Parts of the Guitar

With any instrument, it is important to know the different components. This makes communicating with your fellow guitarists easier as you are both using the same terminology. This will also be useful when tuning your guitar and changing your strings. The following descriptions and diagrams apply to someone who strums with their right and holds down chords with their left hand.

• Tuning pegs - You turn these to tighten/loosen your strings when trying to get the correct pitch.
• Nut - This is the thicker line that separates the head of your guitar from the neck.
• Frets - This is the long neck of the guitar. You play between the lines, not on them, to play different notes and chords.
• Strings - You hold down strings on different frets to produce different sounds. Strings are ordered from deepest(thickest) to highest(thinnest) in the following order: E A D G B E.
• Bridge - This varies slightly by guitar but is found near your right hand. This is where your strings are secured to the guitar. Some guitars tend to loop strings through to secure them whereas others use bridge pins.

New Chords

What do the Xs over the diagrams denote? An X above a particular string means you do not play that string as part of strumming the chord. You may play all six strings when playing an E major chord. You should start from the 5th string (A) when playing an A major chord and the 4th string (D) when playing a D major chord.
Why are the diagrams in grid format? This is because each line denotes the start of a new fret. The thick line denotes the nut. The thinner lines divide each fret one by one.
What do the black circles denote? The black circles denote where you are supposed to place your fingers. For example, all the strings held down in the A major chord are in the second fret. You hold down strings in the first and second frets to play E major and the second and third strings to play D major.
Which are the lower pitched strings? The lowest pitched string is always on the left-hand side and the highest pitched string is always on the right-hand side of the diagram.
What can I play with these three chords? Here's a popular Snow Patrol song you can play with these chords. Listen to the song first to get a feel for the rhythm before playing it yourself. Click here to find the song.

How to Read Tab

Tab is a way to write guitar music without the player having to read sheet music. It displays six lines, each representing a string on the guitar. As in English, you read from left to right before moving down to the next line. A zero denotes that you play an open string(do not hold any fingers down on the string). Each subsequent number denotes which fret you should hold(like 4 for the 4th fret). See if you can play Hot Cross Buns from the tab below.