Music Perception and Cognition

LAB03: Loudness and Masking demonstrations

Your name:
In the following exercises you will be given some contextual information related to the contents that have been presented in recent classes, and then asked to perform a listening task and answering some questions on what you have been listening to. Questions will be marked with bold font types. Please, use this document to report your answers and send it to me once you have finished. If you have questions or something requires further clarifications, please send me a message. Maybe for some exercises you will have to listen more than one time the example to completely grasp what is going on. Take your time. Many examples come from the ASA CD Auditory Demonstrations. For more information about the CD: http://asa.aip.org/discs.html

Loudness
Decibels
In this exercise you will clarify your perception about the decibel scale. Can you summarize what is a decibel, what is it for, and where you would use it? Do you know of any approximate equivalence between decibels and the musical notation for dynamics? Relative jumps in names (pp->p, ff->fff) could roughly equal a 10dB (twice/half loudness) jump In the first part of this demonstration, we hear broadband noise reduced in steps of 6, 3, and 1 dB in order to obtain a feeling for the decibel scale. In the latter part, a voice is heard at distances of 25, 50, 100, and 200 cm from an omni-directional microphone in an anechoic chamber. Under these conditions, the sound pressure level decreases about 6 dB each time the distance is doubled. [In a normal room this will not be the case, because of reflections from walls, ceiling, floor, and objects in the room.] Now you can listen to this example

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When loudness decreases in jumps of 6 dBSPL, which is the subjective sensation of decrease that you get? Would you say that it is half loud? That the loudness decreases a bit more or less than a half? Now you are going to listen to an example of the loudness changes when the sound source is moved away. First it will be at 0.25 metres, then at 0.50 metres, then at 1 metre, and finally at 2 metres. Try to subjectively quantify how much loudness decreases as we double the distance from the sound source.

In acoustics, the sound pressure of a spherical wavefront radiating from a point source decreases by 50% as the distance r is doubled, or measured in dB it decreases by 6.02 dB. So, at 0.5 m it sounds at -6dB (perceptually not at all half the original loudness), at 1m it sounds 12dB (loudness halved), and at 2m it sounds -18, nearly 4 times softer than the original one.
Do you think that the subjective decrease is identical to the physical intensity decrease (dBSPL)? http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/psicoacustica/tema2/sons-02/Exemple1b.wav

In this last example you will be presented 3 different tones: http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/loudness/ComplexLoudness.wav Explain the loudness (and maybe timbre) sensations generated by each one of them.

1: 1kHz sinusoid 2: Partials at 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000 3: Partials at 500, 1100, 1773, 2173, 2717, 3141 roughness, ambiguous pitch-

Loudness scaling
Establishing a scale of subjective loudness requires careful psychoacoustical experimentation involving large numbers of subjects. A scale of sones has been used widely to describe subjective loudness. On this 0.6 scale, the loudness in sones S is proportional to sound pressure p raised to the 0.6 power: S = Cp , where C depends on the frequency. In other words, the loudness doubles for about a 10 dB increase in sound pressure level. Some investigators have found that the exponent varies with tone frequency, increasing at low frequency and low level to approach a value of 1.0. [An exponent of 1.0 would mean that loudness doubled for a 6 dB increase in sound pressure level.] In this demonstration, a reference sound of broadband noise alternates with similar sounds having levels of 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20 dB with respect to the reference tone. The tones are 1 second long, separated by 250 ms of quiet, and the trials are separated by 2.25 s of quiet. To help establish a scale, the reference tone is first presented along with the strongest and weakest sound that will be heard. Think of the reference tone as having a loudness of "100". Then a test tone you hear as twice as loud as the reference tone would be designated as "200", and a test tone half as loud as the reference would be "50", etc. For each of the 20 pairs, write down a number reflecting the loudness of the second (test) tone relative to the reference. As we mentioned, to help establish a scale, the reference tone is first presented along with the strongest and weakest sound that will be heard:

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http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/psicoacustica/tema2/sons-02/NIVELLS.SND Then you can start listening to the pairs and assigning them a value according to the proposed numerical convention. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/psicoacustica/tema2/sons-02/EXEMPLE2.WAV

Paste here your numeric assignments. Below (dont look there now) youll find the sequence of levels that were used so you could check if you gave reasonable answers. Please, explain what could happen if the reference tone would be centered around 100Hz instead of 1kHz. And if it was around 8 kHz instead of 1000 Hz? Any volunteer?

Now listen to this sound example and decide which loudness difference and dB difference could be between the two pairs of tones to be presented. 1: +6dB (it should sound a bit louder) 2: +10dB (this should sound twice louder)

Music Perception and Cognition

Music Perception and Cognition

The levels of the tones were, in order: +15, -5, -20, 0, -10, +20, +5, +10, -15, 0, -10, +15, +20, -5, +10, -15, -5, -20, +5, +15.

