I’ve produced some Blues Scale-work that might be useful for all those aspirant 7 stringers out there and any curious 6 stringers might like to take a look at how the expanded fretboard provides new and interesting options for a well-trodden pattern.
Suggestion:
For all those locked into 7B , perhaps they can unlock and retune to 7A as an experiment.
Of course they might also make some adjustments to the shapes to reflect the different tuning. Remember, so long as you only use A C D D# E G to generate your new shape, the pattern you’ve developed is an A Minor Blues Scale.
Please feel free to send me your creations (as gif or psd files please) so that everyone else can benefit.
Now see what GNW readers have contributed on the topic:
Tom Kopyto writes:
Couldn’t help noticing your interest in a “high A” 7-string. In addition to the Gregory Fender Strats, Hamer also had a limited run of a strat copy, high A 7-string in the late 80’s/early 90’s.
You can do this with any 7-string guitar. The problem is the gauge for the high A. I asked Michael Angelo Batio of Nitro fame about this, and he told me he had used a banjo string for his high A quad guitars. D’Addario makes a .007 gauge that works pretty well. Tuning the guitar down a 1/2 or whole step also helps. The tuning would then be (DGCFAD with a high G). It’s pretty hip, but I still dig the extra string on the bottom.
Best regards, Tom Kopyto
Related Item:
Modes for 7B Tuned 7 String Guitars
Definitely an interesting difference in the sound that the six string style makes compared to the seven, I appreciate you giving the headsup!