Parts of the Guitar

Often people learning to play the guitar have trouble with the names of the various parts of the guitar. Here is a brief description of some of the more commonly misunderstood parts of the guitar.

Headstock - The head stock is the part of a guitar at the end of the neck opposite to the body. The headstock is generally used for supporting the tuning pegs used to wind the strings. There are many shapes that headstocks can come in depending on the type of guitar.

Machine Heads - The machine heads or tuning pegs are found at the headstock. The machine heads tighten or loosen strings so they string can be tuned. A basic gear mechanism is used to winds the strings.

Frets - The bars or ridges (usually made of metal) that sit on the fingerboard or neck of a guitar; when the string is depressed by your fingers at the metal bar it will make a note of the desired pitch. Frets are arranged on guitars to produce specific musical pitches. On the typical guitar or bass each fret represents one semitone or half step.

Bridge - The bridge is found down on the body. The function of the bridge, in addition to simply holding the strings in place, is to transmit their vibrations to the top of the guitar, to the instrument's soundboard or pickups. There are many different types of bridge and they can be made from a variety of materials depending upon the type of guitar. For example electric guitars usually have metal bridges and acoustic guitars usually have wooden ones.

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