The resonance contours of a number of musical strings have been traced when operating in isolation from an instrument body, with more precisely defined loading and terminal conditions than are found in normal use, and with very small excitation amplitudes. For plain steel piano strings, results from the fundamental to the 25th overtone are broadly in accordance with the predictions of the standard classical theory for a lossy stiff string, but close agreement with calculated data cannot be obtained for any one set of the relevant parameters, and some disturbing influences are clearly in operation. Some of the resonances show double peaks suggestive of close coupling between slightly dissimilar modes, and for these and the single peaks, associated transverse resonances perpendicular to the line of the driving force are often found. A copper wire string hammered to produce an exaggerated linear distribution of deformation shows a more pronounced pattern of double and transverse resonances, and it is surmised that these occurrences with the steel strings are due to small departures from exact cylindrical uniformity. Overwound strings show similar anomalies with significantly higher losses.