Changing a tone’s frequency alone can make listeners perceive motion without source movement

Evidence

Broadband signals are generally needed to make spectral cues efficient, since otherwise the cues cannot be decoded. This is a fair assumption, since most natural sounds have a relatively flat spectrum at frequencies where the pinna cues are effective, namely at 4–10 kHz. On the other hand, it has been shown that when a sinusoid is presented in that frequency region, using a static loudspeaker in the median plane, the perceived direction depends significantly on the frequency of the sinusoid. The listener perceives the auditory event as moving in space when the frequency is changed (Blauert, 1996), although the sound source does not move. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1452

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• SHARE: A striking perceptual illusion that a sound-focused friend or recording engineer would enjoy.
• CANDY: A single tone sweeping in pitch appears to move through space though the speaker stays still.

Related

• A stationary tone’s frequency alone can shift perceived elevation in the median plane. (similarity 0.89)
• Loudness slightly but measurably alters perceived pitch of tones (similarity 0.80)
• High-frequency drivers need far less motion than low-frequency drivers to radiate similar loudness. (similarity 0.80)
• Raising intensity lowers pitch at low frequencies but raises it at high frequencies. (similarity 0.80)
• Narrowband noise can carry clearer pitch than some periodic signals (similarity 0.79)
• Pitch depends only on spectrum and periodicity, not volume or direction. (similarity 0.79)
• Sound intensity changes perceived pitch of pure tones except near 1–2 kHz (similarity 0.79)
• Interaural level differences alone can shift the perceived position of a sound source (similarity 0.79)
• Amplitude modulation faster than the tone’s own steady pitch is heard as pitch change (similarity 0.79)
• Noise with a sharp spectral peak is perceived as pitched. (similarity 0.79)
• Place code governs pitch perception of pure tones above about 4 to 5 kHz (similarity 0.79)
• Perceived loudness depends on frequency content and duration, not just sound pressure level (similarity 0.79)
• Auditory motion can be simulated by fading between adjacent loudspeakers. (similarity 0.79)
• Sounds in the median plane are localized to fixed directions based on frequency (similarity 0.79)
• Predictable sounds carry less information than unpredictable broadband signals (similarity 0.79)