Resolvability of components in complex tones and implications for theories of pitch perception

This paper reviews methods that have been used to estimate the resolvability of individual partials in harmonic and inharmonic complex tones and considers the implications of the results for theories of pitch perception. The methods include: requiring comparisons of the pitch of an isolated pure tone and a partial within a complex tone as a measure of the ability to "hear out" that partial; considering the magnitude of ripples in the calculated excitation pattern of a complex tone; using a complex tone as a forward masker and using ripples in the masking pattern to estimate resolvability; measuring sensitivity to the relative phase of the components within complex tones. The measures are broadly consistent in indicating that harmonics with numbers up to about five are well resolved, but that resolution decreases for higher harmonics. Most measures suggest that harmonics with numbers above eight are poorly, if at all, resolved. However, there are uncertainties associated with each method that make the exact upper limit of resolvability uncertain. Evidence is presented suggesting a partial dissociation between resolution in the excitation pattern and the ability to hear out a partial. It is proposed that the latter requires information from temporal fine structure (phase locking).

[1]  R. Patterson,et al.  A pulse ribbon model of monaural phase perception. , 1987, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[2]  B C Moore,et al.  Masking patterns for synthetic vowels in simultaneous and forward masking. , 1983, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[3]  J. Smurzyński,et al.  Pitch identification and discrimination for complex tones with many harmonics , 1990 .

[4]  R. Carlyon,et al.  Comparing the fundamental frequencies of resolved and unresolved harmonics: Evidence for two pitch mechanisms? , 1994 .

[5]  B C Moore,et al.  The critical modulation frequency and its relationship to auditory filtering at low frequencies. , 1994, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[6]  C. Kaernbach,et al.  Exploring the temporal mechanism involved in the pitch of unresolved harmonics. , 2001, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[7]  B C Moore,et al.  Tune Recognition with Reduced Pitch and Interval Information , 1979, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology.

[8]  B. Moore,et al.  Sensitivity of the human auditory system to temporal fine structure at high frequencies. , 2009, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[9]  B C Moore,et al.  Effects of carrier frequency and background noise on the detection of mixed modulation. , 1994, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[10]  Andrew J Oxenham,et al.  Level dependence of auditory filters in nonsimultaneous masking as a function of frequency. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[11]  A. Oxenham,et al.  The relationship between frequency selectivity and pitch discrimination: effects of stimulus level. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[12]  Aleksander Sek Modulation threshlds and critical modulation frequency based on random amplitude and frequency changes , 1994 .

[13]  Andrew J Oxenham,et al.  Harmonic segregation through mistuning can improve fundamental frequency discrimination. , 2008, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[14]  S McAdams,et al.  Hearing a mistuned harmonic in an otherwise periodic complex tone. , 1990, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[15]  B C Moore,et al.  Auditory filter shapes derived in simultaneous and forward masking. , 1981, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[16]  Joshua G. W. Bernstein,et al.  Pitch discrimination of diotic and dichotic tone complexes: harmonic resolvability or harmonic number? , 2003, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[17]  B. Moore,et al.  Frequency selectivity for frequencies below 100 Hz: comparisons with mid-frequencies. , 2010, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[18]  W. T. Peake,et al.  Experiments in Hearing , 1963 .

[19]  E. Javel Coding of AM tones in the chinchilla auditory nerve: implications for the pitch of complex tones. , 1980, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[20]  B Zhou Auditory filter shapes at high frequencies. , 1995, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[21]  Roy D Patterson,et al.  Pitch strength decreases as F0 and harmonic resolution increase in complex tones composed exclusively of high harmonics. , 2008, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[22]  B. Moore,et al.  Suggested formulae for calculating auditory-filter bandwidths and excitation patterns. , 1983, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[23]  Brian C J Moore,et al.  Discrimination of complex tones with unresolved components using temporal fine structure information. , 2009, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[24]  B. Moore,et al.  Comparison of auditory filter shapes derived with three different maskers. , 1984, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[25]  Brian C J Moore,et al.  Moderate cochlear hearing loss leads to a reduced ability to use temporal fine structure information. , 2007, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[26]  B. Moore,et al.  A Test for the Diagnosis of Dead Regions in the Cochlea , 2000, British journal of audiology.

