From frequency to pitch, and from pitch class to musical key: shared principles of learning and perception

  • Authors:

  • Jamshed J. Bharucha

  • Affiliations:

  • Office of the Provost, Ballou Hall, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

  • Venue:
  • Connection Science - Music, Brain, Cognition
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

This article addresses the modelling of harmony and pitch, highlighting the parallels across these two domains. The harmony model involves mapping from tone classes to chords and keys using self-organisation, and accounts for a range of psychological data. The pitch model involves mapping from frequency spectra to pitch (spectral and virtual) using self-organisation and also accounts for key results on pitch perception. The result is a scheme that is built hierarchically from frequency to keys, going through intermediate levels of pitch, pitch class, and chords. Both models account for fusion and for the implication of missing features when sufficient context is present. An architecture is suggested for mapping absolute pitch into a pitch-invariant format, using keys as mapping units. A similar architecture is suggested for mapping frequency spectra into a format in which the relative structure of spectra are preserved across changes in pitch. Key units and pitch units are thus thought to play roles as mapping units.