Parts of the Guitar
Acoustic guitars can be steel strung or nylon strung. Nylon strung guitars are often the best choice for a beginner as the strings are softer on your fingers. Once you are into the routine of playing at least 10 minutes a day you will grow hard skin pads on the ends of your fingers and will be able to play for as long as you like.
These are the various parts of the guitar –The body is the largest part, with a sound hole in the middle, so the body of the guitar is hollow. Electric guitars mostly have solid bodies, so they are thinner and usually heavier. The neck is attached to the body and the fretboard and frets are on the neck. This is the part we will be concentrating on the most as it is where we will be placing our fingers to hold down the strings in various places to make notes. Electric guitars have pickups instead of a sound hole and they literally pick up sound from the strings, turning it into an electrical signal which travels down cables through the volume and tone controls to the jack socket. The jack socket is where you plug your electric guitar cable, the other end goes into an amplifier.
At the top end of the neck near the headstock is the nut, which holds the strings at the right height and distance apart, at the other end of the strings is the bridge which does the same job but on the body.
Tuners or machine heads, as they are often called, are on the headstock, either a 3 a side or 6 in a row, 4 for a bass. Nearly all acoustic guitars have their tuners three to a side, electric guitars come in 3-a-side and 6-a-side. Body Posture
You need to be sitting with your back straight (always avoid slouching or leaning back). The body of almost every guitar is made with a curve designed to fit on your leg when you are sitting down. Aim to spend 10 minutes a day practicing ..
This is extremely important in order to remember what you've learned and to build strength in your hands and wrists. Try to keep your fingernails short
(Most importantly on the left hand) If you don’t, then your fingernails, as they get longer, will stop you from holding the strings down properly on the fretboard and they may even get pushed back into your fingers or they could damage the soft wood of the fretboard. Relax! When you are learning and concentrating on what you are doing, it's natural that you will become tense, your neck and shoulder muscles will tighten up and you will feel uncomfortable. It's important to be aware of this and relax your shoulders and neck when practicing. |