Perception of Sounds Characterized by a Rapidly Changing Resonant Frequency

The perception of sounds characterized by a moving resonance was investigated a series of experiments. Stimuli were generated by exciting a tuned circuit with a short train of pulses of repetition rate 100/sec. The resonant frequency of the tuned circuit was changed in a piecewise linear manner over a 500‐cps range. Subjects matched the test stimuli by adjusting the resonant frequency of a fixed (i.e., nonvarying in time) resonant circuit until the test and comparison stimuli were judged to be most alike. Results indicate a strong tendency for subjects to adjust the frequency of the fixed resonant circuit until it is close to the terminal resonant frequency of the time‐varying circuit. This tendency depended to some extent on the direction and rate of the frequency change in the test stimulus. The implications of the results for auditory theory and speech perception are discussed briefly.