Guitar Anatomy: The Parts of a Guitar Explained
All our guitar guides use these words. So spend five minutes on them before your first chord. It makes everything else easier.
The seven main parts
A guitar almost always has six strings. You find it in nearly every style of music: rock, pop, folk, jazz and blues. Acoustic or electric, the same seven parts do the same jobs. 🎸
- Head (headstock). The flat part at the top of the neck. It holds the tuning pegs and one end of each string.
- Tuning pegs. Turn one, and the string goes higher or lower. Tuning a guitar is simply turning the right peg the right amount.
- Nut. The small strip with grooves between the head and the neck. It spaces the strings evenly and sets their height over the first fret.
- Fretboard. The front of the neck, with metal frets. When you press a string behind a fret, the string gets shorter and the note changes. This is how you play notes and chords.
- Body. The big part that rests against you. Its size, shape and wood have the biggest effect on how the guitar sounds.
- Sound hole. The opening in the body of an acoustic guitar. The sound comes out here. That is why an acoustic sounds loudest for the person in front of it, not for the player.
- Bridge. Holds the other end of the strings on the body. It keeps them at the right height and spacing over the fretboard.
Frequently asked questions
What is the nut on a guitar for?
The nut is the small strip with grooves, where the fretboard meets the head. It keeps the strings spaced correctly, and sets how high they sit over the first fret. Too high, and chords are hard to press. Too low, and the strings buzz.
Why do some guitars have a sound hole and others don't?
An acoustic guitar is hollow. It uses the body and the sound hole to make the sound loud on its own. An electric guitar has a solid body. It doesn't need to be loud by itself, because the pickups send the sound to an amplifier.
What is the difference between the bridge and the nut?
They do the same job, at each end of the strings. The nut sets the spacing and height at the top of the neck. The bridge does the same at the body. On most guitars, the bridge also holds the strings in place.