If you are planning to take guitar lessons then you should definitely know a little about the instrument and how it works. Today we will dissect a guitar for you to help you understand different parts of a guitar.

Let’s dive into a guitar.

1. Body: It is a big curvy part of a guitar. This is the part which rests against your body when you are playing a guitar. Acoustic guitars have a hollow body and electric guitars can have either hollow, semi hollow or a solid body.
2. Neck: The long part of the guitar which you hold onto to press down the strings is known as the neck.
3. Fretboard: Also known as fingerboard, is the area directly underneath the strings. It is marked and shaped to make it easier for the player to know where to press to get a certain note. Generally, maple and rosewood are used to make the fretboard.
4. Frets: The raised bit of wires that run across fretboard’s width is known as the frets.
5. Inlays: Decorative markers on the fretboard are known as the inlays. They could be simple dot markers to indicate 3^rd, 5^th, 7^th, 9^th, and 12^th frets or more complex decorative designs.
6. Headstock: At the end of the neck there is a headstock where all the strings end. They also have tuning pegs or machine heads on them.
7. Tuning pegs/Machine heads: Twisting these tuning pegs will help you to tune your guitar. Tightening or loosening these pegs changes the tension in the strings which changes the pitch.
8. The Nut: The point where the neck meets the headstock, the strings run through a piece of wood or plastic sometimes, is called the nut.
9. Bridge: The bridge supports the strings as they travel over the guitar’s body. It is the part that transfers the vibration of the strings into the body of the guitar. On electric guitars the height of the bridge can be altered as result of which the distance between the strings and the fretboard changes.
10. Saddles: This is where the playable part of strings ends. Electric guitars have separate saddle for each string so that they can be adjusted individually if needed.

• Tailpiece: The tailpiece anchors the strings at the other end so that they do not flop around. The other end is secured at the headstock by the tuners.

• Pickups: These are found on an electric or electro-acoustic guitar. It amplifies the vibrations of the strings. Generally electric guitars have electromagnetic pickups. Acoustic guitars can also have magnetic pickups, but microphone style.

So, these are certain basic parts which are found on every guitar, be it electric or acoustic. Above information will give you an idea about what the instrument is and how does it work. So, before starting your guitar lessons, make sure you go through the basic functioning of the instrument. It will help you to extract maximum benefits out of your guitar lessons.