How does a guitar work?

Six strings pulling with 73 kg, a thin spruce top that pumps the air, and a magnet that hears steel move. A guitar's strings run from the saddle on the bridge to the nut at the top of the neck.

Read how it works: How does a guitar work? · The history of the guitar · More boxes on Glassbox

Chapters in this interactive model

1. Inside a guitar: Six strings, a neck with frets, and a hollow wooden box. Or a solid one with magnets.
2. What a string does: Length, tension and weight set the note. Where you pluck sets the tone.
3. Frets, notes and chords: Each fret makes the string about 6% shorter: one semitone higher.
4. Why the body makes it loud: A string alone is almost silent. A hollow wooden box pumps the air.
5. How a pickup hears a string: A magnet, a coil of hair-thin wire, and Faraday’s law.
6. Amps, distortion and effects: Turn a whisper of voltage into a roar, and clip it on purpose.