A residual-cepstrum method of pitch estimation from noisy speech

Authors

  • Celia Shahnaz Centre for Signal Processing and Communications, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G IM8, Canada
  • Wei-Ping Zhu Centre for Signal Processing and Communications, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G IM8, Canada
  • M. Omair Ahmad Centre for Signal Processing and Communications, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G IM8, Canada

Keywords:

Discrete Fourier transforms, Simulators, Adverse effect, Cepstral, Cepstrum, Cepstrum method, Hilbert envelope, Noisy environment, Noisy speech, Pitch estimation, Pitch period, Power cepstrum, Residual signals, Simulation result, Speech signals, Vocal-tracts

Abstract

Residual and cepstral representations of speech were utilized to estimate pitch in a noisy environment. It was found that the major excitation of the vocal tract within a pitch period occurred at the instant of glottal closure (GC). It was possible to determine the pitch period by careful analysis of the speech signal with the help of GC instants. A discrete Fourier transform (DFT) based power cepstrum (DFTPC) was proposed to overcome the adverse effect of noise on the Hilbert envelope (HE) and residual signal (RS). The DFTPC of the HE exhibited a more prominent pitch-peak in a heavily degraded condition in comparison to that demonstrated by the conventional cepstrum of the noisy speech. Simulation results indicated that the global maximization of the DFTPC yielded an accurate pitch estimate as compared to the latest models for a wide range of speakers in noisy environments.

Additional Files

Published

2009-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Shahnaz C, Zhu W-P, Ahmad MO. A residual-cepstrum method of pitch estimation from noisy speech. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2009 Sep. 1 [cited 2025 Feb. 13];37(3):90-1. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2148

Issue

Vol. 37 No. 3 (2009)

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada

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