# Fingerstyle jazz guitar-low A or low B?



## Keytarist (Sep 6, 2009)

Hi. First of all, I don't have a seven, but I need a extended range guitar and this thread will help me to decide between a baritone six or seven. 
When playing chord melody arrangements (bass, harmony and melody) in your seven, do you use the lower string tuned to A or B?. As far as I know, most jazz seven stringers use low A, but that doesn't seem comfortable to everyone. Some ones use low B because in the same fret you have the perfect fifth of the root played in the low E. However, when tuning in low A you get more range...it is confusing, what's best in your opinion and experience?.
And...do you use the low A for soloing also, or it is just for 'bass' purposes?.
Thanks for any help!.

P.D.: Sorry if this question was asked before, I did a forum search and I didn't find the exact information.


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## xtrustisyoursx (Sep 6, 2009)

i normally keep it in b for stuff like that, just because i don't think scales and chords well in a drop tuning. I see it better in standard.


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## Keytarist (Sep 7, 2009)

There is something I don't understand with the A drop tuning. When doing chord melody arrangements, the best option is to take advantage of open strings, so why have two duplicate strings ('A' fifth string and 'low A' seventh string)?...I don't get it. I wish I could have a seven to try these tunings. Would you like to explain me?.
The fact is that I need an extended range guitar, for low tuning (lower than 'B'). But also with a treble side for chords. An 8 string would be too big for my hands I guess, so I'm doing some research on alternate tunings for a 7.


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## InCasinoOut (Sep 8, 2009)

I don't understand how Drop A became the norm for 7-string jazz either, but every video i've seen has been in Drop A. Check these videos of Jimmy Foster out:


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## All_¥our_Bass (Sep 8, 2009)

I think some thing like ADADGBE might be even better for jazzy chord melody stuff than just drop A.

And yeah the low A is mainly for 'bass'.


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## darbdavys (Sep 9, 2009)

Keytarist said:


> Some ones use low B because in the same fret you have the perfect fifth of the root played in the low E.


which is more widely called perfect fourth


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## troyguitar (Sep 9, 2009)

No he meant fifth. Play the 3rd fret on your E string, then go down and play the 3rd fret on your B string. If you're considering the note on the E string your root (G in my example), then the note on the B string (D in my example) is indeed the fifth.


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## darbdavys (Sep 11, 2009)

the fifth played "upside down" is fourth.
D-G is fourth
G-D is fifth.
if you play, say G2-D3, it is a fifth, while if you play G2-D2, it's a fourth


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## Keytarist (Sep 12, 2009)

I'm trying to gather information from other sources for now. Do you know, if it's possible to create complete chord melody arrangements for a six string baritone guitar, tuned A to A?. I don't know if the chords would be too low to make them sound clean, but at least I'ld have the low notes for the walkin' bass. Pat Metheny used a six string baritone tuned A to A in his album 'One quiet night', with his own arrangements for solo guitar. But I don't know if someone else found a baritone useful for stuff like that.


darbdavys said:


> the fifth played "upside down" is fourth.
> D-G is fourth
> G-D is fifth.
> if you play, say G2-D3, it is a fifth, while if you play G2-D2, it's a fourth


It stills the perfect fifth of the chord, because we are measuring it from the 'root' of the chord. If G is the root, D will always be the perfect fifth of it, regardless if it is above or below. And remember, the 'bass' is not always the same note as the 'root'. For instance, if you have a G/D chord, G is the 'root', despite D being in the 'bass'.


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## robotsatemygma (Sep 15, 2009)

It's really all how you approach the instrument. 

When I picked up my 7 I was a little lost. Do I keep it in B or drop it to A? I decided to try drop A, as I was mainly interested in using it to accent my chording on the "higher" A string. It's worked wonders for me so far, as I can get a nice crawling bass line to help with my chords - just by popping my root note finger further across. Sure this could be done with it in B but would of taken a little more guess work on my behalf. Plus I get a pretty mean metal tone with it too. 

With B, you can adapt to scales easier... but in A just add two frets. It's really just up to you and your playing style.


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## Keytarist (Sep 15, 2009)

robotsatemygma said:


> It's really all how you approach the instrument.
> 
> When I picked up my 7 I was a little lost. Do I keep it in B or drop it to A? I decided to try drop A, as I was mainly interested in using it to accent my chording on the "higher" A string. It's worked wonders for me so far, as I can get a nice crawling bass line to help with my chords - just by popping my root note finger further across. Sure this could be done with it in B but would of taken a little more guess work on my behalf. Plus I get a pretty mean metal tone with it too.
> 
> With B, you can adapt to scales easier... but in A just add two frets. It's really just up to you and your playing style.


Thanks a lot for the feedback! Do you make your own arrangements of jazz standards?. That's what I want to do. I had made some in my six string, but despite I transpose the tunes to use mostly open strings for the bass line, I feel that I need an extra string. I made a silly statement on a baritone thread time ago, but now I'm getting convinced to get a 7 instead of a six baritone. 
An 8 string would be cool, but too much strings seem to limit you instead of helping you in some way (like: bends, muting strings, strumming funk patterns, etc. are difficult). Can anybody confirm this?. I got some of this info in this 8 string FAQ. I wouldn't go for a fanned fret 8 string though.


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## robotsatemygma (Sep 16, 2009)

No problem, glad my advice could you out. 

I tackle the basics, usually chord charts or the general progression and just cut lose. I'm huge on improv when it comes to jazz, because that is what made the greats great! Just form your style, study some chops, and have some fun!


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