ABSTRACT
Pitch is that dimension of auditory sensation that enables sounds to be perceived as being ordered on a scale extending from low to high (Lewis, 1939). The scale of pitch is a continuum of sensation; there are no natural breaks, demarcations, divisions or intervals other than those imposed or interpreted by the human brain (Burns & Ward, 1978). The sensation of pitch is derived from the objective auditory data of the frequencies of ambient sounds but has long been recognized to be a subjective experience, and not a precise correlate of perceived frequency (Pantev et al., 1989; Neu, 1947; Lewis, op. cit., see Cross 1997 for review). There are numerous discriminatory and cognitive processes through which the brain deals with pitch, and some definitions are relevant at the outset.