Equal loudness curves (Frequency response of the ear)

Although sounds with greater sound pressure level usually sound louder, this is not always the case. The sensitivity of the ear varies with the frequency and the quality of the sound. In their famous experiments of 1933, Fletcher and Munson determined curves of equal loudness for pure tones, demonstrating the relative insensitivity of the ear to sounds of low frequency at moderate to low intensity levels. Hearing sensitivity reaches a maximum around 4000 Hz, which is near the first resonance frequency of the outer ear canal, and again peaks around 12 kHz, the frequency of the second resonance. In this demonstration, we compare the thresholds of audibility (in a room) for tones having frequencies of 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz. The tones are 100 ms in length and decrease in 10 steps of -5 dB each. Esch sequence will be repeated twice. Count the number of steps you hear at each frequency. But before starting, please calibrate the volume of your headphones with the following test-tone in order that it is just audible (nearly inaudible). http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/psicoacustica/tema2/sons-02/CALIBRA.SND Once you have done the calibration, proceed with the demonstration: http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/psicoacustica/tema2/sons-02/EXEMPLE3.SND

Now dump here your results: 125: 250: 500: 1000: 2000: 4000: 8000: Are them similar to Fletcher & Munsons results? If that was not the case, try an explanation for that.

With the help of an equal loudness curve please answer these questions: o Which is the phon level of a pure tone of 200 Hz. at 30 dB? 22phon o Which is the dB level of a pure tone of 4000 Hz that is isophonic with another of 8000 Hz at 40 dB? Phon level for 8kHz@40dB is 30phon, 4000Hz@30 phon is about 22dB o Which should be the dB values to be set on an equalizer in order that the frequencies (in Hz) 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 would have the same loudness level, if we would be listening at 40 dBSPL? (and using a reference for those values 0 dB at 1000Hz i.e., at 1000Hz the EQ would be set flat, not amplifying, not attenuating-)? +10, 0, -3, 0, 0, -7, +8 o With the help of the isophones, calculate the level (in dBSPL) resulting after simultaneously playing 3 pure tones of 100, 1000 i 10000 Hz, in case each one would generate a loudness

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sensation of 60 phone (we have to suppose that the resulting sound has an energy equivalent to the sum of energies of the individual tones).

dB values cannot directly summed!!! First convert to linear scale (pressure), then sum the pressures and convert back to dB 67dB = 0.044774423 Pa 60dB = 0.02 Pa 65dB = 0.035565588 Pa 0.1003 Pa = 74.005 dBSPL http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-soundlevel.htm

Now listen to this, and then to this. Explain the differences. Could you tell the differences in intensity between those of the second sound example (you can use the equal loudness curves)? 1:Equal intensity 2: Equal loudness

Temporal Integration
How does the loudness of an impulsive sound compare with the loudness of a steady sound at the same sound level? Numerous experiments have pretty well established that the "ear" averages sound energy over about 0.2 s (200 ms), so loudness grows with duration up to this value, loudness level increasing by 10 dB when the duration is increased by a factor of 10. The loudness level of broadband noise seems to depend somewhat more strongly on stimulus duration than the loudness level of pure tones. In this demonstration, bursts of broadband noise having durations of 1000, 300, 100, 30, 10, 3, and 1 ms are presented at 8 decreasing levels (0 or reference level for listening-, -16, -20, -24, -28, -32, -36, and -40 dB) in the presence of a broadband masking noise. Count the number of steps you are able to hear in each case. http://www.iua.upf.es/%7Eperfe/psicoacustica/tema2/sons-02/EXEMPLE9.SND

Paste here a table or plot your results and comment/explain them. What happens with durations shorter than 200ms? Why?

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Masking and Critical Bands

Asymmetry of Masking by Pulsed Tones
A masking tone tends to mask more effectively tones of higher frequencies than tones of lower frequencies. Can you explain the previous statement using your knowledge about the way the cochlea works?

Alternatively you could use typical masking pattern curve A pure tone masks tones of higher frequency more effectively than tones of lower frequency. This demonstration uses tones of 1200 and 2000 Hz, presented as 200 ms tone bursts separated by 100 ms. The unchanging masker is part of every pulse, while the test tone, added to every other pulse, decreases in 10 steps of 5 dBSPL each, except the first step which is 15 dB. First the masker is 1200 Hz and the test tone is 2000 Hz, then the masker is 2000 Hz and the test tone 1200 Hz. Count how many steps of the test tone can be heard in each case. Before listening to the example, please explain the predictions that you could put in advance (will you hear more tones in the first phase or in the second phase? Why?) Now listen to this file and write down the amount of pairs that you can hear in each phase.

Were the predictions accomplished? If not, provide some explanation. Which differences could be observed if the pairs were 100 and 180 Hz, or 6000 and 7000 Hz.? You could quickly generate the tones and test your predictions.