[27]  B. Moore,et al.  Refining the measurement of psychophysical tuning curves. , 1984, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[28]  B. Moore,et al.  Perception of the low pitch of frequency-shifted complexes. , 2003, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[29]  Thomas Baer,et al.  A model for the prediction of thresholds, loudness, and partial loudness , 1997 .

[30]  E. Terhardt Pitch, consonance, and harmony. , 1974, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[31]  A. M. Mimpen,et al.  The ear as a frequency analyzer. II. , 1964, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[32]  What makes a melody: The perceptual singularity of pitch sequences. , 2009, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[33]  T. Houtgast Auditory-filter characteristics derived from direct-masking data and pulsation-threshold data with a rippled-noise masker. , 1977, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[34]  T. Irino,et al.  Comparison of the roex and gammachirp filters as representations of the auditory filter. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[35]  B. Moore Psychophysical tuning curves measured in simultaneous and forward masking. , 1978, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[36]  B. Moore,et al.  Thresholds for hearing mistuned partials as separate tones in harmonic complexes. , 1986, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[37]  B. Moore,et al.  Relative dominance of individual partials in determining the pitch of complex tones , 1985 .

[38]  A. Palmer,et al.  Phase-locking in the cochlear nerve of the guinea-pig and its relation to the receptor potential of inner hair-cells , 1986, Hearing Research.

[39]  Brian C J Moore,et al.  Effects of pulsing of the target tone on the audibility of partials in inharmonic complex tones. , 2009, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[40]  D. H. Johnson,et al.  The relationship between spike rate and synchrony in responses of auditory-nerve fibers to single tones. , 1980, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[41]  B. L. Cardozo,et al.  Pitch of the Residue , 1962 .

[42]  Brian C J Moore,et al.  Development of a fast method for determining sensitivity to temporal fine structure , 2009, International journal of audiology.

[43]  J M Festen,et al.  Phase effects in a three-component signal. , 1974, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[44]  G. Békésy,et al.  Experiments in Hearing , 1963 .

[45]  J. Licklider,et al.  A duplex theory of pitch perception , 1951, Experientia.

[46]  Daniel Pressnitzer,et al.  Fundamental differences in change detection between vision and audition , 2010, Experimental Brain Research.

[47]  Brian C J Moore,et al.  Effects of level and frequency on the audibility of partials in inharmonic complex tones. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[48]  L. Robles,et al.  Mechanics of the mammalian cochlea. , 2001, Physiological reviews.

[49]  B C Moore,et al.  Pitch discrimination and phase sensitivity in young and elderly subjects and its relationship to frequency selectivity. , 1992, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[50]  R. Carlyon,et al.  The role of resolved and unresolved harmonics in pitch perception and frequency modulation discrimination. , 1994, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[51]  R. Patterson Auditory filter shapes derived with noise stimuli. , 1976, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[52]  W. Hartmann,et al.  Enhancing and unmasking the harmonics of a complex tone. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[53]  B. J. O'Loughlin,et al.  Improving psychoacoustical tuning curves , 1981, Hearing Research.

[54]  Andrew J Oxenham,et al.  An autocorrelation model with place dependence to account for the effect of harmonic number on fundamental frequency discrimination. , 2005, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[55]  Brian C. J. Moore,et al.  Discrimination of the fundamental frequency of complex tones with fixed and shifting spectral envelopes by normally hearing and hearing-impaired subjects , 2003, Hearing Research.

[56]  R. Meddis,et al.  A unitary model of pitch perception. , 1997, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[57]  Brian C J Moore,et al.  Frequency discrimination of complex tones; assessing the role of component resolvability and temporal fine structure. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[58]  Michael V Keebler,et al.  Can temporal fine structure represent the fundamental frequency of unresolved harmonics? , 2009, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[59]  B C Moore,et al.  Audibility of partials in inharmonic complex tones. , 1993, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[60]  A. Oxenham,et al.  Pitch, harmonicity and concurrent sound segregation: Psychoacoustical and neurophysiological findings , 2010, Hearing Research.

