Tuner for 7 string guitar online. The tuning of a Russian seven-string guitar

Tuning a guitar online using a tuner:

Adjusting the tuner volume is indicated by the inscription “Volume”.
The guitar tuner is a great opportunity to tune a six-string guitar online exactly to the reference sound.

Guitar Tuning: Sounds

The tuning tuner represents the sound of the instrument's open strings. Below are the names of guitar strings and their designations:
E is the first string of the guitar.
B – B second string.
G – G third string.
D – D fourth string.
A – A fifth string
E – E sixth string.
Select the first E string for tuning the guitar by pressing the letter E and try tuning the first string of the guitar in accordance with the received tuner sound, and then tune the instrument in the usual way, tuning the guitar according to the already tuned strings. After tuning, you have the opportunity to compare the sound of the open strings of your guitar with the sound of the open strings of the tuner, thus practicing tuning your guitar. The ability to tune a guitar well and quickly is an integral part of the learning process of playing this instrument. Guitar tuning online, guitar tuning using the unison principle, tuning acoustic guitar harmonics - all these methods should be tested and studied by you.

Setting up seven string guitar online

To configure seven string guitar You can also use a six-string guitar tuner. The standard tuning of a seven-string instrument allows this to be done. To tune the first (thinest) string, you need to press this string at the second fret. Thus, we will get the E – E sound we need. We adjust the first string, pressed at the II (second) fret in accordance with the sound of the E tuner to a unison (identical) sound. The next three strings completely coincide in their sound with the tuning of the strings of a seven-string guitar. B – (B) is the open second string of a seven-string guitar, just like the open second string of a six-string instrument. G – (G) the open third string of a seven-string guitar. D is the (re)open fourth string of a seven-string guitar. To obtain the required B sound of the fifth string of a seven-string, we press the fifth string at the third (third) fret and again use the fourth (D) string of the tuner, adjusting it to a unison sound. We tune the sixth string of a seven-string, pressed at the II (second) fret along the fifth string A (A) of the tuner of a six-string guitar. The seventh string (D) pressed on the II (second) fret corresponds to the sound of the sixth string of the tuner E - (E). So, this is the configuration scheme:

Seven-string guitar tuning: sounds

E (tuner) – second fret of a seven-string guitar.
B (tuner) is the open (not pressed) second string of a seven-string guitar.
G (tuner) is the open third string of a seven-string guitar.
D (tuner) is the open fourth string of a seven-string guitar.
Again D (tuner) – the third fret of the fifth string of a seven-string guitar.
A (tuner) – second fret of the sixth string of a seven-string guitar.
E (tuner) – second fret of the seventh string of a seven-string guitar.

How to tune a seven-string guitar the standard way

Before tuning a seven-string guitar, let's familiarize ourselves with the names of the strings on the instrument. The first (thintest) string (D) is D of the first octave. The next three strings are tuned in the small octave: the second string (H) B, the third string (G) G and the fourth string (D) D. Further, the 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 guitar (D) is D. It is advisable to tune the guitar using a tuning fork, in this case the sound of the instrument will be more beautiful in timbre. This is due, first of all, to the strings, designed for a certain tension of a particular guitar tuning. You can tune a guitar using a tuner, which also describes how to tune a seven-string guitar using the sounds of a six-string tuner. The soundboard of the guitar, also designed for certain strings, also plays an important role in the beauty of the timbre. Bards often tune the instrument to suit their voice and the guitar ends up sounding dull. Vladimir Vysotsky tuned his guitar a tone, and sometimes a tone and a half lower. Proper tuning begins with the first string, which is tuned using the A tuning fork (A-440). The first string held at the seventh fret should sound in unison with the tuning fork. If you don't have a tuning fork, try tuning the first string to the beep home phone– it sounds just below a tuning fork. The second string (B) pressed at the third fret should be in unison with the first open string. It is advisable to tighten the string when tuning, rather than lowering it. In this case, our hearing is more receptive, and in the absence of experience in tuning a guitar, this is not an unimportant fact. Also, when tuning, you must first strike an already tuned string and, while listening to its sound, tighten the tuned one, and not vice versa. The third string (G) pressed on 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 is repeated: the fifth string (B) pressed on the third corresponds to the open fourth string, the sixth (G) pressed on the fourth fret is tuned to the fifth open string and the seventh string (D) is tuned to the sixth open string. So, we have a seven-string guitar tuning: D; G; H; D; G; H; D.

