http://www.bsharp.

org/physics/guitar

The guitar is the most common stringed instrument, and shares

many characteristics with other stringed instruments. For example,
the overtones potentially available on any stringed instrument are
the same. Why, then, does a guitar sound so much different from,
say, a violin? The answer lies in which overtones are emphasized in
a particular instrument, due to the shape and materials in the
resonator (body), strings, how it's played, and other factors. In the
course of studying the overtones, or harmonics of a string fixed at
both ends, we will uncover the overtone series for strings, which is
the basis of Western harmony.

Waves on a String

A guitar string is a common example of a string fixed at both ends

which is elastic and can vibrate. The vibrations of such a string are
called standing waves, and they satisfy the relationship between
wavelength and frequency that comes from the definition of waves:

v = f,

where v is the speed of the wave, f is the frequency (measured in

cycles/second or Hertz, Hz) and is the wavelength.

The speed v of waves on a string depends on the string tension T

and linear mass density (mass/length) , measured in kg/m. Waves
travel faster on a tighter string and the frequency is therefore higher
for a given wavelength. On the other hand, waves travel slower on a
more massive string and the frequency is therefore lower for a given
wavelength. The relationship between speed, tension and mass
density is a bit difficult to derive, but is a simple formula:

v = (T/)^(1/2)
Since the fundamental wavelength of a standing wave on a guitar
string is twice the distance between the bridge and the fret, all six
strings use the same range of wavelengths. To have different
pitches (frequencies) of the strings, then, one must have different
wave speeds. There are two ways to do this: by having different
tension T or by having different mass density (or a combination of
the two). If one varied pitch only by varying tension, the high strings
would be very tight and the low strings would be very loose and it
would be very difficult to play. It is much easier to play a guitar if the
strings all have roughly the same tension; for this reason, the lower
strings have higher mass density, by making them thicker and, for
the 3 low strings, wrapping them with wire. From what you have
learned so far, and the fact that the strings are a perfect fourth
apart in pitch (except between the G and B strings in standard
tuning), you can calculate how much increases between strings for
T to be constant.

String Harmonics (Overtones)

If a guitar string had only a single frequency vibration on it, it would

sound a bit boring (you can listen to a single frequency sound with
the Overtones Applet). What makes a guitar or any stringed
instrument interesting is the rich variety of harmonics that are
present. Any wave that satisfies the condition that it has nodes at
the ends of the string can exist on a string. The fundamental, the
main pitch you hear, is the lowest tone, and it comes from the string
vibrating with one big arc from bottom to top:

fundamental (l = /2)

The fundamental satisfies the condition l = /2, where l is the length

of the freely vibrating portion of the string. The first harmonic or
overtone comes from vibration with a node in the center:

1st overtone (l = 2/2)

The 1st overtone satisfies the condition l = . Each higher overtone
fits an additional half wavelength on the string:

2nd overtone (l = 3/2)

3rd overtone (l = 4/2)

4th overtone (l = 5/2)

Since frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength, the

frequency difference between overtones is the fundamental
frequency. This leads to the overtone series for a string:

overtone f/f0 freq/tonic approx interval

fundamental 1 1=1.0 tonic

1st 2 1=1.0 tonic

2nd 3 3/2=1.5 perfect 5th

3rd 4 1=1.0 tonic

4th 5 5/4=1.25 major 3rd

5th 6 6/4=1.5 perf 5th

6th 7 7/4=1.75 dominant 7th

7th 8 1=1.0 tonic

8th 9 9/8=1.125 major 2nd

9th 10 10/8=1.25 major 3rd

10th 11 11/8=1.375between 4th and dim 5th

11th 12 12/8=1.5 perfect 5th

12th 13 13/8=1.625between aug 5th and maj 6th

Most of the first 12 overtones fall very close to tones of the Western
musical scale, and one can argue that this is not coincidence: it is
natural to use a musical scale which incorporates the overtones of
stringed instruments. The equal-tempered scale has 12 intervals
(half-steps) making up an octave (factor of two). The ratio, r, of
frequencies for a half-step therefore satisfies r12=2, which means
r=1.0595. The scale, notated with interval names, then corresponds
to frequency multiples of:

tonic maj2nd maj3rd 4th 5th maj6th maj7th octave

1.000 1.1225 1.2599 1.3348 1.4983 1.6818 1.8877 2.0000

min2nd min3rd dim5th aug5th dom7th

1.0595 1.1892 1.4142 1.5874 1.7818

The top row shows the intervals of the major scale. The equal-
tempered scale and overtone series don't match perfectly, of
course, but the difference between, say, a major 3rd of the equal-
tempered scale (1.2599) and the 4th overtone (1.2500) is pretty
hard to hear.

