Guitar Terms: Guitar Parts, Techniques, & Slang for Beginners

Learning guitar isn’t just about memorizing chords and notes, you also have to learn some new vocabulary! Let’s look at the various lingo for parts of the guitar, accessories, slang, and more.

For a quick, easy breakdown of these guitar terms, make sure you check out the infographic at the bottom of this article. Looking for something specific? Jump to the different sections of this article here:

• Parts of the Guitar
• Guitar Terms and Moves
• Guitar Accessories
• Guitar and Music Slang

Parts of the Guitar

Before you can play, you need to learn the lay of the land! Get familiar with your guitar with this intro to the parts and functions.

Neck

The long wooden stem that connects the headstock of the guitar to the body. This is where the fretboard lies.

Fretbar

Strips of metal found on the fretboard or fingerboard (located on the neck). Each fretbar represents a note.

Fret

The space between each fretbar. This is where you will finger each note.

Fretboard

Attached to the neck, this is where the frets lie, and where you will finger each note.

Tuning Pegs (Machineheads)

Located on the headstock. Twisting the tuning pegs increases or decreases the tension of the string, that changes the pitch accordingly.

Strings

Metal or nylon strips of wire that produce sound through vibrations.

Pickups

Electro-magnetic strips on the body of an electric guitar. Pickups create a magnetic field which alters the vibrations and the tone of the guitar.

• Single Coil – A pickup with only one coil around the magnet.
• Humbucker – A pickup with two coils of opposite polarity around the magnet, which reduces hum.

Toggle Switch

A lever on the front of the guitar that switches which pickup is activated.

Bridge

A metal or wooden part on the front of the body that holds the strings in place.

Body

The main part of the guitar where you can find the pickups, toggle switches, bridge, and dials.

• Solid – Electric guitars are solid bodied because there is no need for acoustic amplification.
• Hollow – Acoustic guitars are hollow bodied and have a sound hole to amplify the sound.
• Semi-Hollow – Some electric guitars feature a semi-hollow body that produces sound electronically, but also features a sound hole. The sound hole is usually much thinner and smaller than a true acoustic guitar

Headstock

Attached to the neck, where the tuner pegs are located.

Bridge Pins

On most acoustic guitars, there are pins on the bridge that hold the strings in place. Learn more about guitar parts here.

Guitar Terms and Moves

Now let’s get into some guitar terms that describe moves and techniques you will use to play guitar.

Hammer-on

Playing a note by slamming hard on the fret with your finger. Opposite of a pull-off.

Pull-off

Playing a note without picking.

Place two fingers on the same string, but different frets. Release the higher note so the lower note rings out.

Slide

A guitar move where you play a note, and then move that note up or down on the fretboard.

Hold the note firmly as you move.

Barre Chord

To play a barre chord, you need to hold down more than one note with only one finger.

You will normally use your index finger to bar several strings on the same fret.

Bend

Pushing your finger forward or backward, while holding it down firmly on the string and fretboard, to increase the pitch.

Palm Mute

Place the palm of your strumming hand over the strings near the bridge, and pick a note. This will decrease the sustain of the note substantially.

Picking

Using your finger or a pick to sound notes on a guitar. Learn how to hold and use a pick here.

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Action

The distance between the string and the fretboard.

Typically, you would like there to be minimal distance.

Intonation

The ability of the guitar to stay in tune with itself.

For example, the 12th fret should be an exact octave from the open string.