A resonance’s strength depends on where you drive it, not just its frequency.
Evidence
One does not have to look far to see why the resonances have different strengths: the strength depends where we drive the mode. For example, if we drive at a point where a given mode has a node, the strength will be zero for that same mode. Moving over a bit, another point might have a strong peak for the same mode. Unlike the frequency and Q of a resonance, its strength is not an intrinsic property, but rather a matter of where the drive point is relative to the shape of the corresponding mode. The velocity reached by sinusoidal driving will be proportional to the square of the amplitude of the mode at the drive point. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1127
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- DEFINE: Clarifies why resonance ‘strength’ is a positional property, contrasted with frequency and Q as intrinsic properties.
- SEED: Angle: why the same instrument sounds different depending on where you strike it — a physics-of-touch essay connecting to how drummers and pianists control timbre by choice of hit location.
Related
- A resonance’s strength depends on where you strike it, not on the mode alone (similarity 0.93)
- A tube’s emitted frequencies come from the driving tone, not its own resonances (similarity 0.84)
- Driving-point independence reveals isolated resonances, while overlap makes vibration patterns location-dependent (similarity 0.84)
- All resonance reduces to structure, drive, and in-phase response (similarity 0.83)
- A driven tube emits at the drive frequency regardless of its own resonances (similarity 0.83)
- Driving point reveals whether a resonance peak is isolated or overlapping (similarity 0.82)
- Driven systems settle to the drive frequency, responding weakly, not their natural one (similarity 0.82)
- Resonance requires round-trip reflections arriving in phase with the source (similarity 0.82)
- Resonance energy storage alone cannot explain a brass instrument’s loudness (similarity 0.80)
- Driven systems oscillate at the drive frequency, not their natural frequency (similarity 0.80)
- Resonance requires confined old amplitude returning in phase with fresh drive amplitude (similarity 0.80)
- Mass dominates impedance at high frequencies, stiffness at low frequencies (similarity 0.80)
- A dumb sinusoidal drive self-sets its phase relative to the oscillator (similarity 0.80)
- Good wind instruments align tube resonances onto each partial of the drive note (similarity 0.79)
- Steady driven motion oscillates at the drive frequency, never the natural one (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Driving point reveals whether a resonance peak is isolated or overlapping
#expands(0.82) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1152 - A tube’s emitted frequencies come from the driving tone, not its own resonances
#expands(0.80) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1477 - Reciprocity forces resonance gain to be symmetric between inside and outside.
#expands(0.72) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1237