7 String Guitar Method: Book 1

By Graham Tippett

There's a little more than meets the eye when making the transition from 6 to 7-string guitar. Reference books for the 7-string guitar have their uses but what's lacking is an actual method for applying and transferring what you already know to this new instrument. This book goes beyond the limits of a reference book to provide you with a complete system for learning and/or transferring scales, arpeggios, chords and triads to the 7-string fretboard, in any key.

This book is for guitarists who:

-Want to understand how scales, chords, arpeggios and triads work on a 7-string guitar.
-Are looking for a 7-string guitar method, not a reference book. -Already have a good knowledge of theory and want to transfer it to the 7-string guitar.
-Are making the transition from 6 to 7 strings.
-Feel that the 7-string guitar hasn't quite 'clicked' for them yet.

In Book 1 we cover:
-The major and natural minor scales.
-The major and minor pentatonic scales.
-The blues scale.
-Diatonic 7th arpeggios.
-Triads and triad arpeggios.
-Diatonic chords.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unlock the Guitar
• Release date: Feb 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781520605067

Book preview

1

Introduction

So, you’ve decided to venture into the world of guitar beyond six strings. Let me tell you that you’ve made a great decision, and one that will inspire as you journey into somewhat uncharted territory. My role on this journey is to help you navigate the 7-string fretboard by mapping out scales, arpeggios and chords to form a complete method that will enable you to move around the 7-string fretboard with ease.

We’ll be learning the 7-string fretboard in standard tuning (B, E, A, D, G, B, E), although you could easily adapt the ideas in this book to other 7-string tunings. This series of books goes beyond a mere reference guide for chord shapes, arpeggios and scales to form a comprehensive system for learning and accessing virtually any chord, scale, mode or arpeggio on a 7-string guitar.

In Book 1, we focus on making the shift from 6 to 7 strings, the major and minor scales, the major and minor pentatonic scales, the blues scale; plus, all their corresponding chords, triads and arpeggios.

The 7-string guitar is, after all, an instrument in its own right, and should be treated as such. This is what I set out to accomplish with this book, and I hope it inspires some of your best playing yet.

Graham Tippett

www.unlocktheguitar.net

Getting Used to a 7 String Guitar

Phase 1: Adaptation.

The low B string is somewhat disorienting to begin with, but this is more an optical illusion resulting from looking down at a regular guitar and seeing the lowest string as E. Your brain will continue to see the lowest string as E, even though