Periodicity in a sound’s waveform is what makes it perceptible as having pitch.

Evidence

In general, sounds which have a periodic acoustic pressure variation with time are perceived as having a pitch associated with them, and sounds whose acoustic pressure waveform is non-periodic are perceived as having no pitch. The relationship between the waveforms and spectra of pitched and non-pitched sounds is summarized in Table 3.2 and examples of each have been discussed in relation to Figures 3.2 and 3.6. The terms “time domain” and “frequency domain” are widely used when considering time (waveform) and frequency (spectral) representations of signals. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 828

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

• DEFINE: Defines the core boundary between pitched and non-pitched sounds via waveform periodicity, plus introduces the time-domain/frequency-domain vocabulary.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what happens with complex or quasi-periodic sounds at the boundary, where periodicity is partial rather than exact?

Related

• Periodic pressure waves are perceived as pitched while nonperiodic ones are not (similarity 0.92)
• Pitch of periodic sounds is determinable from the waveform’s cycle period (similarity 0.91)
• Clear musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic waveforms (similarity 0.88)
• The fundamental frequency of a pitched sound is measurable from its waveform period (similarity 0.88)
• Periodic and aperiodic spectra differ in discrete versus continuous partials (similarity 0.88)
• Sound can be captured as permanent physical markings that encode its pitch (similarity 0.87)
• Periodicity in the acoustic waveform determines whether a sound is perceived as pitched. (similarity 0.86)
• Listeners reconstruct a perceived pitch that is not physically present (similarity 0.86)
• Not all sounds have a pitch even though all have frequency content (similarity 0.86)
• Clear pitch perception depends on periodic repetition of the pressure wave (similarity 0.85)
• Periodic sounds give line spectra while aperiodic sounds give continuous spectra (similarity 0.84)
• Perceived pitch is set primarily by fundamental frequency. (similarity 0.84)
• Pitch depends only on spectrum and periodicity, not volume or direction. (similarity 0.84)
• Noise-like sounds have non-repeating waveforms and continuous, inharmonic spectra (similarity 0.83)
• Pitch is a human synthesis keyed to autocorrelation, not pure physics (similarity 0.83)