The Parts of the Guitar

Guitar Diagram

Guitars can be classified into 2 main categories, acoustic and electric. Well you play them in similar ways the style of their composition is quite different. Below is a guitar diagram that details some of the parts on both.

1. The Headstock

The focal point of the tuning system, headstocks come in two distinctive designs. The square headstock has three tuners on either side, whilst Fender style instruments have all six tuners on the left.

2. Tuner

There are six tuners—one for each string. They are used in guitar tuning to tune strings to their proper pitch. Each tuner consists of a nut and cog to tighten or slacken the string. Also known as machine heads.

3. Nut

The nut keeps the strings in position as they leave the head, by way of six small grooves. If you own an expensive guitar the nut will probably be made of ivory. If you’re a conservationist or just an economist it’ll be plastic.

4. Frets

Frets are wire inserts which mark the points on the neck where you pass each string to make different notes. They are normally made of nickel alloy, hammered home.

5. Fretboard

Generally made of rosewood, the fretboard is glued to the neck. It’s usually decorated with tortoise shell or plastic inlays which help you to see where you are on the fretboard.

6. Strings

The strings are the lifeblood of the instrument, and a poor or worn set can make even the most talented player sound bad. Generally constructed from alloy, strings very in thickness from the bottom (the thickest) to the top (thinnest). The three bass strings are wound to give them depth, whilst their skinny counterparts are simply tensioned alloy wire. Strings are measured by gauge—the lower the number, the thinner the string. It’s important to select a set suitable for your guitar, whether electric or acoustic. The two aren’t generally interchangeable.

7. Pick Guard

Located next to the sound hole (on acoustic guitars) or pick-ups (on electric guitars) the pickguard protects the main body of the instrument from pectrum scratches and finger marks.

8. Soundboard

The acoustic guitar soundboard is the top piece of wood on the main body. The sound hole is cut into it.

9. Pick-Ups

Pick-ups transmit the string sound from the guitar to the amplifier by way of an electric lead. In reality, pick-ups are no more than miniature Microphones. You can in fact talk into a guitar pick-up and your voice will be broadcast through the amp.

10. Bridge

Acoustic and electric guitar bridges come in all shapes and sizes, but their purpose is the same. They adjust the pitch, harmonics and string height. The classic set-up is the retaining tailpiece, and individual bridge, which is adjustable on electric models as you can see below in the guitar diagram. Modern acoustic and many electric guitars have a one-piece bridge set-up, which eliminates the separate tailpiece. The bridge on a acoustic guitar is slightly offset to achieve perfect harmonics, whilst the electric counterpart has a series of independent mechanisms, one for each string. These are adjusted with a small screwdriver, until the pitch is correct.

11. Volume And Tone Control

Once your guitar is plugged in, and you have turned your amp on, you will be able to adjust volume and tone by the collection of knobs generally positioned to the right side of the bridge.

Source : http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/tuning/methods/

Guitar Types

Classical And Flamenco Guitars

Sometimes known as Spanish guitars, these instruments are very suitable for Classical Style solo playing Flamenco Music and for accompanying singers. The nylon strings are plucked or strummed with the right-hand thumb or fingers – a pick is never used. The Flamenco Guitar is similar to the classical Guitar but has plates to protect the face of the guitar during golpe tapping.

Round-Hole Steel Strung Guitars

The most common type of Acoustic guitar found in North America, these all-round instruments are used for most popular guitar music; pretty much everything except Classical or Flamenco. They may be finger-picked, or played with a Guitar Pick. They are suitable for accompanying singing and playing with others. Pick-ups may be added to those guitars for playing with an amplifier.

The Jumbo is a Round-hole Guitar with an extra large body which gives a deep bass sound.

The 12-string Guitar is similar to the Jumbo, but is a more specialized instrument. It is not recommend for absolute beginners.

Semi Acoustic Guitars

These very slim guitars give enough acoustic (un-amplified) sound for practicing, but are otherwise played with an amplifier. They are lighter than Solid Guitars and often have a better tone when amplified.

Cello Guitars are similar but have a thicker body. They are played with or without an amplifier and give a chunky rhythm sound.

Electric Guitars

Electric Guitars are only played with an amplifier, as they have no real acoustic sound. They are made in various shapes, styles and sizes and usually come with a solid body. You can also use effects pedals and different types of contraptions to alter the sound.

Semi-Acoustic and Solid Body Guitars have lower action then an Acoustic or Classical Guitar, and are ideal for fast ‘electric’ playing – Jazz, Rock, Pop, etc.

Electric guitars are generally played with a guitar pick.

Source : http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/tuning/methods/

Guitar Lesson: 10 Guitar Tuning Tips And Secrets

• Tune your guitar every time you pick it up to play, guitars can go out of tune sooner then you think.

• Avoid leaving your guitar in areas with extreme temperature changes,this will definitely mess up the tuning. Dropping or bumping the guitar will also make it go out of tune. Carry your guitar in a case as any damage to it could effect how well it tunes up.

• In a noisy environment you will definitely want to use a guitar tuner. You should purchase a quality tuner. You don’t need to spend alot. An inexpensive tuner or tuning fork is definitely good enough to start out. Always bring it to gigs and jam sessions. But, remember try to develop your ear by using the traditional guitar tuning method when you can. In the long run you will be just that much better of a musician. Only use a guitar tuner to tune the Low E string and then tune the rest by ear. This will help develop your ear as a musician.

