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The 'sounding board' or 'soundboard' is the part of a string instrument that transmits the vibrations of the strings to the air, greatly increasing the loudness of sound over that of the string alone. This is because the sounding board has a much greater surface area than that of the string, and can move a much greater volume of air, therefore producing a louder sound. Sounding boards are traditionally made of wood (see tonewood), though other materials can be used, such as skin or plastic on instruments in the banjo family. Wood sounding boards typically have sound holes in them with different shapes depending on the instrument: round in guitars, f-holes in violin family instruments, rosettes in lutes, and so on.
The sounding boards of some instruments have unique names, such as ''plate'', or ''belly'' (the latter in a violin).
In a grand piano, the sounding board is a large horizontal plate at the bottom of the case. In an upright piano, the sounding board is a large vertical plate at the back of the instrument. The harp has a sounding board below the strings.
More generally, any hard surface can act as a sounding board. An example is when a tuning fork is struck and placed against a table top to amplify its sound.

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Other meanings

Other meanings

★ 'Sounding board' is also a term used to describe a person whose opinion or reaction to some matter is sought.