 | GuitarSite.com Guitar News Weekly Edition #140, April 30, 2001 |  |
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SEVEN STRING GUY by Guy Pople, our 7 String Guy THE DREADED TENDONITIS A few years ago I waged a 3 month battle with Tendonitis. It started out as a nagging ache in the tendon that joins the thumb to the wrist. I have always believed that 'no pain = no gain' so naturally I ignored this, but sure enough it became steadily worse... I only started to take notice when my picking & fingerstyle started to suffer and the pain increased. I went to the local Doc only to be fobbed off with suggestions to "lay-off and take it easy" etc - which are not much good to a fulltime guitar teacher! Three more visits to different Docs without success and I became desperate. By this time I couldn't lift my thumb very much without inducing agony. The wrist guard that I had found useful no longer helped. Six weeks in and my picking technique was reduced to tatters ( my Sweeping and legato benefited from this grim period though, as the sweep technique was the least painful to perform and the my good hand was on the board, left to its own devices). It was then that I decided to contact a Chiropractor/acupuncturist (having heard from a Carpel Tunnel Syndrome sufferer) called David Gutteridge (Blackburn, Lancs, England) and it was this man who saved the day. Two session of acupuncture and bone-manipulation etc and my wrist started to improve. A couple more and I was alternate picking again.... I then went back to the local Docs who then agreed to organize me physio to strengthen the tendons up etc. A month of ultrasound & massage later and my wrist was back to normal albeit a little weaker.... David also turned around a drummer friends long-time back problem. The moral of this story ? Don't ignore the little aches & pains if they persist.... also, try and warm-up the hands a little before you play. Crack the knuckles, shake the hands, roll the fingers etc these all help to keep the numerous bits & pieces in your hands in good shape. Send your 7 string tips, tricks or queries to Guy Pople: gpople@ntlworld.com ******* see also:
Guy's site: and previous articles:
7 STRINGS GOOD, 6 STRINGS BAD
7 STRING BLUES
7 string Technique tip
A Minor Blues Scales
Some Major Blues Scales
Here's some work for anyone interested in working out some new
voices or shapes for them tired old 6 string chords..."
This week I've laid out an expanded fretboard for the curious folk out there who might be wondering what the names of the notes they play are:
My 7 string major scale modes template might be
of some interest to those privileged few that wield 7
strings. See it this and more:
A version of the A chromatic scale
Dominant 7th Arpeggios & more!
Minor & Major 7th Arpeggios for 6 and 7 stringers plus
creating chord inversions using 7B tuning
Diminished arpeggios for 7A and 7B tunings
PC Recording
More on PC recording + Fingerweights
7B Modes Aeolian to Dorian
7B modes Phrygian to Mixolydian
Power-type chords for all the 7B tuners
9th and 6th Bar Chords
Chord building is one of the best ways of coming to terms with the 7 strings as a whole. I have chosen a Bm7 and had a go at knocking up a few variations...
The phrygian Mode is a particularly useful scale. With a little
experimentation it can be used in and out of its proper context...
Guy answers our readers queries...
The Locrian Mode ******* 7 stringers can see also:
STEVE VAI "The High Priest of 7-String"
MORE 7 STRINGERS Finally... This website is dedicated to helping those people out there who like life hard: http://www.7string.org
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