How to play the seven-string guitar?

The seven-string guitar was once widespread in our country, and its popularity surpassed the passion for the six-string classical instrument. Nowadays, everything has changed exactly the opposite: the seven-string can not always be seen even in music stores. However, there are always those who want to learn how to play the 7-string guitar, which is sometimes called "Russian", then "Gypsy". To help them - the article below tells about setting up this tool and the basics of playing with it.

In fact, the Russian and Gypsy seven-strings have the same design, differing only in their settings.... The Russian scale is in G major (G-scale), and the Gypsy scale is in G minor (Gm-scale). This should be considered in more detail.

The chord of the strings of the Russian tuning looks like this, starting from the thickest - 7th - string: D-G-B-D-G-B-D.

The same on the stave and tablature:

The actual sound of any guitar string is one octave lower than that indicated on the stave... For example, the seventh string on the staff is marked with a small octave "D", but it actually sounds like a large octave "D". It's a little confusing, of course, but the decision to make such a recording was made in order to make it easier for a musician to read sheet music.

But you shouldn't really think about how the strings sound. All musical literature for guitar is transposed from the original one octave higher, therefore, we can conventionally assume that this instrument sounds exactly as it is written in the notes.And in those cases when you need to play a melody from the score of another musical instrument, the sound of which matches the notation of the specified pitch, you will have to independently correct the sounds one octave higher.

The open strings of a gypsy guitar are tuned a little differently: D-G-Bb-D-G-Bb-D. That is, here the second and fifth strings are lowered by a semitone: in the Russian system they were "si", in the gypsy they were "si-flat". The key of the G chord changed from major to minor.

On the stave and tablature, the gypsy system of the seven-string looks like this:

Classes on teaching or playing the seven-string guitar should always begin with a mandatory check and adjustment of the correspondence of the tuning of the instrument strings to standard sounds. The setting can be done in different ways:

• by ear that it is impossible for beginners to learn;
• on a tuning fork tuned to the sound "la" of the first octave;
• for another tuned musical instrument (piano, accordion, accordion, mandolin, and so on);
• by electronic tuner;
• using a computer program.

The principles of operation of these digital devices are practically the same, and their interface will be clear to everyone. They pick up the sound of the string, determine its pitch and suggest through an indicator whether to tighten or loosen the string to the desired vibration frequency. And the symbols for the designation of sounds are the same as indicated above: D-G-B-D-G-B-D (or somewhat differently).

Tuning by ear or by other instruments can only be made after some experience with the instrument. In this case, do not forget that the guitar sounds an octave lower. Therefore, when tuning, for example, the first string on the piano, you should press the "D" key of the first octave, trying to twist the corresponding tuning peg on the guitar so that the first string sounds in unison (the same) with the sound of this key.

Learning to play a 7-string guitar has its own specifics, different from other types of guitars. Somewhere it is more complicated, which is explained by the large number of strings than that of a classical or acoustic six-string guitar, but somewhere, on the contrary, it is easier if we take into account its open tuning. The seven-string barre technique is also harder to perform (there are too many strings) when compared to a classical instrument. The wider neck of the Russian guitar also creates a lot of inconvenience.

For beginner guitarists, we recommend the following procedure for learning the basics of playing an instrument.

• Master the correct position with the tool and the optimal position of the hands. This can be done with the help of educational literature - appropriate schools and tutorials. In them, you will also learn about what fingering means and how the fingers of both hands and the strings are indicated.
• On open strings, learn to act with the fingers of your right hand. That is, to master the techniques of plucked (unsupported) and sliding (with support on an adjacent string) strikes, several simple types of strokes, a separate play with the thumb, alternating play on one string with neighboring fingers. At the same time, study musical notation, otherwise the teaching will be difficult. Here are the notes and tabs for several such exercises:

• Explore several chromatic exercises using the fingers of the left hand.
• Start mastering easy scales within two octaves in one position. Given the open tuning of the guitar, this can be done in one position. The first such exercise will be the D major scale:

• Play simple strokes (arpeggios) with a change of simple chords in which there are open strings... For example, ascending, descending and mixed with bass and three thinnest strings.
• Learn a few chords using a plucked waltz fight as an example. For example, the chords C, Dm and Am. The waltz beat is played like this: the bass is played with the thumb, and two chords one after the other are played by simultaneously plucking the corresponding strings with the index, middle and ring fingers of the right hand.

Here are some tips for guitar beginners:

• learning to play the instrument, immediately master the musical literacy;
• do not ignore the guitar fit recommended by professionals: it has been worked out by many generations of performers to the ideal, it is comfortable and practical, it will relieve fatigue;
• for children, it is better to use the quart or quint models of seven strings, which have a smaller instrument size;
• lessons with a teacher should be carried out at least 1-2 times a week, and to study independently - daily.