The parts of a guitar.
The serious guitar student
needs to know more about guitars because it will be their
tool that they will use to make music.
Knowing the parts and
their function will help you make sure you are getting the
best possible sound that you get.
When you know how to
get the best possible sound out of your guitar, it will open
up the possibilities that you have pictured for yourself as
a guitarist.
The Parts of a guitar
- Acoustic and Electric Guitar.
What do they have in common?
1. Strings - Yes all
working guitars have strings.
The number of strings
they have can vary. The more strings the more sonic possibilities.
Most guitars have 6
strings. Some have more. We will stick with 6 for right now.
2.Bodies - The body
holds everything together.
Each part is somehow
attached to the body of the guitar.
Electric or acoustic,
the vibration and resonance of the wood structure of the body
effects the sound of the guitar.
Better wood and craftsmanship
makes a tremendous difference in sound quality.
3. Necks - The neck
of the guitar is where the action happens.
The neck not only holds
the strings but the tuners, nut, frets and fretboard.
The neck it where all
the notes played are fingered, tapped and sounded in various
ways.
The design and material
of the neck also has a dramatic effect on sound and the play-ability
of the whole guitar.
4. Head -The head holds
the tuners. The design of the head determines the placement
and design of the tuners also.
5. The nut - The nut
of the guitar holds the strings in place on the neck.
The material the nut
is made of affects the sound of the guitar and it can be made
of a variety of materials from fossilized mammoth bone to
plastic. (Bone is better.)
6. Some way to make
the sound louder - The acoustic has a resonance chamber and
the electric has pickups.
7. The Bridge - The
Bridge is where the strings are attached to the body at the
other end.
The way that the bridge
is attached affects the sustain (How long the notes sound.)
and sound quality of the guitar.
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