The plucked string: An example of non-normal dynamics
David Politzer · American Journal of Physics · 2015
The motion of a single Fourier mode of the plucked string is an example of transient, free decay of linear, coupled, damped oscillators. It shares the rarely discussed features of the generic case, e.g., possessing a complete set of non-orthogonal eigenvectors and no normal modes, but it can be analyzed and solved analytically by hand in an approximation that is appropriate to musical instruments' plucked strings.