Now, to make it easier to remember the process of tuning a seven-string guitar, let’s look at the diagram:

1st string D on a tuning fork at the 7th fret.

The 2nd B string is pressed on the 3rd fret along the 1st open.

The 3rd G string is pressed at the 4th fret along the second open string.

The 4th D string is pressed to the V fret along the third open fret.

The 5th B string is pressed on the 3rd fret along the 4th open.

The 6th G string is pressed on the 4th fret, the 5th open.

The 7th D string is pressed to the 5th fret, the 6th open.

At one time I faced a huge problem. I didn’t know the tuning of the Russian seven-string guitar, and no one could tell me about it. I spent several long months figuring this out. Our Russian second-hand bookstore saved me from ignorance.

Having somehow entered bookstore, I found a self-instruction manual for playing the seven-string guitar on the shelves for 40 rubles. The first thing I did was eagerly dive into the first pages of the tutorial and figure out the structure of a seven-string guitar. But I didn’t have 40 rubles with me. Therefore, I went home to get money and finally bought the treasured book, which I not only do not regret, but on the contrary, I am grateful to God for such a priceless gift.

There won't be big secret that the classical six-string guitar is built in fourths and has formation E-H-G-D-A-E(from the first string to the sixth), which gives it special flexibility in playing music and performing various musical works.

The invention of the Russian seven-string guitar and its special tuning is attributed to Andrei Osipovich Sihra. They say that 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 its third tuning, which gives it a special musical and timbre flavor.

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

1st string – D (D) first octave

2nd – H (B) small octave

3rd – G (G) 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 a Russian seven-string guitar make up a G major (G) chord, so we can safely call this tuning “open G”. By the way, the famous Rosenbaum, who plays the twelve-string guitar, uses the “open G” tuning. This is only expressed with one difference. It uses a seven-string guitar tuning with the fifth string missing. Therefore, pairs of strings are built according to D-H-G-D-G-D. This also explains the effect that many beginning guitar players cannot determine from the video what chords he plays :)

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

If all this is translated onto the neck of the guitar (in notes, that is, an octave higher than its real sound), you will get this 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 the zero saddle to the 19th fret. Well, and, accordingly, the sounds of C major on these frets (the rest, altered sounds, can be easily figured out by yourself).

TUNING A RUSSIAN SEVEN-STRING GUITAR

As you can see from the above illustration, given that the guitar is sounded an octave below its notation, we can tune the guitar in the following way.

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

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

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

The fourth string, clamped at the 5th fret, is built in unison with the open third string, or the open fourth string is an octave lower than the open first string.

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

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

The seventh string, clamped at the 5th fret, is built in unison with the sixth string, or an open seventh string an octave lower than the fourth open string.

Thus, having adjusted and checked the tuning, we get a G major chord on the open strings. And then...

TO BE CONTINUED…

Elliot Craig.

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

Here I would like to talk about those guitars that were given more than 6 strings. About such “overgrown” people in the world of guitars. Nowadays, if you watch videos of performances modern teams who play extreme subgenres of metal or hardcore, you will notice that many use seven and even sometimes eight string guitars. Among such performers are, for example, Meshuggah or Animals as Leaders. Why do they use such instruments that their music cannot be played on ordinary six-string guitars that have already become classics? Let's try to figure it all out.

Peculiarities

The trick with multi-string guitars, oddly enough, is that they increase the possible range of sound by adding additional strings. The range, as a rule, expands towards the bass side. Seven- and eight-string guitars are most common in extreme metal genres in order to obtain an even lower and more powerful sound. What are the differences between these “overgrown” guitars and ordinary six-string guitars?

  1. Pickups. The sounds are usually quite powerful with a large exhaust. Also, pickups for such guitars are created taking into account the increased number of strings.
  2. Neck Length and Scale. As we already know, the lower the guitar’s action, the longer the scale must be so that the instrument can be tuned. Take the bass guitar for example. It sounds an octave lower than the guitar, and the bass has a longer scale (34" versus 25.5"). Accordingly, a seven-string electric guitar has the same scale as a 6-string (25.5"), but eight-strings are already made with a 27" scale. Also, many necks are strengthened by adding additional materials into their design. This is due to its increased length and extra-high tension strings.
  3. Neck width. Everything is logical here, there are more strings - the neck is wider. The width of the neck of a seven-string guitar increases to 48mm, and of an eight-string guitar up to 54-55mm.

