An experimental analysis of a vibrating guitar string using high-speed photography

We use high-speed photography (1200 frames/s) to investigate the vibrational motion of a plucked guitar string over several cycles. We investigate the vibrational pattern for plucking the string at two different locations along the string's length, and with different initial amplitudes. The vibrational patterns are then compared to a standing wave model of the string vibrations. We find excellent agreement between the observed vibrational patterns and the model for small-initial-amplitude displacement of the string. For larger amplitude displacements, the qualitative behavior of the string's vibrational pattern differs significantly from the small-amplitude displacement. This behavior may be due to the presence of inharmonicity, as suggested by its incorporation into the model calculations.