Rock music does not stand still, and many musicians began to add seven-strings to their guitar arsenal. Perhaps this is a tribute to fashion, perhaps something more. Anyway, it's time to talk about how to setup seven-string guitar ... But let's make a reservation right away, there are two types of seven-string guitars, each with its own repertoire, system and pantheon of virtuoso guitarists. So, let's begin.

1.Tune the Russian seven-string guitar

Short story

The Russian (gypsy) seven-string guitar has been known in Russia since the 18-19th centuries. Andrey Osipovich Sikhra (1773-1850) became its active propagandist, author of transcriptions and initial repertoire. According to one of the legends, Andrei Osipovich was the inventor of this instrument. The repertoire of the Russian seven-string guitar consists mainly of Russian romances, author's song, as well as transcriptions of the best examples of classical music.

Performers on the Russian seven-string guitar

A. O. Sikhra (1773 - 1850), M. T. Vysotsky (1791 - 1837), S. D. Orekhov (1935 - 1998), Sasha Kolpakov (born 1943), V. S. Vysotsky (1938, - 1980), B. Sh. Okudzhava (1924 - 1997), S. Ya. Nikitin (born 1944), Yu. I. Vizbor (1934 - 1984) and others.

The tuning of the Russian seven-string guitar in Latin letters

• Standard tuning: D, H, G, D, H, G, D (all tunings are written starting with the thinnest string).
• The tuning of the seven-string guitar of Bulat Okudzhava: D, H, G, D, C, G, D.
• Tune Sergei Nikitin's guitars: D, A #, G, D, C, G, D.

This material will be useful when tuning your guitar. But the seven-string can be tuned in the standard way by ear.

Tuning, stave

How to tune a seven-string guitar by ear (standard tuning)

• We tune the first (thinnest) string along the Carmerton "la". That is, we are trying to achieve that this string, pressed down at the 7th fret, sounds the same as our sound standard - the note "la". To do this, twist the peg on which this string is pulled, pulling and loosening the string until it produces the desired sound at the desired fret.
• Tune the second string. Press it down at the third fret. At the third fret, it should sound like an unpressed first string. We also twist the second string peg to find the right note. Hereinafter, we will use this method. Therefore, I will not repeat this further, as a matter of course.
• Tune the third string. On the fourth fret it sounds like an unpressed second.
• Tune the fourth string. At the 5th fret, it sounds like an unpressed third.
• Tuning the fifth string. Press it down at the third fret, here it should sound like a non-pressed fourth fret.
• Tuning the sixth string. It sounds like an unpressed fifth at the third fret.
• Tuning the seventh string. It sounds like an unpressed sixth at the third fret.

And now it's the same, just a diagram.

Reconstruction in the system of Bulat Okudzhava

Reconstruction of the seven-string guitar by Sergei Nikitin

• Re-tune the fifth string so that it sounds like the fourth string at the second fret.
• Re-tune the second string so that it sounds like the first at the fourth fret.

Chords for Russian seven-string.

2. Tuning a rock seven-string guitar

Short story

In the middle of the 19th century, Russian Gypsies, having immigrated to Brazil, brought a lot to the culture of this country. Including musically. This is how the New World got acquainted with the Russian (gypsy) 7-string. True, over time, the seven-string guitar changed its Russian tuning to the standard six-string system with a seventh string in H or A. But the real boom of this instrument began only in the 1990s. This was facilitated by the music of the Korn group with the lowered tuning of seven-string guitars with a seventh "C".

Seven-string rock guitar performers

James "Munky" Shaffer (Korn band), Wes Borland (ex-Limp Bizkit), other musicians of the alternative scene.

The tuning of the fatal seven-string guitar in Latin letters

Standard tuning: E, H, G, D, A, E, H (all tunings are written starting with the thinnest string).
Tune Korn guitars: D, A, F, C, G, D, A. (similar in intervals to standard, just lowered by tone)

Tuning, stave

How to tune a seven-string guitar in standard rock tuning

The first six strings of a seven-string guitar are tuned similarly to a six-string (). Therefore, I will not repeat myself here. Seventh - At the 5th fret, it sounds like an unpressed sixth. But nevertheless, I give a setup scheme if anyone is too lazy to view other pages of the site.

Hopefully it helped me figure out the variety of tunings on the seven-string guitar.
I wish you success and more swing in the game!

The classic seven-string guitar is built according to the following principle:

B (large octave) - fifth string

There are also options for tuning a seven-string guitar. Sergey Nikitin (performer, composer) uses the following tuning:

D (first octave) - first string

G (minor octave) - third string

D (small octave) - fourth string

G (large octave) - sixth string

Re (large octave) - seventh string

Vera Matveeva, Bulat Okudzhava played in the following order:

D (first octave) - first string

B (small octave) - second string

G (minor octave) - third string

D (small octave) - fourth string

C (minor octave) - fifth string

G (large octave) - sixth string

Re (large octave) - seventh string

There is also an old gypsy minor scale:

D (first octave) - first string

B flat (small octave) - second string

G (minor octave) - third string

D (small octave) - fourth string

B flat (large octave) - fifth string

G (large octave) - sixth string

Re (large octave) - seventh string

But we will focus on the classical tuning.

