Perceived musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic pressure waves.

Evidence

When we listen to a note played on a musical instrument and we perceive it as having a clear, unambiguous musical pitch, this is because that instrument produces an acoustic pressure wave that repeats regularly. For example, consider the acoustic pressure waveforms recorded by means of a microphone and shown in Figure 3.1 for A4 played on four orchestral instruments: violin, trumpet, flute and oboe. Notice that in each case, the waveshape repeats regularly, or the waveform is “periodic” (see Chapter 1). Each section that repeats is known as a “cycle,” and the time for which each cycle lasts is known as the “fundamental period” or “period” of the waveform. The number of cycles that occur in one second gives the fundamental frequency of the note in hertz (or Hz). The fundamental frequency is often notated as “f0,” pronounced “F zero” or “F naught,” a practice that will be used throughout the rest of this book. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 774

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes period, cycle, and f0 as the basic acoustics vocabulary for pitch.
• XREF: connects to: Clear pitch perception depends on periodic repetition of the pressure wave — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 774; Clear musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic waveforms; Unambiguous pitch perception requires a periodically repeating acoustic waveform — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 774 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Clear pitch perception depends on periodic repetition of the pressure wave #corroborates (0.97) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 774
• Clear musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic waveforms #corroborates (0.97)
• Unambiguous pitch perception requires a periodically repeating acoustic waveform #corroborates (0.97) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 774
• Periodicity in the acoustic waveform determines whether a sound is perceived as pitched. #corroborates (0.95) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 828
• Periodic pressure waves are perceived as pitched while nonperiodic ones are not #expands (0.90) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 826
• Pitch of periodic sounds is determinable from the waveform’s cycle period #expands (0.88) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 909
• Perceived pitch can arise from harmonics alone even when no actual fundamental sounds #complicates (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1651
• A single delayed sound repetition creates a perceived pitch even from white noise #expands (0.80) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2146
• Pitch perception involves both spectral and temporal representations of sound #expands (0.80) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4638
• Continuous-spectrum noises can carry pitch perceived from spectral peaks #complicates (0.78) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 900
• Perceived pitch depends on listening context, not just the physical spectrum present. #complicates (0.73) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2111