Pitch of the Residue

Abstract

The residue is defined as the joint perception of a number of Fourier components. Depending on circumstances outside the scope of this paper, it has a pronounced pitch. The consequences of this phenomenon for the theory of hearing are briefly reviewed in the light of past experiments. Special attention is then called to what are termed the first and second effects of pitch shift. The first effect is found when equidistantly shifting the entire Fourier spectrum. The second effect shows itself primarily in a slight drop in pitch when increasing the frequency spacing of the Fourier components. Presented are rather extensive measurements of these effects for a spectrum consisting of three components. Their inherent connection is shown along with their mathematical relationship. As an important experimental finding, the ambiguity of pitch is presented, measured in two more-or-less independent ways. All these phenomena strongly point towards a pitch-extracting mechanism different from and subsequent to the basilar membrane and operating in the time domain.