Noise-based pitch perception arises from spectral energy center of gravity but is weak.

Evidence

This “center of gravity” of the spectral energy of a sound is thought to convey a sense of higher or lower pitch for such sounds that are noise-based, but the pitch sensation is far weaker than that perceived for periodic sounds. This pitch phenomenon is, however, important in music when considering the perception of the nonperiodic sounds produced, for example, by some groups of instruments in the percussion section (consider track 5 on the accompanying CD), but the majority of instruments on which notes are played in musical performances produce periodic acoustic pressure variations. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 886

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘center of gravity’ pitch mechanism for noise-based sounds.
• QUESTION: How do percussion/nonperiodic instruments exploit this weaker pitch sensation musically, and could it be composed with deliberately?
• XREF: connects to: Even noise without periodic waveforms can carry a weak sense of pitch. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 885; Noise-derived pitch sensation comes from spectral energy centroid location. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 886