In fact, I often tune my guitar using harmonics. I strike a B at the 7th

fret (2nd overtone) of the bottom E string to tune the B string. This
means that my B string is at a pitch of 1.500 above E rather than
the equal-tempered value of 1.4983, ie. the B string is slightly sharp.
I tune the A string by striking at the 5th fret of E (3rd overtone) to
get an E which matches the E I make on the A string by striking the
2nd overtone at the 7th fret. This means my A string is 4/3=1.3333
above E rather than 1.3348 of the equal-tempered scale, ie. it's
slightly flat. Then I do the same match to get the D from the A
string, which means my D is 4/3 above A or 16/9=1.7778 above E
rather than 1.7818 of the equal-tempered scale, ie. it's even more
flat. That leaves the G string, which becomes a problem. The B
string above it is sharp and the D string below it is flat, so there's a
mismatch: if I tune the G string from the D string, it is really too flat,
and if I tune the G string from the B string it is sharp. Alternatively, I
could use the 4th overtone of E, which is hard to make loud, to get a
G at 5/4=1.2500, which is slightly below the equal-tempered value
of 1.2599. This deviation from equal-tempering when you use
harmonics to tune is a pain, and sometimes you're better off just
matching the next string up to that note on the lower string since
the frets are spaced to produce the equal-tempered scale.

Guitar Overtones

The thing that makes a guitar note "guitarry" is the overtone

content and how the note rises and decays in time. This varies with
how you play it, such as with a pick vs. a finger, or near the bridge
vs. in the middle. (This, of course, isn't counting all the electronic
methods for emphasizing different overtones such as the bass/treble
control on electric guitars.)

As an example, I sampled the A string on my nylon-string guitar

played two different ways: plucking in the middle, which emphasizes
the fundamental and odd-multiple overtones which have a peak in
the center of the string, and plucking near the bridge, which
produces more of the even-multiple overtones with nodes in the
center of the string to make a more "twangy" sound. Here are
sample waveforms taken about a half second after the string was
struck:
This figure above shows the waveform when the string is plucked in
the center. The fundamental is at A 110 Hz and is very large. Note
that the odd-multiple overtones (330 Hz, 550 Hz, etc.) are much
larger than the even-multiple ones (220 Hz, 440 Hz, etc.). This is
very characteristic of a nylon string guitar played this way, which is
pretty far from "twangy". The waveform is close to a triangle wave,
which results when only the odd-multiple overtones are present.
This is the same note plucked near the bridge to make a "twangy"
sound. The overtone content is much richer, with plenty of even-
multiple overtones present. Note also that the waveform amplitude
is smaller. A "twangy" note dies out much more quickly than a note
with a strong fundamental like the previous one.

You can hear these two sounds in the Guitar A String applet.

Fret Spacing

You've probably noticed that the frets on a guitar get closer together
towards the bridge. From the the fact that each successive note is
r=1.0595 higher in pitch, and the fact that v=f=constant on a
given string, we can figure out the fret spacing. Let's say the open
string length is l. Then the first fret must be placed a distance
l/1.0595 from the bridge, the second fret a distance l/1.0595 from
the bridge, and so on. The twelfth fret, which makes an octave, is at
a distance l/1.059512=l/2 from the bridge. The diagram below
shows the fret positions (as does the photo at the top of this page
for that matter!).

Equations

wave velocity, frequency, wavelength: v = f

standing waves on a string of length l: l = n/2 (n is a positive

integer)

half-step frequency ratio in equal-tempered scale: r12 = 2 -> r =

1.0595

The wavelength of the standing wave for any given harmonic is related to
the length of the string (and vice versa). If the length of a guitar string is
known, the wavelength associated with each of the harmonic frequencies
can be found. Thus, the length-wavelength relationships and the wave
equation (speed = frequency * wavelength) can be combined to perform
calculations predicting the length of string required to produce a given
natural frequency. And conversely, calculations can be performed to
predict the natural frequencies produced by a known length of string. Each
of these calculations requires knowledge of the speed of a wave in a
string.

The strings

The pitch of a vibrating string depends on four things.

 The mass of the string: more massive strings vibrate
more slowly. On steel string guitars, the strings get
thicker from high to low. On classical guitars, the size
change is complicated by a change in density: the low
density nylon strings get thicker from the E to B to G;
then the higher density wire-wound nylon strings get
thicker from D to A to E.

The frequency can also be changed by changing

the tension in the string using the tuning pegs:
tighter gives higher pitch. This is what what you do
when you tune up.

The frequency also depends on the length of the

string that is free to vibrate. In playing, you change
this by holding the string firmly against the fingerboard
with a finger of the left hand. Shortening the string
(stopping it on a higher fret) gives higher pitch.

Finally there is the mode of vibration, which is a

whole interesting topic on its own. For more about
strings and harmonics, see Strings and standing waves.

The strings themselves make hardly any noise: they are thin and slip easily
through the air without making much of disturbance - and a sound wave is a
disturbance of the air. An electric guitar played without an amplifier makes
little noise, and an acoustic guitar would be much quieter without the
vibrations of its bridge and body. In an acoustic guitar, the vibration of the
string is transferred via the bridge and saddle to the top plate body of the
guitar.

When you pluck a guitar string you create a vibration called a

standing wave. Some points on the string, called nodes, dont move
at all, while other points, anti-nodes, oscillate back and forth with a
maximum amplitude.

The frequency or frequencies at which an object vibrates when it is disturbed is

known as the natural frequency of the object. Timbre, or the quality, of the sound
produced by a vibrating object depends on the natural frequencies of the object.
Objects that produce a pure tone vibrate at a single frequency.
Other objects produce a set of frequencies that have a whole number mathematical
relationship between them. These objects have a rich tone.
Pure tones and rich tones are commonly used in music. Some objects vibrate at a set
of multiple frequencies that do not have a mathematical relationship.

By pressing a string against one of the frets of the guitar, the vibrating portion of the
string will be shortened.