Abstract:
The pitch of the complex tone consisting of harmonics without the fundamental frequency is investigated. The pitch is called ``residue pitch.'' If the pitch of the complex tone is insensitive to the relative phases of the spectral components, then the pattern transformation model [F. L. Wightman, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 54, 407--416 (1973)], which corresponds to the autocorrelation function (ACF) of a signal, may be identified. In this study, subjects were asked to control the frequency of a sinusoidal wave to match the pitch of a test stimulus with a different waveform which is generated by setting the different phases of each component. The components consist of frequencies 600, 800, 1000, 1200, and 1400 Hz with the same amplitude. The measured pitch of the stimulus was almost the same as that of the fundamental frequency (average: 201--202 Hz). The result, therefore, indicates that the ACF model is acceptable.