Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency

Abstract Musical signals are complex periodic waveforms characterized by the sum of different frequencies. In a harmonic complex tone, the lowest frequency is called fundamental frequency (f0), while the other frequencies are called harmonics, and their frequencies are integer multiples of the funda...

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Main Authors: Roberto Albera, Anastasia Urbanelli, Sergio Lucisano, Alessandra Aprigliano, Luca Morando, Antonio Amoroso, Maxim Alexeev, Andrea Albera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89454-7
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author Roberto Albera
Anastasia Urbanelli
Sergio Lucisano
Alessandra Aprigliano
Luca Morando
Antonio Amoroso
Maxim Alexeev
Andrea Albera
author_facet Roberto Albera
Anastasia Urbanelli
Sergio Lucisano
Alessandra Aprigliano
Luca Morando
Antonio Amoroso
Maxim Alexeev
Andrea Albera
author_sort Roberto Albera
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Musical signals are complex periodic waveforms characterized by the sum of different frequencies. In a harmonic complex tone, the lowest frequency is called fundamental frequency (f0), while the other frequencies are called harmonics, and their frequencies are integer multiples of the fundamental. The perceived pitch of a sound is correlated with the fundamental frequency, even though it may be impossible to hear f0 in many situations. In these cases, it is possible to identify the pitch based on the upper consecutive harmonics. This study aimed to evaluate the identification of the notes based on the presence of consecutive harmonics only and to determine the importance of their distance from the fundamental frequency. The study was carried out on 30 normally hearing amateur musicians without perfect pitch. The acoustic signal was characterized by the association of four consecutive and two consecutive harmonics of the middle region notes of the piano keyboard. The correct identification rate ranged between 8 and 100%, with better identification occurring when more harmonics and lower frequencies were present. The results confirm that it is possible to identify a note solely based on the presence of harmonics near the fundamental frequency, especially if it is under 2000 Hz.
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spelling doaj-art-b8fb646651ab43f9bdc26c7d5e2c81d32025-08-20T02:20:03ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-011511710.1038/s41598-025-89454-7Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequencyRoberto Albera0Anastasia Urbanelli1Sergio Lucisano2Alessandra Aprigliano3Luca Morando4Antonio Amoroso5Maxim Alexeev6Andrea Albera7Otorhinolaryngology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of TurinOtorhinolaryngology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of TurinOtorhinolaryngology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of TurinOtorhinolaryngology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of TurinDepartment of Physics, University of TurinDepartment of Physics, University of TurinDepartment of Physics, University of TurinOtorhinolaryngology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of TurinAbstract Musical signals are complex periodic waveforms characterized by the sum of different frequencies. In a harmonic complex tone, the lowest frequency is called fundamental frequency (f0), while the other frequencies are called harmonics, and their frequencies are integer multiples of the fundamental. The perceived pitch of a sound is correlated with the fundamental frequency, even though it may be impossible to hear f0 in many situations. In these cases, it is possible to identify the pitch based on the upper consecutive harmonics. This study aimed to evaluate the identification of the notes based on the presence of consecutive harmonics only and to determine the importance of their distance from the fundamental frequency. The study was carried out on 30 normally hearing amateur musicians without perfect pitch. The acoustic signal was characterized by the association of four consecutive and two consecutive harmonics of the middle region notes of the piano keyboard. The correct identification rate ranged between 8 and 100%, with better identification occurring when more harmonics and lower frequencies were present. The results confirm that it is possible to identify a note solely based on the presence of harmonics near the fundamental frequency, especially if it is under 2000 Hz.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89454-7HarmonicsFundamental notePitchMusical note identification
spellingShingle Roberto Albera
Anastasia Urbanelli
Sergio Lucisano
Alessandra Aprigliano
Luca Morando
Antonio Amoroso
Maxim Alexeev
Andrea Albera
Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency
Scientific Reports
Harmonics
Fundamental note
Pitch
Musical note identification
title Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency
title_full Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency
title_fullStr Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency
title_full_unstemmed Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency
title_short Musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency
title_sort musical note recognition based on the upper adjacent harmonics without the presence of the fundamental frequency
topic Harmonics
Fundamental note
Pitch
Musical note identification
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89454-7
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