Physics of a Guitar String | Science Minisode 

The motion and sound of a guitar string can be explained with some basic wave physics. It won't take long, so let's see how much we can cram into one Science Minizode. Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars Target Mids available now: csguitars.co.uk/target-mids Buy CSGuitars Merchandise: csguitars.bigcartel.com/

As a guitar player and a math/engineering nerd, I request more videos like this. Thanks Colin!

Oh please I need more of this.

Basically u twang string and noise comes out?

Thanks for this. Too many guitar players never stop to think much about the physics of the string, and how it can impact on their tone. Much comes from considering the physics of the string. For instance, one of the reasons why fanned-fretboards have become mainstream in recent years is because we understand more about how scale length impacts on string compliance, and how string compliance affects harmonic content. Going in the other direction, anyone who has ever used an analog octave-up or octave down unit will know that both behave much better above the 7th fret, or higher. Why? Because the shorter the string length, the stiffer the string, the less compliant, and the more the fundamental dominates over the harmonics, making it easier to identify the note pitch and reliably generate the derived octave up or down. The physics also pertains to the string as a body-set-in-motion. We too often think of it like it was a steady-state oscillator, but much like ourselves, it is dying from the moment it is plucked/picked. That includes not only overall decaying amplitude, but also the disappearance of various harmonics as the string comes to rest. The manner in which the various harmonics are damped over time, by the bridge (e.g., floating wooden vs Tele-style) or the very string material itself, plays a role in creating the tone of the guitar, and sometimes even the tone of effects. We overlook the fact that many hard-to-replicate "classic" fuzz tones were produced by studio players wielding big jazz boxes with floating bridges, that coaxed very different sounds out of a fuzz than an SG might, largely by the idiosyncratic manner in which the string decayed, and the signal hitting the fuzz quickly fell below clipping threshold. Finally, there is a reason why a great many guitar synths have/had their pickup snuggled against the bridge. Deriving a unique signal from each string with such a pickup requires that there be no bleedthrough or crosstalk from adjacent strings. And the only dependable way to do that is by sticking the pickup where the strings "wiggle" the least.

CSGuitars but it's actually a Numberphile video.

As an a level physics student, this was incredibly informative and helpful! This channel gets better with ever video!

Yes to all science videos ! don't be afraid to make longer videos if the subject needs it. This is becomming my favourite youtube channel for all the reasons.

As a physicist I love how clear and straightforward this was presented without skipping the maths. Awesome video

hell yes that is the way to learn science do more of these videos with more complicated math

Nice succinct video, and good explanation. However I think you definitely need a follow-up explaining why string tension and gauge are important for hitting the right notes and not snapping necks.

I just finished a music project for one of my math courses discussing this as one of the topics. If only this vid came out sooner it would have saved me a couple of hours of research! 😁

Pretty cool!! thanks for explain it in simple words Colin!!

vibrato of any KEIND! luv yur accent

it's a mini episode but with great value, good work Colin!

I love the super slow motion shot of the string vibrating, never seen that before.

Nice video Colin! Such informations should be known by every guitar (or every other instrument too) player, along with basic maintenance of instruments. Keep going this way! Cheers from Italy

This is probably one of the very few channels on RU-vid that talks about things like this and that's why I love it. In fact, I'm sure that at least one video here can't be found anywhere else on RU-vid right now. Do you have anything on how guitar cabinets work/shape the sound of the amp? Most certainly sounds like an interesting topic.

Mate, you're something of a guitar scientist. Love the content. Cheers!

I absolutely love learning through your videos Colin

Where were you 8 years ago when I had to learn simple harmonic motion? That's a great, simple, real world example. Cheers mate!

My head just exploded but KOOL that you know and understand all that!

If there is something that is mind boggling yet very very clear - this is it!

Thanks, Colin. I'm continually impressed with your explanations and presentations. Concise, accurate, useful. Science is real - for all of you out there who doubt that :-)

Awesome! Now calculate the integral of the function F(x,y)=2log(arctg(1-x)/x^2)/e^sen(2*pi*fc*t) dt LOVE U Colin

I love these nerdy videos. i hurt my brain but it's the good kind of hurt hahaha

Many of my subscriptions are about science or music, and I'm happy that a good number of those channels do both before I knew it.

Words cannot describe how much I loved this video, as a fan of both music and physics! Thanks Colin :)

I love you bro, You saved my physics 11 CPT. God bless you

Jeez. My brain just melted!!

this is 1st guitar lesson i watched. ill have to write it down but im super curious! AWESOME VIDEO

Man this is freaking awesome

Thanks for helping me study for my physics exam!

What even is there anything you don't know about Colin! these vids are freakig brilliant!

the integer harmonic thing isn't as universal as mathematicians would have you believe. while it applies solidly to air chambers and strings, there are plenty of musical instruments that sound nice, but are not composed of mostly integer harmonics. marimbas, xylophones, and glockenspiels are all governed by the vibrating bar equation, where the stiffness and thickness of the material causes the overtone series to be "stretched" sharp, or "dampened" flat. this effect is known as Inharmonicity. you can actually hear this effect in strings too, if the gauges, tension, and scale length are of a strange combination.

You know, just the other day I was watching a video you posted and I thought “man, a year ago I had no idea what this guy was talking about but now I get it! I’ve learned so much!” I’m now going to retract that statement, this is above my level

My thinking also goes in logical way, I am getting more interest in Music while reading and practising the Science of Music in my daily life❤❤❤

This is fascinating! I will be sharing your link with my physical science students. I know several are interested and would like to do some exploring on their own. Thank you for making it interesting and applicable!!!

These videos are why I love CSGuitars

Can't thank you enough.. You helped big time

Always getting mindblown from your videos, love your videos.

