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Taking Online Guitar Lessons? Know the Parts of Your Guitar

If you are a beginner taking online guitar lessons, there are so many new things to learn. Knowing the parts of your guitar is one topic that you may not learn in some online programs. When you learn these very basic terms, you will be able to converse in a knowledgeable manner with the people in your local music store, and with other guitarists. We will begin at the top of your instrument.

Set your guitar in an upright position with the long, thin part at the top. At the very top of your guitar, you will find the peg head. The peg head holds the tuning devices, called gears, that tighten or loosen the guitar's strings in order to tune them.  Classical guitars generally have slotted peg heads, while rock, jazz and acoustic guitars have solid peg heads. Directly below the peg head is the nut.  Usually crafted from bone, the nut holds the strings in the correct positions. The nut's height determines the strings' height, as well as the guitar's action. In general, classical guitarists prefer higher action, while those who play the electric or jazz guitar prefer lower action.  

Directly below the nut lies the neck, which is the long, skinny part of the guitar. It holds the fingerboard, onto which frets are installed. Frets are the many tiny bars that run horizontally throughout the entire length of the neck. Pressing your finger on a string at a fret will raise the string's pitch in order to make different notes. Look at the back of your guitar's neck. At the very bottom of the neck, right where it joins the larger section of the guitar is a part called the heel. Heels come in an assortment of shapes, some with elaborate decoration. Its purpose, to hide the joint between the neck and the larger section of the guitar, is largely cosmetic.

Now, look at the front of the larger section on your guitar. This part is simply called the face or the top. Around its edges you will find purfling (binding), whose function is simply to hide the joint between the guitar's face and its sides. On acoustic guitars, you will discover a round or oval hole, called the soundhole, where the amplified sound comes out of the guitar. Jazz guitars often have f-shaped holes, while most electric guitars have none, since the bulk of the amplification is done electronically. Often, guitar makers decorate the area surrounding the soundhole with an inlay called a rosette. Moving further down, below the soundhole, you will see a horizontal bar containing slots which the strings pass through.  This is called a bridge bone. Its purpose is to guide the strings further down, where they are secured to the part called the bridge. Various styles of guitars may have extra or different components, as well as the basic parts mentioned above.

Now that you are familiar with the parts of your guitar, you will be able to discuss guitar terminology with newly discovered confidence. More importantly, knowing the parts of the guitar will help you build more self-assurance as you play.

About the Author

Emre Sabuncuoglu, one of the founders of the Los Angeles Guitar Academy,holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California's prestigious Thornton School of Music. Emre's warm style of relating to others helps him reach out to a diverse student population. He incorporates visual, kinesthetic, and auditory cues to accommodate each student's distinctive learning style.

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