Seven String Guitars

Reading through several guitar periodicals, I have noticed a trend in monthly features regarding seven string guitar method, licks and tabs. I spent a couple of days thinking about and researching the topic and I think the next guitar I get will be a seven string, and here's why...

The method I used to teach myself guitar was based upon shapes and patterns. Incidentally, I think a mistake that a lot of teachers make, mostly because it is in every method book you pick up (Mel Bay, Fender, etc...), is to spend a ton of time on open chords. Not that there is anything wrong with open chords, they are full and bright sounding. But when someone wants to learn guitar, it is typically because they want to play songs. Open chords simply are not the fastest way to learn your favorite songs. Especially when it comes to younger students, whit shorter attention spans, I think it would be more fruitful to teach them an E-shaped bar chord and a few rock progressions and let them have at it. Then, teach them the A-shape, a few more songs, maybe mix up the E and A shapes, and let them rock out. Then, teach them the major and minor pentatonic, which are minor variations of the same shape, and teach them a couple solos to go along with a couple of the songs they already learned the chords for. I think it would keep them excited longer, and thereby keep them practicing and improving.

Now that I have become comfortable with bar chords and the pentatonic scale, I have started experimenting with different sounds and textures. I think this is probably a natural learning progression. All that to say, because of the intervals of the seven string guitar, it is very simple to transition these same shapes from a six string. The bar chord shape for a major chord on the seventh string, a low B, is the same as the E shape on the sixth string.

Check this out:

E shape, open fretting, E chord (six string)

.e:--0
B:--0
G:--1
D:--2
A:--2
E:--0

E shape, open fretting, B chord (seven string)

.e:--2
.b:--0
G:--x
D:--1
A:--2
E:--2
B:--0

Don't let the last three strings fool you, if you strum the B, E, A and D strings, you get a nice full and powerful low B. Move this shape up the neck and you get a C, C#, D, and D# that are all lower than any chords you can get on a standard tuned six string. Of course, you can play these lower chords by drop tuning your six string, but this has two negative effects in my opinion. 1) drop tuning messes with your chord and scale shapes, and 2) you lose the high end of the register because you have to down-tune your high e string.

All in all, I am excited about experimenting with a seven string. I am a firm believer that great things can be accomplished by focusing on mastering the basics. A SWAT instructor of mine once told me that the difference between basic and advanced is the number of repetitions. In other words, the difference between a beginner guitarist and an advanced guitarist is how quickly and accurately you can play the same scales. Not that I feel that I have mastered any aspects of the six string guitar, but a seven string is a natural progression of my learning theory. A while back, I won an American Standard Stratocaster in a giveaway. I'm not a huge fan of the single coil sound, so maybe I will use that traditional little beauty to trade my way into a decent Schecter or Ibanez seven string....... Hmmmmmm

Remember...

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast!!!

B