Guitar Anatomy And Basic Fretting Of An Acoustic Guitar

Before you can start learning to play the guitar you have to know what all the parts are called and what they do. Just like learning to drive a car you don’t just hop in a car and go for it, you have to know what each pedal does and how to use the steering wheel.

The biggest part of the guitar is the body. The body holds most of the other components of the guitar. The body comes in a variety of shapes with the dreadnaught style being the most common. They also come in an assortment of wood types. The body holds the soundboard which helps produce the sound of the guitar. The sound hole is what lets the sound out of the guitar. The bridge is what holds one side of the strings to the guitar, is sets intonation and transfers the vibrations from the strings to the body. The bridge also sets the distance between the strings. The piece that directly touches the strings is called the saddle.

The neck of the guitar is the long piece of wood that extends from the body and holds the frets and fretboard. The neck hold the fretboard which also hold the frets and fret markers. Frets are the metal pieces that are across the fretboard and are used to change the length and pitch of the strings. Fret markers are inlayed into the fretboard for easy reference to the frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12. At the end of the neck is the headstock.

The headstock holds the nut. The nut holds the distance between the strings at the other end of the guitar and also acts as a zero fret. The headstock also holds the tuning pegs. The tuning pegs and post hold the strings in place on the headstock end of the guitar. They are also used to keep the guitar in tune. By turning the tuning pegs you can tune each individual string of the guitar for optimal playing.

To fret notes take your finger of choice, probably the index and push a string down so that it rests against a fret. If you push to hard the string may bend down and out of tune. If you don’t push hard enough the string may buzz. Take a few minutes to practice this. Make sure you are comfortable with playing and fretting notes before you go onto any other lessons. Try fretting with all of your fingers, even the pinky. Also make sure you are comfortable with plucking the strings with your other hand. As you practice you will be able to memorize were the strings and frets are so you don’t have to look back and forth all the time.

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