Strings, standing waves and harmonics Feature Summary

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Type:: Physics in Your World
Title:: Strings, standing waves and harmonics
Description:: What makes a violin sound like a violin and a flute sound like a flute? These waveforms give us a clue. They were generated using recordings of a violin (upper waveform) and tin whistle (lower waveform) playing the same note, yet the shapes of the waveforms are very different. Learn more about the qualities of musical sound here.

Violins and flutes produce sound in very different ways. See how stringed instruments work at Strings, standing waves and harmonics , and compare strings with woodwinds after reading How Do Woodwind Instruments Work?.
Image:: image credit: Raina Khatri; larger image
Image URL:: http://www.compadre.org/Informal/images/features/waveforms-large-11-16-09.gif
Featured:: November 16, 2009 - December 1, 2009