Methods for Pitch Analysis in Contemporary Popular Music: Multiphonic Tones Across Genres
Sound
2026-02-23 v1
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.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2602.18030,
title = {Methods for Pitch Analysis in Contemporary Popular Music: Multiphonic Tones Across Genres},
author = {Emmanuel Deruty and David Meredith and Yann Macé and Luc Leroy and Dima Tsypkin and Pascal Arbez-Nicolas},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.18030},
year = {2026}
}