The wave speed is the speed at which the disturbance propagates through the medium. It is not the speed of the individual particles making up the medium. The speed, of transverse waves on a stretched string depends on the properties of the string that affect its elasticity and its inertial properties. For a mechanical wave travelling along a string the speed depends on the tension in the string and the mass per unit length. (μ=m/l) known as the linear mass density (μ) cof the string. Mathematically,

Where μ = mass per unit length, and T is the tension in the sting. It is crucial to control the speed of sound in stringed instruments like the guitar, which is why they have tuning knobs at one end (to control T) and the strings are of different mass (to control μ).

The fundamental frequency of a vibrating string can then be determined by the equation