Virtual pitch

rdf:langString Virtual pitch

rdf:langString Virtual pitch is the pitch of a (a physical vibration that can be decomposed into partials or pure tone components). Virtual pitch corresponds approximately to the fundamental of a harmonic series that is recognized among the audible partials. A virtual pitch may be perceived even if the perceived pattern is incomplete (in particular, if the fundamental is missing) or mistuned. In that respect, virtual pitch perception is similar to other forms of pattern recognition. It corresponds to the phenomenon whereby one's brain extracts tones from everyday signals (including speech) and music, even if parts of the signal are masked by other sounds. Virtual pitch is contrasted to spectral pitch, which is the pitch of a pure tone or spectral component. Virtual pitch is called "virtual" because there is no acoustical correlate at the frequency corresponding to the pitch: even when a virtual pitch corresponds to a physically present fundamental (or first harmonic), as it often does in everyday harmonic complex tones, the exact virtual pitch depends on the exact frequencies of higher harmonics and is almost independent of the exact frequency of the fundamental. The term was coined by Professor Ernst Terhardt from Technical University of Munich in 1970.