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7-String Guitar: First Steps! Samuca Muniz Greetings! I've been receiving many emails with questions from people who are starting out on the 7-string guitar. Frequent questions regarding phrasing are: "Where should I start?"; "Where should I end up?"; "Do I use the same scale within these chords?"... So, I decided to dedicate this article to beginners. I decided to share a tip I used when creating phrases – since this question haunted me a lot in my early days. The first thing I noticed is that when chords like Dm7, G7, and C appeared – or as we usually say: II-V-I – I could use the same C Major scale in all of them, since both chords are derived from the harmonic field of C Major. Within this framework, I could use the same scale, but it would be necessary to develop some starting and ending points to make the phrases more musical. I then structured my own system: I used all the notes of the scale as a starting and ending point, moving in descending motion. In situations where I couldn't 'mathematically' resolve this asymmetry well – because we have 7 musical notes and we usually play groups of notes in even numbers – I used chromaticism when necessary to solve this difficulty; moreover, the use of chromaticism makes the scale much more interesting. Ex. 1 Moving from the root of the Dm (D) chord in descending motion allows me to create a coherent phrase until I reach the root of the C (C) chord. Notice that in the G7 chord, the note played is also the root. I move from the root of the Dm (D) chord to the root of the C (C) chord in a scalar fashion. Example 2 I start from the 9th of the Dm (E) chord and add the note A flat (minor 9th) to the G7 chord, gaining a sixteenth note to reach the 3rd of the C (E) chord. Example 3 I start from the 3rd of the Dm (F) chord in a descending motion until I reach the 3rd of the C (E) chord. This is the type of phrase often used by 6-string guitarists when playing doubles with the 7-string guitar. Example 4 I start from the 4th of the Dm (G) chord and again add the note A flat (minor 9th) to the G7 chord to gain a sixteenth note, resting on the 5th of the C (G) chord. Example 5 I start from the 5th of the Dm (A) chord and arrive at the 5th of the C (G) chord. A good option also for the 6-string guitar when practicing bass line doublings. Ex. 6 I start from the 6th of the Dm (B) chord and use two chromatic situations to gain two sixteenth notes of time: one in the Dm itself, with the note A flat, and the other in the G7 chord with the note E flat, until I reach the root of the C (C) chord. Note: This is a phrase that requires a little care, as the note B is the third of the G7 chord. Thus, it can leave a feeling of anticipation of this chord, weakening the II-V-I movement. However, it is a viable option, especially when we encounter a Dm6 along the way. Ex. 7 And in the last example, I start from the 7th of the Dm (C) chord. I use chromaticism again to gain a sixteenth note of time until I reach the root of the C (C) chord. What I wanted to emphasize in this article is not the technical difficulty or the beauty of the phrases, but rather a framework that can be implemented in any tone, an "ace up your sleeve" for some vulgarities. Happy studying!