Where does Dave strum?

[grock]

OK guys heres grock's quick physics lesson.

The note you hear when a string is plucked is the fundamental frequency. harmonics are found by dividing the fundamental frequency by a whole number. for multiples of 2 (2,4,8) you get the fundamental note but just a different octave. But the divisions of 3,5,6,7 etc are not the same note as the fundamental frequency. when you place a finger at 12 and pluck it you hear the 2nd harmonic. at 7 is the 3rd harmonic. at 5 is the 4th harmonic and so on

When you strum directly over the 12th fret, this is midway down the string and will accentuate the fundamental frequency (the actual note) because the string is plucked at it's major point of motion.

nearer the bridge these tones (and the other harmonics above) are accentuated. this leads to a brighter tone. and a much more complex tone too. In effect, you are changing the harmonic content in the string by selecting where to pluck it. so where you strum can be just as important as what you strum.

On a side note, this explains a lot about how to use a tuner. you should really be plucking the note only above the 12th fret. this eliminates a lot of noise (extra harmonics) in a tuner and you'd be surprised how quickly the note settles down to clearly see what it is.

[DustyDave]

Very well explained grock

[Corona5k1635]

most interesting...


dave