DOCSLIB.ORG

Verification of the Laws of Vibration of Stretched Strings

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Verification of the Laws of Vibration of Stretched Strings Lab Experiments 136 KamalJeeth Instrumentation and Service Unit Experiment-367 F VERIFICATION OF THE LAWS OF VIBRATION OF STRETCHED STRINGS Jeethendra Kumar P K, Ajeya PadmaJeeth and Santhosh K KamalJeeth Instrumentation & Service Unit, No-610, Tata Nagar, Bengaluru-560092. INDIA. Email: [email protected] Abstract Using a new type of metal sonometer, speaker vibrator and power oscillator, the three laws concerning vibration of stretched strings are verified. This sonometer is easier to handle compared the available sonometers and moreover the vibrations produced are of high amplitude which are normally not observed in case of other sonometers conventionally used in physics laboratories. Introduction Marin Mersenne, a French scientist first published correct theoretical equations and formulated laws of vibration of stretched strings in 1636. He studied the vibrations of musical tones by using brass-ball weights attached to brass wires, adjusting the tension with appropriate weight attached to the wires [1]. Mersenne observed that the frequency of oscillation is inversely proportional to vibrating length of the string, directly proportional to the square root of tension and inversely proportional to the square root of mass of the string. Based on these observations, he formulated an equation describing vibration of stretched string as ͥ …1 $ = ǯ( where , ϑ is frequency of vibration T is the tension (force) on the string, m is the unit mass of the string, and L is the vibrating length of the string. The tension T is applied by tying a weight (W) at the free end of the string. T = Wg …2 where W is weight tied to the string, and g is acceleration due to gravity. Vol-12, No-2, June-2012 Lab Experiments 137 KamalJeeth Instrumentation and Service Unit Based on Equation-1, Mersenne formulated three laws of stretched string vibration as a) Law of velocity, b) Law of tension, and c) Law of mass These three laws were formulated as a result of his earlier observations on vibration of stretched strings. When the tension and mass per unit length are constant, the frequency is proportional to 1/L. α ͥ , or ϑ ϑL is constant. ΀ This is known as the law of Velocity. The constant appearing in this equation is the velocity of the sound through the wire which remains constant under this condition. Therefore, a graph of 1/L versus is a straight line, with slope given by $ Slope = V = λ velocity ϑ where V is the velocity, and λ is the wavelength. From Equation-1 Έ gives the velocity, V, as ϑL = ǯΛ V= Έ and …3 ǯΛ L = λ …4 Keeping ‘m’ and ′ ′, constant, Equation-1 can be rewritten as ϑ √Έ ͥ or ϑ = Λ ΀ √ Ϝ ͥ ͥ ...5 = √Έ √Λ ΀ Equation-5 represents a straight line, with slope given by Slope mass = ͥ …6 √( This is the law of Mass Keeping and T constant, one obtains the law of tension for a stretched string as $ = ͥ …7 ϑ√m √T ΀ Vol-12, No-2, June-2012 Lab Experiments 138 KamalJeeth Instrumentation and Service Unit Equatuion-7 represents a straight line with slope given by Slope = …8 Tension √T This is the law of Tension. Therefore, one can summarize the three laws concerning vibration of stretched string, as given in Table-1. Table-1 Law of Held constant Proved constant Straight line Slope Velocity m, T υ L = V V 1 versus ϑ ͆ Mass m, υ/ = ͥ ͥ versus υ/ ϑ 1 √T √Λ ΀ √T √m Tension , T υ = ͥ ϑ m T versus √ √ ΀ $√m √T The three laws of vibration of stretched strings Stretched string vibrators A thread or a wire stretched fully with a weight hanging on its end is called a stretched string. Such a string can be made to vibrate with external excitation. One can make the string vibrate with different types of vibrators. A tuning fork is the simplest type of exciter. The sound produced by the tuning fork travels through the string with the velocity which is governed by (i) the weight of the string, (ii) tension in the string, and (iii) frequency of the exciter . An AC current when passed through a copper wire held as a stretched string and pair of magnets placed on both the