Ramsay
Different writers have put forth different views of what constitute a musical vibration, but their various views do not make any difference in the ratios which the notes of this sound-host bear to each other. Whether the vibrations be counted as single or double vibrations, the ratios of their relative motions are the same. Nevertheless, a musical vibration is an interesting thing in itself, and ought to be correctly defined.
A string when vibrating musically is passing and re-passing the central line of its rest or equilibrium with a certain range of excursion. Some writers have defined a vibration to be the passage of the string from one extreme of its excursion to the other, while some have preferred to define it as the passage of the string from the one extreme of its excursion to the other and back again. D. C. Ramsay has been led in his researches to define a vibration as the movement of the string from its central line of rest to the extreme of its excursion on one side, and back to the central line of rest; and from the central line of rest to the extreme of its excursion on the other side, and back again to the "right line," as he calls it, as a second vibration. His reasoning on this will be seen in what follows. (See Fig. 3, Plate IV.) [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 21]
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