Sound Waves and Music - Lesson 4 - Resonance and Standing Waves

Fundamental Frequency and Harmonics

Natural Frequency
Forced Vibration
Standing Wave Patterns
Fundamental Frequency and Harmonics
Previously in Lesson 4, it was mentioned that when an object is forced
into resonance vibrations at one of its natural frequencies, it vibrates in a manner
such that a standing wave pattern is formed within the object. Whether it is a
guitar sting, a Chladni plate, or the air column enclosed within a trombone, the
vibrating medium vibrates in such a way that a standing wave pattern results.
Each natural frequency that an object or instrument produces has its own
characteristic vibrational mode or standing wave pattern. These patterns are only
created within the object or instrument at specific frequencies of vibration; these
frequencies are known as harmonic frequencies, or merely harmonics. At any
frequency other than a harmonic frequency, the resulting disturbance of the
medium is irregular and non-repeating. For musical instruments and other objects
that vibrate in regular and periodic fashion, the harmonic frequencies are related
to each other by simple whole number ratios. This is part of the reason why such
instruments sound pleasant. We will see in this part of Lesson 4 why these whole
number ratios exist for a musical instrument.

Recognizing the Length-Wavelength Relationship

First, consider a guitar string vibrating at its natural frequency or harmonic
frequency. Because the ends of the string are attached and fixed in place to the
guitar's structure (the bridge at one end and the frets at the other), the ends of
the string are unable to move. Subsequently, these ends become nodes - points of
no displacement. In between these two nodes at the end of the string, there must
be at least one antinode. The most fundamental harmonic for a guitar string is the
harmonic associated with a standing wave having only one antinode positioned
between the two nodes on the end of the string. This would
be the harmonic with the longest wavelength and the
lowest frequency. The lowest frequency produced by any
particular instrument is known as the fundamental
frequency. The fundamental frequency is also called
the first harmonic of the instrument. The diagram at the
right shows the first harmonic of a guitar string. If you analyze the wave pattern in
the guitar string for this harmonic, you will notice that there is not quite one
complete wave within the pattern. A complete wavestarts at the rest position, rises
to a crest, returns to rest, drops to a trough, and finally returns to the rest position
before starting its next cycle. (Caution: the use of the words crest and trough to
describe the pattern are only used to help identify the length of a repeating wave
cycle. A standing wave pattern is not actually a wave, but rather a pattern of a
wave. Thus, it does not consist of crests and troughs, but rather nodes and
antinodes. The pattern is the result of the interference of two waves to produce
these nodes and antinodes.) In this pattern, there is only one-half of a wave within
the length of the string. This is the case for the first harmonic or fundamental
frequency of a guitar string. The diagram below depicts this length-wavelength
relationship for the fundamental frequency of a guitar string.

The second harmonic of a guitar string is produced by adding

one more node between the ends of the guitar string. And of
course, if a node is added to the pattern, then an antinode
must be added as well in order to maintain an alternating
pattern of nodes and antinodes. In order to create a regular
and repeating pattern, that node must be located midway between the ends of the
guitar string. This additional node gives the second harmonic a total of three nodes
and two antinodes. The standing wave pattern for the second harmonic is shown
at the right. A careful investigation of the pattern reveals that there is exactly one
full wave within the length of the guitar string. For this reason, the length of the
string is equal to the length of the wave.
The third harmonic of a guitar string is produced by adding
two nodes between the ends of the guitar string. And of
course, if two nodes are added to the pattern, then two
antinodes must be added as well in order to maintain an
alternating pattern of nodes and antinodes. In order to create
a regular and repeating pattern for this harmonic, the two additional nodes must
be evenly spaced between the ends of the guitar string. This places them at the
one-third mark and the two-thirds mark along the string. These additional nodes
give the third harmonic a total of four nodes and three antinodes. The standing
wave pattern for the third harmonic is shown at the right. A careful investigation of
the pattern reveals that there is more than one full wave within the length of the
guitar string. In fact, there are three-halves of a wave within the length of the
guitar string. For this reason, the length of the string is equal to three-halves the
length of the wave. The diagram below depicts this length-wavelength relationship
for the fundamental frequency of a guitar string.

