It was one of the most popular instruments, both the upper and lower circles of society. Her sounds could be heard not only on the outskirts of the working rows, but also in the high-society salon. It's a pity, but it's less and less possible to hear its magical sounds, despite the fact that playing it gives no less pleasure than a six-string guitar gives.
Many who inherited this instrument from their fathers or grandfathers are not averse to mastering at least the initial chords, learning a couple of songs that can please relatives and friends. Not everyone knows how to tune a seven-string guitar on their own. Like any instrument, this one has its own characteristics that should be considered when it comes to starting to master the basics of music and playing. There are several ways to tune a seven-string guitar so that the sound is clear and pleasant.
Learning to self-configure
One of the most famous ways is tuning the guitar to the voice. For this type, a subsequent study of the initial chords will suffice. However, most people prefer to tune the instrument with a tuning fork.
Despite the above methods, both among beginners and among amateurs, you can find a different type of tuning, which will be discussed later, namely, how to tune a seven-string guitar by ear.
The very history of this instrument dates back a lot of time, because the Russian, or, as it is also called, the gypsy guitar, has been known since the 18th century. There are many legends about who exactly began to promote the use of the tool. The most common name is A.O. Sikhra. It was he, as the story goes, who invented the guitar. She accompanies some types of classical music, author's songs, Russian romances, which, oddly enough, have been quite popular over the past few years.
Famous musicians who preferred this instrument were Yu.I. Vizbor, B.Sh. Okudzhava, V.S. Vysotsky and others. History has preserved many such names.
Many people study and learn how to tune a seven-string guitar by ear for a long time. This is not as difficult as it might seem, of course, if a person has natural data.
- The thinnest first string is tuned according to the tuning fork - La. This means that by pressing the string at the 7th fret, the sound was identical to the reference "A". Using the peg, directing it in one direction or the other, loosening and tightening, you should achieve the perfect combination of sound.
- The tuning of a seven-string guitar is carried out further as follows: the second string is pressed at the 3rd fret. Its sound, in turn, coincides exactly with the not clamped first. You will have to use a peg every time you select a certain sound for a string. Keep this in mind when setting up.
- While the mood of the seven-string guitar "reached" the 3rd string, it is important to achieve its unison on the 4th fret with the 2nd not pressed.
- By this principle, the tincture of the remaining strings occurs. The fourth at the 5th fret makes the same sound as the free 3rd.
- The fifth, pressed at the 3rd fret, is identical to the free 4th.
- The sixth string of the 3rd fret makes the same sound with the free fifth.
- As for the seventh, the following rule also applies here: on the 3rd fret it is identical to the not clamped sixth.
This may seem like a complicated operation, but for those who have ever held a guitar in their hands and have an ear, this will be quite a simple tuning. And even if the future musician has no experience, you should not be upset. You can use either another method, such as tuning a seven-string guitar on the Internet through a microphone, or make another attempt.
We use the help of the Internet
Many do not know, but there are also seven-string guitars in rock music. Among them, the most notable performers are "Korn" and the former member of "Limp Bizkit". As for the tuning of this type of guitar, the first six strings of it sound like a Spanish six-string, and the final one at the 5th fret, like a free 6th.
Those who have the technical ability and can tune a seven-string guitar on the Internet through a microphone can be said to be happy people. After all, there is nothing easier than to go to a specialized site, of which there are quite a lot on the network, connect a microphone to a computer and start setting it up.
Using a tuner (a small device that helps to get the right beautiful sounds for musical instruments), it is quite easy to tune a seven-string guitar to perfection. In order not to make a mistake during tuning, both programs and Internet pages offer to listen to the correct sound, combine the resulting “melody” and bring the instrument to the desired sound. We must not forget that the guitar is a “live” instrument and from time to time it is advisable to check its mood, which can go astray.
