Seven-string guitar

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A seven-string guitar is simply a guitar with seven strings instead of the usual six. Such guitars are not as common as the six string, but have been utilized by musicians playing in different styles and are also ethnic instruments (i.e. the Russian and Brazilian guitars).

In the United States, the jazz guitarist George Van Eps was the first modern guitarist to use this instrument, having Epiphone Guitars build one for him in the late 1930s.

There are eight-string guitars in use as well, but again, they are relatively uncommon.

The Russian Guitar

Main article: Russian guitar

The classical and acoustic seven-string guitar arrived in the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, most probably as a development of the kobza and the baroque lute. 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. Until the 1970s and 1980s, it was far more popular than the regular six-string guitar, but has since declined greatly in popularity and is now difficult to find. 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 (including Russian bards) due to the relative simplicity of some basic chords (not to mention the price — a 7-string guitar cost around 12 rubles in the 1970s).

The Russian guitar is traditionally played without a pick, using fingers for either strumming or picking. It is tuned in thirds, unlike the Spanish guitar, to an open G major chord as follows: D', G', B, D, g, b, d'

An F # major chord:

A B minor:

See the main article, Russian guitar

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 troughout 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

The electric version of the seven-string guitar was introduced in the late 1930s by George Van Eps. The guitar was basically a regular electric guitar with an additional bass string, usually tuned to A. This feature allows bass, chords and solos to be played simultaneously. Van Eps referred to this style of playing as "lap piano".

Several jazz guitarists began using seven string guitars after Van Epsus, 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 sevenstring guitar first entered production in 1990, 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. Apparently unaware of prior experimentation with additonal strings in the jazz world, Vai was drawn to the idea for much of the same reasons seven string jazz players were - the extended range the additonal 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.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the instrument saw a resurgence of sorts when nu-metal bands (such as Korn and Limp Bizkit) reintroduced seven string guitars to rock music. Capitalizing on the massive low end produced by the 7th string (typically a low B), these bands fused traditional metal stylings with rap influences. It must be noted, however, that few if any of these bands ever significantly took advantage of the range of the instrument, and many criticized nu-metal guitar players as pretentious, since they could play the same songs with a detuned 6-string. 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.

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) who wanted to play high melodies and solos over deep riffs. Additionally, seven (and more) string guitars are becoming popular on the cutting edge of the "shred" movements; players such as Rusty Cooley, Francesco Fareri, and Marcel Coenen are using seven string guitars coupled with three, four, and five or more note-per-string runs to play stupendously expansive scale runs that would not be possible on a conventional six.

For information on tuning the guitar, see [link].

See also

External links

• [Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev]
• [Oleg Timofeyev]
• [Sevenstring.org]
• [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.]