The importance of the spatial extent of applied forces in the radiation of sound from structures was studied through formulation of the sound power radiated by a line force acting on a infinite elastic beam. The expression for sound power was integrated numerically and the results examined as a function ofkL, the acoustic length of the force, and the wavenumber ratio. Below coincidence the power was found to be generally proportional to (kL)−2. Near and at coincidence, sufficiently large force scales produced a significant effect on the power. In particular, when the length of the force corresponded to an integral multiple of the critical wavelength, the coincidence peak was completely suppressed. Above coincidence, minima in the sound power occurred when the force length was a multiple of the wavelength of the free bending wave. These minimal values of power were shown to be nearly equal to the power radiated far below coincidence. These results are discussed in terms of the coupled structural‐acoustic wavenumber response function and the wavenumber spectrum of the applied force. [Work supported by NSF.]