Auditory model-based methods for multiple fundamental frequency estimation

Abstract

This chapter describes fundamental frequency (FO) estimation methods that make use of computational models of human auditory perception and especially pitch perception. At the present time, the most reliable music transcription system available is the ears and the brain of a trained musician. Compared with any artificial audio processing tool, the analytical ability of human hearing is very good for complex mixture signals: in natural acoustic environments, we are able to perceive the characteristics of several simultaneously occurring sounds, including their pitches [49]. It is therefore quite natural to pursue automatic music transcription and multiple FO estimation by investigating what happens in the human listener. Here the term multiple FO estimation means estimating the FOs of several concurrent sounds. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media LLC.