The Pitch of Speech as a Function of Linguistic Community

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Dolson
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Internal Representation ◽  
Linguistic Community ◽  
Pitch Height ◽  
Pitch Range ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Musical Patterns ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Speaking Voice ◽  
Tritone Paradox

A recent series of experiments by Deutsch and co-workers has investigated the perception of musical patterns in which the tones are well defined in terms of pitch class, but poorly defined in terms of pitch height. One of these patterns is known as the "tritone paradox." It has been found that listeners' differing perceptions are significantly correlated both with the linguistic community in which the listener grew up and with the pitch range of the listener's spontaneous speaking voice. To explain these findings, Deutsch has hypothesized that listeners acquire an internal representation of pitch classes based on the prevailing pitch range of speech in their linguistic community and that this representation influences both their perception of the tritone paradox and their speech production. The present paper examines this hypothesis in the light of available data about the pitch of speech as a function of linguistic community. It is concluded that these data are surprisingly consistent with Deutsch's hypothesis.

Some new pitch paradoxes and their implications

1992 ◽  
Vol 336 (1278) ◽  
pp. 391-397 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Spectral Envelope ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Speech Characteristics ◽  
Class C ◽  
Tritone Paradox ◽  
Sound Patterns ◽  
The Way

This paper explores two new paradoxical sound patterns. The tones used to produce these patterns consist of six octave-related harmonics, whose amplitudes are scaled by a bell-shaped spectral envelope; these tones are clearly defined in terms of pitch class (C, C#, D, and so on) but are poorly defined in term s of height. One pattern consists of two tones that are separated by a half-octave. It is heard as ascending when played in one key, yet as descending when played in a different key. Further, when the pattern is played in any one key it is heard as ascending by some listeners but as descending by others (the tritone paradox). Another pattern that consists of simultaneous pairs of tones displays related properties (the semitone paradox). It is shown that the way the tritone paradox is perceived correlates with the speech characteristics of the listener, including his or her linguistic dialect. The findings suggest that the same, culturally acquired representation of pitch classes influences both speech production and also perception of this musical pattern.

The Tritone Paradox: Some Further Geographical Correlates

1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Community ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
The South ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Tritone Paradox ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
English Group

In a study by Deutsch (1991), a large and highly significant difference in perception of the tritone paradox was found between a group of subjects who had grown up in California and a group who had grown up in the south of England: In general, where the Californian group tended to hear the pattern as ascending the English group tended to hear it as descending, and vice versa. The present paper documents some further geographical correlates that are derived from the data obtained by Deutsch (1991). The strength of the relationship of pitch class to perceived height was found to depend on the overall heights of the spectral envelopes under which the tones were generated. However, the direction of this dependence differed significantly depending on the subject population. For subjects showing a "Californian pattern" (i. e., whose overall peak pitch classes were in the range moving clockwise from A#–B to D#–E), this relationship was more pronounced for tones generated under lower spectral envelopes, and so when the tones were perceived as lower in overall height. In contrast, for subjects showing an "English pattern" (i. e., whose overall peak pitch classes were in the opposite region of the pitch-class circle), this relationship was more pronounced for tones generated under higher spectral envelopes, and so when the tones were perceived as higher overall instead. Given the literature on the pitch of speech as a function of linguistic community, these findings provide further evidence that perception of the tritone paradox is related to the processing of speech sounds.

The Tritone Paradox: An Influence of Language on Music Perception

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
The Other ◽  
Spectral Envelope ◽  
Pitch Range ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Systematic Relationships ◽  
Tritone Paradox ◽  
The Individual ◽  
English Group