How to tune a seven-string guitar in the standard way
Before tuning a seven-string guitar, let's get acquainted with the names of the strings on the instrument. The first (thinnest) string (D) of the first octave re. The next three strings are tuned in a small octave: the second string (H) B, the third string (G) G and the fourth string (D) D. Further, strings tuned in a large octave, like the previous three strings, have the same names, but sound an octave lower. The fifth string (H) is B, the sixth string (G) is G, and the seventh string of the guitar is (D) D. It is advisable to tune the guitar according to the tuning fork, in this case the sound of the instrument will be more beautiful in timbre. This is primarily due to the strings, designed for a certain tension of a particular guitar tuning. You can tune the guitar by the tuner, which also describes how to tune a seven-string guitar to the sounds of a six-string tuner. Not unimportant role in the beauty of the timbre is played by the guitar soundboard, which is also designed for certain strings. Bards often tune the instrument to match their voice, resulting in a dull guitar sound. Vladimir Vysotsky tuned his guitar one tone, and sometimes one and a half steps lower. Proper tuning begins with the first string, which is tuned to the A tuning fork (A-440). Clamped on the seventh fret, the first string should sound in unison with the tuning fork. If you don't have a tuning fork, try to tune the first string to the beep of your home phone - it sounds just below the tuning fork. The second string (si) pressed at the third fret must be in unison with the first open string. It is advisable to tighten the string when tuning, and not lower it. In this case, our hearing is more receptive, and in the absence of experience in guitar tuning, this is not an unimportant fact. Also, when tuning, you must first hit an already tuned string and, listening to its sound, pull up the tuned one, and not vice versa. The third string (G) pressed at the fourth fret is tuned in unison with the second open string. The fourth string (D) pressed at the fifth fret is tuned in unison with the third open string. Then everything repeats: the fifth string (si) pressed on the third corresponds to the open fourth string, the sixth (sol) clamped on the fourth fret is tuned to the fifth open and the seventh string (re) is tuned to the sixth open string. So, we have a seven-string guitar system: D; G; H; D; G; H; D.
Now, to make it easier to remember the process of tuning a seven-string guitar, let's turn to the diagram:
1st D string on the tuning fork at the 7th fret.
The 2nd B string is pressed at the 3rd fret on the 1st open.
3rd string G pressed on the 4th fret on the second open string.
The 4th string D is pressed on the 5th fret on the third open.
The 5th B string is pressed at the 3rd fret on the 4th open.
The 6th G string is pressed down on the 4th fret, open on the 5th.
The 7th D string is pressed at the 5th fret on the 6th open.
Greetings readers of our site!
Today I would like to discuss with you the topic seven-string electric guitars. Often novice guitarists ask questions about what these guitars are for, how they sound, what their tuning is, and much more.
First of all, it should be noted that six-string and seven-string guitars practically do not differ structurally. One string is added and the neck expands because of this. Everything else is identical. Most often, active and passive humbuckers are used as pickups on such instruments. Some examples use a fixed bridge, while others use Floyd Rose type cars.
ESP 7-string electric guitar
To the classical six-string guitar Mi[E]-Si[H]-Sol[G]-Re[D]-La[A]-Mi[E] one more bass string Si[H] is added. But the system for a seven-string guitar can be used differently depending on the musical tasks, and there will be a separate article about this on our website.
Seven string guitars are used especially actively in heavy styles of music such as death metal, nu-metal, metacore, etc. Manufacturers try to make their sound dense, heavy, monolithic. Many epithets can be chosen, but it is better to listen to this sound yourself, and a demo video will be presented below.
I would like to note the fact that on a seven-string guitar you can play not the most brutal music, but, for example, hard rock and you will not feel any inconvenience or restrictions. On the contrary, the possibilities of the guitar are expanded with the addition of the seventh string.
But if you are thinking about buying such a guitar, decide clearly whether you need such an instrument.
Go to a music store in your city, try playing the seven-strings, listen to their sound and draw your own conclusions.
A lot of well-known guitar manufacturers present seven-string specimens in their model lines. Among such firms, the following can be distinguished: Ibanez, B.C. Rich, Schecter, Carvin, Jackson, ESP and many others.
Members of many heavy metal bands use seven string guitars. One of the most famous is the group Korn. The musicians of this group use Ibanez guitars.
Guitarist for Korn
And now let's move on to the most important thing - let's listen to how the seven-string electric guitar sounds. The video shows examples of sound on a clean sound, as well as using
The classical seven-string guitar is built according to the following principle:
Si (large octave) - fifth string
There are more tuning options for a seven-string guitar. Sergey Nikitin (performer, composer) uses the following scale:
Re (first octave) - first string
Sol (small octave) - third string
Re (small octave) - fourth string
Sol (large octave) - sixth string
Re (large octave) - seventh string
Vera Matveeva, Bulat Okudzhava played in the following system:
Re (first octave) - first string
Si (small octave) - second string
Sol (small octave) - third string
Re (small octave) - fourth string
Do (small octave) - fifth string
Sol (large octave) - sixth string
Re (large octave) - seventh string
There is also an old gypsy minor scale:
Re (first octave) - first string
B-flat (small octave) - second string
Sol (small octave) - third string
Re (small octave) - fourth string
B-flat (large octave) - fifth string
Sol (large octave) - sixth string
Re (large octave) - seventh string
But we will focus on the classical system.