[61]  B. Moore,et al.  Frequency and intensity difference limens for harmonics within complex tones. , 1984, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[62]  Ray Meddis,et al.  Virtual pitch and phase sensitivity of a computer model of the auditory periphery , 1991 .

[63]  Brian C J Moore,et al.  Effect of duration on the frequency discrimination of individual partials in a complex tone and on the discrimination of fundamental frequency. , 2007, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[64]  Simon R. Oldfield,et al.  Detection and discrimination of spectral peaks and notches at 1 and 8 kHz. , 1989, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[65]  The role of peripheral resolvability in pitch-sequence processing. , 2010, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[66]  T. Houtgast Psychophysical evidence for lateral inhibition in hearing. , 1972, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[67]  B C Moore Parallels between frequency selectivity measured psychophysically and in cochlear mechanics. , 1986, Scandinavian audiology. Supplementum.

[68]  B C Moore,et al.  Forward masking patterns for harmonic complex tones. , 1983, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[69]  D. Pressnitzer,et al.  Implicit versus explicit frequency comparisons: two mechanisms of auditory change detection. , 2011, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[70]  D M Green,et al.  Frequency effects in profile analysis and detecting complex spectral changes. , 1987, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[71]  B. Moore An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing , 1977 .

[72]  Brian R Glasberg,et al.  Derivation of auditory filter shapes from notched-noise data , 1990, Hearing Research.

[73]  E Schorer,et al.  Critical modulation frequency based on detection of AM versus FM tones. , 1986, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[74]  E DE BOER Pitch of inharmonic signals. , 1956, Nature.

[75]  E. M. Burns,et al.  Played-again SAM: Further observations on the pitch of amplitude-modulated noise , 1981 .

[76]  Stuart Rosen,et al.  Auditory filter nonlinearity across frequency using simultaneous notched-noise masking. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[77]  G. S. Ohm Ueber die Definition des Tones, nebst daran geknüpfter Theorie der Sirene und ähnlicher tonbildender Vorrichtungen , 1843 .

[78]  Brian C. J. Moore,et al.  Formulae describing frequency selectivity as a function of frequency and level, and their use in calculating excitation patterns , 1987, Hearing Research.

[79]  B. Delgutte,et al.  Neural correlates of the pitch of complex tones. II. Pitch shift, pitch ambiguity, phase invariance, pitch circularity, rate pitch, and the dominance region for pitch. , 1996, Journal of neurophysiology.

[80]  B. Moore,et al.  The role of temporal fine structure in harmonic segregation through mistuning. , 2010, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[81]  Laurent Demany,et al.  On the binding of successive sounds: perceiving shifts in nonperceived pitches. , 2005, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[82]  Neural interspike intervals and pitch. , 1980, Audiology : official organ of the International Society of Audiology.

[83]  Stefan Uppenkamp,et al.  The effects of temporal asymmetry on the detection and perception of short chirps 1 1 Parts of this study were presented during the 12th International Symposium on Hearing 2000 in Mierlo/NL (Uppenkamp et al., 2001). , 2001, Hearing Research.

[84]  Daniel Pressnitzer,et al.  The case of the missing delay lines: synthetic delays obtained by cross-channel phase interaction. , 2006, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[85]  Andrew J. Oxenham,et al.  Estimates of Human Cochlear Tuning at Low Levels Using Forward and Simultaneous Masking , 2003, Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.

[86]  W M Hartmann,et al.  On the pitches of the components of a complex tone. , 1996, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[87]  Daniel Pressnitzer,et al.  Tuning properties of the auditory frequency-shift detectors. , 2009, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[88]  David R. Soderquist Frequency analysis and the critical band , 1970 .

[89]  B. Delgutte,et al.  Neural correlates of the pitch of complex tones. I. Pitch and pitch salience. , 1996, Journal of neurophysiology.

[90]  J. L. Goldstein An optimum processor theory for the central formation of the pitch of complex tones. , 1973, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.