Tune the first string to the D sound of the first octave. The second, pressed down at the third fret, is adjusted to the first open so that it sounds in unison. The third string, pressed down at the fourth fret, is played to the second open string. The fourth, pressed down at the 5th fret, is under the third open. The fifth, pressed down at the third fret, is under the fourth open. The sixth, pressed down at the fourth fret, is under the fifth open. The seventh, pressed down on the 5th fret, is under the 6th fret.

The main feature of a seven-string guitar is the number of strings, and since all strings are basic, then build guitars differs from the standard one.

This article will only describe the features of tuning a seven-string guitar. The general rules for tuning acoustic guitars are described in the corresponding article.

The tuning of a seven-string guitar is different from the standard guitar tuning process. The open strings of a tuned seven-string guitar are a G or G major chord.

Guitar tuning and tuning

To tune guitar(seven-string), tune the first string to the note PE. To do this, you can use a tuning fork for the guitar, the first string, clamped at the seventh fret, should sound in unison with the tuning fork (that is, the note ЛЯ).

An example of a PE note is a similar guitar or an open fourth string tuned to a standard guitar tuning (for example, a six-string guitar). You can find a sound recording of a properly tuned string (for example, on the Internet) or take the PE note on the piano as a basis. Also, there are various tuners for tuning acoustic guitars.

But it is better to tune the guitar by ear, in more detail about what an ear for music is and how to develop it.

After you have tuned the first string, proceed to tuning the second, to do this, hold down the second string at the third fret and play the sound, it should be in unison with the open first string.

The fourth string, when clamped at the 5th fret, should sound in unison with the open third string.

The fifth, at the third fret, should sound in unison with the open fourth.

The sixth, at the fourth fret, should sound in unison with the open fifth.

The 7th, at the 5th fret, should sound in unison with the 6th fret open.

Tune guitars, tuning summary

As a result, the tuning of the guitar turned out to be the following guitar tuning:

The first string is D (PE of the first octave).
The second string is H (small octave SI).
The third string is G (small octave SOL).
The fourth string is D (small octave PE).
The fifth string is H (large octave SI).
The sixth string is G (large octave SOL).
The seventh string is D (large octave PE).

Some musicians tune the guitar half a half or a tone lower or higher to match their voice.

For example, the guitar tuning used by Bulat Okudzhava: D, H, G, D, C, G, D.

Or the guitar tuning that Sergey Nikitin used: D, B, G, D, C, G, D.
(Numbering from first to seventh strings).

At one time, I faced a huge problem. I did not know the tuning of the Russian seven-string guitar, and no one could tell me about it. I figured it out for several long months. Our Russian second-hand books saved me from ignorance.

Once in a bookstore, I found on the shelves a self-instruction manual for playing a seven-stringed guitar for 40 rubles. First of all, he greedily dug from the first pages of the tutorial and found out the tuning of the seven-string guitar. But I didn't have 40 rubles with me. Therefore, I went home to get the money and, finally, bought the coveted book, which I not only do not regret, but on the contrary, I am grateful to God for such a priceless gift.

It will not be a big secret that the classical six-string guitar is built in quarts and has an E-H-G-D-A-E tuning (from the first string to the sixth), which gives it special flexibility in playing music and performing various pieces of music.

The invention of the Russian seven-string guitar and its special system is attributed to Andrei Osipovich Sikhra. They say he was a harpist, and six strings were not enough for him, so he came up with a seven-string version of the guitar. In addition, the Russian seven-string guitar is distinguished by a thirds system, which gives it a special musical and timbre flavor.

The tuning of the seven-string guitar is as follows:

1st string - D (D) of the first octave

2nd - H (B) small octave

3rd - G (G) of a small octave

4th - D (D) small octave

5th - H (B) large octave

6th - G (G) large octave

7th - D (D) large octave

As you can see from the tuning, the open strings of the Russian seven-string guitar make up a G major (G) chord, so we can safely call this tuning "open G". Incidentally, the famous 12-string Rosenbaum uses the "open G" tuning. Only this is expressed with one difference. He uses the tuning of a seven-string guitar with the 5th string skipped. Therefore, string pairs are built according to D-H-G-D-G-D. This also explains the effect that many novice guitar players cannot determine from the video what chords he plays :)

However, keep in mind that when recording music for MOST guitars, sounds are recorded an octave higher than their actual sound. Therefore, the tuning of a seven-string guitar in notes will look like this (numbers in circles are, as always, strings):

If you translate all this to the guitar neck (in notes, that is, an octave higher than its real sound), then you get the following picture:

As we remember from previous articles for a six-string guitar, horizontally from top to bottom we have strings from the first to the seventh, and vertically (columns), these are the frets of the guitar from zero to 19 frets. Well, and, accordingly, the sounds of C major at these frets (the rest, altered sounds, you can easily find out yourself).

