Regular Folks Playing Guitar: Parts of the guitar
There are a lot of variations on this!
Basically though: from the top to the bottom:
- the headstock is where one end of the strings terminate, wrapped around
- tuning pegs which are rotated by
- “tuners”. The headstock is attached to the
- neck and right where the strings pass over that spot is the
- nut– usually a white piece of material with notches that the strings fit in. The neck is attached to the
- body and that lovely curve where it flares out at the bottom is called the
- heel. On the front of the neck is a
- fingerboard and that is divided into
- frets which are separated by
- fret wires. On the face of the fingerboard and the side of the neck are
- fret markers– visual cues to orient the guitarist’s hand position. On the front of the body of the guitar is the
- soundboard (or topboard). That has a big opening called a
- sound hole that the strings pass over. Past the soundhole, the strings rest on another piece of material called a
- bridge which is mounted on a wooden
- saddle. The saddle is attached to the soundboard below the sound hole. The saddle transfers vibration from the strings to the top board. For acoustic guitars, strings terminate behind the bridge and are held in place with
- bridge pins which are inserted into the saddle. The bottom of the guitar body is referred to as the
- butt. See this video on youtube
Legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice for three hours a day at the age of 93. He replied. “Because I believe I am making progress”
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