Wavelet Processing for Pitch Period Estimation

This paper studies different approaches to pitch period estimation using wavelet processing. Pitch period estimation, the detection of a fundamental frequency in a speech segment, is an integral part of most speech processing applications. It can be used in speech feature extraction to analyze and characterize speech. Many of our previous attempts use autocorrelation methods for pitch period estimation of frames. The results are adequate for signal analysis and speech recognition, however they are not always reliable. It is essential, especially in speech synthesis applications, that high-precision pitch period estimation algorithms are designed in order to achieve high quality speech synthesis. The application of wavelets to traditional pitch period estimation algorithms may provide insight into the behavior of speech and, thus provide a more robust foundation for speech synthesis applications