Abstract
The behaviour of transverse standing waves is examined for a uniform string which is pulled over two smooth supports under constant speed and tension. A harmonic spectrum of resonance frequencies is found which, for small ratios of the speed of travel to the propagation velocity of transverse waves, are only slightly lower than those of a string with clamped ends. The frequency response to a simple harmonic disturbance and the envelope of the oscillations are similar to those of a clamped string, but the phase of oscillation varies from point to point so that the instantaneous configuration of the string is not a sine curve. The conclusions remain valid in the presence of damping.