Loudness of a Complex Tone, Its Definition, Measurement and Calculation

Abstract

At the meeting of the Society held one year ago Fletcher presented a paper by this title in which was discussed the formulation of a promising method for computing the loudness of a non-fluctuating complex tone from the measured values of the intensity levels and frequencies of the components. Also at that time Munson presented a paper on the loudness of pure tones. The present paper combines the material of these two previous papers with the results of subsequent experimental work, describes some further modifications in the formulae of this method of computing loudness and illustrates the application of the formulae to some examples. In view of the complex nature of this problem, this computation method is not considered to be fully developed and further work is required to define its scope. In addition, it is necessary to determine experimentally to what extent the proposed computation method may be applicable to the types of fluctuating complex tones encountered in speech, music and noise.