At 08:16 AM 12/11/96 +0000, you wrote: >I have heard two different physicists give two completely different >explanations for inharmonicity. One was the one you are refering to: >that it is a function of the stiffness,length and diameter of the >string. The other, which I heard in a talk at Fermilab by a >physicist who also makes violins, is that a struck/plucked string will >display inharmonicity whereas the same string when bowed will not. > >I have no clue, altho I am a tuner and a violinist. > There is no inconsistency here. I can see why a bowed instrument would not have any inharmonicity. The continuous periodic grabbing and letting go of the bow string locks all harmonics together. It would be something like having a piano hammer on A-440 hitting the string 440 times per second. Each physical contact resets the phase of the harmonics. -Bob Scott P.S. Did you see my article on inharmonicity in the June 1993 PTJ?
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