Perceived pitch is set primarily by fundamental frequency.

Evidence

Listen carefully for the presence of a 200 Hz sinusoidal partial with only partials 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, and 1400 present. You won’t hear a 200 Hz partial at low sound intensities, yet a 200 Hz pitch will prevail. The 200 Hz partial is not there in the original sound, nor is it created for us by any part of the hearing system from the outer ear to the auditory cortex. What is created by that system is the sensation we call pitch. Pitch is not partial. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2031 (#expands, via linked claim)

If pitch is not determined by periodicity, perhaps then by autocorrelation? Now we are getting somewhere. The first major peak in the autocorrelation after the ever-present peak at time 0 in the preceding example occurs at 0.00956 second, which corresponds to 104.6 Hz. If sounds resolve into several distinct pitches, these will have corresponding peaks in the autocorrelation. Pitch is associated with something more important than the presence or absence of a single partial: its tendency to repeat itself at given intervals. The generalization of this concept to sounds that are not strictly periodic is the autocorrelation function. Periodic signals will always have peaks at multiples of the period that mirror the peak at time zero. The analogs of such periodicity are peaks in the autocorrelation of nonperiodic signals. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2033 (#expands, via linked claim)

The temporal theory of pitch perception is based on the fact that the waveform of a sound with a strong musical pitch repeats or is periodic (see Table 3.2). An example is shown in Figure 3.1 for A4 played on four instruments. The f0 for a periodic sound can be found from a measurement of the period of a cycle of the waveform using Equation 3.1. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 891 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A perceived pitch can exist with no partial at its own frequency.; Pitch of harmonic sounds is determined by the fundamental frequency. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1282; Pitch can be perceived even when no partial exists at that frequency — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2031 (+10 more)

Related

• The fundamental frequency of a pitched sound is measurable from its waveform period (similarity 0.92)
• Perceived musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic pressure waves. (similarity 0.91)
• Highest common factor of partials encodes perceived pitch (similarity 0.91)
• Pitch of harmonic sounds is determined by the fundamental frequency. (similarity 0.91)
• Listeners reconstruct a perceived pitch that is not physically present (similarity 0.91)
• Pitch is a human synthesis keyed to autocorrelation, not pure physics (similarity 0.90)
• Pitch perception corresponds to peaks in the autocorrelation function (similarity 0.90)
• Unambiguous pitch perception requires a periodically repeating acoustic waveform (similarity 0.90)
• Pitch is perceptual while frequency is acoustic, and not all sounds have pitch (similarity 0.90)
• Periodic pressure waves are perceived as pitched while nonperiodic ones are not (similarity 0.89)
• A perceived pitch can exist with no partial at its own frequency. (similarity 0.89)
• Periodicity in the acoustic waveform determines whether a sound is perceived as pitched. (similarity 0.89)
• Clear musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic waveforms (similarity 0.89)
• Pitch can be perceived even when no partial exists at that frequency (similarity 0.89)
• Pitch of periodic sounds is determinable from the waveform’s cycle period (similarity 0.89)

Broader Connections

• Pitch can be perceived even when no partial exists at that frequency #expands (0.90) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2031
• The fundamental frequency of a pitched sound is measurable from its waveform period #corroborates (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 891
• Pitch perception corresponds to peaks in the autocorrelation function #expands (0.85) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2033
• Pitch perception depends on harmonics being integer multiples of the fundamental #qualifies (0.80) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 864
• Pitch correlates with frequency but is also slightly level-dependent #qualifies (0.80)
• Sharp spectral peaks, not narrow gaps, drive strong pitch perception #expands (0.80)
• Pitch is perceptual while frequency is acoustic, and not all sounds have pitch #expands (0.75)
• Pitch perception requires a tone lasting at least two signal periods #qualifies (0.75) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1088
• Perceived pitch shifts measurably with loudness in frequency-dependent directions #qualifies (0.75) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 921
• Pitch perception rests on universal psychoacoustic mechanisms across all cultures #expands (0.70) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 771