THE PERCEPTION OF PITCH IN A WHITE NOISE MASK
Abstract
The mel scale, relating subjective pitch in mels to physical frequency in cycles per second, is now commonly found in texts and handbooks in engineering psychology. It is usually derived from the psychophysical method known as bisection, in which the listener adjusts a variable frequency to sound half as high in pitch as a standard tone. The average subject will not, for example, adjust the variable to 500 for a standard of 1000 cycles per second. In this study mel scales were derived from fractionation data when the standard and variable tones were presented in each of three background noise conditions. The scale for tones in quiet differed in no essential manner from the generally accepted mel scale advanced by Stevens in 1940; however, upon the introduction of a wide-band masking noise, the shape of the mel function became more positively accelerated. In general, when holding the intensity of the masker constant, this acceleration is inversely related to the sensation of the masker constant, this acceleration is inversely related to the sensation level of the experimental tones above masked threshold, and is not frequency dependent. Although the relationship is not dependent upon frequency per se, the magnitude of pitch shift increases with frequency.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 10, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0684775
Entities
People
- Alan M. Richards
Organizations
- Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory