Chapter 11: Music and Speech Perception

Question 1

octave

Answer 1

The interval between two sound frequencies having a ratio of 2:1.

Question 2

tone height

Answer 2

A sound quality corresponding to the level of pitch. Tone height is monotonically related to frequency.

Question 3

chord

Answer 3

A combination of three or more musical notes with different pitches played simultaneously.

Question 4

melody

Answer 4

a sequence of note so chords perceived as a single coherent structure.

Question 5

tempo

Answer 5

The perceived speed of the presentation of sounds.

Question 6

syncopation

Answer 6

Any deviation from a regular rhythm.

Question 7

vocal tract

Answer 7

The airway above the larynx used for the production of speech. The vocal tract includes the oral tract and nasal tract.

Question 8

phonation

Answer 8

The process through which vocal folds are made to vibrate when air pushes out of the lungs.

Question 9

articulation

Answer 9

The act or manner of producing a speech sound using the vocal tract.

Question 10

formant

Answer 10

A resonance of the vocal tract. Formants are specified by their center frequency and are denoted by integers that increase with relative frequency.

Question 11

spectrogram

Answer 11

In sound analysis, a 3D display that plots time on the horizontal axis, frequency on the vertical axis, and amplitude (intensity) on a color or gray scale.

Question 12

coarticulation

Answer 12

The phenomenon in speech whereby attributes of successive speech units overlap in articulation or acoustic patterns.

Question 13

categorical perception

Answer 13

For speech as well as other complex sounds and images, the phenomenon by which the discrimination of items is no between than the ability to label items.