sides produce vibration in the string. An electromagnet placed above the stretched string can also produce vibration. If the wavelength of the exciter frequency matches with the length of the wire, vibrations can be seen as wave motion on the string. Based on this principle, some of the vibrators generally used in Physics labs are: Melde’s tuning fork, electrical vibrator, and a set of tuning forks. In this experiment, a speaker vibrator is introduced which is much superior to the available vibrators because it can produce oscillations with large amplitude. The new metal Sonometer Sonometer [2] is an instrument generally used to verify the three laws of Mersenne, in which the sound box is designed using a wooden board. Sonometers made of teak wood are excellent but are not available now due to their high cost. Due to poor quality of wood used for making sonometers, they usually get damaged during transit and/or storage. Further, their long size (1m) adds to the possibility of their damage. Hence we have replaced wood with metal box of small size; the maximum size being 60cm. Smaller length together with lower weights and thin wire make them more suitable for frequencies between 30-130 Hz. In general, in the sonometer experiments a tuning fork or an electromagnet is used as the exciter. In this experiment we have used a tweeter (speaker) as the exciter. Vol-12, No-2, June-2012 Lab Experiments 139 KamalJeeth Instrumentation and Service Unit Tweeter vibrator Figure-1: Tweeter vibrator A three inch (7.5 cm) tweeter is selected for this application with 16 Ω dc resistance. The cap of the voice coil is reshaped. A light weight, 15mm long aluminum tube with 10mm dia is glued to the voice coil cap. A rubber rod is fixed on the aluminum tube. An aluminum strip, 10mm wide 1mm thick and 10cm long is fixed such that it remains in contact with the rubber rod, as shown in Figure-1. This picks up the vibrations from the voice coil and starts vibrating. A cotton thread or metal wire is tied to the aluminum plate which passes over a pulley and two bridges that are used to adjust the vibrating length of the string. Figure-2: The new sonometer with vibrator The entire unit is fitted to one end of the sonometer as shown in Figure-2. A power oscillator with variable frequency is provided along with the instrument which can be connected to the speaker. The power oscillator generates sinusoidal waveform; with frequency varying from 50Hz to 130Hz. Figure-3 shows the power oscillator. Figure-3: Variable frequency power oscillator Vol-12, No-2, June-2012 Lab Experiments 140 KamalJeeth Instrumentation and Service Unit B Amplitude Input sine wave B E C A Equilibrium position 0 T/4 T/2 3T/4 T Time A C E Voice coil movement D D Figure-4: Vibrations of the voice coil (left) and the input sine wave (right) A sine wave of period T drives the speaker; the voice coil of the tweeter moves up and down as shown in Figure-4. When T=0, the voice coil is at its equilibrium position A. When the time is T/4, the voice coil moves to the upper position B; when time is T/2, the voice coil comes to the equilibrium position; when time is 3T/4 the voice coil is at the position D; and when the time is T the voice coil comes back to its equilibrium position. Hence during the period T, the voice coil completes one oscillation and, therefore, the period of the voice coil is the same as that of the sine wave. B A,C,E Loop on string Metal strip D Speaker Figure-5: Vibration of the string A string or thread tied to the vibrator will oscillate, as shown in Figure-5. There will be a loop with the maximum amplitude when the wavelengths of the vibrating string match with the input frequency in which case the vibrating length of the string is given by L= λ …9 where L is length of the loop vibrating with the maximum amplitude, and λ is the wavelength of the input signal driving the speaker Vol-12, No-2, June-2012 Lab Experiments 141 KamalJeeth Instrumentation and Service Unit Hence if we determine the length of loop with the maximum amplitude, the velocity of the sound travelling on the string can be determined and the three laws of vibration of stretched strings can be verified