string, vibrations of

Standing waves set up in a stretched string or wire when it is plucked, or stroked with a bow. They are formed by the reflection of progressive waves at the fixed ends of the string. Waves of many different frequencies can be established on a string at the same time. Those that match the natural frequencies of the string will, by a process called resonance, produce large-amplitude vibrations. The vibration of lowest frequency is called the fundamental vibration; vibrations of frequencies that are multiples of the fundamental frequency are called harmonics.