Learning Acoustic Guitar: The Parts of the Guitar and Proper Posture

By Scott Forrester

Some people may think otherwise, but in truth learning to play the guitar is pretty easy. The only thing that you need to do is learn where to start, and the proper place to start is by learning the different parts of a guitar. By doing this you will learn the way it works, and then you'll understand the importance of aspects such as string and pick selection. There aren't that many parts in an acoustic guitar, so we'll go over them fast:

1. The biggest part is the body. This is where all the sound comes from, and it emits those sounds through a hole that is carved in the center. This is also where the strings run through from the neck of the guitar.

2. Behind the pick hand at the end of the body you will find the bridge. This is the area in which the strings are attached to the guitar before making contact with the hole, and making their way up the neck. On the majority of acoustic guitars, you will find that this bridge is composed of wood.

3. The next part to concern yourself with is the neck. Where is the neck? It is way on the other end of the guitar. It's very hard to miss because it's the only part on the guitar that's long and skinny. The strings of the guitar travel up the neck and attach themselves to the tuning keys.

4. The frets are an equally important part of the guitar; there are usually twenty four of them and you can cause the guitar to emit different sounds by placing your fingers behind them and in different positions.

5. The nut is a rather important part, and it is a divider that is placed in between the neck and head. It is grooved and keeps the headstock from moving during play.

6. Next there is the headstock, which is the topmost section on the neck. This is where the tuning keys are situated.

7. What exactly are tuning keys? Those are the metal table located either on the side or the bottom of the head stock, and they are used for tuning the guitar. If the guitar is in tune then it will actually sound right, as opposed to when it is not in tune.

So those are the basic parts of the guitar. After you have learned that you will need to learn to keep good posture while playing, that way your instrument will sound great when you play! Next we will tell you exactly how to accomplish that.



For right handed players: The first thing that you need to do is sit down, and make sure that one of your knees is slightly raised to support the guitar. Hold the neck with your left hand, and strum the guitar with your right hand. This is a standard posture that nearly all guitar players use, and if you're still not entirely comfortable, you can use a strap to secure the guitar.

If you are not right handed, then you are obviously left handed, and there is a specific way to do that as well. You need to make sure that you are comfortable first of all, and because of that you are free to sit in any way you want. All you need to do is reverse the posture of the right hand player and everything will be fine, just try it out a little, try a few different cords, and see what feels right. - 32181

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