Plucking a string at a node suppresses every Nth harmonic

Evidence

When a string is plucked, it is pulled a small distance away from its rest position and released. The nature of the sound source it provides to the body of the instru­ ment depends in part on the position on the string at which it is plucked. This is directly related to the dis­ placement component modes that a string can adopt. For example, if the string is plucked at the center, as indicated by the central dashed vertical line in Figure 4.6, modes which have a node at the center of the string (the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, etc., or the even modes) are not excited, and those with an antinode at the center (the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, etc., or the odd modes) are maximally excited. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1107 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The harmonic overtone series of strings is a lucky gift, not a fixable property; Adding mass at a node leaves a vibrating string’s mode unchanged; Striking near a string’s fixed end cancels the sound (+5 more)

Related

• Plucking position on a string determines which harmonic modes are suppressed (similarity 0.94)
• Striking near a string’s fixed end cancels the sound (similarity 0.94)
• Adding mass at a node leaves a vibrating string’s mode unchanged (similarity 0.93)
• Plucking position on a string suppresses modes with nodes there (similarity 0.91)
• Only exact integer-fraction plucking positions completely suppress harmonic modes (similarity 0.88)
• A stringed instrument’s pluck position can be read from harmonic amplitude dips. (similarity 0.87)
• The harmonic overtone series of strings is a lucky gift, not a fixable property (similarity 0.83)
• A tiny extra mass ruins a string’s harmonic spacing and makes it sound sour (similarity 0.83)
• Plucked strings vibrate as a sum of harmonic partials, not as a pure tone (similarity 0.82)
• Plucked strings vibrate autonomously after excitation, simplifying their modelling. (similarity 0.81)
• Higher modes of a lumped bead string are not equally spaced, ruining periodicity (similarity 0.80)
• A string’s stiffness raises its higher-frequency modes above the ideal values (similarity 0.80)
• Adding mass at a node leaves that mode unchanged (similarity 0.80)
• Every stringed instrument is analyzable as a sound source plus modifiers (similarity 0.79)
• Plucked string excitation is independent of vibration so it models easily (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Plucking position on a string determines which harmonic modes are suppressed #expands (0.95) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1107
• A stringed instrument’s pluck position can be read from harmonic amplitude dips. #expands (0.90)
• String stiffness raises component mode frequencies above the harmonic series, creating inharmonicity #corroborates (0.80)
• A string’s stiffness raises its higher-frequency modes above the ideal values #corroborates (0.78) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 860
• The inharmonicity of real strings is a desirable feature, not a defect #complicates (0.75)