Parts of the Guitar
Step 1 of 10 · Beginner Guitar Path
Meet the headstock, neck, body, and strings before you play a note.
What you'll learn
- Name the headstock, neck, fretboard, and body
- Know which string is the low E and which is the high E
- Understand how frets and tuning pegs change pitch
Before you fret a single note it helps to know the map. A guitar has three big regions: the headstock at the top, the long neck in the middle, and the wide body where the sound comes out.
- Headstock & tuning pegs — turning a peg tightens or loosens a string to raise or lower its pitch. This is where you tune.
- Nut — the small notched strip where the headstock meets the neck; it spaces the strings and sets the pitch of each open string.
- Neck & fretboard — the metal frets divide the fretboard into half-steps. Press a string just behind a fret and pluck it to sound that note.
- Body — an acoustic projects through its soundhole; an electric sends the signal out through its pickups.
The six strings run from the thickest, lowest-sounding string (the low E, nearest the ceiling as you hold the guitar) down to the thinnest, highest string (the high E, nearest the floor). Get comfortable naming these parts now — every lesson after this one refers back to them. Want the deep dive on woods, hardware, and electronics? Browse the guitar anatomy guides.