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| Acoustic Guitar Parts | |
Here is a picture of a typical acoustic guitar with its parts marked. Scroll down for detailed information on the accoustic guitars parts. 
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 There are three main sections zoomed in the picture; the Headstock, the Neck, and the Body. The headstock holds the Tuner Posts around which the strings are wrapped and terminated. The Tuners are knobs that increase or decrease the tension on the string wrapped around the tuner posts (tuning the sound made by the strings). Note that , you know, some acoustic guitars may have different looking tuners, and some may even have all six tuner keys on the same side. Even though they may look different, they work in the same manner. The Nut guides the strings to the tuner posts and maintains the height of the strings. The length of the Neck depends on the scale of the guitar and the number of frets it has. The back of the neck could be "C" shaped, or "V" shaped (sideways < if you compare it to the letter C). The front of the neck is the Fingerboard or Fretboard, that contains the Frets embedded in notches along its surface. The Strings run down the neck over the frets. The height of the strings over the frets is called the Action; if the action is too high the strings are harder to press down, if the action is too low the strings may rattle against the frets muffling the notes. The neck usually has "dot" markers on the top and the side facing the player, showing the position of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (which has two dots) and 15th fret.
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On standard acoustic guitars, the large body makes it difficult to use any frets above the 12th fret. Some guitars have a Cutaway section to allow your hands to reach the 14th fret easily, however this does affect the sound as it disrupts the shape of the guitar. You strum (or pick) the strings over the Soundhole, which is where the vibrations from the strings are acoustically reflected out providing the sound from the instrument. Acoustic-electric guitars have an Pickup inside the soundhole, note that you can also buy add-on acoustic pickups and turn any acoustic guitar into an acoustic-electric. Most acoustic guitars have a Pick Guard, that protects the finish on the top of the guitar body from mis-directed picking. The strings terminate in the Saddle which is glued onto the top of the guitar body. The Bridge raises the strings and establishes the Action of the guitar. Note most acoustic guitars have "fixed" bridges, the only way to lower the action is to shave or cut down the saddle (or replace the bridge) - there is no way raise the action. Some newer models provide adjustable bridges simliar to electric guitars.
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Note that as an acoustic guitar ages, a pronounced "belly" or bump will appear on the top of the body, just below the saddle. Since the strings are constantly pulling on the saddle, over time and with humidity changes the wood will begin to bow where the pressure is being applied. There are "ribs" or "struts" inside the body to prevent the saddle from being ripped out, so a small belly is perfectly normal as the guitar is broken in. If the belly gets too large you (or him or her) will have to have the ribs inside the top repaired, they may have popped out or broken. Many musicians claim the belly improves the sound of the guitar, which may contribute to the theory that acoustic guitars sound better as they grow older. Guitar Types<<<Previous Next>>>Electric Guitar Parts
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| Read Guitar Sheet Music | |
 music , and can we live without music? notation is standard for all music instruments, including the guitar. While reading Guitar Tab is easier for beginners, for advanced music you must know how to also read sheet music. The symbol on the left is the Treble Clef, and identifies the document as sheet music. Note that piano (and bass guitar) music also uses the Bass Clef which we are not going to cover here. The Treble Clef is often followed by two numbers, in this case they are 4 over 4. This is the Time Signature for this music, the simple explanation is the top number indicates the number of beats per measure, and the lower number indicates that quarter notes (one-fourth, explained below) are used to mark each beat. This 4 over 4 time signature is used very often, in fact it is also called Common Time and may be indicated by a large C which means the same thing as 4 over 4. 
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 The music notes are written on Ledger Lines (the horizontal lines), and the music is broken up into chunks called Measures. Each measure in turn is broken up into Beats, in the above example Common Time (4/4) is used, there are 4 beats per measure. Each ledger line and space (between lines) indicate different music notes as shown above (marked in red on the left side). Music notes are written ON a line, or BETWEEN lines (in the spaces). The lowest ledger line is the E, the space following it is the F, the line following it is the G, and so on. You can keep drawing ledger lines above and below the existing lines, if your music has higher or lower Octaves. The first measure in the above example has a Whole Note symbol (hollow circle O). In this case, it is sitting on the E line, so it is a whole E note. Whole notes last for the duration of the measure, in this case 4 beats. In other words, play the note and HOLD IT for 4 beats (don't pick it four times). The next measure shows the Half Note symbol, which is the hollow cirle (O) with a stem. Note the stem can go either up or down, whichever is more convenient depending on its position on the lines. The Half Note takes half as many beats as the whole note, in this case it would half of 4, which is 2 beats. Thus we have two half notes in the second measure, each of which takes 2 beats each (totalling 4 beats, the length of the measure). Again, you have to HOLD the half note for two beats (don't pick the note twice), then pick it and hold it for the next 2 beats. The two dots at the start of measure 1, and at the end of measure 2, indicate Repeat. This means you would repeat that section when playing this piece of music. 
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 The above example shows the Quarter Note symbol in measure 3, which is a filled in circle with a stem. The quarter note is one-quarter of the whole note, which in this case is 4 divided by 4 = 1 beat. Remember the 4/4 Time Signature that has the lower 4, indicating a quarter note marks each beat. Therefore we have four quarter notes in measure 3 that provide four beats. The stem again, can go up or down, whichever direction is more convenient or readable. Now we have the quarter note providing each beat, but we can jam in TWO notes for each beat. This is the Eighth Note (which is one half of the quarter note) which is symbolized with a filled in circle with a stem and a tail that curls. In music we count "one AND two AND three AND four AND" to accommodate the quarter notes. In measure 4 above, beat 1 has two quarter notes (ONE AND shown as 1 +). Beat 2 also has a pair of quarter notes, these have been drawn with a line joining their stems - this format is more readable and is often used when more than one quarter note is written together. Beat 3 introduces a new concept in music, the Rest (or SILENCE) - with a pair of Eighth Rests, indicating that no notes are to be played for that beat (3 +). Beat 4 has a Quarter Rest, which is functionally identical to the pair of eighth rests we just saw in beat 3.
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Sharps and flats are also written on sheet music, either next to each note or after the time signature as a Key Signature. That is an advanced level of information which is best learned from a formal guitar teacher and is not being covered here. The basic sheet music reading tutorial above should be sufficient to get you started. The previous Guitar Tab section is easier for beginners to play almost any piece of guitar music, and Advanced Guitar Techniques is next to show you how to get even more sounds out of your guitar. Guitar Tabs<<<Previous Next>>>Advanced Guitar Techniques
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