I really enjoyed this one.

Oh man I want more of this! This is the exact reason why I subscribed

I needed this.

Damn, Adam Neely, you got long hair! Good for you! :D

Great lesson dude.

Great explanation!

I'm a physicist and I think this is a wonderful explanation for the layman. Well done

Love it!

I failed all my math exams during school because I'd rather play guitar, because guitar is magic. You just turned the magic into maths. You killed the magic. Unsubbed. Damn you, Scotsman!

Oh I really hope this turns into a series, nice work! Just thought i should point out the clip at 0:48 of the string vibrating is a little misleading as thats just a camera artifact and not at all how a string really moves in slow motion, the string will move in a more"jump rope" fashion than a "snake", with the exeption of harmonics as you pointed out which will be shaped like a snake but for example the 12th harmonic would be a snake with two humps.

I can't believe I've played for 15 years and never knew this shit lol. Nice video bro, need more of this pls. Sub'd

Colin! Use the metal zone in the efx loop of amps with no tubes like your Marshall mg and your orang micro dark!!

Wow I’m learning so much 😊

I am in love with this genius Scottish man

Brilliant explanation, only wish you could have dug into the frequency spectrum for a wee bit more depth, admittedly with bringing up the idea of a Fourier transform you might need another Minizode...

what a smart scottish chap,lad.

Excellent Colin!

Is it possible to make another scientific view on strings? I was invested in this video quite more than the others.

pls make a subtitle, cause you use very much music-sleng words (whammy-bar; etc...) and these words are not in the auto-subtitle. GREAT video! I am a physics teacher and rock-guitarist, too, from Hungary.

Good job!

As a bass player, and a recreational physicist, this video makes me happy.

In Scotland, Hz is the abbreviation for hairtz.

Concise video! It would be cool to see you explain why different instruments have different timbres...

I'm so glad you made this! Can you do the same for pickups and speakers? Please!

Love this stuff😍

Now I need a bucket for all the brain matter oozing from my ear. Thanks.

Great video, I have to make my own physics lab for school and I’m trying to think of what I can do

Very nice

Hey, I was wondering if you could a video on the history of Superstrats

Excellent video. It would be great if you followed up with explaining harmonic stretching in regards to string gauges plus scale length (or, why are pianos are so hard to tune).

Physics class: i don't get anything Colin: i understand everything

I'll drop out of high school just to learn more useful maths from you

Your discussion of the simple math of string frequencies was good. However you left out the discussion of string stiffness. Apparently stiffness is a major contributor to the need for intonation - if my understanding is correct (?) perfectly flexible strings would not require any intonation (still working on undertstanding this). Bottom line - I'm looking for more flexible electric guitar strings to play around with. Any suggestions? I'm thinking about multi-strand cores with thin wrapping as one approach. Or maybe loose, low-carbon iron bits and aramid fibers embedded in nylon. Have you ever heard of such things?

we NEED a CS science chancel for fucks sake, i need to see caling teaching quantum mechanics

All this math is making my brain Hertz!

Thank you for this video! I think about this stuff every single second of the day to make sure I keep up on my skills. (heavy sarcasm)

Hey Colin, great explanations. Can you explain DI (direct input/inject) box? Thanks!

I can't but says that's a lot of hairs(hertz). 🤣 Great video as always.

This arouses mr. Kevin very much

Interesting!

Can we have any vibration mode on a guitar string? And what about the modes that we've learnt in our last experiment? Can we have a resonance related to any wavelength value for a fixed L (height of the tube)?

Getting pretty buff there :p

Looks like your trying to dethrone Johnny Ball in the science education stakes lol. If you don't know who I mean check out the 70's early 80's kids science show "Think of a Number" used to love that when I was a kid. Might be just before your time, plenty of episodes on RU-vid and still interesting and fun today.

dope!!!

You tricked me into doing maths by disguising it as guitar!

always after me lucky charms

This was a super cool lesson. But is there a way to apply this to improve my playing? Seriously

i learned more from this video than my high school physics class

Awesome! But... What kind of harmonics appear on a guitar?

Colin love all your vids, absolutely. This was an excellent explanation of how math makes the guitar and strings work harmoniously. But what brought me here was the word: Minizode. With all due respect I musta missed the explanation, WTF is a minizode

Shout out to all my math and science major pals out there. I miss university when life was easy and I didn’t have so many damn bills to pay. But at least I’ve got money now for... strings. I don’t have to wait every semester to change strings anymore! Haha.

Hairdrdrtz. Hertz. Thank you for the physics lesson Shrek! Shrek only in accent:)

I got into tuning pianos and one problem I encountered was that I can’t tune the strings perfectly in tune, because when harmonies Are played, new frequencies propagate which sound off-key. Why is guitar different? On piano, I have to actually detune certain intervals or “stretch tune” to allow sound waves room to harmonize when played. I know it sounds confusing, but do guitars have to be intonated this way? Also why do so many guitar players never notice they have a string or two out of tune LOL. I don’t even use tuners anymore, because they make everything sound flat. Why are there not tuners with different intonation preferences?

i still don't understand why at some point at a certain frequency does the string stop vibrating like if we say at 11 Hz the string shows only one N but why at 22 Hz does the string show 2 N? why does it stop vibrating at half L

Christ! I wanna learn guitar cause I thought there was no math, but nooooo, you gotta go and add math into it. I kid though, great video man!

This is the only video of yours I have watched and left confused.

3:00 Does this (not vibrating at one frequency) demonstrate equipartition (shared vibration over all modes)?

Doesn't L vary ever so slightly because the nut and bridge are moving along with the vibrating guitar body and neck?

How does Guage play apart in frequency?