Continuous-spectrum noises can carry pitch perceived from spectral peaks

Evidence

There are sounds which have non-harmonic spectra for which a pitch is perceived; these are exceptions to the second part of the general statement given earlier that “sounds whose acoustic pressure waveform is non-periodic are perceived as having no pitch.” For example, listen to examples of the “ss” in sea and the “sh” in shell (produce these yourself or ask someone else to) in terms of which one has the higher pitch. Most listeners will readily respond that “ss” has a higher pitch than “sh.” The spectrum of both sounds is continuous and an example for each is shown in Figure 3.9. Notice that the energy is biased more towards lower frequencies for the “sh” with a peak around 2.5 kHz, compared with the “ss” where the energy has a peak at about 5 kHz. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 900

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to how speech fricatives and noise-like instrument sounds carry pitch cues — relevant beyond pure tones, echoing soundscape ideas from the reader’s silence/noise interests. — connects to: Unambiguous pitch perception requires a periodically repeating acoustic waveform — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 774; Sharp spectral peaks, not narrow gaps, drive strong pitch perception; Noise with a sharp spectral peak is perceived as pitched. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1106 (+7 more)
• SHARE: The ‘ss’ versus ‘sh’ pitch demo is a quick, concrete observation worth sharing with anyone teaching acoustics or linguistics.

Broader Connections

• Even nonperiodic noise sounds convey a weak pitch sensation based on spectral energy distribution #corroborates (0.95)
• Continuous-spectrum noises like ‘ss’ and ‘sh’ still convey pitch sensations. #exemplifies (0.92)
• Noise with a sharp spectral peak is perceived as pitched. #corroborates (0.90) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1106
• Sharp spectral peaks, not narrow gaps, drive strong pitch perception #corroborates (0.85)
• Raising low-pass noise level measurably raises its perceived pitch #expands (0.80) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 844
• Amplitude modulation of noise creates pitch with a flat spectrum #qualifies (0.75) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1110
• Noise-like sounds have non-repeating waveforms and continuous, inharmonic spectra #expands (0.75) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 822
• Pitch can be perceived even when no partial exists at that frequency #complicates (0.72) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2031