A vibration in a string is a wave. Resonance causes a vibrating string to produce a sound with constant frequency, i.e. constant pitch. If the length or tension of the string is correctly adjusted, the sound produced is a musical note. Vibrating strings are the basis of string instruments such as guitars, cellos, and pianos.
The speed of propagation of a wave in a string () is proportional to the square root of the tension of the string () (discovered by Vincenzo Galilei in the late 1500s) and inversely proportional to the square root of the linear density () of the string: