Listeners’ spectral weighting functions for pitch judgment

Abstract

Two experiments were carried out to determine how listeners use spectral information in judging the pitch of harmonic complex tones. In particular, spectral weighting functions were obtained using a correlation technique in which random, independent perturbations were added to the frequencies of the spectral components. The correlation coefficient between the perturbations applied to a given frequency component and listeners’ responses provides an estimate of the weight associated with that component. In the first experiment, all complex tones had the first 12 partials; the fundamental frequency was varied from 100 to 800 Hz. The obtained weighting function tended to show a peak for partials close to 600 Hz regardless of their harmonic numbers. In the second experiment, the fundamental was fixed at 200 Hz, and the number of partials was reduced by omitting the first two, four, or six partials. As these partials were excluded, the weights redistributed, with the maximum weight consistently going to the lowest partial present in the stimulus, i.e., at 600, 1000, or 1400 Hz. Overall, these spectral weighting functions reaffirmed the presence of a frequency dominance region, showing prominent influences on pitch judgment from low-ranked partials. [Work supported by NIH/NIDCD.]