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| Acoustic guitar (some call it a GAT) Parts to Play Acoustic or Electric Guitar, Lessons | ||
Here is a picture of a typical acoustic guitar with its parts marked. Scroll down for detailed information on the acoustic guitars parts. 
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 There are three main sections zoomed in the picture; the Headstock, the Neck, and the Body. The headstock holds the Tuner Posts around which the strings are wrapped and terminated. The Tuners are knobs that increase or decrease the tension on the string wrapped around the tuner posts (tuning the sound made by the strings). Note that some acoustic guitars may have different looking tuners, and some may even have all six tuner keys on the same side. Even though they may look different, they work in the same manner. The Nut guides the strings to the tuner posts and maintains the height of the strings. The length of the Neck depends on the scale of the guitar and the number of frets it has. The back of the neck could be "C" shaped, or "V" shaped (sideways < if you (or anyone else) compare it to the letter C). The front of the neck is the Fingerboard or Fretboard, that contains the Frets embedded in notches along its surface. The Strings run down the neck over the frets. The height of the strings over the frets is called the Action; if the action is too high the strings are harder to press down, if the action is too low the strings may rattle against the frets muffling the notes. The neck usually has "dot" markers on the top and the side facing the player, showing the position of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (which has two dots) and 15th fret.
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On standard acoustic guitars, the large body makes it difficult to use any frets above the 12th fret. Some guitars have a Cutaway section to allow your hands to reach the 14th fret easily, however this does affect the sound as it disrupts the shape of the guitar. You strum (or pick) the strings over the Soundhole, which is where the vibrations from the strings are acoustically reflected out providing the sound from the instrument. Acoustic-electric guitars have an Pickup inside the soundhole, note that you can also buy add-on acoustic pickups and turn any acoustic guitar into an acoustic-electric. Most acoustic guitars have a Pick Guard, that protects the finish on the top of the guitar body from mis-directed picking. The strings terminate in the Saddle which is glued onto the top of the guitar body. The Bridge raises the strings and establishes the Action of the guitar. Note most acoustic guitars have "fixed" bridges, the only way to lower the action is to shave or cut down the saddle (or replace the bridge) - there is no way raise the action. Some newer models provide adjustable bridges simliar to electric guitars.
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Note that as an acoustic guitar ages, a pronounced "belly" or bump will appear on the top of the body, just below the saddle. Since the strings are constantly pulling on the saddle, over time and with humidity changes the wood will begin to bow where the pressure is being applied. There are "ribs" or "struts" inside the body to prevent the saddle from being ripped out, so a small belly is perfectly normal as the guitar is broken in. If the belly gets too large you will have to have the ribs inside the top repaired, they may have popped out or broken. Many musicians claim the belly improves the sound of the guitar, which may contribute to the theory that acoustic guitars sound better as they grow older. Guitar Types<<<Previous Next>>>Electric Guitar Parts
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| Learning Guitar Chords to Play Acoustic or Electric Guitar, Lessons | ||
 Chords are the complex sound created by two or more individual music notes. There are an infinite number of chords possible on the guitar, here we will just learn a few basic (and simple) beginner guitar chords. Click to read about guitar fret notes. The first chord we will discover is the E Major chord. The string layout on the guitar allows us to play some of the component notes that make up the chord more than once. The usual way to play the E Major chord is shown here. The numbers indicate which finger you will use to fret that note, (1) is your index finger, (2) is your middle finger, (3) is your ring finger and (4) is your pinky finger (not used in these easy guitar chords however). The O on the left side of the string indicate that string is to be struck in the "O"pen position. Place your fingers at the appropriate frets and strum all six strings together (with a downstroke). Congratulations, you just strummed your first guitar chord!
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The next chord we will learn is the A Major chord shown here. Place your first, second and third fingers at the frets as shown in the picture. Note the sixth string has an X marked next to it, this means you do NOT want to strike that string. While your are learning you will probably hit that string while strumming, just don't worry about it too much right now. Go ahead and strum the five strings together (with a downstroke), this is the A Major chord.
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One more chord we will learn is the C Major chord. Place your first, second and third fingers at the frets as shown in the picture. This chord also has the sixth string muted (with an X to indicate DON'T PLAY THIS STRING). Again, don't worry if you hit that string while learning. Strum the five strings together (with a downstroke), you have just played the C Major chord. Try these three chords out, strum each chord four times on downstrokes along with the beats of your metronome. Slow and steady, don't go too fast just yet. Ensure the chord sounds melodious, if any fingers are not pressing down properly, or are touching other strings - you will immediately be able to hear the sound of the chord change. After a few minutes of practice, change your strumming to both directions, go DOWNSTROKE UPSTROKE DOWNSTROKE UPSTROKE in time with your metronome beats. Note we are still doing 4 beats (down up down up) for each chord, slowly increase the speed of your metronome by 10 after a few minutes of practice for each chord.
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Using these basic chords you can now play a simple tune! Play the three chords in this order: A A A A C C C C E E E E and repeat. Note there are four "beats" for each chord, play it with the down up down up rhythm. At first you will have some difficulty in switching between chords, this is perfectly natural. Practice makes perfect, keep your metronome on a slow speed till your fingers get trained. You will find it gets easier with practice, then increase your metronome speed by 10 and keep playing. And most of all, have fun! You are playing the guitar! Next we will learn how to read guitar tab and also how to read guitar sheet music. Learning Guitar Notes<<<Previous Next>>>Read Guitar Tabs
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