We tune the first string to the sound of Re of the first octave. We adjust the second, pressed on the third fret, to the first open one, so that they sound in unison. The third string, pressed at the fourth fret, is under the second open one. The fourth, pressed on the fifth fret - under the third open. Fifth, pressed on the third fret - under the fourth open. The sixth, pressed on the fourth fret, under the fifth open. The seventh, pressed on the fifth fret, under the sixth open.
Part 1. Guitar tuner
You can easily and quickly tune any guitar using a digital tuner. For example I am using Chromatic Tuner IMT-900. Here he is:
The principle of handling such a tuner is so simple that now even the one to whom the bear stepped not only on the ear, but also on the whole head will be able to tune the guitar :) The tuner is attached to the neck blade, removes sound vibrations from it and shows on its screen a scale, an arrow and a sounding note (A, B, C, etc.)
Part 2. Guitar Tuning
A- la-a :)
B- Si-i (same as H)
C– Do-o
D– Re-e
E– Mi-and
F– Fa-a
G– So-ol
Standard tuning of the Russian guitar gives a chord on open strings G major(G) and it turns out like this:
1st string - D(Re) by tuning fork
2nd string - B(si) on the third fret - in unison with the first
3rd string - G(Salt) on the fourth fret - in unison with the second
4th string - D(Re) on the fifth fret - in unison with the third
5th string - B(si) on the third fret - in unison with the fourth
6th string - G(Salt) on the fourth fret - in unison with the fifth
7th string - D(Re) on the fifth fret - in unison with the sixth
If you lower the tuning by half a step, then, for example, the A-minor chord (Am, 2122X) will slide down one fret, that is, 3233X will be taken. If you lower the guitar tuning a tone lower, as Vysotsky often did, then A minor (Am) will be where B minor (Hm) used to be, that is, 43440. And so on.
Just in case, I’ll explain what these strange numbers mean, for example, “forty-three thousand four hundred forty” or 43440 :) So often they write down chords, that is, which string on which fret to clamp. The serial number of the digits in the row is the strings from the first to the fifth (by the sixth, by the seventh). That is, the first number is responsible for the first string, the second for the second, and so on. And the number itself is the number of the fret on which you need to clamp the specified string. That is, for the entry 43440 (more precisely 43440XX) we get the following decoding:
4
- 1st string at 4th fret
3
- 2nd string at 3rd fret
4
- 3rd string at 4th fret
4
- 4th string at 4th fret
0
- 5th string open
X- the sixth string does not sound
X- the seventh string also does not dance
Vladimir Vysotsky at the very beginning of his creative life played on the standard tuning, and in the middle and at the end he tuned the guitar mainly a tone and a half lower. But you can meet him with a system two tones lower (for example, a recording in Ostankino, January 1980), and even two and a half (!) Tones lower (for example, a performance at the Commune Palace of Culture, March 1980).
Why it is customary to lower the tuning on the seven-string, we will discuss in the next chapter, but for now, just in case, I will give the layouts of the tuning from standard to lowered by two and a half tones.
(the first letter corresponds to the first, thinnest string)
Russian 7-string tuning:
Standard tuning: D B G D B G D system Salt or (0)
half a step lower: C# A# F# C# A# F# C# system F-sharp or (–0.5)
One tone lower: C A F C A F C system F or (-1)
One and a half steps lower: B G# E B G# E B system Mi or (-1.5)
Two steps down: A# G D# A# G D# A# system D sharp or 2)
Two and a half steps lower: A F# D A F# D A system Re or (–2.5)
Spanish 6-string tuning:
Standard tuning: E B G D A E
Half step down: D# A# F# C# G# D#
One tone lower: D A F C G D
One and a half steps lower: C# G# E B F# C#
Two steps down: C G D# A# F C
Two and a half steps down: B F# D A E B