After a discussion of the first three harmonics, a pattern can be recognized. Each
harmonic results in an additional node and antinode, and an additional half of a
wave within the string. If the number of waves in a string is known, then an
equation relating the wavelength of the standing wave pattern to the length of the
string can be algebraically derived.

This information is summarized in the table below.

# of # of Length-
Harmonic # of
Waves Anti- Wavelength
# Nodes
in String nodes Relationship
1 1/2 2 1 Wavelength = (2/1)*L
2 1 or 2/2 3 2 Wavelength = (2/2)*L
3 3/2 4 3 Wavelength = (2/3)*L
4 2 or 4/2 5 4 Wavelength = (2/4)*L
5 5/2 6 5 Wavelength = (2/5)*L

The above discussion develops the mathematical relationship between the length
of a guitar string and the wavelength of the standing wave patterns for the various
harmonics that could be established within the string. Now these length-
wavelength relationships will be used to develop relationships for the ratio of the
wavelengths and the ratio of the frequencies for the various harmonics played by a
string instrument (such as a guitar string).

Determining the Harmonic Frequencies

Consider an 80-cm long guitar string that has a fundamental frequency (1st
harmonic) of 400 Hz. For the first harmonic, the wavelength of the wave pattern
would be two times the length of the string (see table above); thus, the
wavelength is 160 cm or 1.60 m. The speed of the standing wave can now be
determined from the wavelength and the frequency. The speed of the standing
wave is
speed = frequency wavelength
speed = 400 Hz 1.6 m
speed = 640 m/s
This speed of 640 m/s corresponds to the speed of any wave within the guitar
string. Sincethe speed of a wave is dependent upon the properties of the
medium (and not upon the properties of the wave), every wave will have the same
speed in this string regardless of its frequency and its wavelength. So the standing
wave pattern associated with the second harmonic, third harmonic, fourth
harmonic, etc. will also have this speed of 640 m/s. A change in frequency or
wavelength will NOT cause a change in speed.
Using the table above, the wavelength of the second harmonic (denoted by the
symbol 2) would be 0.8 m (the same as the length of the string). The speed of the
standing wave pattern (denoted by the symbol v) is still 640 m/s. Now the wave
equation can be used to determine the frequency of the second harmonic (denoted
by the symbol f2).
speed = frequency wavelength
frequency = speed/wavelength
f2 = v / 2
f2 = (640 m/s)/(0.8 m)
f2 = 800 Hz
This same process can be repeated for the third harmonic. Using the table above,
the wavelength of the third harmonic (denoted by the symbol 3) would be 0.533
m (two-thirds of the length of the string). The speed of the standing wave pattern
(denoted by the symbolv) is still 640 m/s. Now the wave equation can be used to
determine the frequency of the third harmonic (denoted by the symbol f3).
speed = frequency wavelength
frequency = speed/wavelength
f3 = v / 3
f3 = (640 m/s)/(0.533 m)
f3 = 1200 Hz

