Guitaring Terminology

Playing a guitar looks very stylish, and the sounds that are created are wonderful, so if you are crazy about playing the guitar and want to learn playing it, understanding the terms of guitaring is essential.

You will find guitars having four, eight, twelve, ten and seven strings, but the most guitars have six strings. You can play the acoustic guitar, where the sound is produced by vibrating the strings, which is further modulated by the hollow body of the guitar. If you so please, you can also go for the electric guitar that will force you to rely on an amplifier, and the tone of which can be electronically manipulated.

The following are a list of terms associated with the guitar:

Luthiers: Those who make and repair guitars are known by this term.

Headstock: The headstock is found at the end of the guitar neck. The tension of the strings is adjusted here, and this makes an impact on the pitch. Each side of the headstock has three tuners that are "3+3". However, it is not necessary that the headstock has the same layout for every six-stringed guitar. It may be that the tuner layout is a "4+2" or a six-in-line for the headstock.

Neck: The neck of the guitar is actually the long wooden extension that has the guitar's frets, tuners, fretboard, truss, and headstock all attached to it.

Fretboard: Also known as the fingerboard, the fretboard is a piece of wood that has metal frets embedded on the wood comprising the top of the neck. Remember, the smaller the radius of the fretboard, the more curved the fretboard will be. When you pinch a string against the fretboard, you shorten the vibrating length of the string effectively; this makes for a higher pitch. The fretboard can be made of woods like ebony, rosewood, and maple.

Frets: Embedded along the fretboard, are metal strips that are known as frets. The points at which they are located actually divide the scale length in accordance with a specific mathematical formula. When you press a string against a fret, you get the vibrating length of the string, and also the resultant pitch. The wood that is used in the making of the fretboard will be vary from the wood that is used in the rest of the neck.

Strings: The strings of the modern guitar are made of either metal or organo-carbon material. The strings are strung almost parallel to the neck. The guitarist uses one hand to pluck the strings and the other hand for the depression of the strings.

Action: The height measured between the strings and the fretboard is the action.

Bridge: Located on the guitar's body, the bridge enables the transfer of sound from the string to the body of the guitar.

These are the most essential terms that you must know when learning to play the guitar. Understanding the terms of guitaring is something you cannot do away with when you start playing the guitar.