Parts of a Guitar: Labeled Diagram and What Each Part Does

Knowing the names of the parts makes everything else easier. Lessons and videos say things like "put your finger behind the third fret" or "check the saddle," and a repair person will ask whether the problem is at the nut or the bridge. This guide walks down the guitar from top to bottom, the same way the diagram above does, and explains what each part does and why it matters to the way your guitar plays.

The headstock

• Headstock. The flat piece at the very top of the guitar. It holds the tuning pegs and angles the strings down toward the nut, which keeps them pressed firmly in place.
• Tuning pegs. Also called tuners or machine heads. There is one for each string. Turning a peg tightens or loosens its string: tighter makes the note higher, looser makes it lower. Most steel-string acoustics have three on each side.
• Nut. The small white strip where the headstock meets the fretboard. It has a slot for each string, spaces the strings evenly and holds them at the right height. It is one of the two points that set the length of each string; the saddle is the other.

The neck

• Neck. The long wooden arm between the headstock and the body. Your fretting hand moves up and down it. Inside most steel-string necks is a metal truss rod that keeps the neck straight against the pull of the strings; you cannot see it, but it can be adjusted through an opening at the headstock or inside the sound hole.
• Fretboard. Also called the fingerboard. The flat strip of wood glued to the front of the neck. You press the strings down against it to play notes.
• Frets. The thin metal bars across the fretboard. Pressing a string just behind a fret makes the string shorter, which raises its note. Each fret raises the note by one half step, so twelve frets take a string up one full octave.
• Fret markers. The dots on the fretboard, usually on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (a double dot), 15th and 17th frets. They do not change the sound. They help you find your place at a glance.
• Strings. Six steel strings on an acoustic or electric guitar, nylon on a classical guitar. The thick strings play low notes and the thin strings play high notes.
• Neck joint. Where the neck meets the body, usually around the 14th fret on a steel-string acoustic. The rounded block under the joint, on the back of the guitar, is called the heel.

The body

• Body. The large hollow box. When you play, the strings shake the thin wooden top, and the body turns that small movement into the sound you hear. The top is usually spruce or another light wood; the back and sides are often mahogany, sapele or rosewood.
• Upper bout, waist and lower bout. The three curves of the body. The upper bout is the smaller curve near the neck, the waist is the narrow middle that rests on your leg, and the lower bout is the wide bottom curve that does most of the work making bass notes.
• Sound hole. The round opening in the top. It lets sound out of the body and gives the top room to move.
• Rosette. The decorative ring around the sound hole. It looks good, and it also strengthens the top around the opening.
• Pickguard. The flat plastic piece below the sound hole. It protects the top from scratches by your pick or fingernails.
• Bridge. The wooden block glued to the top below the sound hole. It anchors the strings and passes their vibration into the top.
• Saddle. The thin white strip sitting in the bridge. The strings rest on it. Its height sets how high the strings sit above the frets (the "action"), and its position sets how in-tune the guitar plays higher up the neck.
• Bridge pins. The six small pegs in the bridge. Each one holds the ball end of a string inside the body. You pull them out when you change strings.
• Strap button. The small peg at the bottom of the body. One end of a guitar strap hooks on here; the other end goes on a second button at the neck heel, or is tied at the headstock.

Guitar string names

In standard tuning, the six strings are:

E · A · D · G · B · E

That runs from the thickest string, closest to your face when you play, to the thinnest string, closest to the floor. The two E strings are the same note two octaves apart, so players call them the "low E" and the "high E." A popular way to remember the order is Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.

Strings are also numbered, the other way round: the thin high E is string 1 and the thick low E is string 6. Chord charts and tabs use those numbers, so it is worth learning both.

The extra parts on an electric guitar

An electric guitar shares the headstock, nut, neck, frets and strings with an acoustic. The body is where it differs. It is usually solid wood, so it makes very little sound on its own; the sound is picked up and sent to an amplifier.

• Pickups. The bars under the strings on the body. Each pickup is a magnet wrapped in fine wire. When a steel string vibrates above it, the pickup turns that movement into an electric signal. Many electrics have two or three pickups: the one near the neck sounds warmer, the one near the bridge sounds brighter.
• Pickup selector switch. Chooses which pickup, or which pair of pickups, you hear.
• Volume and tone knobs. Volume sets how loud the guitar is. Tone rolls off the high sounds for a softer, rounder sound.
• Output jack. The socket where you plug in the cable that goes to the amplifier.
• Bridge and saddles. On most electrics, each string has its own small adjustable saddle, so height and tuning can be set string by string.
• Tremolo arm. Also called a whammy bar. Found on some electrics. Pushing it bends the pitch of all the strings for a wavering effect.

How a classical guitar is different

A classical guitar has the same main parts, with a few changes made for its softer nylon strings:

• Slotted headstock. The tuning pegs sit in two open slots, with the strings wound around rollers.
• Tie-on bridge. There are no bridge pins. Each string is looped and tied around the bridge.
• Wider, flatter neck. More space between the strings for fingerpicking. The neck usually joins the body at the 12th fret.
• Usually no pickguard. Classical players pluck with their fingers rather than a pick.

Nylon strings are softer on the fingertips, which is why classical guitars are a popular first guitar for young children.

Guitars to learn the parts on

Every guitar below has the parts described in this guide. Prices and stock update automatically.

Looking for a guitar for a child? Our guide to choosing the right size guitar for a child explains which size fits which age. Bass player? See the parts of a bass guitar.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main parts of a guitar?

The headstock, the neck and the body. The headstock holds the tuning pegs; the neck carries the fretboard and frets; the body holds the bridge and, on an acoustic guitar, the sound hole that projects the sound.

What are the names of the 6 guitar strings?

In standard tuning, from the thickest to the thinnest: E, A, D, G, B, E. A common way to remember them is "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie." The thin high E is called string 1 and the thick low E is string 6.

What is the nut on a guitar?

The small strip, usually white, where the headstock meets the fretboard. It has a slot for each string and holds the strings at the right spacing and height.

What is the difference between the bridge and the saddle?

The bridge is the wooden block glued to the top that anchors the strings. The saddle is the thin strip set into the bridge that the strings rest on. The saddle's height sets how high the strings sit above the frets.

What are the dots on a guitar neck for?

They are fret markers. They do not affect the sound; they help you find your place, usually at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th and 17th frets, with a double dot at the 12th.

Does an electric guitar have the same parts as an acoustic?

The headstock, neck, frets and strings are the same. An electric guitar has a solid body with pickups, a pickup selector, volume and tone knobs and an output jack instead of a sound hole, and it is played through an amplifier.