Guitar Virtual Learning

Anatomy of a Guitar (Part I)

May 11, 2020
 Guitar
Lesson: May 11, 2020

Objective/Learning Target:

What are the different parts of a guitar, and how

do these different parts help the guitar make sound?
Warm-Up Activity
Draw an acoustic guitar. Feel free
to use this image as inspiration.
Then, label as many different
parts on that guitar that you can.
2nd Warm-Up Activity
Watch the video on the next slide of how an acoustic guitar
is made!
Parts of a Guitar
Today we are going to break down the different parts of a
guitar. For this lesson, we will focus on an acoustic
steel-string guitar.

For the next lesson, we will see how classical (nylon-string)

guitars and electric guitars are similar and different in their
construction.
Acoustic Guitars: how they work
Before we start breaking down the different components of
an acoustic guitar, let’s make sure we understand how an
acoustic guitar works.

Guitars have two main factors that contribute to their sound:

the strings, which produce their sound, and the body, which
amplifies and resonates the sound.
The strings
With all instruments, sound is produced when something vibrates.
With guitars, the things that
vibrate are the strings. When one
or more of the strings is plucked or
strummed, the string starts to
vibrate all over. This creates a
very specific note or tone.
The strings
How thick the string is, and what length the string is as
it vibrates, determine how high or low the pitch is that
the string creates. The string will vibrate all the way
from the nut on one end of the guitar to the saddle on
the other end, unless the string is pressed down to a
specific fret. When that happens, the length of string
that is allowed to vibrate is shortened, which raises
the pitch the string produces!
The body
As the string vibrates, it creates a
sound wave. This sound wave then
travels into the body of the guitar,
which is hollow. Inside the body of the
guitar, the sound wave is able to
bounce around and resonate (or
echo). This naturally amplifies the
sound of the string (makes it louder).
Parts of the Guitar
Now that we have a basic
understanding of how a guitar
works, let’s walk down the
different components that help this
process happen, starting at the
head of the guitar:
Parts of the Guitar
The head or headstock of the
guitar sits at the top of one end
of the guitar.

It holds the 6 tuners.

It ends with the nut.

Parts of the Guitar
Each tuner holds one of the 6 strings.
The tuners are used to adjust the
tension of the string, which adjusts
the string’s pitch.

The nut has 6 grooves that hold each

of the strings and set one end of the Tuners Nut
vibrating length of the strings.
Parts of the Guitar
The neck of the guitar attaches
to the headstock on one end and
the body of the guitar on the
other end.

The fretboard or fingerboard

sits on top of the neck.
Parts of the Guitar
The neck is long and thin,
allowing the player’s hand Neck
access to the fretboard.
Frets Fretboard

The fretboard or fingerboard

typically holds between 18-22
frets - thin metal bars used to
change a strings pitch.
Parts of the Guitar
The body of the guitar is made
of a back, sides, and a top.

It is usually hourglass shaped,

with a waist separating an upper
bout and a lower bout.
Parts of the Guitar Soundhole

The wood panel that makes the

top of the body is called the
soundboard, and has a hole cut
into it under the strings called a
soundhole.

Soundboard Bridge
Parts of the Guitar Saddle

The soundboard also has the

bridge of the guitar attached to
it. The bridge has the endpins
that hold the bottom end of the
strings, and the saddle, which is
the other end of the vibrating
length of the string. Endpins Bridge
Parts of the Guitar
All of these parts work together to
produce and shape the sound and
tone of the guitar.

Later this week, we will explore how

different materials and shapes can
change the tone a guitar produces!
Follow-Up activity
Take out your sketch of a guitar you did at the beginning of the
lesson. Using the knowledge you learned from this lesson,
edit your diagram to include all the parts we just learned about.

Then, write a 2-paragraph summary of how a guitar produces

sound, making sure to mention guitar parts we discussed
today.
2nd Follow-Up activity
Watch Josephine Alexandra play a fingerstyle guitar
arrangement of Maroon 5’s song “Memories”. As you watch,
pay special attention to the body of her guitar (a Yamaha
FSX830C), and specifically how the strings vibrate. As she
uses her left hand to press down strings on the fretboard,
notice the strings making higher pitches when they are
shortened.
Follow-Up activity: Your Own Guitar
If you have your own guitar, take it out and identify all of the
parts we discussed today. Then, practice plucking the strings,
one at a time, while pressing down on the different frets on the
fretboard. Watch the length of the string that vibrates change
as you listen to how that changes the pitch of each string each
time.