Parts and Tuning Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (1:21) Intro & Credits David starts you off with a quick riff he wrote. Follow through his lesson plan & you'll be playing like this in no time! Chapter 2: (5:24) Parts of the Guitar Here you have him folks, David Anthony in his entirety. In this lesson you will learn the basics of the acoustic guitar.

The obvious difference between an acoustic guitar & electric guitar is that an acoustic has a hollow body. With an electric guitar, the vibrations of the strings are collected via electronic pickups (magnets), processed through your guitar, and output to an amplifier. With an acoustic guitar, the vibration of the strings is amplified by the hollow body of the guitar & output through the sound hole.

Typically an electric guitar is easier to play because a "not so clean note" will sound fine because of the amplification. If you half-heartedly hit a note like that on an acoustic, it is not very forgiving. On the flip side, many guitar enthusiasts prefer the sound of an acoustic guitar because it very natural. There are no electronics involved which can change the sound. In the end, you should be playing whicever you like the best (and whichever complements the style of play you are most interested in).

Here's a basic run-down of the parts from top to bottom:

• Tuning Keys - Acoustics will typically but have six tuning keys (one for each string). Some will have 7 or 12. These are what you will turn to adjust the length / tension of your strings (tuning your guitar).
• Frets - Every single guitar has frets. You will typically find between 19 to 24 frets. These are where you will contact the string to change the vibrating length of the string to produce different notes.
• Inlay - Inlay is a term used to refer to markers on the guitar. They are found on the neck itself or even on the top of it (towards the player) to label the frets. You will typically see inlay marks on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets. You can use these as a quick reference point when playing your guitar. When you are starting, it would be quite difficult to quickly hit a note on the 2nd fret then 14th without having any help.
• Nut - This piece is located at the top of your neck & aligns your strings down the fretboard of the guitar. It also gives the strings a little bit of lift so the strings do not lay on the frets.
• Bridge - Opposite the nut, this is where your strings are mounted (or run through). You will notice that the bridge has its own "nut" to secure / align the strings as well. Beyond securing the strings, this plays a vital role in the "action" of your guitar. If the bridge is too high, the distance from the strings to the fretboard will be greater. For a beginner player, this can cause a lot of problems. If the bridge is too high, you can adjust it by sanding it down. We recommend letting a music shop take care of this for you. You should also be aware that having the bridge too low can also cause problems. You could find yourself hitting an open string & have it click randomly off of a fret because the action is too low. As a beginner, simply consult your local music store & test out your guitar before your purchase to find out which is the best for you.
• Punches - These tabs are pressed into the hole where you run your strings. They serve one purpose: securing your strings.
• Pick Guard - As the name indicates, this is to guard the body of your guitar against your pick. After a lot of playing (even with mild, flimsy picks), your guitar will sustain some damage. This is unavoidable. The pick guard just helps to limit the damage a bit. Don't flip out when you scratch your guitar - it gives it character!
• Strap Pegs - The location of these varies from guitar to guitar. These pegs are where you will attach your guitar strap. We recommended a strap for all beginner players (especially with an acoustic). The last thing you want to have to worry about is your guitar sliding off your lap in the middle of an exercise. If your guitar does not have these pegs, your local music store can install some for you.

Chapter 3: (2:25) Getting to Know Your Strings The diagram drawn by David is exactly how you will see most diagrams you learn from (tablature, chord charts, etc). The very first string (on any guitar: classical, bass, acoustic, electric, etc) will be your thickest string. This is the "E" string (often called "low E" because there is also a thinner, "high E" string).

Starting at the top of your guitar (bottom of the diagram), the strings are labled E, A, D, G, B, and E. David and his students all learn the order of these strings by simply saying them all together: EADGBE (E-ad-ga-buh). If this doesn't float your boat, make up your own saying to remember the string names. As we recommend throughout our site, do what works for you! Chapter 4: (9:22) Tuning Your Guitar Okay so you have your guitar & you're ready to jam. Not so fast, you have one very last important step: tuning! You can be the best guitar player in the world & sound horrible if your tuning isn't dead on. Even one string slightly out of tune can crush the sound of an entire chord.

If you don't mind spending a few bucks, electronic tuners will work great. However, David recommends tuning by hand as well to help develop your ear for certian notes. Learning guitar isn't just about the technical aspects of picking & fretting, it's about hearing the music & adapting based on your own tastes. Every little thing you can do to increase your "ear for music" is a step in the right direction. Beyond improving your senses, additional methods of tuning will also provide a good double check system. Since tuning is so important, it's certainly better to be safe than sorry.

