A standing wave occurs when incoming and reflected waves interfere with each other. It produces a wave pattern that appears to be stationary.
Nodes are locations where particles of the medium appear to be at rest. And, antinodes are locations where particles of medium move with the greatest speed.
In musical instruments, the fundamental frequency is the frequency that produces the simplest standing wave. In the case of strings, the shorter the string, the higher the frequency.
- standing wave between two fixed ends: have two nodes at ends.
- standing wave between fixed-free ends: have one node and one antinode.
- standing wave between two free ends: have two antinodes at ends.