The parts of the guitar

Every lesson from here on will say things like "put your finger behind the second fret" or "strum from the sound hole". It is much easier to follow along when you know which part is which, so this short first lesson is a tour of the instrument.

You do not need to memorise anything. Have a look, find each part on your own guitar, and move on. The names will stick as you use them.

Starting from the end furthest from you:

• Headstock. The flat end of the neck. It holds the tuning pegs.
• Tuning pegs. Turning one tightens or loosens a string, which raises or lowers its pitch. You will use them in the tuning lessons.
• Nut. A small strip, usually white or black, where the strings leave the headstock and cross onto the neck.
• Neck. The long part you hold with your fretting hand.
• Frets. The thin metal strips across the neck. Pressing a string just behind a fret shortens it, and a shorter string sounds higher.
• Body. The large hollow part that rests against you. It is what makes an acoustic guitar loud.
• Sound hole. The round opening in the body. On an acoustic guitar you strum roughly over it.
• Bridge. Where the strings are anchored at the body end.

One thing trips up almost everybody at the start, so it is worth getting straight now.

When a lesson says "the third fret", it means the space between the second and third metal strips, counting from the nut. That space is where your fingertip goes. The metal strip itself is the fret wire.

The dots on the front of the neck, usually at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th frets, are there to help you find your place without counting. The 12th fret usually has two dots.

Everything in this course works on either. An electric guitar has the same headstock, nut, neck, frets and bridge. It has pickups instead of a sound hole, and it needs an amplifier to be heard properly.

Nylon-string classical guitars work too. Their necks are wider, so some chord shapes feel like more of a stretch, but the notes and shapes are exactly the same.