Play nursery rhymes on guitar

Prior to learning to strum, pick, play or jam on an acoustic guitar, it's best to understand what the parts are in order to lay the foundation and understand the guitar along with helping you in future training and to help you become the best beginner acoustic guitar player you can be. It may even equip you when talking in the company of other acoustic or electric guitar lovers, because the anatomical structures of a acoustic guitar happen to be very similar across all makes and models. Please follow the diagram included with this lesson for better understanding. A good bit of the chief working anatomy of an acoustic or acoustic electric guitar tends to be identical to an electric guitar, except for a handful of significant differences which distinguished the basic electric guitar from the acoustic version.

For future reference and to lay a foundation of understanding, it is beneficial to learn to identify the 3 sections into which the acoustic guitar is divided:

1) Head region or head-stock
2) Neck
3) The body or sound-box

Learn all 3 regions from the diagram as it will help you in future references and lessons.

Diving in to more details of each of the 3 major regions:

The headstock or head region of the acoustic guitar:

The headstock or head region contains the tuning keys or tuners, while the open end of all six strings is neatly wound around the tuners (12 string guitars have the same concept, nevertheless we're looking at the most common six string guitar model). When you tune the tuning machine keys, the guitar's strings will tighten in one direction, causing the string to project a higher pitch. Likewise, when you turn the machine heads in the opposite direction, the strings will loosen (more slack) whilst the "experienced note" of the acoustic guitar string will decrease.

(Remember: tighter = higher notes while looser = lower notes.)

The parts of the neck region on the acoustic guitar:

Now, find the neck of the acoustic guitar. You will notice the neck region includes many small smooth bars perpendicular to the neck, in addition to wooden regions between the fret bars embedded on the fingerboard . These specifically scaled areas are also known as frets (but don't "fret" - you'll memorize these the more you practice and it will become second nature to you!)

The the neck or neck region includes the "fret or fingerboard" exactly under the six strings. If you are a right handed player, your left hand will be used to press on combinations of strings with different fret combinations to create specific chord combinations and/or note combinations. On the contrary, when a guitarist is left-handed, the opposite is true (and this requires a left-handed acoustic or electric gutiar!) The diagram referenced here is a depiction of a right-handed guitar.

And now, the body in more detail:

Next, check out the soundbox or "body" region of the guitar. In the acoustic guitar diagram, it is the biggest part at the guitar's lowest region or area. A fraction of the "fingerboard" in addition to many of the guitar's wood fret areas are overlapping the body or soundbox right above the sound hole cavity. The acoustic hole (known as the soundhole) fundamentally funnels and collects the sound from the vibration of the strings, and vibrates the sound in frequency as the acoustic body (or sound box) vibrates to amplify and add tonewood tones and overtones to the frequency and tonal quality of the strings. If the acoustic guitar had no body or soundhole, one would have difficulty discerning the strings after they are played as there would be no method of collecting, amplifying and projecting the sound vibrations from the strings.

The acoustic guitar's top (not the top of the picture - but in the "body" region) is the acoustic guitar's body "top" containing the acoustic amplifying sound-hole and is commonly made from various kinds of Spruce wood, Mahogany, or Cedar (along with other exotic woods in more diverse models). It is made for picking up the majority of the guitar's vibration from the active strings as well as amplifying the resonance by way of it's "top wood" (face) in combination with the acoustic guitar's body or soundbox. Essentially, the soundbox and sound hole gather the sound from the strings, amplify it, give it tones and overtones characteristic of the tonewoods, body style and bracing patterns of the body, and then amplify and project the vibrations to give off that classic acoustic, steel string sound that most people are familiar with.

On the surface of the soundbox (the same surface where the soundhole is located) , one will find the acoustic guitar's pick guard, guitar bridge and saddle, rosette (circular decoration and structural reinforcement) and synthetic or wood bindings. The pick, or plectrum guard for starters, does just that. It covers and shields a part of the acoustic guitar's top surface wood from getting eroded and damaged by all of the strumming. The acoustic guitar's bridge carries the pins, while it is securely glued directly on it's top (there's a lot of tension on those strings). It's strings are taut over the saddle (seated in the bridge), through string holes and anchored by bridge pins so the strings can be tuned at the head. The rosette (around the soundhole) is essentially a disk-shaped ornament that encircles the acoustic guitar's sound-hole. Various rosette models are produced from synthetics, while certain models happen to be embedded (or decorated) with Mother of Pearl (MOP) and/or various decorative elements, precious materials, and other resources. It's bindings help to keep the guitar's sides and top (of the body region) glued together and protects the edges of the soundbox or body whilst additionally improving the design and structural integrity of the body (or sondbox). The guitar's end-pin is a position where one can fasten one side of a guitar shoulder strap or belt if one decides to pick and play from a standing position. It can also be used to plug into an amplifier assuming the acoustic or electric gutiar includes an installed pickup and end-pin jack. A pickup is a device that is installed on or in the guitar that allows the guitar to be plugged into a soundboard or amplification system.

In conclusion of this first lesson, one won't absolutely have to be a master of every single one of these highly specific guitar terms to begin learning, any more than a person needs to know what a steering wheel is called on an automobile in order to steer the car. It does help, however, to become familiar with your guitar to be capable of understanding how it works, while being able to communicate with other guitarists about it. Most importantly, while you are learning, you should master these specific few acoustic guitar vocabulary terms and the rest will come in time and in order of importance:

1) Head region
2) The neck
3) The body or sound-box
4) Fret
5) Fret-board or "finger board"
6) Tuninig gears (or tuning keys)

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the acoustic guitar and it's many working parts and anatomy, you are ready to begin learning how to play the guitar in your next lesson: "How to hold the guitar and strum away!"

About the author

This lesson has been provided by Aaron Schulman who has been a guitar player and teacher for over 20 years. He enjoys playing, teaching and writing about guitar playing and honest acoustic guitar reviews to help people avoid paying high prices for name brand instead of paying a fair price for quality crafted guitars. Before buying your next guitar, you can read many in-depth reviews of different guitar models at different price ranges, including finding the best acoustic guitars under 1000.

For information about guitars in German language see Kinder Gitarren

Next lesson: How to hold the guitar and how to strum