The tritone paradox is produced when two tones that are related by a half- octave (or tritone) are presented in succession. Each tone is composed of a set of octave- related harmonics, whose amplitudes are determined by a bell-shaped spectral envelope; thus the tones are clearly defined in terms of pitch class, but poorly defined in terms of height. When listeners judge whether such tone pairs form ascending or descending patterns, their judgments generally show systematic relationships to the positions of the tones along the pitch-class circle: Tones in one region of the circle are heard as higher and those in the opposite region are heard as lower. However, listeners disagree substantially as to whether a given tone pair forms an ascending or a descending pattern, and therefore as to which tones are heard as higher and which as lower. This paper demonstrates that the basis for the individual differences in perception of this musical pattern lies in the language spoken by the listener. Two groups of subjects made judgments of the tritone paradox. One group had grown up in California, and the other group had grown up in southern England. It was found that when the Californian group tended to hear the pattern as ascending the English group tended to hear it as descending, and when the Californian group tended to hear the pattern as descending the English group tended to hear it as ascending. This finding, coupled with the earlier results of Deutsch, North, and Ray (1990) that showed a correlate between perception of the tritone paradox and the pitch range of the listener's spontaneous speaking voice, indicates strongly that the same, culturally acquired representation of pitch classes influences both speech production and perception of this musical pattern.

The Tritone Paradox

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-81
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
Native Language ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Pitch Height ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Musical Note ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking ◽  
Tritone Paradox

Chapter 5 explores the tritone paradox—a musical illusion that was discovered by the author. Its basic pattern consists of two computer-generated tones that are related by a half-octave (i.e., a tritone). These tones are well defined in pitch class (note name) but ambiguous in pitch height. When one of these tone pairs is played in succession, some people hear an ascending pattern, yet other people hear a descending one. Indeed, a group of people will disagree completely among themselves as to whether such a pair of tones is moving up or down in pitch. Furthermore, any one person hears one of these tone pairs as ascending or descending depending on their note names (such as C–F♯, or G♯–D). How people hear the tritone paradox varies with the geographic location in which they grew up—and so with their native language or dialect. Native English-speaking Californians hear this pattern differently from natives of the south of England. People who are natives of Vietnam hear the pattern quite differently from native English-speaking Californians. The tritone paradox shows, therefore, that the way we perceive music is related to our language, and generally reveals strong effects of our memories and expectations on how we hear music. It also has important implications for absolute pitch (or “perfect pitch”)—the rare ability to name a musical note that is presented in isolation. People make orderly judgments of the tritone paradox, even though they cannot name the notes that they are judging, so they must have an implicit form of absolute pitch.

Correspondence in Perception of the Tritone Paradox and Perfect-Fifth/Perfect-Fourth Intervals

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-406
Author(s):  
Frank Ragozzine
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Pitch Height ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Complex Tones ◽  
Tritone Paradox ◽  
Related Complex

Shepard (1964) found that the pitch height of a pair of octave-related complex tones is perceived in accordance with the principle of proximity around a pitch class circle. However, when these tones form a tritone interval, proximity cannot be used. In the tritone paradox, Deutsch (1986) found that listeners perceive these tones such that half of the pitch class circle is heard as higher in pitch, and the opposite half as lower, with individual differences in which half is heard as higher. In the present experiments, listeners judged the height of octave-related complexes forming tritones and forming intervals of perfect fifths (P5) and perfect fourths (P4). There was a strong relationship between the pitch classes heard higher in the tritone paradox and those heard higher when presented with P5/P4 intervals. Rather than using proximity to judge pitch height with P5/P4 intervals, listeners instead use the same mechanism involved in perception of the tritone paradox.

The Tritone Paradox and the Pitch Range of the Speaking Voice: Reply to Repp

1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Envelope ◽  
Pitch Range ◽  
Speaking Voice ◽  
Tritone Paradox

It is shown on a number of grounds that the findings described by Repp (1994) are uninterpretable in relation to those of Deutsch (1991) and Deutsch, North, and Ray (1990). First, the geographical correlates with perception of the tritone paradox obtained by Repp were based on data from subject populations that differed substantially from those studied by Deutsch (1991), and Repp's subject populations were also treated differently from each other. Second, Repp obtained substantial differences in perception of the tritone paradox depending on the spectral envelope under which the tones were generated; however, he attempted to correlate the data obtained from only one of these envelopes with pitch ranges for speech. Third, the procedures used by Repp to determine the pitch ranges for speech were problematic and inappropriate in the context of Deutsch's hypothesis.

