Perceived pitch is governed mainly by fundamental frequency, not loudness or duration

Evidence

The perceived pitch of a sound is primarily affected by changes in f0, which is why the pitch of a note is usually directly related to its f0, for example by stating that A4 has an f0 of 440 Hz as a standard pitch reference. The estimation of f0 forms the basis of both the place and temporal theories of pitch perception. A change in pitch of a particular musical interval manifests itself if the f0 values of the notes concerned are in the appropriate frequency ratio to give the primary acoustic (objective) basis for the perceived (subjective) pitch of the notes and hence the musical interval. Changes in pitch are also, however, perceived by modifying the intensity or duration of a sound while keeping f0 constant. These are by far secondary pitch change effects compared with the result of varying f0, and they are often very subtle. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 917

One experimental example might be to explore what aspects of sound affect the perception of pitch. The main dependent variable would be f0, but other aspects of sound can affect the perceived pitch such as loudness, timbre and duration (see Section 3.2). Experimentally, it would also be very appropriate to consider other issues that might affect the results—some of which may not initially seem obvious—such as the fact that hearing abilities of the subjects can vary with age (see Section 2.3) and general health or that perhaps subjects’ hearing should be tested (see Section 7.2). — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2381

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains that f0 (fundamental frequency) is the primary objective basis for subjective pitch, with secondary effects from intensity and duration.
• XREF: Connects to the earlier chapter material on pitch perception and to the reader’s listening practice, where tone quality varies with loudness and instrument.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 917; David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2381