• Learn to attach the strings to the machine heads properly.

• ALWAYS TUNE UP! When you tune a guitar string, always start below the desired note and tune up to pitch not down to pitch. This will help prevent the string from going flat during play. Even if the note is too high you can stretch the string to give it some slack then tighten it.

• Tuning heads have a certain amount of “play” in them so make a couple of deep bends and then fine tune the string.

• Before tuning a suspect string, check it against both adjacent strings to determine which string is actually out of tune. The string you suspect may not even be the culprit.

• Play a chord that you know well to test the tuning, if it sounds odd or out a bit it probably is, remember always trust you ear.

• When tuning a guitar with a vibrato arm, tune the string, give the arm a good shake, stretch the string, give the arm another shake and fine tune.

• When putting new strings on your guitar you must always make sure you stretch them as you tune them to pitch. Try holding them down on the neck around the 24th fret with your right hand while pulling them away from the guitar body with your left hand. You don’t have to use too much muscle, a few firm tugs should do the trick.

Guitar Lesson: Standard Guitar Tuning Methods

There are many different methods you can use to tune a guitar. The most popular and widely used is Standard Guitar Tuning. That is, the strings are tuned from thickest to thinnest E A D G B E. This tuning evolved mainly because it is the best and easiest for fingering the most amount of scales and chords. Not only are there different tunings, but there are also different techniques to tuning up. I suggest that you experiment and learn different ways to tune. Here are 5 easy methods:

• Using An Online Guitar Tuner
• Tuning With An Electronic Tuner
• Guitar Tuning With A Keyboard or Piano
• Tuning In Octaves
• Tuning With Harmonics

Using An Online Guitar Tuner

Check out this online guitar tuner. This guitar tuner can also do alternate guitar tunings; such as Drop D, Open C, Open G, Open D, Half Step Down, Full Step Down, Open E or Admiral.

Tuning With An Electronic Tuner

There are many electronic tuners on the market today. An electronic tuner monitors the frequency of each of the six strings. The guitar tuning is adjusted until the correct reading on the tuner is given. These are especially good if you are the visual type of learner.An electric guitar or acoustic guitar with a pick-up can also be plugged into the tuner. Sound can be picked up by a tiny built in microphone; this allows acoustics without pick-ups to be tuned. There is a visual frequency display that will show you with a needle how close you are to the proper frequency of any given note. Because of the visual display these tuners are especially helpful in noisy environments, i.e., tuning your guitar in a loud concert hall.

Some electronic tuners also come with adjustable or alternate tunings. Electronic Tuners definitely make guitar tuning easier as they are small and therefore portable. But keep in mind it is helpful to you as a musician to learn to tune by ear as it helps develope your ear, making you a more skillful musician.

Guitar Tuning With A Keyboard Or Piano

The first step in any guitar tuning is to find a source for reference tones. Since pianos stay in tune for years they are always a good source to use. Using a Piano or Keyboard the strings on the guitar can be tuned to six keys on the keyboard. The diagram below shows the relationship between the open notes of standard tuning on guitar and a piano.

Tuning In Octaves

Another common approach to tuning the guitar makes use of octave intervals. To begin with, the open 1st string should be tuned to the note E (you can use an electronic tuner, a piano, a pitchfork, or just wing it by ear to get the correct pitch).

When it is in tune, the open 2nd string (B) can be tuned an octave below the B played on the 7th fret of the 1st string.

With the 2nd string in tune, the open 3rd string (G) can be tuned to the G an octave above on the 8th fret of the 2nd string. The open 4th string (D) can then be tuned to the D an octave above on the 7th fret of the 3rd string.

Similarly, the 5th and 6th strings may also be tuned using the 7th fret octaves.

All the strings except the 3rd should have an interval of an octave between the open string and the 7th fret of the string below. From the 3rd string though, the octave is heard by playing the 8th fret of the 2nd string. 

Tuning with Harmonics

On certain frets, when a string is played while a finger gently touches it directly over the fret, a harmonic is produced. Keep in mind you are not fretting the note directly against the fretboard you are simply touching the string. Placing a finger over one of these points changes the usual pitch of a vibrating open string.

Instead, a related higher-frequency note will be heard. This harmonic is referred to as anupper partial. The technique shown below uses a series of harmonics to tune the guitar. Over the 5th fret, the harmonic occurs two octaves above the pitch of the open string. Over the 7th fret, the harmonic is an octave and a fifth above open-string pitch.

1. Tune the 6th string (E) to a tone reference such as an electronic tuner or other instrument
2. Play the 5th harmonic on the 6th string, let this note ring and play the 7th fret harmonic on the 5th string, adjust the tuning head until they sound the same.
3. Play the 5th harmonic on the 5th string, let this note ring and play the 7th fret harmonic on the 4th string, adjust the tuning head until they sound the same.
4. Play the 5th harmonic on the 4th string, let this note ring and play the 7th fret harmonic on the 3rd string, adjust the tuning head until they sound the same.
5. Play the 7th harmonic on the 6th string, let this note ring and play the open 2nd string, adjust the tuning head until they sound the same.
6. Play the 5th harmonic on the 6th string, let this note ring and play the open 1st string, adjust the tuning head until they sound the same.

That concludes this tutorial on 5 easy guitar tuning methods. Now that your all tuned up you can sit back and strum all night long.

Source : http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/tuning/methods/