Why does tightening a guitar string make a higher note?

1What a note really is

A string wiggles — and pitch is how fast it wiggles

You only need two ideas. Watch each one move:

A plucked string shivers

Pull a string and let go — it swings side to side, over and over, before it settles. Each swing-and-back is one wiggle. That wiggling air is the sound you hear.

Pitch = wiggles per second

Lots of wiggles each second = a high note. Only a few wiggles each second = a low note. "High" and "low" are just fast and slow wiggling.

2Two kinds of string

The lazy swinger vs the snappy swinger

It's the same string both times — the only difference is how tightly it's pulled:

Loose string

The lazy swinger

Pulled gently, so it flops back slowly — few wiggles each second. That's a low note.

Tight string

The snappy swinger

Pulled hard, so it snaps back fast — lots of wiggles each second. That's a high note.

3Your turn — pluck a string

Pluck it and count its wiggles

Tap Pluck and watch this one string shiver. The harder-pluck slider only changes how big the swing is — keep an eye on how many wiggles it does each second while you slide.

Wiggles each second: 5 a low note

How hard you plucka normal pluck

SOFTHARD

4First, try plucking it harder

Pluck the same string HARDER. Higher note — or just louder? 🎸

Here are two strings. The bottom one stays loose — that's your low-note ruler. Before you touch the peg, you'll pluck the top string softly, then as hard as you can — nothing else changes. Guess first, then watch and listen.

Guess before you pluck it hard

You're about to pluck the top string softly, then give it a really hard pluck — same string, same tightness, nothing tightened. Will the hard pluck make a higher note, or just a louder one?