A resonance’s strength depends on where you strike it, not on the mode alone

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

• DEFINE: Clarifies why resonance strength is location-dependent rather than intrinsic.