Build 7 and 8 string guitars

The standard tuning of a six-string guitar, as we know it, is E A D G B E(from bass to high). This tuning is also called fourth because the interval between two adjacent open strings (except for the second and third) is a perfect fourth. This rule also applies to the seven-string guitar. We add an extra string that will produce a note lower than the sixth string by a fourth. This will be the note C (B). Thus, the standard tuning of a seven-string guitar is B E A D G B E. Drop tunings are formed in the same way as for a six-string guitar.

The tuning of an eight-string guitar is formed in a similar way. We add a string that produces a note lower than the seventh string by a fourth. This will be F-Sharp (F#). Thus, the standard tuning of an eight-string guitar is F# B E A D G B E. As you can see, here the eight-string already extends quite a bit into the range of the bass guitar. The lowest note is only a tone higher than the bass (F# vs. E)! Read more about guitar tunings in

The power and range of sound of seven-string electric guitars exceeds the capabilities of more conventional six-string instruments. An additional string at the bottom gives more room for the guitarist's self-expression, and updated chords with changed fingerings and new sounds open the way to new interesting sound solutions.

How to play a seven-string electric guitar. Content:

What is the difference between a seven-string guitar and a six-string one?

Comparison of six-string and seven-string electric guitars

Among the main differences, in addition to the number of strings, six-string and seven-string instruments differ in pickups and their characteristics, the length and width of the neck, as well as a different sound range. But first things first.

Pickups


Fokin Pickups Demolition 7-String Guitar Humbucker Set

Seven-string guitars are used in extreme and heavy styles of music - alternative metal, various cores and even djent. The low-end sound of these guitars is provided by special high-output humbuckers like those found in DiMarzio, EMG, or Fokin Pickups products.

7-string guitar pickups are designed to accommodate the increased number of available sounds and range of the instrument.

Mensura


Often, dropping the sixth string on a regular guitar causes problems with tuning the instrument, even when using extra-high tension strings.

Seven-string guitars are equipped with necks with scales ranging from 26 to 29.4 inches (660 mm to 749 mm). This size gives greater tuning stability. Sometimes there are guitar models on the market with necks like six-string instruments - the scale length of such necks is 25.5 inches (648 mm), just like Fender guitars.

The increased length of the neck and the use of extra-high tension strings force manufacturers to play it safe when designing. Many necks of seven-string instruments are reinforced with the help of additional materials.

Neck width


Jackson Chris Broderick Pro Series Soloist 7

The standard neck width of an electric guitar is 43 mm. The neck width of the seven-string guitar has been increased to 48 mm.

Manufacturers are actively working to improve the playability of such guitars. Thanks to this, when playing, guitarists do not feel discomfort along the entire length of the neck and are not limited in the speed of movement along the frets.

Seven-string guitar tuning


Standard tuning for a seven-string electric guitar: B, E, A, D, G, B, E

In the industry, the standard tuning for such instruments is considered to be (from low to high):

  • Si (B);
  • Mi (E);
  • A (A);
  • D (D);
  • Salt (G);
  • Si (B);
  • Mi (E).

Just as on six-string guitars the sixth string is lowered to D to create a drop D tuning, on seven-string electric guitars use drop A tuning, dropping the seventh string to A.


Drop A tuning for seven-string electric guitar: A, E, A, D, G, B, E

Thus, the guitar tuning looks like this:

  • A (A);
  • Mi (E);
  • A (A);
  • D (D);
  • Salt (G);
  • Si (B);
  • Mi (E).

Strings


Jackson Chris Broderick Pro Series Soloist 7

Understanding how to play a seven-string electric guitar requires a lot of patience and a change in your own thinking. The sixth string is no longer the lowest, get used to it!

How to play a seven-string electric guitar. Scales and chords

Adding a seventh string better reveals the sonic potential of an electric guitar. When playing a seven-string guitar, the guitarist can use new chord fingerings enriched with additional notes. For example, chords often have added IX or XI degrees.

