Chapter 2 – Beginner Guitar Basics

The guitar has been around for years and it has been used to play different music genres. While the average guitar has only 6 strings, it is not uncommon to find 7, 10 or 12-string guitars. Guitars are usually the main musical instrument played in country, blues, rock and pop. Sometimes, it is the solo musical instrument used.

Traditional guitars are made of wood and/or steel with nylon/steel strings.

Guitars can either be played acoustically or using an amplifier.

Types of Guitars

1. Acoustic Guitar

Acoustic guitars are the most popular among guitar players. Sound is created when the strings vibrate and emit sounds which are echoed in the hollow guitar body. In this sense, it does not depend on an external gadget or device. Since the sound produced is soft, an amplifier is needed if the instrument is used in bands or orchestras.

Even in this category, you will find different types of acoustic guitars. There are arch top guitars, steel string guitars, 12 string guitars, classical guitars, acoustic bass and flamenco.

2. Electric Guitar

Electric guitars are creating a new wave in the music industry. In recent years, they are gaining much popularity. An electric guitar, unlike an acoustic guitar depends on an amplifier to manipulate the tone of the instrument electronically.

Those who use electric guitar will be familiar with pickups which are used to convert the vibration of the strings into electric signals. These signals are altered electronically before they are amplified as sound. As such, the electric guitar can be used to produce different kinds of sound, even that like an acoustic guitar if you wish.

Electric guitars have their roots in jazz but soon musicians playing rock, country, blues, pop and even classical start to use them.

3. Hybrid Guitars

Hybrid guitars are basically a “cross breed” between electric and acoustic guitars. You will find some guitars made neither of wood and metal and some even have 3 or 4 necks. These are not common but serves a niche group of musicians.

Structure of Guitar

The guitar starts with a slim neck and headstock. The main purpose of the headstock is to secure the guitar strings together. This is at one end furthest away from the body.

The headstock consists of tuners which let you tune the pitch of the strings. The nut which is at the bottom of the headstock contains grooves, guiding the strings to the tuners. This nut is made of bone, brass, graphite, stainless steel or plastic. The nut is at the intersection of the fret board and headstock. Fret board is also commonly called the fingerboard which is embedded with metal frets that make up the top part of the guitar neck.

The guitar neck is either bolted or glued to the guitar body. Most acoustic guitars are glued while electric can be glued or bolted or built from neck to body as one singular piece. The guitar neck is where you will be doing your fingering movements when playing different notes.

Next, we want to talk about the body of the guitar. The body of a guitar will be different depending on what type of guitar you are using. For an acoustic guitar, the body will determine the sound quality. The strings’ vibrations are passed through the bridge and saddle through a sound board. A sound board is made of spruce or cedar normally and is 3mm thick.

You will notice the sound hole in the body of the acoustic guitar. The sound hole is designed to project the sound. The sound hole is located below the strings. The air inside the body of the guitar vibrates as the guitar body and top is vibrated by the strings.

Most electric guitar bodies are made of wood. You will seldom find a piece of wood wide enough to create the entire guitar. Most guitars are created with at least two pieces of wood and have a seam going down the center. Ash, alder, maple, mahogany, basswood and poplar wood are commonly used to create the body of an electric guitar. Most guitar bodies consist of cheap wood such as ash glued on top of another quality wood such as maple.

Guitars made in this way are called “flame tops”. Other materials used are carbon composites, aluminum alloys or poly carbonate.

Most electric guitars, unlike acoustic guitars have solid bodies without sound holes. They make use of pickups, small microphones that capture the sounds and convert them into electrical signals for amplification.

Talking about the guitar strings, they run from the pegs on the headstock and over the nut, down the neck and over the body and sound hole for the acoustic guitar, and pickups for the electric guitar. They are anchored to the bridge. Normal guitars have 6 strings and can be of different sizes. Each size represents a different note.

The thinnest string produces the highest sound, an E note. The second string which is thicker plays the B note. The third string produces the G note, followed by the D note and A note. The last is still an E note but this is also the thickest string. While there are 2 E notes, they produce sounds in different pitches. Guitarists remember the string position by remembering this phrase “Eat All Day Get Big Easy”

Notice those strips of metal underneath the strings. Those are frets. The combination of strings and frets form a grid. By placing your finger in between two frets, you will be able to play a note. The higher you place your finger on the fret, the notes produced will be of a higher sound.

Next, Chapter 3 – How To Position And Tune A Guitar

5-Part Beginner Guitar Course

Chapter 1 – Basic Guitar Tips

Chapter 2 – Beginner Guitar Basics

Chapter 3 – How To Position And Tune A Guitar

Chapter 4 – Playing Guitar Notes And Chords

Chapter 5 – Understanding Scales