for rock guitar.
Solidbody Electric Seven-String Guitars
The solid-body electric seven-string guitar first entered commercial production in 1990,[citation needed] with the introduction of Steve Vai's Ibanez signature model, the Ibanez Universe. At the time, Vai was heavily into numerology, and in particular was drawn to the number 7. Vai was drawn to the idea for much of the same reasons seven string classical and jazz players were - the extended range the additional string offered. After initial experimentation with a high A, a low B was added as the high A proved to be too prone to breaking (George Lynch was experimenting with seven string designs independently at this time as well, also tuned to high A, but opted not to pursue development largely due to issues with an experimental moveable pickup system). Vai began touring with Whitesnake with a seven string prototype, and then used the guitars heavily on what is considered to be a landmark instrumental rock album, his 1990 release "Passion and Warfare."
In the early 1990s, several other heavy metal guitarists began using seven-string instruments (notably John Petrucci of Dream Theater and Trey Azagthoth and Erik Rutan of Morbid Angel), seeing the possibility for detuned riffing while preserving the full upper range of the guitar for solos. However, the seven string guitar failed to really catch on at this phase in its development, and the Universe model was discontinued briefly in 1995.
The seven-string guitar became prominent in alternative rock when Korn featured Ibanez Universe guitars on their 1994 debut album. Capitalizing on the massive low end produced by the 7th string (typically a low B), Korn and other nu-metal acts fused alternative metal stylings with rap and grunge influences. This period marked the highwater point in the popularity of the seven string guitar, as many manufacturers jumped on the seven string bandwagon that had previously stayed clear (including such "traditional" brands as Fender subsidiary Squier and Gibson subsidiary Epiphone), and manufacturers who had been producing sevens expanded their offerings. The trend eventually passed, but many guitarists were introduced to the extended range offered by a seven string guitar during this period who might not have otherwise been. This was somewhat offset by a growing stigma that a seven string guitar was a "nu-metal" instrument, fit only for heavy riffing. This was ironic as both Korn guitarists Munky and Head remember being told in their early days that the seven string guitar couldn't be used for riffing, as it was seen as a shredding guitar at the time. But in an interwiew Munky says "Now playing without it seems like playing without a finger."
Today, the seven string has emerged as somewhat of a niche instrument. Drop-tuned six string guitars have taken the places of 7's for bands that primarily engage in low-end riffing, and the seven has begun to grow in popularity amongst many of the same sort of bands who were using them in the early '90s — progressive-oriented metal guitarists (such as Jeff Loomis of Nevermore and Norbert von Lehmann of Star Chamber) who wanted to play high melodies and solos over deep riffs. Additionally, seven string guitars were popular and considered cutting edge in the 80s and into the 90s with the shred scene. Now players such as Rusty Cooley, Francesco Fareri, Ricky Graham, Stephen Platt and Marcel Coenen. attempt to "bring back" the shred scene of the 80s which was called "speed metal". Matt Bellamy from Muse uses a custom red Manson 7-string to play just one song, Citizen Erased, with a AADDGBE tuning. This guitar was originally made for a jazz musician, but they decided they were going to down a more acoustic route and Matt Bellamy decided he'd buy it instead. Besides being used by solo artist, seven-strings are also used by Mathcore bands and in other progressive genres. Band such as Textures, Unearth and Periphery use seven-strings because of the low palm-mutes it produces and the extra range it provides. Christion Olde Wolbers of Fear Factory has his own signature Jackson 7-string guitar offered in Soloist and Dinky forms.
Other seven-string guitars
In the early 2000s, Roger McGuinn (renowned for his skills on the twelve-string guitar and for his long association with The Byrds) worked with C. F. Martin & Company to develop a seven-string folk guitar. McGuinn's guitar (currently being marketed by Martin) is tuned the same as a standard folk guitar with steel strings, but the third (G) string is augmented with a high octave string. Many of McGuinn's notable guitar solos utilize the G string of the twelve-string guitar to perform the main melody, and therefore the Martin seven-string guitar was designed to achieve this extended range playing without the need for doubling all six of the guitar's strings.
See also
- List of artists who use seven-string guitars
External links
- Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev
- Oleg Timofeyev
- Sevenstring.org
- A Professor String article on 7-string sets and beyond
- Photogallery of Seven-string guitars and more
- Brazilian Luthier João Batista's 7-string guitars
- An article on playing guitar Russian style
- Online chord generator specifically for seven string guitars.
- New Orleans Luthier Jimmy Foster's 7-string guitars
- 7 string metal body resonator, harp guitar Custom built for Jeff Martin from the Tea Party
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