Jensen's recently published Chladni figures can be interpreted as normal modes of vibration with antinodal centers which are distorted by the experimental method employed to produce them. Thefreetransverse vibrations of uniform plates always conform with the symmetry of the geometrical surfaces. The principle of symmetry and of corresponding vibrations enables them to be identified and arranged in a systematic manner. The solid carbon dioxide method of exciting free vibrations, supplemented by the bow, produces the most symmetrical figures.