In similar fashion, strings will respond to the vibrations of a tuning fork when sufficient harmonic relations exist between them.
According to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians:[2]The property of sympathetic vibration is encountered in its direct form in room acoustics in the rattling of window panes, light shades and movable panels in the presence of very loud sounds, such as may occasionally be produced by a full organ.
For example, to dampen resonance in the headstock, some electric guitars use string trees near their tuning pegs.
Similarly, the string length behind the bridge must be made as short as possible to dampen resonance.
The phenomenon is described by the jewish scholar R. Isaac Arama (died 1494) in his book "Akeydat Yitzchak"[3] as a metaphor to the bi-lateral influence between the human being and the world.