An analysis is made of certain methods of measuring the velocity of sound. Specifically, attention is centered on those methods based upon measurements of the electrical driving‐point impedance of the transducer and the observation of some phenomenon of that impedance which is recurrent as the position of the reflector in the acoustic chamber is changed. Consideration is given to the influences of small losses in the propagation of sound in the chamber and of the existence of nonplane wave fronts. It is shown that such measurements can be subject to significant systematic errors arising from the method itself. The nature and magnitude of such errors are discussed.