Now if you have been following along, you will have recognized a pattern. The
frequency of the second harmonic is two times the frequency of the first harmonic.
The frequency of the third harmonic is three times the frequency of the first
harmonic. The frequency of the nth harmonic (where n represents the harmonic #
of any of the harmonics) is n times the frequency of the first harmonic. In equation
form, this can be written as
fn = n f1
The inverse of this pattern exists for the wavelength values of the various
harmonics. The wavelength of the second harmonic is one-half (1/2) the
wavelength of the first harmonic. The wavelength of the third harmonic is one-
third (1/3) the wavelength of the first harmonic. And the wavelength of the nth
harmonic is one-nth (1/n) the wavelength of the first harmonic. In equation form,
this can be written as
n = (1/n) 1
These relationships between wavelengths and frequencies of the various
harmonics for a guitar string are summarized in the table below.
Harmonic Frequency Wavelength Speed
fn / f 1 n / 1
# (Hz) (m) (m/s)
1 400 1.60 640 1 1/1
2 800 0.800 640 2 1/2
3 1200 0.533 640 3 1/3
4 1600 0.400 640 4 1/4
5 2000 0.320 640 5 1/5
n n * 400 (2/n)*(0.800) 640 n 1/n
The table above demonstrates that the individual frequencies in the set of natural
frequencies produced by a guitar string are related to each other by whole number
ratios. For instance, the first and second harmonics have a 2:1 frequency ratio; the
second and the third harmonics have a 3:2 frequency ratio; the third and the
fourth harmonics have a 4:3 frequency ratio; and the fifth and the fourth harmonic
have a 5:4 frequency ratio. When the guitar is played, the string, sound box and
surrounding air vibrate at a set of frequencies to produce a wave with a mixture of
harmonics. The exact composition of that mixture determines the timbre or
quality of sound that is heard. If there is only a single harmonic sounding out in
the mixture (in which case, it wouldn't be a mixture), then the sound is rather
pure-sounding. On the other hand, if there are a variety of frequencies sounding
out in the mixture, then the timbre of the sound is rather rich in quality.
In Lesson 5, these same principles of resonance and standing waves will be
applied to other types of instruments besides guitar strings.

Investigate!
The harmonics of an instrument, when played together, sound good. Use
the Timbre widget below to investigate this principle. Use the frequencies
provided and try some combinations of your own.
Timbre
Principio del formulario
Enter the frequency of any four sounds. Then click on the

Mix Em and Play button to see the wave pattern and hear the sound.

Frequency 1 (Hz) 256

Frequency 2 (Hz) 512

Frequency 3 (Hz) 768

Frequency 4 (Hz) 1024

Mix Em and
Play

Check Your Understanding

1. Anna Litical cuts short sections of PVC pipe into
different lengths and mounts them in putty on the
table. The PVC pipes form closed-end air columns that
sound out at different frequencies when she blows over the top of them. The
actual frequency of vibration is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the
sound; and thus, the frequency of vibration is inversely proportional to the length
of air inside the tubes. Express your understanding of this resonance phenomenon
by filling in the following table.

See Answer

2. In a rare moment of artistic brilliance, a Physics teacher pulls out his

violin bow and strokes a square metal plate to produce vibrations within
the plate. Often times, he places salt upon the plate and observes the
standing wave patterns established in the plate as it vibrates. Amazingly,
the salt is aligned along the locations of the plate that are not vibrating
and far from the locations of maximum vibration. The two most common
standing wave patterns are illustrated at the right. Compare the
wavelength of pattern A to the wavelength of pattern B. Suppose that
the fundamental frequency of vibration is nearly 1200 Hz. Estimate the
frequency of vibration of the plate when it vibrates in the second, third and fourth
harmonics.
See Answer

3. When a tennis racket strikes a tennis ball, the racket begins to vibrate. There is
a set of selected frequencies at which the racket will tend to vibrate. Each
frequency in the set is characterized by a particular standing wave pattern. The
diagrams below show the three of the more common standing wave patterns for
the vibrations of a tennis racket.
a. Compare the wavelength of pattern A to the wavelength of pattern B. Make
your comparison both qualitative and quantitative. Repeat for pattern C.
See Answer

b. Compare the frequency of pattern A to the frequency of pattern B. Make your

comparison both qualitative and quantitative. Repeat for pattern C.

See Answer

c. When the racket vibrates as in pattern A, its frequency of vibration is

approximately 30 Hz. Determine the frequency of vibration of the racket when it
vibrates as in pattern B and pattern C.

See Answer