How Do Harmonics Affect Violin String Vibrations?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the phenomenon of harmonics in violin string vibrations, particularly focusing on how lightly touching a string alters the produced frequencies. Participants explore the concept of harmonics, their application in string instruments, and specific techniques like Flageolett.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes the effect of lightly touching a violin string, noting it produces higher integer multiples of the fundamental frequency.
  • Another participant explains that these higher frequencies are called harmonics, which occur at integer multiples of the string's natural frequency.
  • A participant provides an example using the G string, detailing its fundamental and harmonics, and how touching the string at specific points suppresses certain harmonics.
  • One participant mentions the term "Flageolett" as a name for this technique, indicating its use across various string instruments.
  • Another participant reiterates the concept of harmonics and their application across all stringed instruments, suggesting that the phenomenon is consistent but may vary in its manifestation across different instruments.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the definition and role of harmonics in string vibrations, but there are multiple perspectives on the specifics of how these harmonics are produced and suppressed, indicating some unresolved nuances in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some statements rely on assumptions about the nature of string vibrations and the definitions of harmonics, which may not be universally accepted or fully explored in the discussion.

Who May Find This Useful

Musicians, particularly string instrument players, physics students interested in sound and vibrations, and educators looking for examples of harmonics in music.

Moose352
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I play the violin, and I recently figured out that if I very gently touch my finger on a string, it produces a higher integer multiple of the frequency if I were to hold my finger down all the way. How does this happen?
 
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It's called a harmonic. When a string vibrates, it vibrates at all integer multiples of its natural frequency, and these multiples are called harmonics. When you lightly press the string, rather than changing the length of the string, you are merely suppressing the harmonics that would have that part of the string move.

For example, take the G string. Its fundamental is a low G, it's first harmonic is a middle G (twice the frequency), its third harmonic is a high D (three times), then a high G, B, D, and so on.

Now, if you lightly touch the string at the one-third point (or the two-thirds point), that is where you'd put your finger to play a middle D, then you prevent all the harmonics that would move the one-third point. In particular, this leaves you with every third harmonic. In this case, the lowest frequency you get is a high D, and you get all the harmonics of the high D.
 
Moose352 said:
I play the violin, and I recently figured out that if I very gently touch my finger on a string, it produces a higher integer multiple of the frequency if I were to hold my finger down all the way.
This way of playing has a name: Flageolett. Also used on other string instruments.

It's not like I play the violin or something, I heard this expression in a physics lesson :rolleyes:
 
Hurkyl said:
It's called a harmonic. When a string vibrates, it vibrates at all integer multiples of its natural frequency, and these multiples are called harmonics. When you lightly press the string, rather than changing the length of the string, you are merely suppressing the harmonics that would have that part of the string move.

It is the same for all stringed instruments. Harmonics apply to all of these. Harmonics also apply in differnet ways on all insturments but that is another thread.

The Bob (2004 ©)
 

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