Sometimes, in the process of learning, you can overlook the basics. Knowing the parts of the guitar should be one of the first things you learn about. In this lesson you will learn about the main sections of the guitar and how they work.
Parts of the guitar
Although there are many
different types of guitars (acoustic, electric, classical, electric-acoustic,
etc.), they all have many things in common. The diagram below shows
the various parts of a guitar.
The
"headstock" is located at the top of the guitar. Even though the headstock is connected to the neck and technically a part of the neck it is still refered to seperately. Also, on the headstock are the
"machine heads" but they are also refered to as tuners, which you use to adjust the tension of each string on the guitar. This would be how you would tune the guitar.
At the point in which the
headstock meets the neck of the guitar is the "nut". A nut
is a small piece of material, usually plastic, bone, or graphite. Small notches are made on the nut in order to guide the strings to the tuners.
The main portion of the neck is the "fingerboard" which is where you place your fingers in order to play notes. Strips of metal called "frets" run across the from top to bottom. The dots that are often found on the fingerboard of guitar are called "inlay". Inlays are used a place marker to help you navigate up and down the neck easier.
The neck connects the "body" of the guitar. There are many different styles of guitar bodies. Most acoustic and classical guitars have a
hollowed out body, and a "sound hole", designed to project the sound
of the guitar. Most electric guitars have a solid body, and thus will not have
a sound hole. Electric guitars will instead have "pick-ups" where the
soundhole is located. "Pick-ups" are essentially small electro-magnets. When a string vibrates over top of the "pole" of the pick-up it creates a small electric charge which runs along a guitar cable to an amplifier where the electric signal is converted to audible sound.
The strings of the guitar
run from the machine heads down the length of the guitar and are anchored at a piece of hardware attached to
the body of the guitar, called a "bridge". There are many styles of bridges each with various functions.