TUNING A RUSSIAN SEMISTRED GUITAR

As you can see from the above illustration, given that the guitar sounds one octave below its musical notation, we can tune the guitar in the following way.

The seventh fret of the first string is built in unison with the A tuning fork of the first octave.

The second string, when clamped at the 3rd fret, is tuned in unison with the open first string.

The third string, when clamped at the 4th fret, is tuned in unison with the open second string.

The fourth string, clamped at the 5th fret, is tuned in unison with the open third string, or an open fourth one octave below the open first string.

The fifth string, when clamped at the 3rd fret, is tuned in unison with the fourth open string, or an open fifth one octave below the second open string.

The sixth string, clamped at the 4th fret, is built in unison with the fifth open string, or an open sixth one octave below the third string.

The seventh string, clamped at the 5th fret, is tune in unison with the sixth string, or an open seventh one octave below the fourth open string.

Thus, by tuning and checking the tuning, we get a G major chord on the open strings. So what is next…

TO BE CONTINUED…

Elliot Craig.

You can discuss this article in the FORUM in the "Site Discussion" section.

The seven-string guitar known to everyone becomes the best guest at any holiday. This musical instrument is played with almost equal success by a beginner and a virtuoso. The Russian seven-string guitar has been known to the inhabitants of our country since at least the end of the 18th century. Since then, music with seven strings, romances and folk songs delight the ears of our compatriots and music lovers all over the world. Today, playing the seven-string guitar is considered folk.

According to legend, the instrument was invented by our compatriot Andrei Osipovich Sikhra. It is believed that he himself wrote over 1000 pieces of music for her. Russian romances sounded to the accompaniment of the seven-string for decades. In the 19th century, the ancient instrument was appreciated by the Gypsies, who brought the accessory to South America, presenting the second name - "Gypsy". The obvious differences between a six-string guitar and a seven-string guitar are the increase in the number of strings by one lower bass. This reduces the variations of the pieces performed, but allows the reproduction of chamber folk pieces and complex compositions. It seems to be specially created for Russian folk songs.

For the first time in public, the busting of the strings of the instrument occurred in 1793. A small concert took place in the city of Vilno. A little later, Sikhra moved to Moscow, where he also brought his work.

Another point of view attributes the creation of the seven-string to the Czech native Ignaz von Geld. He worked in the same years as Sikhra in St. Petersburg, Moscow. It was a Czech musician and teacher who wrote a textbook on the seven-string guitar, presenting his work to Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna.

The instrument has become very popular and famous. It could be played by both a simple artisan and a nobleman.

Today this stringed instrument is rarely used in the professional scene. It is used by bards performing ballads and song compositions. The seven-string guitar was chosen by Bulat Okudzhava, Vladimir Vysotsky, Paul McCartney. She is a soloist in the performance of works by Russian composers. The sound row of notes is distinguished by romance, melody.

In our time, there is a seven-string electric guitar. An additional bass string produces a deep, vibrant sound, forming original updated chords. They are distinguished by a modified fingering, serving as the basis for a sound that is unique and unusual for classical types. The device is popular among extremely heavy types of music: experimental metal, djent, various crust.

Varieties

Over the decades of development, manufacturers have offered musicians various varieties of the "seven-string". There are three types of guitars in total.

Big

The peculiarity is the standard size typical for classic models. The size of the sounding part of the string (scale) is 650 mm.

Tertz guitar

Has a slightly smaller size. The scale in this model is 585 mm, which provides a B-flat major sound. Refers to the list of transposing instruments, it is built below by a small third. The note range is displayed one tone lower than the standard one. The difference when recording the key in C major in the tertz guitar arrangement in A major.

Quart guitar

Small in size. The scale length is only 550 mm.

Device and equipment

The Russian seven-string is distinguished by its design. This musical instrument uses only metal strings.

Drum: material, components

The body or drum is preferably made of natural wood. A languid, deep sound forms a hollow body. Wooden decks are installed inside. They are placed in accordance with the Scherzer system, which assumes parallel fastening, creating stiffeners.

The body is made of two wooden decks connected by side shells. In the center is a round hole called a rosette. Buttons and strings are installed directly under it. The top deck is completely flat. The bottom has a slightly convex surface.

