Understanding the Parts of a Guitar

Guitar is one of the most popular and versatile instruments that everyone dreams of learning once in a lifetime. At present, every hit song that you listen to today uses guitar to make it sound more memorable. 

Think about the last song you heard, the song you love and the song your parents listen to, you will find there is one instrument which is common in all of them and that is the harmonious sound of the guitar. 

Guitar has been a fascinating instrument for over half a century now, from The Beatles to Foo Fighters and even Hans Zimmer everyone loves to bring guitar onboard in order to infuse their music with a plethora of emotions. 

Read about the evolution of Foo Fighters here.

Now as a guitarist, if you too want to follow in the footsteps of Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, and others, you first have to appreciate the instrument and learn how different parts of it work together. Today, with this blog we are going to dissect guitar into individual parts so you can form a deeper connection with them and have a better understanding of how each part has its own functionality and working. You can also go through the artist series by Torrins.

Guitar Parts Names

Here’s the overview of parts that come with the guitar when you purchase it and additional parts that you can buy separately based on your playing style and requirements for both electric and acoustic guitars. Click here to learn Acoustic guitar and electric guitar for beginners.

Headstock

At the very top of the neck, you can find the headstock of the guitar, this part is responsible for holding the guitar’s tuning pegs and keys which makes it possible for you to tune the guitar. Headstocks are commonly made from wood, and their shape is no big concern and won’t affect the sound of your guitar. As a result, you will see headstocks from different guitar manufacturers having varied sizes and shapes.

Tuning Pegs

Tuning pegs are used to wind the string around it with the help of pinion gear. With the increase or decrease in the tension of the strings, you can raise or lower the pitch. You will find pinion gears to be exposed in most of the acoustic guitars. On the other hand, guitars that use steel string guitars generally have these gears placed inside a proper casing that comes with added lubrication.

Nut

A nut is the part which works as a joining bridge between the headstock and the fretboard. You can find notches where the strings are seated. With the help of these notches, the makers of the guitar keep the strings aligned on the fretboard; also, the Nut is used to give fretboards the required height. Lastly, the Nut plays a crucial role when it comes to setting the tone for each string, as it is the endpoint for strings from the neck side.

Fretboard (Fingerboard) Parts and Labels

Fretboard is the part that you will be using most of the time, it is made using tonewoods such as maple, rosewood, and even ebony, all of which are sturdy woods that prevent denting and wrapping. Keep in mind, the fretboard is a completely separate piece from the neck.

Frets

This particular part of the guitar is responsible for creating different notes, chords, and scales. These metal strips run across the fretboard, and when you press down a string near the fret, it changes the length of the string to create different notes. In addition to frets, fretboards have fret markers in the form of black circles and blocks; they are used to assist guitarists with finding the location of the fret.

Body

The body of your acoustic guitar plays a huge role in deciding the tonal characteristics of the given instrument. It houses multiple parts, some can be found in both acoustic and electric while others parts are more specific. The body of acoustic guitar is much bigger and bulkier in comparison to eclectic guitar and they have somewhat similar dreadnought hollow-body shape.

The electric guitar doesn’t have a hollow body with a central hole to be used as a resonance creator that amplifies the sound produced by the strings. Electric guitars have pickups located beneath the strings that convert the vibrations coming from the string into electrical signals which are then amplified using an amplifier that is connected via cable.

Saddle

The saddle is the part that is attached to the bridge placed on the body; the height of the saddle determines the action of the strings, meaning the gap between the strings and the fretboard. In most guitars, you will find the saddle to be slightly bent on the bridge in order to improve the intonation, which is why it is not considered a good option to measure the scale length of your guitar from the Nut to the saddle to find out the string length.

Strings

Without strings a guitar is no more than a decorative piece of wood, it is like the gut of your guitar. In the modern age, we now have two types of guitar strings, one is steel and the other is nylon.

Nylon strings are straightforward, but steel strings have their own different types, giving you the option to choose from 5 different strings (Steel, Nickel, Brass, Bronze, and Nylon). You will have electric guitars that have steel and nickel strings. The bass and bronze strings are mainly reserved for acoustic guitars.

Pickguard

The pickguard works as a shield for your guitar’s body, it prevents scratches, dings and even wear from the hard pick. As a result, it keeps the shining wooden body of your guitar safe from aggressive strumming. This part of your guitar is easy to upgrade, especially in the case of electric guitars.

Body Contours

In electric guitar, you can add body contours in various areas; these are added to give you maximum comfort when you are playing the guitar and allow you to easily hold the guitar without having to worry about sharp edges of the electric guitar that are given to make the guitar look more pleasing to the eye.

Strap Buttons

Strap buttons can be found on both electric and acoustic guitars, but you will find electric guitar players have more fun with them as they allow them to perform various stage tricks in front of a live audience. It is a piece of hardware which is mounted on the body of the guitar and used as an anchor point for attaching straps.

Other Guitar accessories

Here are some other crucial accessories that help safeguard your guitar and allow you to produce better music out of it.

Guitar Picks

Guitar picks are the unsung heroes in the life of a guitarist, it is the tool which connects players to their instrument in a special way. It doesn’t matter if you are shredding up and down the neck or strumming delicately, there’s a good chance that if you do it with a guitar pick instead of your fingers you will have better precision and volume. Strumming chords and playing solos with a guitar pick gives you an immense sound boost.

Amplifier

Amplifier 

When you have an acoustic guitar you might not require an amp because the hollow body is able to produce sound which can be heard with ease. On the other hand, you will need an amplifier which basically works as a speaker to output the sound coming from your guitar. For an electric guitar buying an amplifier is more of a requirement than a choice. 

You can play the electric guitar without using an amplifier but it will not have the full tonality and the volume that you require. If you are not looking to woo the crowd you can use a headphone amp to mimic the sound of a physical amp and use multi-effects pedals along with it.

Tuner

A tuner is the most essential piece of music gear that you need when playing an acoustic guitar, it has a simple function and it is incredibly important as it ensures that your guitar is in tune. For people learning guitar Tuner can help them keep the guitar in tune which otherwise always goes out of tune when you are playing it for an extended period of time. 

Capo

Capo is a form of accessory which works as a moveable nut as it can be easily affixed to any fret below the neck joint in order to terminate the sound vibration. It helps you in creating a brighter sound and also allows you to change the key of a song. In addition to this, using capo you can avoid the use of barre chords. 

Wrapping Up

So, these were some of the most common guitar parts for both acoustic and electric guitars. For the most part, both types of guitar are similar. The only difference you can find in the parts is when you look at the body of these guitars. Click here to check out Guitar Song Lessons and Free Guitar Lessons to get assistance from the best guitar teachers from around the world online while sitting in the comfort of your home.