Parts of A Guitar
Parts of the Guitar (Acoustic & Electric)
Video number five in the Guitar Lessons for Beginners course takes a closer look at your guitar and all its parts. You'll learn every part of your guitar, the names of each part and the role they play in helping you to produce great tunes. Whether an acoustic or electric guitar player, knowing the parts will come in handy when taking lessons.
Guitar Parts Names (Neck Of Guitar)
The neck of the guitar, the longest part that you hold, is broken down into six parts:
Headstock
The headstock sits at the end of the neck of your guitar. It is comprised of several other parts including the tuning keys and tuning pegs.
There are three main headstock configurations for acoustic and electric guitars:
Fretboard
On the neck of your guitar, you'll notice a long piece of wood that runs along it. This is called the fretboard and is typically made out of maple or rosewood. The fretboard has slots in which it houses the metal frets.
Tuning Keys and Tuning Pegs
The tuning pegs, also called string pegs, is where your guitar strings are attached to the guitar. The tuning pegs are attached to the tuning keys. As the name implies, the tuning keys are used to tune the guitar strings by turning them to make the strings looser or tighter, which affects the sound produced.
Nut
Moving down from the headstock, you'll see a white narrow strip that crosses the neck of the guitar. This is called the nut. It's where the strings are situated as they run from the body of the guitar to the tuning pegs.
Frets
Along the neck of the guitar, you'll also see skinny, raised metal strips. These are called guitar frets. They are connected to the fretboard. Depending on the type of guitar, you could have anywhere from 19 to 27 frets. When your finger presses on a string and connects it to a fret, a particular sound is produced when the string is picked or strummed.
Fret Markers or Fret Inlays
You'll find fret markers or inlays on most types of guitars. They may be simple-looking dots or more fancy symbols. Fret markets serve two purposes. First, they can make your guitar more aesthetically attractive. Second, they are great at helping to keep track of where your fingers are while playing the guitar.
Neck Joint
No, unfortunatly you can't smoke this. This is where the neck is connected to the body. The neck is attached either through a bolt-on (usually 3 or 4 screws), set-in or neck-through construction.
Guitar Parts Names (Body of Guitar)
From the end of the neck of the guitar, you will come to the rest of the guitar. This consists of the body of the guitar. While the neck may be very similar in acoustic and electric guitars, the body can have slight variations. Here will distinguish between the two:
Acoustic Guitar Parts
Pick Guard
Specific to acoustic guitars, a pickguard helps prevent scratches while strumming your guitar.
Sound Hole
A sound hole is an opening found in the middle of the body of most acoustic guitars but could be located in other spots or totally absent. It helps to project the sound coming from the guitar strings.
Bridge
The bridge is typically a part glued on the top of the body of the guitar and is designed to hold the end of the guitar strings. It helps to transmit the vibrations of the strings.
Saddle
On the bridge, you'll see a thin and white strip. This is known as the saddle and is where the strings rest before reaching the bridge holes.
Bridge Pins
Bridge pins are what holds the guitar strings in place. Some bridges, called pinless bridges, do not have bridge pins.
Strap Buttons
While using a guitar strap may come down to personal preference, you'll be happy to know that most guitars are equipped with strap buttons. If your guitar does not have a strap button, you can buy a shoelace type strap to tie around your neck.
Electric Guitar Parts
Pickups
Your guitar has microphones called pickups that are capable of picking up vibrations given off by the guitar strings as you play and transmitting them to an amplified. There are two types of pickups you can use depending on your preference (no one is better than the other):
Single-Coil Pickups
Single-coil pickups provide for a bright sound but are often accompanied by a hum.
Humbucker Pickups
Humbucker pickups are used to eliminate the hum sound you often get with single-coil pickups.
Volume Knobs and Tone Knobs
Volume and tone knobs are found on the body of your guitar. The volume knobs control the sound output coming from the guitar whereas the tone knobs control the tone (treble) coming from the guitar. Depending on the type, you may say anywhere from one to four knobs.
Pickup Selector
The pickup selector helps to control which pickup is active while you play your guitar. Most electrics have a three-way toggle switch but some have a blade switch. Toggle down to activate the bridge pickup for more treble, toggle up to active the neck pickup for a more mellow sound and toggle in the middle to activate both picks to produce a medium tone.
Now that you've learned all you need to know about the different parts of the acoustic guitar and electric guitar, you're ready to move on the next lesson. Video lesson number six will give you an overview of the guitar string notes, names and orders, which will be instrumental in helping you to tune the strings and learn to play notes on your guitar.