Strange Loops and Circular Tones

2019 ◽  
pp. 61-70
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
Computer Music ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Sound Design ◽  
Pitch Height ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Musical Compositions ◽  
Strange Loops ◽  
Emotional Effects

Chapter 4 explores a class of musical illusions and paradoxes that involve the circular dimension of pitch. Pitch can be described in terms of two dimensions. The first is called pitch height, which can be experienced by sweeping one’s hand from left to right up a piano keyboard. The second is a circular dimension known as pitch class, which defines the position of a tone within the octave. Circularity effects in music are analogous to many of the visual works of M. C. Escher, and have been employed in music for hundreds of years. However, with the advent of computer music, striking pitch circularities became possible. The circular scales invented by Roger Shepard (based on Shepard tones) and circular glides invented by Jean-Claude Risset are explored. These remarkable illusions of ever-increasing (or ever-decreasing) pitch are presented as sound examples. They have powerful emotional effects, and their influence in musical compositions, such as the soundtracks and sound design of The Dark Knight and Dunkirk, is described. A new way of producing pitch circularity, which was invented by the author, is also discussed. This new algorithm can be used with natural instrument sounds, and so opens the door to new compositional opportunities.

The Tritone Paradox: Correlate with the Listener's Vocal Range for Speech

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch ◽  
Tom North ◽  
Lee Ray
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Spectral Envelope ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Fundamental Frequencies ◽  
Speech Characteristics ◽  
Orderly Fashion ◽  
Tritone Paradox ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual

In the tritone paradox, two tones are presented that are related by a halfoctave. Each tone consists of a set of octave-related sinusoids whose amplitudes are scaled by a bell-shaped spectral envelope; thus the usual cues to height attribution are missing. When listeners judge whether such tone pairs form ascending or descending patterns, judgments are related in an orderly fashion to the positions of the tones along the pitch class circle: Tones in one region of the circle are heard as higher and those in the opposite region as lower. However, listeners differ strikingly in the orientation of the pitch-class circle with respect to height. So far, the basis of the tritone paradox and the reasons for the individual differences in its manifestation have proved elusive. In the present study, a correlation is found between perception of the tritone paradox and the range of fundamental frequencies of the listener's speaking voice. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a close connection between the perception of a musical pattern on the one hand and the listener's speech characteristics on the other.

scholarly journals Octave Bias in Pitch Perception: The Influence of Pitch Height on Pitch Class Identification

Perception ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1060-1069
Author(s):  
Valter Prpic ◽  
Mauro Murgia ◽  
Matteo De Tommaso ◽  
Giulia Boschetti ◽  
Alessandra Galmonte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Pitch Height ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Class Identification

Spectral Envelope and Context Effects in the Tritone Paradox

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 645-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno H Repp
Keyword(s):  
Context Effects ◽  
Spectral Envelope ◽  
Center Frequency ◽  
Pitch Class ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Complex Tones ◽  
Preceding Context ◽  
Tritone Paradox ◽  
Context Free

In previous studies of the ‘tritone paradox’ Deutsch has suggested that, when listeners are presented with pairs of octave-complex tones that are equal in average log frequency but differ in chroma by 6 semitones (a tritone), they perceive the direction of the chroma difference according to an individual pitch-class template. However, it has also been found that the perceived direction changes for many listeners when the spectral envelope of the tones is shifted along the frequency axis. Reanalysis of these data indicates a strong tendency to perceive the pitch class corresponding to the frequency on which the spectral envelope is centered as subjectively lowest. In experiment 1 this spectral-envelope effect was replicated with tone pairs presented in isolation, at the rate of one a day, which rules out artifacts of test format. In experiment 2, involving another context-free format, envelope center frequency was varied over a wide range and it was shown that some individuals are totally envelope dependent, whereas others rely more on pitch class, and yet others show mixed patterns. Experiment 3 demonstrated that listeners' judgments of tritone pairs can be swayed easily by preceding context. Finally, experiment 4 showed that strong envelope effects are also obtained with Deutsch's own tritone test (issued on CD). The subjective relative pitch height of octave-complex tones thus depends on several competing factors, only one of which is pitch class.

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