Neck: material, components, mount

A distinctive characteristic of the Russian 7 is the method of making and fastening the neck. Screw elements connect it to the drum. By twisting the screws to a different level, the string tension nuts are set at different heights, forming an original sound row. The higher the nut is set, the more effort is required when busting. By adjusting the height, it is convenient to tune the seven-string guitar according to the preference of the performer. On the frets, circles of mother-of-pearl or bone are often set, which can be in the range of 19-24.

How to choose the strings

The national Russian instrument is equipped with only metal elements. Depending on the thickness, the following names are found:

• the thinnest is the fifth;
• second - medium thickness;
• with the maximum thickness - the third.

On the subsequent ones, silk winding is performed. A metal gimp is wound over it. Each subsequent string has a lower pitch. The tuning and tone are checked by playing the string. Changing the key is carried out by twisting the tuning pegs. A tuning fork can help in tuning.

An alternative used to be vein strings. Most often they pulled on expensive handmade models. Recently, metal has sometimes been replaced by nylon. This does not affect the sound quality very much.

Musical properties

An additional lower bass string forms the original key of the music. A chamber velvety sound is formed, emphasizing the melody of song compositions.

Build

Due to the introduction by either a Russian or a Czech musician of an additional string, an original tuning is formed - an octave lower than the traditional sound of a six-string classics (from D of the first octave to D of a large octave for a large model). Quarto-tertz scale is formed in the key performed in a major sound, refers to the type of mixed. The range of sound heights ranges from a part of a large octave, through a small, first and up to a part of the second. It covers three full octaves in total.

Customization

When tuning, the sound of the string is assessed in comparison with two adjacent ones. One of the neighboring ones remains open during setup. The second is clamped, set in a certain chosen mode. The first becomes the pivot. The adjustment begins with it.

Important! Each fret on the fretboard should be half a tone lower than the next fret.

Also tuning can be done by tuner.

Key

Considering the main task of the seven-string (to perform Russian national music), initially the major key became the main key. The lightest in this series is the major G. The subdominant and dominant are the major C and D. Also used in the minor row from E to C. The rest of the keys for the Russian seven-string guitar are complex.

Differences between a seven-stringed guitar and a six-stringed guitar

The Russian or Gypsy guitar today is not very different from its prototype - the model with 6 strings. The key feature, as already mentioned, is the introduction of additional bass in the bottom row, which is tuned in the C controctave.

The devices have a fundamentally different version of the tuning:

1. The six-string is laid in the following order: mi, si, salt, re, la, mi. What is the quart tuning.
2. The seven-string uses a different way: re, si, salt, re, si, salt, re. This version of the scale is called tertz. A tuning fork is used for tuning. If there is no tuning fork, the piano sound D is applied when adjusting. The button accordion can be used.

Attention! Most of today's compositions are written for six strings.

Significant differences are observed in electric guitars with 6 and 7 strings on the neck. Lower bass is especially appreciated by heavy metal performers. In this case, by connecting an amplifier, the chords for the seven-string guitar become bright, deep, saturated.

Playing a seven-string guitar

The first lesson in playing the seven-string guitar begins with acquiring basic skills. An important role is played by the correct seating of the musician, how he places his hands, whether he knows how to correctly tune the musical row.

Technique of the game

It is convenient to play only while sitting. It is recommended that you choose the right chair, the height of which should correspond to the height of the musician. When laying on the leg, the upper fabric rests slightly against the chest, located at shoulder level. The playing hand, usually the right hand, rests against the wider part of the body.

The position of the body must be stable. To increase the level of this characteristic, a low bench is substituted under the leg on which the device is placed. For right-handers, it fits under the left foot. It is convenient for left-handers to put under the right. The second leg is slightly set aside.

When playing on bass strings, the thumb is placed. The rest of the fingers, except for the little finger, which does not take part in the game, move towards the palm. The thumb moves towards them without hitting them. Most often, sound is produced at the bottom of the socket.

Exercises

When performing exercises at the initial stage, the game is played on open strings. This method helps you learn how to pick sounds by striking the strings with your thumb. The left hand at first remains lowered along the body. The training is aimed at developing the skills of an actively playing hand. Her thumb is set on the 7th string. The index is on the third, the middle one on the second, and the unnamed one on the first. To start playing, you need to lightly press on the string. Meanwhile, the thumb slides down, moving down the string. At the same time, other fingers extract sounds from "their" strings.

The exercises are repeated by moving the thumb up to 4 strings. It is recommended to practice the skills until the fingers remember the order of movements.

Seven-string guitar chords

Novice musicians can use the following chords when teaching:

1. C, in which the thumb is placed on the second string of the first row. The triad that is produced by using the barre is located at the first fret.
2. With a G chord, play with your free left hand on empty strings.
3. The thumb grips the 6th bass string when the performer plays an E chord.

Am, Dm, F and H can be used. The location of the fingers when performing is indicated in the table, which can be found in any music textbooks.