Instead of simply teaching you how to tune your guitar, we would like you to understand the method behind it. We could blindly teach you (as most books, DVDs, and other sites do) but that doesn't contribute to your overall knowledge. Afterall you're here to learn, right?

The two most common methods of tuning are 5th fret tuning and 7th fret tuning. Here is how you tune via 5th fret tuning:

• Tuning the "E" (low) string - With either of these "by hand" methods, you must tune your E string with an outside source (unless you have an amazing ear & can tune it to an E without any references). You can tune the E with a piano, keyboard, or internet tuning tools. Once you have your top string in tune, you can take care of the rest of the guitar yourself.
• Tuning the "A" String - As you know, the second string down is an A (remember, EADGBE - e-ad-ga-buh). To get an A note out of the first string (E string), we simply hold down the 5th fret. This will create the exact same sound as an open note (not holding down any frets) on the A string (2nd string). They are the same note, but in a different octave (we won't throw this at you quite yet).
• Tuning the "D" string - The exact same method for your "A" string tuning is used here. Simply hold down the 5th fret on your "A" string and hit an open "D" string. The 5th fret on your "A" string will create a "D" note. Adjust your "D" string until you have the same note.
• Tuning the "G" string - Again, the exact same thing. Simply hold the 5th fret on your "D" string and hit an open "G" string. Adjust your "G" string until you get the same note.
• Tuning the "B" string - The same thing again? No - we can't make it that easy on you. We won't go into detail now but the "B" note on your "G" string is the 4th fret (not the 5th like on the others). Simply pick the 4th fret on your "G" string and an open note on your "B" string. Adjust your "B" string until you have the same note.
• Tuning the "E" (high) string - Back to the old ways we go. On this you will hold the 5th fret on your "B" string and hit an open note on your "E" (high) string. Adjust your high "E" string until you have the same note.

Congratulations, you've just tuned your guitar by ear! Not so bad, huh? Another method is the 7th fret tuning method. This is basically the reverse of the 5th fret method. Instead of hitting the 5th frets and an open note on the next string, you hit an open string and the 7th fret on your next string.

• Tuning the "E" (low) string - Again, you must get this perfect from an outside source such as an electric tuner, an internet tuner, a piano, another guitar, etc.
• Tuning the "A" string - Here you will hit an open "E" (low) string and the 7th fret on the "A" string. Adjust the "A" string until you get the same note,
• Tuning the "D" string - Hit an open "A" string and the 7th fret on the "D" string. Adjust accordingly.
• Tuning the "G" string - Hit an open "D" string and the 7th fret on the "G" string. Adjust accordingly.
• Tuning the "B" string - Here's the evil "B" tuning again. You will still hit an open "G" string. Instead of hitting the 7th fret on your "B" string, you hit the 8th fret.
• Tuning the "E" (high) string - Again we're back to normal. Fret an open "B" and hold the 7th fret on your "E" (low) string. Adjust your "E" (low) accordingly to get the same note.

Congratulations again - you've just tuned your guitar with the 7th fret method. Both of these methods will accomplish the exact same thing. We recommend trying both to see which you like best. Beyond that, we acutally recommend you tune with both methods every time. It's better to be sure you have perfect tuning now than wonder later why your chord sounds awful. Chapter 5: (3:01) Holding Your Guitar How to hold your guitar problem seems like a pretty obvious proceedure. However, wrong posture & technique now can lead to a lot of problems down the road. The biggest factor that effects posture & positioning is the guitar itself. If you're a petite girl you are not going to be very comfortable playing a massive acoustic guitar. You might struggle to get your arm to rest comfortably or even have problems reaching around a guitar with a bulky neck.

It is probably a little bit late now but be sure to buy a guitar that you are comfortable with. If you've started your lessons and realize that you are not comfortable playing, see if you can return your guitar for a refund or exchange. Being comfortable when playing will not only help you play better but it will keep you motivated. Who would want to learn guitar if they end up with a sore arm every time they play? Not us.

Once you're sure you have the right guitar for you, posture & positioning will fall into place. As you go through the basic tuning methods and start into some exercises, you shouldn't have a problem seeing over the guitar, having it slide around on you, or reaching your fretting hands around the neck. If any of these things become a problem, you mgiht want to consider getting a different instrument.

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