The lower limit of melodic pitch with filtered harmonic complexes

Abstract

Sounds with temporal regularities can evoke a variety of percepts: pitch, roughness, flutter, or rhythm, according to the frequency range of the regularity. However, only pitch supports the perception of melodies. In an effort to determine the lower limit of pitch, as opposed to flutter, etc., an experiment has been performed to study melody perception with very low notes, as a function of frequency region and phase. These bandpass-filtered harmonic complexes had cosine, alternating, or positive-Schroeder phase. Listeners had to detect differences between two successive four-note melodies that where built around a base pitch. The lowest base pitch at which listeners could perform the task depended on both frequency region and phase. When the combination tone region was masked by low-pass noise, the phase dependence was strongly reduced. The lower limit of pitch increased markedly with frequency region when the masking noise was present. The results are discussed with regard to time-domain models of pitch involving autocorrelograms or auditory images. These models suggest the presence of precise pitch cues in high-frequency regions which appear to be contradicted by the current data. [Work supported by the Fyssen Foundation and the UK MRC (G9703469).]