Gitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, played either with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number but sometimes more, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Some modern guitars are made of polycarbonate materials. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers. There are two primary families of guitars: acoustic and electric.

Acoustic guitars (and similar instruments) with hollow bodies, have been in use for over a thousand years. There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the vibration of the strings, which is amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive fingerpicking technique.

Electric guitars, introduced in the 1930s, rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Early amplified guitars employed a hollow body, but a solid body was found more suitable. Electric guitars have had a continuing profound influence on popular culture. Guitars are recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, jazz, jota, mariachi, reggae, rock, soul, and many forms of pop.

Main Parts of Guitar

Body – Largest part of the guitar, usually solid or hollow, which has a round hole in it

Neck -- The long slender part of the guitar attached to the body

Fingerboard – Flat piece made usually of ebony glued to the neck, housing the frets

Frets – Metal partitions along the neck at specific intervals

Nut – The tiny bone part at the end of the neck with grooves in it for the strings to lie.

Bridge – The large wood and bone structure with holes to hold the strings.

Headstock – The very top of the guitar.

Tuning keys – The posts in the headpiece to which strings are attached and wound to tune guitar

Sound hole – The round or oval hole in the top of the body of the guitar.

End pins -- Small ivory nails which anchor the strings into the holes in the bridge.

Solid body -- Solid wood with holes cut to house pickups, wires and knobs mostly electric.

Hollow body – Body made of laminated pieces or solid pieces glued together and with a large space inside.

Truss rod or tension rod – Rod put into the neck of higher priced guitars to help straighten the neck if it warps.

Tailpiece – Metal or wood piece which goes from the end of the body for about 6 inches and holds strings. This is used on electric guitars and s few acoustics.

Cutaway – Part of the top of the body usually on the right side, has been cut away to give better access to the higher end of the fingerboard. Most electric guitar players like this type or guitar

Double cutaway – Both sides of the guitar on each side of the neck has been cutaway for better access to strings.

Classical guitar – A guitar with nylon strings on it for a softer sound.

Acoustic guitar – Guitar with metal strings which is most popular for pop and country music.

Electric – Usually a solid body guitar with one or more pickups built into the body.

Capo – A bar with a bank used to put on a certain fret to change the tuning of the guitar.

Pickup – A small magnet wrapped with copper wire to make a coil used to amplify the vibrations of the guitar.

Bout – The guitar is divided into a lower half and an upper half. The larger bottom half is called the lower bout and the smaller upper half is called the upper bout.

Saddle – A bone set in the bridge on which the strings sit

Pick guard – A plastic guard to save the body from pick scratches

Volume/tone controls – The volume switch adjusts the volume of the guitar. The tone control allows you to adjust the treble or bass sounds coming out of the guitar.

Vibrato bar/ whammy bar – A rod that connects to the bridge that puts pressure on the strings and then releases that pressure to create an effect that allows your guitar to “wail”.

Output Jack – The outlet you plug the cord from the guitar to the amplifier.

Pickup selector switch – A toggle switch allows you to put the sound through one or a combination of the pickups.