Getting started with the guitar

The guitar at a glance

• The headstock, at the end of the neck, holds the tuning pegs: the keys that tighten the strings and let you tune.
• The nut, a small piece between the headstock and the neck, guides the strings. It’s “fret 0” in tab.
• The neck is covered by the fretboard, divided into frets by metal strips called fret wires. The inlaid dots on the fretboard (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th fret…) are there as landmarks.
• The body: on an acoustic guitar, it’s a hollow box with a sound hole. The strings are anchored to it at the bridge.
• The six strings, from thickest to thinnest: low E, A, D, G, B, high E.

Classical, acoustic or electric

• The classical guitar has nylon strings and a wide neck. It sounds soft, and its strings are the easiest on your fingertips. It’s the guitar of classical music, flamenco and bossa nova.
• The acoustic guitar (often called a steel-string or folk guitar) has steel strings: a brighter, louder sound. It’s the go-to guitar for playing along with songs.
• The electric guitar has light strings that sit low and are easy to press down, but it needs an amp. It’s the most comfortable for tricky chords and solos.

Everything on this site works on all three.

Holding your guitar

Sit on a chair without armrests. Rest the guitar on your right thigh (your left if you’re left-handed), with the back of the body against your stomach and the neck angled slightly up.

Don’t tilt the guitar toward you to see the strings: tip your head a little instead. Your right forearm rests on the top edge of the body.

Try this test: let go with your left hand. The guitar should stay put on its own. If it tips over, your left hand is holding it up, and it won’t be free to play.

Your two hands

Your left hand presses the strings. Your thumb goes behind the neck, and your curved fingers press down with their tips, right behind the fret wire. Keep the nails on this hand short.

Your right hand strums or plucks the strings. If you use a pick, hold it between the pad of your thumb and the side of your index finger, with just two or three millimeters (about an eighth of an inch) sticking out. The motion comes from your wrist, not your elbow.

Tuning your guitar

Standard tuning, from the lowest string to the highest, is E, A, D, G, B, E. Have a listen:

▶ Hear the six open strings

e|-----------0-|
B|---------0---|
G|-------0-----|
D|-----0-------|
A|---0---------|
E|-0-----------|

With a tuner—the site’s own, which listens to your guitar through the microphone, or a clip-on that attaches to the headstock—play a string, then turn its tuning peg until the tuner shows the right note. If the string is too high, go below the note and then tune back up to it: it’ll stay in tune better.

Without a tuner, tune the strings to each other. Once the low E is in tune, the 5th fret of each string gives you the next open string—except on the G string, where it’s the 4th fret that gives you the B.

Tune your guitar every time you practice: new strings and changes in temperature knock it out of tune fast.

You’ve got it when…

• You can name the headstock, the nut, the frets and the bridge
• Your guitar is in tune, string by string
• It stays in place without help from your left hand

A bit of background

Where does the guitar come from, from the Renaissance vihuela to the Stratocaster? It’s all on one page in the basics: A little history. Read it whenever you like—you don’t need it to play.