The perception of musical consonance beyond the traditional existence region of pitch

Abstract

The traditional notion that pitch perception breaks down for frequency components above 5 kHz was challenged by a study [Oxenham et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 108, 7629-7634 (2011)] showing that complex tones high-pass filtered at 6 kHz convey the perception of melodic intervals. We investigated whether complex tones high-pass filtered above 6 kHz can also convey the perception of harmonic intervals. Eleven listeners rated the pleasantness of consonant and dissonant dyads (two-note chords) consisting of harmonic complex tones band-pass filtered either in a low-frequency (1-6 kHz) or in a high-frequency (7-12 kHz) region. The two tones in each dyad were presented to opposite ears. In the high-frequency condition the dyads were presented with a low-pass noise to mask combination tones. Pleasantness ratings were significantly higher for consonant than for dissonant intervals in both frequency regions. This preference for consonant dyads in the high-frequency region was not observed when the tones were made inharmonic by shifting all their components by a fixed offset so as to preserve envelope periodicity cues. The results indicate that the perception of consonance is preserved for tones composed entirely of components above the traditional existence region of pitch.