Parts of the guitar · The guitar

Knowing the parts of the guitar helps you understand why it sounds the way it does, describe a problem and look after it. Acoustic, classical or electric, they all share one idea: a string stretched between two fixed points vibrates, and the frets shorten it to change the pitch.

1. Listen

These are the six open strings in standard tuning, from the lowest (6th) to the highest (1st):

Now the same low string open and then fretted at the 12th fret. It sounds one octave higher:

2. See it

Headstock — Holds the tuners; its angle keeps string pressure on the nut.
Tuners — Tighten or loosen each string to tune it.
Nut — Slotted piece that guides the strings and marks the start of the fretboard (fret 0).
Fretboard — The wooden surface where you fret notes.
Frets — Metal bars: each one raises the pitch a semitone.
Inlays — Position markers on frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12…
Neck — Joins headstock and body; usually contains an adjustable steel truss rod.
Body — Amplifies the sound (acoustic) or holds the electronics (electric).
Soundhole or pickups — The soundhole projects sound on an acoustic; on an electric, pickups capture the vibration.
Bridge — Anchors the strings to the body and transmits their vibration.
Saddle — The strings' last support point; it sets the intonation.
Strings — Six on a standard guitar; from the 6th (low) to the 1st (high).

The main parts:

Headstock: holds the tuning pegs (machine heads) that tighten each string.
Nut: the slotted piece where the vibrating part of the string begins.
Neck and fingerboard: the surface you press on. Frets are the metal bars; inlays help you find your way (frets 3, 5, 7, 9 and a double marker at 12).
Body: on an acoustic it's a hollow box with a soundhole; on an electric it's usually solid and carries the pickups and controls.
Bridge and saddle: the other end of the vibrating length.
Truss rod: a rod inside the neck that counteracts string tension.

3. Try it

Each fret raises the pitch by a semitone. Walk along the 6th string and check that the 12th fret splits the string in half:

Step 1 of 3 · Open string

Play the 6th string without fretting. The whole length between nut and saddle vibrates.

See every note on the fretboard

4. How it's used

The names pay off in everyday playing:

To tune you turn the pegs; if a string keeps drifting, check the peg and the nut first.
If a note buzzes, the cause may be your finger, a high fret or the truss rod adjustment.
String height (action) depends on the saddle and the truss rod: very high action tires your hand.
On an electric, the pickups turn vibration into a signal; on an acoustic, the body amplifies it.

5. Go deeper

Applied Scale length

The distance from nut to saddle is the scale length. Fender-style guitars use about 25.5 inches (648 mm), Gibson-style about 24.75 inches (628 mm) and classical guitars about 650 mm. With the same gauge and tuning, a longer scale needs more tension: the string feels firmer and the tone tighter, while a shorter scale makes bends easier.

Advanced Where the frets go

Frets are not evenly spaced. Each one shortens the string by a factor of 2 to the power 1/12, because equal temperament splits the octave into twelve equal semitones. That's why the 12th fret sits at exactly half the scale length and the 24th at three quarters. For centuries luthiers used the "rule of 18" (divide the remaining length by 18); today the more precise value 17.817 is used.

The saddle sits slightly behind the theoretical point (compensation) because fretting stretches the string and raises its pitch a little.

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2. See it

Headstock — Holds the tuners; its angle keeps string pressure on the nut.
Tuners — Tighten or loosen each string to tune it.
Nut — Slotted piece that guides the strings and marks the start of the fretboard (fret 0).
Fretboard — The wooden surface where you fret notes.
Frets — Metal bars: each one raises the pitch a semitone.
Inlays — Position markers on frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12…
Neck — Joins headstock and body; usually contains an adjustable steel truss rod.
Body — Amplifies the sound (acoustic) or holds the electronics (electric).
Soundhole or pickups — The soundhole projects sound on an acoustic; on an electric, pickups capture the vibration.
Bridge — Anchors the strings to the body and transmits their vibration.
Saddle — The strings' last support point; it sets the intonation.
Strings — Six on a standard guitar; from the 6th (low) to the 1st (high).

The main parts:

Headstock: holds the tuning pegs (machine heads) that tighten each string.

Nut: the slotted piece where the vibrating part of the string begins.

Neck and fingerboard: the surface you press on. Frets are the metal bars; inlays help you find your way (frets 3, 5, 7, 9 and a double marker at 12).

Body: on an acoustic it's a hollow box with a soundhole; on an electric it's usually solid and carries the pickups and controls.

Bridge and saddle: the other end of the vibrating length.

Truss rod: a rod inside the neck that counteracts string tension.

3. Try it

Each fret raises the pitch by a semitone. Walk along the 6th string and check that the 12th fret splits the string in half:

Step 1 of 3 · Open string

Play the 6th string without fretting. The whole length between nut and saddle vibrates.

See every note on the fretboard

4. How it's used

The names pay off in everyday playing:

To tune you turn the pegs; if a string keeps drifting, check the peg and the nut first.

If a note buzzes, the cause may be your finger, a high fret or the truss rod adjustment.

String height (action) depends on the saddle and the truss rod: very high action tires your hand.

On an electric, the pickups turn vibration into a signal; on an acoustic, the body amplifies it.

5. Go deeper

Applied Scale length

Advanced Where the frets go

The saddle sits slightly behind the theoretical point (compensation) because fretting stretches the string and raises its pitch a little.

1. Listen

2. See it

3. Try it

4. How it's used

5. Go deeper

Related concepts

1. Listen

2. See it

3. Try it

4. How it's used

5. Go deeper