Methods for Pitch Analysis in Contemporary Popular Music: Multiphonic Tones Across Genres

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that electronic tones in popular music and multiphonics in classical music share structural and perceptual features, leading to similar pitch ambiguities in both genres.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative analysis showing that electronic tones and classical multiphonics are perceptually and structurally equivalent, expanding understanding of pitch ambiguity in mainstream music.

Findings

Electronic tones and multiphonics elicit similar pitch percepts.

Both types of tones are influenced by spectral and temporal features.

Pitch ambiguity occurs in popular music, not just experimental classical contexts.

Abstract

This study argues that electronic tones routinely used in contemporary popular music - including 808-style bass and power chords - are structurally and perceptually equivalent to multiphonics in contemporary classical music. Using listening tests (n=10) and signal analysis, we show that both types of tones elicit multiple, listener-dependent pitch percepts arising from similar spectral and temporal features. These findings suggest that pitch ambiguity is not confined to experimental classical contexts but is also a feature of mainstream music production.