Learning the slang, lingo, and technical nomenclature in guitar culture helps players progress
Learning to play guitar isn’t unlike learning another language. On top of general music theory jargon, you’ll also encounter a number of acoustic guitar terms that may be unfamiliar at first.
If you’re looking for an acoustic guitar glossary, this guide is here to help. Below, we’ll break down some of the most common phrases you’ll come across in your acoustic guitar journey—the words you’ll hear thrown around at the instrument shop, during guitar lesson videos, and even at your first gig.
Understanding these terms as a guitar player is the first step to mastering your new instrument. Let’s dive into some must-know terms that will stick with you from your first strum to your 50th gig.
Common acoustic guitar terms every beginner should know
Let’s start with an overview of some instrument-specific acoustic guitar terms, more general phrases, and other must-know lingo.
Tonewoods: What they are and why they matter
As you shop for your first guitar, you’ll encounter a number of tonewoods—the specific wood species luthiers use to craft resonant instruments.
Some of the most popular tonewoods used in guitar making include:
- Spruce – An industry standard species used for soundboards, with iconic sound clarity
- Maple – A bright-sounding species used for backs and sides that packs a punch in the sustain department
- Mahogany – A renowned source of midrange richness, commonly used for necks, backs, and sides
- Rosewood – An iconic fingerboard and body wood species that’s durable and beautiful, with excellent bass response, warmth, and sparkling high-frequency overtones
While you may not have an ear for how different species affect the sound and feel of an acoustic guitar as a beginner, you can’t go wrong with a guitar built from any of the woods above when searching for your first instrument.
Image: Rosewood in all its glory—a popular tonewood for many parts of a guitar, including the back and sides
Frets, action, and scale length
Let’s move on to guitar anatomy. As you learn to navigate the fingerboard, a few terms will become a key part of your lexicon:
- Frets – Frets are the metal bars that divide the fretboard into sections on an acoustic guitar’s neck. They’re relatively easy to identify—just take a look at a guitar and a violin (or viola or cello) side by side. You’ll quickly notice that while violins (and their cousins) don’t have divisions up and down the neck in the form of frets, guitars do.
- Action – “Action” is the distance between the guitar strings and the fretboard—in other words, action is the “height” of the guitar strings. Higher action instruments take slightly more effort to press down the strings, while lower actions are slightly less labor intensive. Action can be adjusted, but this is best left to a professional.
- Scale length – The distance between the nut (the horizontal piece of material at the headstock end of the fretboard over which the strings travel to the tuners) and the bridge saddle (the thin piece of bone or plastic that lifts the strings to the correct height at the body end) is the “scale length.” Scale length can impact string tension and, therefore, playability. Longer scale length means more tension—requiring slightly more effort on the player’s part—and vice-versa.
Tuning, intonation, and the bridge
What about more technical terms that can affect the sound quality of the acoustic instrument?
- Tuning – Tuning describes the different note assigned to each guitar string. As a beginner, you’ll likely stick with standard tuning at first (EADGBE, from lowest to highest string). However, there are as many alternate tunings out there as there are guitarists—you can start experimenting with them as you build experience. Tuning can also refer to the action of bringing a guitar into tune by using an electronic tuner and adjusting the tuning machines on the peghead.
- Intonation – Intonation describes the consistency of your tuning throughout the entire length of a guitar string. You can check it by tuning your guitar, playing an open string (picking it without pressing down anywhere on the fretboard), playing a note on that same string on the 12th fret, and comparing the two notes you heard. To adjust your intonation, you can tinker with your guitar’s saddle—a piece of the bridge. If you’re a beginner, consider watching an instructional video or talking to a professional before fiddling with the saddle.
- Bridge – The strings are affixed to the guitar in two places: the headstock (where the tuning machines live) and the bridge (where the bridge pins live). You’ll interact with the bridge anytime you change your strings or adjust your intonation or action height.
Advanced acoustic guitar terminology for intermediate players
As you reach milestones on your guitar journey, you’ll encounter even more terminology. Let’s cover a few more must-know concepts.
Bracing, soundhole, and truss rod
Ever wonder what’s going on under the hood of an acoustic guitar? Let’s take a peek:
- Bracing – The inside of a guitar isn’t empty—it’s “braced” by small pieces of wood that provide structural support and help the instrument withstand string tension.
- Sound hole – The sound hole is exactly what it sounds like: the hole in the body of an acoustic guitar where sound waves exit to project sound during guitar playing.
- Truss rod – The truss rod is an internal component found inside the neck of a guitar. It runs in one continuous line from the headstock to the end of the neck (where it meets the guitar’s body). Like bracing, the truss rod provides structural support against the tension of the strings, but unlike bracing, it can be adjusted.
Image: Split parallelogram inlays really set a neck apart from the pack
Pickups and electronics in acoustic guitars
Amplification isn’t just for the electric guitar. Many of today’s acoustic guitars feature pickups: small electronic devices that “pick up” sound waves and transmit them to an amplifier via a cable (or a wireless transmitter dongle for high-tech players).
While the most important part of the acoustic guitar pickup usually lives inside the guitar (often underneath the bridge saddle), players control most pickup systems using dials placed either externally on the guitar’s body, or just inside the edge of the sound hole.
Mastering acoustic guitar terms to improve your playing skills
Understanding the acoustic guitar glossary is a must for new players. But don’t worry—while the non-exhaustive list above might seem intimidating, these terms will become second nature in no time.
Not sure where to start on your guitar journey? Gibson is here to help you forge a path to musical mastery and learn about the best starter acoustic guitars. In addition to our inventory of the finest guitars on the market, we also offer high-quality learning tools (like the Gibson App) for newcomers and seasoned guitar players alike.
Explore our collection to get a feel for the Gibson difference.