experimentally [2]. Apparatus used Sonometer fitted with tweeter vibrator, power oscillator 50-130Hz variable frequency, slotted weights 5 numbers each of 20gm, and wires of iron (0.3mm dia), cotton thread, twin thread, nylon thread, and digital scale to weigh up to 300gm. The complete experimental set-up is shown in Figure-2. Experimental procedure The experiment consists of three parts, namely Part-A: Law of Velocity Part-B: Law of Tension Part-C: Law of Mass Part-A: Law of Velocity In this part of the experiment, m and T are held constant throughout the experiment, frequency of vibration is varied and the corresponding vibration length is determined. 1. The twin thread (green color) is selected for this part of the experiment. Thread of exactly one meter length is taken and its mass (M) is determined using the digital balance.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • African Music Vol 6 No 2(Seb).Cdr
    94 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF AFRICAN MUSIC THE GORA AND THE GRAND’ GOM-GOM: by ERICA MUGGLESTONE 1 INTRODUCTION For three centuries the interest of travellers and scholars alike has been aroused by the gora, an unbraced mouth-resonated musical bow peculiar to South Africa, because it is organologically unusual in that it is a blown chordophone.2 A split quill is attached to the bowstring at one end of the instrument. The string is passed through a hole in one end of the quill and secured; the other end of the quill is then bound or pegged to the stave. The string is lashed to the other end of the stave so that it may be tightened or loosened at will. The player holds the quill lightly bet­ ween his parted lips, and, by inhaling and exhaling forcefully, causes the quill (and with it the string) to vibrate. Of all the early descriptions of the gora, that of Peter Kolb,3 a German astronom­ er who resided at the Cape of Good Hope from 1705 to 1713, has been the most contentious. Not only did his character and his publication in general come under attack, but also his account of Khoikhoi4 musical bows in particular. Kolb’s text indicates that two types of musical bow were observed, to both of which he applied the name gom-gom. The use of the same name for both types of bow and the order in which these are described in the text, seems to imply that the second type is a variant of the first.
    [Show full text]
  • Lab 12. Vibrating Strings
    Lab 12. Vibrating Strings Goals • To experimentally determine the relationships between the fundamental resonant frequency of a vibrating string and its length, its mass per unit length, and the tension in the string. • To introduce a useful graphical method for testing whether the quantities x and y are related by a “simple power function” of the form y = axn. If so, the constants a and n can be determined from the graph. • To experimentally determine the relationship between resonant frequencies and higher order “mode” numbers. • To develop one general relationship/equation that relates the resonant frequency of a string to the four parameters: length, mass per unit length, tension, and mode number. Introduction Vibrating strings are part of our common experience. Which as you may have learned by now means that you have built up explanations in your subconscious about how they work, and that those explanations are sometimes self-contradictory, and rarely entirely correct. Musical instruments from all around the world employ vibrating strings to make musical sounds. Anyone who plays such an instrument knows that changing the tension in the string changes the pitch, which in physics terms means changing the resonant frequency of vibration. Similarly, changing the thickness (and thus the mass) of the string also affects its sound (frequency). String length must also have some effect, since a bass violin is much bigger than a normal violin and sounds much different. The interplay between these factors is explored in this laboratory experi- ment. You do not need to know physics to understand how instruments work. In fact, in the course of this lab alone you will engage with material which entire PhDs in music theory have been written.
