Free Guitar Lesson - Introduction to Guitar

Prerequisites

You will need:

• A guitar

In this lesson I will introduce you to the guitar and how it works. By the end of this lesson you will understand how your instrument works. I will try to keep the technical aspects to a minimum and tell you what you really need to know.

Loosely speaking, there are two kinds of guitars - electric and acoustic.

An acoustic guitar relies on acoustic methods to project its sound. Without getting technical, the volume of the sound, and hence the loudness, is increased by various bits on the guitar - the soundboard, resonant cavity and sound box. This increase in volume is required since a string by itself does not displace much air.

Electric guitars, on the other hand, do not rely on such methods and require amplification. The strings disturb an electromagnetic field, created by the pickups, which results in the vibrations being converted into electrical signals. These electrical signals are then amplified and used to drive a loudspeaker.

Important Terms

1. Nut - the nut component that determines the string spacing, distance from the edge of the fingerboard and the height between the strings and the first fret.
   
2. Machine head - the apparatus for applying tension to a string.
   

The headstock is where the strings are secured and wound around the machine heads after passing from the bridge and over the nut. The pitch of a string can be adjusted using the machine heads to change the tension of the strings. Machine heads can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

Usually, turning the machine head clockwise will increase the pitch and counterclockwise will decrease the pitch.

Important Terms

• Fret (noun) - a fret is a raised ridge on the neck of a string instrument. It divides the neck according to certain musical intervals. It helps you to place your finger at the right points.
• Fret (verb) - to press down on the string behind a fret.
• Fretboard - a fingerboard with frets.

Depending on whether you're playing a left-handed or right-handed guitar, your fretting hand (i.e. the hand with the fingers that you use to press down on the fretboard) will be the opposite to what handedness you are. If you're right-handed that means the fingers on your left hand will be used to press down the strings on the fretboard.

Important Terms

1. Pickup (a: neck, b: middle, c: bridge) - an electromagnetic device that detects vibrations from the strings.
   
2. Pickup selector - the switch that selects the different pickups available and their configurations.
   
3. Volume knob - the knob that controls the volume of your guitar.
   
4. Bridge - the device that anchors the strings to the body of the guitar
   
5. Tone knob - the knob that reduces the amount of high frequencies on the output of your guitar.
   
6. Output connector - this is where you plug your guitar cable in which leads to the amplifier.
   
7. Bridge pickup - the pickup by the bridge.
8. Middle pickup - the pickup in between the neck and the bridge pickups.
9. Floyd Rose bridge - a special bridge that works in conjunction with a locking nut to provide tuning stability.
10. Sound hole - an opening on the guitar that helps project the sound
    
11. Tremolo bar - a bar that modulates the pitch of the guitar when depressed or elevated.
12. Neck pickup - the pickup close to the neck.
    

The body is the side opposite the headstock (see below) where you pluck the strings. From this side of the guitar you pluck the strings either with your fingers or with a plectrum (pick). Situated on the body are the above mentioned components. However, different guitars may have slightly different looking (or more) components. Below are the most common body types for guitars. Use the above definitions and their corresponding numbers to make sense of the pictures below.

In this lesson we have covered each of the main parts of the guitar and how the are related to each other. It would be wise to read the article again as each section helps you to understand the other ones.

In the next lesson you will learn how to tune a guitar and play a note. I will also reveal some very useful tips and tricks that I learnt from making (and observing other people's) mistakes.