The Six Parts Seven was formed in 1996 by brothers Allen Karpinski and Jay Karpinski (playing guitar and drums, respectively), who had earlier played with Old Hearts Club, a band of similar style (but with vocals). Most of the group's music is instrumental, featuring "clean" (undistorted) electric guitars, electric bass, and drums, as well as lap steel guitar, viola, and occasionally also piano or vibraphone. Their songs are usually crafted combining single-note melodic lines, rather than relying primarily on strummed chords.