The effects of relative phase and the number of components on residue pitch

Abstract

The pitch of the residue produced by 6- and 12-component waves whose components were either in cosine or random phase was measured as a function of the frequency region of the components. The components were all of equal amplitude and the frequency spacing between them was 200 Hz. Waves with the same lowest component were found to produce the same pitch: neither the number of components nor the relative phase of the components was important in determining the pitch of the residue. If every component in a wave was a multiple of 200 Hz, the wave produced a 200 Hz pitch; if such a set of components was shifted in frequency by a small amount, there was a corresponding linear shift in the pitch of the residue. When the lowest component in the wave was below about 900 Hz, the slope values associated with the lines relating the pitch shift to the frequency shift varied little from their average value of 0.21. As the lowest component increased from 900 to 2580 Hz the slope values decreased to about 0.08. These findings are in good agreement with the current model of pitch perception based on interpeak durations.