AES Paris 2016
Paper Session P20
P20 - Perception: Part 3
Tuesday, June 7, 08:45 — 10:45 (Room 353)
Chair:
John Mourjopoulos, University of Patras - Patras, Greece
P20-1 Conflicting Dynamic and Spectral Directional Cues Form Separate Auditory Images—Henri Pöntynen, Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering - Espoo, Finland; Olli Santala, Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering - Aalto, Finland; Ville Pulkki, Aalto University - Espoo, Finland
Auditory localization under conflicting dynamic and spectral cues was investigated in a listening experiment where head-motion-coupled amplitude panning was used to create front-back confusions with moving free-field stimuli. Subjects reported whether stimuli of various spectra formed auditory images in the front, rear or both hemiplanes simultaneously. The results show that panned low-pass stimuli were consistently localized to the rear hemiplane while high-pass stimuli did not produce hemiplane reversals. The main result of the experiment is that broadband stimuli providing low-frequency ITD sequences that are inconsistent with the source directions implied by the spectral cues can lead to the formation of two segregated auditory images. This effect was observed with both continuous and discontinuous stimulus spectra.
Convention Paper 9582 (Purchase now)
P20-2 Discrimination of Formant Frequency in Pink Noise—Tomira Rogala, Fryderyk Chopin University of Music - Warsaw, Poland
The paper reports an experiment conducted to determine discrimination thresholds for timbre in tonmeister students and non-musicians. The variations of timbre were obtained through introducing a 1/3-octave wide formant into the spectrum of noise and shifting the formant’s center frequency. Discrimination thresholds were measured using a 3AFC procedure. The results have shown that the threshold values determined for tonmeister students were considerably lower than those obtained for non-musicians. In both groups of listeners a learning effect was observed: the thresholds decreased in successive measurement series completed by a listener. It also was found that the formant frequency discrimination thresholds depended on the formant frequency and were much higher at 125 Hz than at 315 Hz and higher frequencies.
Convention Paper 9583 (Purchase now)
P20-3 The Influence of Room Acoustics on Musical Performance and Interpretation—A Pilot Study—Jan Berg, Luleå University of Technology - Piteå, Sweden; Sverker Jullander, Luleå University of Technology - Piteå, Sweden; Petter Sundkvist, Luleå University of Technology - Piteå, Sweden; Helge Kjekshus, Luleå University of Technology - Piteå, Sweden
Concert hall acoustics is an important factor that influences musical performance. Different acoustics lead to different musical results. For a musical performer, the artistic impression of a performance is paramount. Therefore, it is essential to study the relation between concert hall acoustics and musical performance. Such studies might also be relevant for architects and acousticians. A pilot study was devised, enabled by a unique concert hall with mechanically variable acoustics. A musician played the grand piano at four trials, each having a distinctive acoustic condition. The trials were recorded for later analysis. The performances were assessed by experts and the pianist himself. The results show that clear as well as subtle differences in interpretation and performance between the trials existed.
Convention Paper 9584 (Purchase now)
P20-4 Timbre Preferences of Four Listener Groups and the Influence of their Cultural Backgrounds—Sungyoung Kim, Rochester Institute of Technology - Rochester, NY, USA; Ron Bakker, Yamaha Music Europe - Vianen, Netherlands; Masahiro Ikeda, Yamaha Corporation - Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
The cultural influence on listeners’ timbre preference was investigated using the magnitude estimation method. Four listener groups (Dutch, Japanese, Korean, and American) participated in a listening test in their own countries. The listeners manipulated the timbre of five stimuli (Dutch, Japanese, Korean and English popular song, and orchestral music) by adjusting gains of three frequency bands according to their preferences. The statistical analysis (a mixed design ANOVA) showed that only interaction factor of the listener groups and the stimuli significantly differentiated the preferred spectral responses of four listener groups. This implies that a listener group from one country had unique timbre preference that appeared by listening to a song in its own language.
[Also a poster—see session P22-3]
Convention Paper 9585 (Purchase now)