For the purposes of this material, we will only use the standard tuning of seven-string electric guitars - B, E, A, D, G, B, E.

To understand how to play a seven-string electric guitar, let's understand the principles of constructing chords on such an instrument. The examples given are chords familiar to a six-string guitar, enriched with additional steps.

Badd9 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Badd11 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Bm9 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Bsus9 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

Cmaj7 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

D5 chord diagram for seven-string guitar

The situation is similar with respect to scales: the form remains the same, but additional space for maneuver appears. The seventh string adds new colors to the sound, and the guitarist can cover almost three octaves within one scale when playing. At the same time, changes in positions during the game are kept to a minimum.

Pentatonic scale in E minor for seven-string guitar

Scale E major for seven-string electric guitar

Which seven-string electric guitar should you choose under $1100?

Most seven-string instruments can be found in the lines of Japanese guitar manufacturers Yamaha, Ibanez, LTD, Caparison, as well as from American companies Schecter, Washburn, Jackson. Other well-known companies also make seven-string electric guitars, but the choice of models is much smaller.

Seven-string electric guitars are divided by quality. The better the quality of the tool, the higher its cost. We chose three guitars - cheap, mid-priced and expensive in the price range up to $1100.

Schecter Diamond Series C-7 Deluxe


Schecter Diamond Series C-7 Deluxe

Price: $299

Schecter's C-7 Deluxe is a versatile budget model with a basswood body and maple fingerboard.

LTD EC-407BFM


LTD EC-407

Price: $782

A killer-heavy seven-string electric guitar with a mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and a pair of EMG pickups.

Ibanez RGIR27E


Ibanez RGIR27E

Price: $1099

A high-quality tool in the middle price segment. Pronounced bottom, bright top. Basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. The guitar has a locking vibrato and killswitch.

How to play the seven-string guitar. Exercises and examples

Example 1. Getting used to the instrument

When first introduced to seven-string electric guitars, one is surprised by how low the extra string sounds.

To understand how to play a seven-string electric guitar, try a simple palm muting exercise. This exercise will help you understand the specifics of playing a seven-string guitar and teach you how to control the resonance of the instrument.

Example 2: Muting the Strings

Because the 7th string continues to sound as it moves to other strings, playing riffs with open strings runs the risk of polluting the sound.

To avoid dirt, mute the open string with the tip of your finger, which you use to pinch notes on other strings.

Example 3. Playing scales

Due to the wider neck, at first you may have problems playing the lower (bass) strings.

The third example is aimed at improving finger stretching. As you play it, you'll get used to the wider neck of a seven-string electric guitar.

For greater convenience, place thumb at the bottom of the bar, that is, make the reach of your palm as wide as possible. This will make it easier to reach the lowest strings.

Example 4: Changing strings

The fourth exercise develops clarity and purity of sound production of individual notes, especially those located on different strings. Please note that in the example the game is on alternating stroke, not straight.

Example 5: Power Chord Riff

Having become familiar with the instrument, let's play power chords. The difference between power chords on six- and seven-string electric guitars lies in the number of strings - on a seven-string instrument, power chords can be played on four strings. This makes the chords sound more powerful, and by palm muting you can achieve an even heavier sound.

The first measure uses a straight stroke (downstroke), while in the second the exercise switches to an alternating one.

Example 6: Trivium style

The example is inspired by the playing style of Corey Beaulieu from the group Trivium. The point of the example is to combine power chords and short melodic lines.

Mute all power chords that fall on the downbeat, and mute all power chords on strong beat play without muting. This will place emphasis during the game and give the game more dynamics.

Playing melodic sections will also require muting, but we will mute the lower strings to avoid dirt and unnecessary noise (see Example 2 above).

Example 7. Chris Broderick's style

Example based on the playstyle of Chris Broderick from Megadeth and Act of Defiance. The example is performed in the Phrygian mode (see).

Do not chase the speed of execution; first practice a clean execution of the exercise at a slower pace.

The most difficult moment in the example is the transition from a rhythmic line to a melodic line. Practice the transition very slowly and gradually pick up speed. When playing the melody line, mute the lower strings to avoid mud while playing.