ABSTRACT:
This talk reviews models of pitch perception. The focus is mainly on pitch, but also on on the notion of a "model". Pitch has multiple facets that are of unequal importance to different listeners and in different tasks. Investigators also may differ in what constitutes an "explanation". Both factors account for the diversity of existing models of pitch. Models may be divided between those based on cochlear spectral analysis (possibly refined using temporal structure) and those based on auditory nerve temporal structure (possibly enhanced by the initial filtering into channels). This classification corresponds to the classic "place vs time" debate. Another division is between models that measure the period directly, and those that derive it from partials according to some form of pattern-matching. Within this grid, models differ in ingenious ways, with various degrees of physiological plausibility or predictive power. I'll finish by introducing a new notion, that of "synthetic delay line", that draws on both place and time and adds a new twist to this old debate.
Alain de Cheveigné: Pitch Perception Models: a Historical Perspective and Some New Ideas
Alain de Cheveigné is a senior research scientist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France.
November 03, 2004
15:00 - 17:00