    [Show full text]
  • The Science of String Instruments
    The Science of String Instruments Thomas D. Rossing Editor The Science of String Instruments Editor Thomas D. Rossing Stanford University Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) Stanford, CA 94302-8180, USA [email protected] ISBN 978-1-4419-7109-8 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-7110-4 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-7110-4 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer ScienceþBusiness Media (www.springer.com) Contents 1 Introduction............................................................... 1 Thomas D. Rossing 2 Plucked Strings ........................................................... 11 Thomas D. Rossing 3 Guitars and Lutes ........................................................ 19 Thomas D. Rossing and Graham Caldersmith 4 Portuguese Guitar ........................................................ 47 Octavio Inacio 5 Banjo ...................................................................... 59 James Rae 6 Mandolin Family Instruments........................................... 77 David J. Cohen and Thomas D. Rossing 7 Psalteries and Zithers .................................................... 99 Andres Peekna and Thomas D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Musical Kinetic Shape: a Variable Tension String Instrument
    The Musical Kinetic Shape: AVariableTensionStringInstrument Ismet Handˇzi´c, Kyle B. Reed University of South Florida, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tampa, Florida Abstract In this article we present a novel variable tension string instrument which relies on a kinetic shape to actively alter the tension of a fixed length taut string. We derived a mathematical model that relates the two-dimensional kinetic shape equation to the string’s physical and dynamic parameters. With this model we designed and constructed an automated instrument that is able to play frequencies within predicted and recognizable frequencies. This prototype instrument is also able to play programmed melodies. Keywords: musical instrument, variable tension, kinetic shape, string vibration 1. Introduction It is possible to vary the fundamental natural oscillation frequency of a taut and uniform string by either changing the string’s length, linear density, or tension. Most string musical instruments produce di↵erent tones by either altering string length (fretting) or playing preset and di↵erent string gages and string tensions. Although tension can be used to adjust the frequency of a string, it is typically only used in this way for fine tuning the preset tension needed to generate a specific note frequency. In this article, we present a novel string instrument concept that is able to continuously change the fundamental oscillation frequency of a plucked (or bowed) string by altering string tension in a controlled and predicted Email addresses: [email protected] (Ismet Handˇzi´c), [email protected] (Kyle B. Reed) URL: http://reedlab.eng.usf.edu/ () Preprint submitted to Applied Acoustics April 19, 2014 Figure 1: The musical kinetic shape variable tension string instrument prototype.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparison of Viola Strings with Harmonic Frequency Analysis
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music Music, School of 5-2011 A Comparison of Viola Strings with Harmonic Frequency Analysis Jonathan Paul Crosmer University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/musicstudent Part of the Music Commons Crosmer, Jonathan Paul, "A Comparison of Viola Strings with Harmonic Frequency Analysis" (2011). Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music. 33. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/musicstudent/33 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Music, School of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. A COMPARISON OF VIOLA STRINGS WITH HARMONIC FREQUENCY ANALYSIS by Jonathan P. Crosmer A DOCTORAL DOCUMENT Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Major: Music Under the Supervision of Professor Clark E. Potter Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2011 A COMPARISON OF VIOLA STRINGS WITH HARMONIC FREQUENCY ANALYSIS Jonathan P. Crosmer, D.M.A. University of Nebraska, 2011 Adviser: Clark E. Potter Many brands of viola strings are available today. Different materials used result in varying timbres. This study compares 12 popular brands of strings. Each set of strings was tested and recorded on four violas. We allowed two weeks after installation for each string set to settle, and we were careful to control as many factors as possible in the recording process.
    [Show full text]
  • Experiment 12
    Experiment 12 Velocity and Propagation of Waves 12.1 Objective To use the phenomenon of resonance to determine the velocity of the propagation of waves in taut strings and wires. 12.2 Discussion Any medium under tension or stress has the following property: disturbances, motions of the matter of which the medium consists, are propagated through the medium. When the disturbances are periodic, they are called waves, and when the disturbances are simple harmonic, the waves are sinusoidal and are characterized by a common wavelength and frequency. The velocity of propagation of a disturbance, whether or not it is periodic, depends generally upon the tension or stress in the medium and on the density of the medium. The greater the stress: the greater the velocity; and the greater the density: the smaller the velocity. In the case of a taut string or wire, the velocity v depends upon the tension T in the string or wire and the mass per unit length µ of the string or wire. Theory predicts that the relation should be T v2 = (12.1) µ Most disturbances travel so rapidly that a direct determination of their velocity is not possible. However, when the disturbance is simple harmonic, the sinusoidal character of the waves provides a simple method by which the velocity of the waves can be indirectly determined. This determination involves the frequency f and wavelength λ of the wave. Here f is the frequency of the simple harmonic motion of the medium and λ is from any point of the wave to the next point of the same phase.
    [Show full text]
  • The Simulation of Piano String Vibration
    The simulation of piano string vibration: From physical models to finite difference schemes and digital waveguides Julien Bensa, Stefan Bilbao, Richard Kronland-Martinet, Julius Smith Iii To cite this version: Julien Bensa, Stefan Bilbao, Richard Kronland-Martinet, Julius Smith Iii. The simulation of piano string vibration: From physical models to finite difference schemes and digital waveguides. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Acoustical Society of America, 2003, 114 (2), pp.1095-1107. 10.1121/1.1587146. hal-00088329 HAL Id: hal-00088329 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00088329 Submitted on 1 Aug 2006 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution| 4.0 International License The simulation of piano string vibration: From physical models to finite difference schemes and digital waveguides Julien Bensa, Stefan Bilbao, Richard Kronland-Martinet, and Julius O. Smith III Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Department of Music, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-8180 A model of transverse piano string vibration, second order in time, which models frequency-dependent loss and dispersion effects is presented here. This model has many desirable properties, in particular that it can be written as a well-posed initial-boundary value problem ͑permitting stable finite difference schemes͒ and that it may be directly related to a digital waveguide model, a digital filter-based algorithm which can be used for musical sound synthesis.
    [Show full text]
  • LCC for Guitar - Introduction
    LCC for Guitar - Introduction In order for guitarists to understand the significance of the Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization and the concept of Tonal Gravity, one must first look at the nature of string vibration and what happens when a string vibrates. The Lydian Chromatic concept is based in the science of natural acoustics, so it is important to understand exactly what happens acoustically to a note and the harmonic overtones that nature creates. A guitar string (or any string from any stringed instrument) vibrates when plucked or struck, producing a tone. The vibrating string creates a natural resonant series of vibration patterns which are called Harmonics. When you strike the string by itself, it vibrates back and forth and moves air molecules, producing sound. This is called a FUNDAMENTAL. (See fig 1.01a) Fig 1.01a – FUNADAMENTAL/OPEN STRING = A 440hz/440cps The fundamental vibration pattern on a single string. This is the FUNDAMENTAL vibration or tone and can be equated to a fixed amount of vibrations or cycles per second (cps) For example, consider this to be the open ‘A’ string producing the note A which in turn a universally considered to vibrate at 440cps or the equivalent of 440hz. If you loosen a guitar string you can visually see the result of the vibrations; the string makes a wide arc near the center and it narrows towards each end. When you touch the string exactly in the center (exactly between both ends or on the guitar the physical location is at the 12 th fret) it divides the vibration exactly in half and produces a note or tone exactly one octave higher in pitch.
    [Show full text]
  • Streharne P398EMI Final Report
    Stephen Treharne Physics 398 project, Fall 2000 Abstract: The sustain of a guitar, that is, the amount of time a note will resonate before fading away due to natural dampening effects, has been the subject of much conjecture and endless speculation for as long as acoustic and electric guitars have been played. Due to the importance of sustain in determining the overall sound quality and playability of a guitar, however, such speculation and debate surrounding the issue of guitar sustain is justifiable. Unfortunately, much of this speculation derives from the inexact qualitative methods characteristically used to describe sustain, usually based on the human ear and a perceived sense of how strong a note sounds for a given span of time. Indeed, many claims have been made concerning the effect that adding weight to the headstock of a guitar, playing with new strings, playing in certain kinds of weather, etc., has on increasing the sustain of a guitar. Although such reports give a basis for some interesting speculation, many of them suffer for lack of quantifiable evidence. This experiment seeks to establish at least the beginnings of using objective and quantifiable measurements taken in a laboratory setting to begin the scientific investigation of confirming or refuting many of these claims. Although the setup of the equipment used to make these measurements, and, more importantly, the writing of the code used in the computer program developed to take the essential data, was the most time consuming step in the process of doing the experiment, the underlying principle used to measure the sustain of a guitar was quite simple.
