Spectral characterization of jitter, shimmer, and additive noise in synthetically generated voice signals.

Abstract

Alteration of the harmonic structure in voice source spectra, taken over at least two periods of the waveform, may occur due to the presence of fundamental frequency (f0) perturbation, amplitude perturbation, additive noise, or changes within the glottal source signal itself. In order to make accurate inferences regarding glottal-flow dynamics or perceptual evaluations based on spectral measurements taken from the acoustic speech waveform, investigation of the spectral features of each aperiodic component is required. Based on a heuristic development involving a consideration of the partial sum of the Fourier series taken for two periods of a jittered, shimmered, and (additive, random) noise-contaminated signal, the corresponding spectral characteristics are hypothesized. Subsequent to this, the Fourier series coefficients are calculated for the two periods in order to test the hypotheses. Definite spectral differences are found for each aperiodic component; based on these findings differential quantitative spectral measurements are suggested. Further supportive evidence is obtained through use of Fourier transform and periodogram-averaged calculations. The analysis is carried out on synthetically generated glottal-pulse waveforms and on radiated speech waveforms. A discussion of the results is given in terms of voice aperiodicity in general and in terms of their implication for future studies involving human voice signals.