Dr. Loveless Curiosity Lab

Guitar Waves

Plucked Strings, Fourier Modes, Harmonic Spectra, and Resonating Bodies

A guitar string moves too quickly and too subtly to see clearly, so this project exaggerates the motion and lets us explore what the wave equation predicts.

We start with one classical guitar string, then optionally compare it with a second instrument to see how length changes the motion.

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Explore Guitar Waves

Drag the pick, play the motion, then reveal the midpoint waveform, harmonic spectrum, or individual mode demo.

Concept 1: Plucked String
Start with one classical guitar. Add a second instrument only when you want a comparison.
Compare with
Loading plucked-string visual...
Concept 2: Waves Inside the Body
Placeholder for a 3D visual of waves and resonance inside the guitar body.

This visual will show how the body reflects, amplifies, and reshapes waves.

Placeholder visual.
Visual 2 Placeholder3D guitar-body resonance, pressure waves, nodes, and antinodes.
Concept 3: String Wave to Guitar Sound
The upper curve is the string midpoint; the lower curve is a simplified guitar-body filter.

This graph uses the same pluck position, pluck height, and time as the guitar graph.

Loading string-to-body filter visual...
Concept 4: Eigenmodes and Helmholtz Resonance
Compare shapes, body volume, sound-hole area, and resonant frequencies.

This visual will connect body shape to eigenmodes and Helmholtz resonance.

Placeholder visual.
Visual 4 PlaceholderEigenmodes, Helmholtz frequency, instrument size, and shape.

Where It Started

The project began with a simple question: what does a plucked guitar string actually do?

Since real string motion is small and fast, the visual exaggerates the motion so the mathematics becomes visible.

Going Further

Once the string is vibrating, the guitar body changes the sound by amplifying some frequencies and muting others.

That leads naturally to resonance, filtering, body shape, and eigenmodes.

Further Reading