Parts of the ‘Ukulele

Back -The piece of wood that forms the back of the body

Bridge – The bridge holds the strings in place and transfers string vibration to the ‘ukulele’s body.

Cutaway - (not shown) Part of the body is “cut away” on the ground-side of the fretboard to let players access the higher frets easier.

Headstock – The part of the ‘ukulele that holds the machine heads/tuning pegs. You usually find the ‘ukulele’s brand logo on the headstock.

Machine Head or Tuning Peg – A machine head/tuning peg holds a string of the ‘ukulele tight and controls the pitch of the string.

Nut – The nut holds the ‘ukulele’s strings in their correct positions over the fretboard.

Fretboard – The fretboard is a piece of wood that holds the frets in place and keeps your fingers from pushing the string any farther down than it needs to go.

Fret dots – Little markers on the fretboard that are made out of plastic, abalone, or other materials and give you an idea of where you are at when you are playing. Usually markers go on the 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th frets

Frets – Frets are little strips of metal that are placed in slots on the fretboard. When you finger a note the fret makes the vibrating length of the string shorter so that the pitch is raised up a certain amount.

Label – The label is located inside the soundhole and shows info about maker, model, date, serial number, etc.

Neck – The neck of the ‘ukulele is a thin piece of wood that holds the strings, headstock, fretboard, and frets in a manner that allows the players hand to go around it and fret notes.

Pickup Jack – located on the bottom (not shown), this is where you would plug in an instrument cable to amplify the ‘ukulele

Sides – The pieces of wood that make up the sides of the ‘ukulele’s body

Soundboard – The soundboard is the top of the ‘ukulele’s body. It holds the bridge and contributes to the sound of the ‘ukulele.

Sound Hole – The sound hole is an opening in the ‘ukulele’s soundboard that lets vibrations in the body out into sound.

Strings – The strings are the ’ukulele’s source of sound, they vibrate at various pitches when picked or strummed.

Saddle – The saddle sits on top of the bridge and holds the strings above the fretboard.

Top – The soundboard.