Cite as:
Adelson R M, Turner A C, 1996, "Spectrum analysis, aliasing, and the perception of musical tones" Perception 25(5) 609 – 617
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Spectrum analysis, aliasing, and the perception of musical tones
Ronald M Adelson, Adrian C Turner
Received 10 July 1995, in revised form 6 March 1996
Abstract. A signal-processing model is proposed in which the phenomenon of 'aliasing' is invoked to explain certain phenomena in the perception of musical tones, for which a really satisfactory explanation has not hitherto been available. It is shown that this model offers a reason why the harmonic series appears to play such a central role in tone and pitch perception, and can throw light on 'virtual pitch', 'harmonic beats', etc. Some preliminary results from a computer simulation of the model are described which are consistent with empirical data on tone perception.