Noise-derived pitch sensation comes from spectral energy centroid location.

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

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how composers and sound designers exploit noise-pitch in percussion scoring; the reader could investigate specific instruments engineered to center spectral energy.
• XREF: connects to: Even nonperiodic noise sounds convey a weak pitch sensation based on spectral energy distribution; Noise-based pitch perception arises from spectral energy center of gravity but is weak. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 886; Pitch perception involves both spectral and temporal representations of sound — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4638

Broader Connections

• Noise-based pitch perception arises from spectral energy center of gravity but is weak. #corroborates (0.95) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 886
• Even nonperiodic noise sounds convey a weak pitch sensation based on spectral energy distribution #corroborates (0.92)
• Pitch perception involves both spectral and temporal representations of sound #expands (0.72) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4638