A system (100, 200, 300) for damping vibrations of a vibratory structure (104, 308). The damping system includes an active damper (112, 124, 128, 216), a vibration sensor (116, 208, 208A′-C′), and a controller (120, 212) for controlling the active damper in a manner that damps vibration of the vibratory structure. In some embodiments, the active damper comprises an active mass (132, 220, 220A′-C′, 220A″-C″) and an actuator (136) for controlling the movement of the active mass. In other embodiments, the active damper comprises a flexural damper (128).