Anybody did the test? 180 is nearly outside the CB of 100, 7000 is inside the CB of 6000 both differences are closer that 1200 and 2000 in terms of CBs, so higher masking should be expected

Determination of Critical Bands by Masking

This is a demonstration of the experiments on masking made by Fletcher (1940). In this demonstration, a single 2000 Hz tone is masked by spectrally flat (white) noise of different bandwidths--first broadband noise and then bandwidths of 1000, 250, and 10 Hz. In order to determine the level of the tone that can just be heard in the presence of the noise, in each case, we present the 2000 Hz tone in 10 decreasing steps of 5

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dB each. Since the critical bandwidth at 2000 Hz is about 280 Hz, you would expect to hear more steps in the 2000 Hz staircase when the noise bandwidth is reduced below this value. [Note that since the spectrum level of the noise is kept constant, its intensity--and its subjective loudness--will decrease markedly as the bandwidth is decreased.] Count how many steps you can hear in each case. First the 2 kHz tone with decreasing intensity (10 steps, 5dB each). http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/cb1.wav Count how many steps can be heard:

Now the tone will be masked by broadband noise http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/cb2.wav Count how many steps can be heard:

Now we are going to mask the tone with a 1000 Hz bandwidth noise. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/cb3.wav Count how many steps can be heard:

Now we are going to mask the tone with a 250Hz bandwidth noise. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/cb4.wav Count how many steps can be heard:

Finally the noise bandwidth is reduced to 10 Hz. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/cb5.wav Count how many steps can be heard: Provide an explanation for what you have experienced during this demonstration.

Critical Bands by loudness comparison

This demonstration provides another method for estimating critical bandwidth. The bandwidth of a noise burst is increased while its amplitude is decreased to keep the power constant. When the bandwidth is greater than a critical band, the subjective loudness increases above that of a reference noise burst, because please finish the sentence properly. A reference noise band, centered at 1000 Hz and with a 15% bandwidth (930-1075 Hz) is followed by a test band with the same center frequency and bandwidth. In subsequent pairs, the bandwidth of the test band is increased in 7 steps of 15% each, while the amplitude is decreased to keep the power constant. When the bandwidth exceeds the critical bandwidth at 1000 Hz, the loudness begins to please finish the sentence properly. Compare the loudness of the reference and test bands in each pair.

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Now you can listen to the example and comment. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/loudnesscomparison.wav

Backward and Forward Masking

Masking can occur even when the tone and the masker are not simultaneous. Forward masking refers to the masking of a tone by a sound that ends a short time (up to about 20 or 30 ms) before the tone begins. This effect suggests that recently stimulated sensors are not as sensitive as fully-rested ones. Backward masking refers to the masking of a tone by a sound that begins after the tone has ended (up to 10 ms later, but the amount of masking decreases as the time interval increases). This effect apparently occurs at higher centers of processing in the nervous system where the neural correlates of the later-occurring stimulus of greater intensity overtake and interfere with those of the weaker, earlier stimulus. In this demonstration, the signal (10 ms bursts of a 2000 Hz sinusoid) first is presented in 10 decreasing steps of -4 dB without a masker. Next, the 2000 Hz signal is followed after a time gap t by a 250 ms burst of noise (1900-2100 Hz), alternating with the noise burst alone. The time gap t is successively 100 ms, 20 ms, and 0. Finally, the masker is presented before the tone, again with t = 100 ms, 20 ms, and 0. Count the number of steps for which you can hear the brief signal preceding or following the noise. First the signal without masker, decreasing in -4dB steps: http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/signal.wav Then the signal followed by the noise burst. You have to count the number of steps you can hear. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/backward.wav Finally, the noise burst will precede the signal. You have to count the number of steps you can hear. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/forward.wav

Usually more steps can be perceived in the backward condition than in the forward condition

Influence of Masking Noise on Pitch

The pitch of a tone is influenced by the presence of masking noise or another tone near to it in frequency. If the interfering tone has a lower frequency, an upward shift in the test tone is always observed. If the interfering tone has a higher frequency, a downward shift is observed, at least at low frequency (< 300 Hz). Similarly, a band of interfering noise produces an upward shift in a test tone if the frequency of the noise is lower. In this demonstration, a 1000 Hz tone, 500 ms in duration and partially masked by noise (low-pass filtered to include only frequencies below 900 Hz), alternates with an identical tone, presented without masking noise. The tone partially masked by noise of lower frequency appears slightly higher in pitch: do you agree? When the noise is turned off, it is clear that the two tones were identical. http://www.iua.upf.es/~perfe/cursos/psicoacustica/masking/pitchmask.wav Compare both pitches and explain.

Off-filter listening has been proposed as a mechanism to overcome some masking

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situations. This would mean that masked filters would be substituted by closest filters not being affected by the mask, hence, a slight change in pitch could be attributed to the triggering of neurons with CF close to those that are blocked by the mask.