    [Show full text]
  • The University of Hong Kong Department of Physics Physics Laboratory PHYS3850 Wave and Optics Experiment No.3850-1: Wave And
    Modified by Data Ng Wave and Resonance Version 1.0 November, 2015 Laboratory Manual The University of Hong Kong Department of Physics Physics Laboratory PHYS3850 Wave and Optics Experiment No.3850-1: Wave and Resonance Name: University No.: A. AIMS 1. Experimentally determine the relationship between the length of a stretched string and the frequencies at which resonance occurs at a constant tension; 2. Verify the variation of the wave frequency with the tension in the stretched string with a constant length; 3. Investigate the resonance modes of a stretched string. 4. Determine the velocity of the wave B. INTRODUCTION The standard qualitative sonometer experiments can be performed by varying the tension, length, and linear density a string and observing the effects on the pitch of the plucked string. Also, by adding the Driver/Detector Coils, a function generator capable of delivering 0.5A of current, and an oscilloscope, the quantitative experiments can be performed for verifying the equations for wave motion on a string: 2L where λ = wavelength (m) L = length of string (m) n n = number of antinodes T v v = velocity of wave propagation (m/s) 1 T = string tension (N) µ = linear density of string or mass per unit of string (kg/m) n T f f = frequency of wave (Hz) 2L This experiment will be conducted using a Sonometer to investigate how the frequencies of vibrating wires vary with length, density, and tension. The driver and detector coil can be placed anywhere along the string. The driver coil drives string vibrations at any frequency the function generator will produce.
    [Show full text]
  • Waves on Strings
    Waves on Strings Traveling Waves Giving Rise To Standing Wave Patterns on Thin Strings January 20, 2017 You will not return this handout to the instructor at the end of the lab period. The Waves on Strings lab has two parts. Instructions Before the lab, read all sections of the This lab consists of Activities #1, #2, #3, and #4. Introduction to Waves on Stretched Strings, and answer the Pre-Lab Work through the activities in the usual manner in the questions on the last page of this lab, and hand in your results at the end of the regularly handout. Hand in your answers as scheduled lab period. you enter the general physics lab. Table of Contents 0. Introduction to waves on stretched springs 2 1. Activity #1: Demonstration of standing waves on a string 8 2. Activity #2: Standing waves for n = 3, 4, 5, … 9 3. Activity #3: The slope of the linear fit 11 4. Activity #4: Questions and what to hand in when you are finished 12 Page 1 © Le Moyne Physics Faculty Waves on Strings Waves on Strings 0. Introduction to waves on stretched springs References James S. Walker, Physics, 4th edition, chapter 14, especially section 14.8 Randall D. Knight, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 3rd edition, chapter 21, especially section 21.3 0.1 A traveling wave on a stretched string λ +A Time 1 x-axis -A +A Time 2 x-axis -A bead +A Time 3 x-axis -A Figure 1 This figure shows a series of snapshots of a traveling wave on a long stretched string.
    [Show full text]
  • Guitar and the Nature of Music.Pub
    Guitar And The Nature Of Music Sound and the Vibrating String "Acoustics" is the branch of science that deals with sound. The science is very complex, but a little knowledge of the nature of sound, and in particular a vibrating string, can be very helpful in getting the most out of your guitar experience. The “Waving” String A string vibrates and creates a complex wave of energy pulses. These pulses are either transmitted to the ear through air or are translated as electrical pulses that are transmitted to a speaker system and then to the ear. A string of fixed tension, density and length vibrates in a nearly continuous wave of sound as a function of amplitude, duration and frequency. Continuous waves of sound have many properties and are studied in depth in the field of acoustics. A vibrating guitar string is not exactly a continuous wave but behaves close enough to be considered such. (Harvard Dictionary of Music) “Amplitude” affects the degree of perceived loudness and is affected by the amount of energy used to set the string in motion. “Duration” is the measure of length of time of vibration and is also affected by the amount of energy used to set the string in motion. “Frequency” is measured in cycles per second called “hertz” and is not generally affected by the energy used to strike the string. The frequency of tones in music are referred to in terms of “pitch” . The “fundamental frequency” is the frequency of the largest vibration. It is also the "perceived" pitch. The audible frequency of sound for average humans is approximately 20 to 20,000 hertz.
    [Show full text]