Get to Know Your Guitar
A quick tour of the parts of an acoustic guitar, and what a beginner-friendly guitar looks like.
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The names of the parts
An acoustic guitar has three main parts, top to bottom: the headstock (holds the tuning pegs that tighten or loosen the strings); the neck (its front face is the fretboard, the metal strips across it are frets, and the space between two frets is a “fret”); and the body (the front has the sound hole and the top, and the bridge below anchors the strings).
Count the fret spaces from the headstock toward the body: the one closest to the headstock is the 1st fret, then the 2nd, the 3rd, and so on. When we say “press the 2nd fret,” we mean put your finger between the first and second frets.
- 1.Headstock The board at the top that holds the tuning pegs and anchors the top ends of the strings.
- 2.Tuning pegs Turn them to tighten or loosen each string and tune it to the right pitch.
- 3.Nut The small strip where headstock meets neck; it seats and raises all 6 strings. Open-string notes are measured from here.
- 4.Neck The long slim part joining headstock and body, where your left hand grips and frets.
- 5.Fretboard The dark wood surface on the front of the neck, where your fingers actually press down.
- 6.Frets / fret spaces The metal ridges across the fretboard are frets; the gap between two is a fret space. "Press the Nth fret" means put your finger in the Nth space.
- 7.Sound hole The round hole in the upper-middle of the top; string vibrations resonate inside the body and project out from here.
- 8.Top The whole front panel of the body — the guitar's vibrating “drumhead” that shapes its tone.
- 9.Bridge The wood block below the sound hole that anchors the bottom ends of the strings and transfers their vibration to the top.
- StringsThe 6 strings are numbered thickest to thinnest 6 → 1 (thick = 6th = low, thin = 1st = high); standard tuning is E A D G B E.
Match the parts against the diagram above: the numbers ①–⑨ correspond to the list below. On your own guitar, point out the sound hole, the bridge, and the 3rd fret one by one.
Lock in the string numbers
A guitar has six strings. The thickest, lowest-sounding one is the 6th string; the thinnest, highest-sounding one is the 1st string. Remember it as “thick on top, thin on the bottom; thickest to thinnest is 6→1.”
In standard tuning the six strings from thickest to thinnest are E A D G B E — you'll use this in the next lesson on tuning.
- 💡 In sheet music, “treble strings” usually means the 1st and 2nd (thin) strings, and “bass strings” means the 5th and 6th (thick) strings.
Steel-string or classical?
For playing and singing, pick a “folk guitar” (steel-string): brighter, and better for backing vocals. The classical guitar has nylon strings and a wider fretboard, and is used more for classical and fingerstyle.
Beginners don't need an expensive guitar, but try to avoid one that plays badly — if the strings sit too high off the fretboard, they'll be hard to press down.
Practice checklist
- On your own guitar, point out: the sound hole, the bridge, and the 3rd fret.
- Name the six strings by number from thickest to thinnest (6→1).