Functions of this menu are intended to study prosody.
The menu commands:
Type of speaker: This dialog window allows you to specify the type of speaker. This parameter is used by all the functions which have to calculate F0.
F0 for the screen: calculates the fundamental frequency for the current window according to the type of speaker.
F0 for the whole file: calculates F0 for the whole file and saves the result in a text file. The first line indicates the type of file (.pit). The following lines give the date (in ms) and the F0 value (in Hz).
FO for a corpus: calculates F0 for all the files of a directory that matches the example chosen by the user. The FO file names are obtained by adding the extension .pit.
Display F0 scale: displays the frequency scale for F0. The scale depends on the type of speaker.
Open a pitch file: opens a F0 file and displays F0 values in the current window.
Display F0 values: displays F0 values which are read from the pitch file.
Time-scale modifications: this function modifies the rate and/or F0 for the whole signal. The Parameters option allows you to choose the speech rate and F0 factors. A time factor greater than one reduces the speech rate. A F0 factor greater than one reduces F0. Modifications can be carried out either with the PSOLA method or by means of an OLA phase vocoder method. In the latter case only the speech rate can be modified. The main weakness of the phase vocoder method is to remove the synchronization between frequencies.
The Modifications option runs the modifications for the whole speech file. A dialog window as well as a beep indicate the end of processing and where the synthesized file is located in the disk.
F0 contour modification: Functions of this dialog window are intended to modify the F0 curve and synthesize the associated signal..
Import the F0 contour: This function allows you to read a pitch file as a F0 curve which is editable. Be careful, the function Open a pitch file does not behaves in the same way because F0 values are not organized in the form of a curve. You can import the F0 contour by calculating F0 for the current signal (From the current signal) or by reading a F0 file (From a pitch file).
Display the F0 contour: this function displays F0 values read from the pitch file. If you want to see the contour without modifying it use To see it. If you want to modify this contour use To modify it. In the latter case, you can redraw the F0 curve or move some points. Keep <Ctrl> pressed and use the left button to move one point. Keep <Shift> pressed and use the left button to redraw the curve
Signal: Zoom in zooms on the region selected on the spectrogram of the synthesized signal. Zoom out cancel the zoom. Play plays the selected region back.
Resynthesize: This function synthesizes a new speech signal which corresponds to the modified F0 contour, indicates the path of the modified signal and runs a player to listen to the modified signal. The spectrogram of the modified signal is displayed in the window entitled “F0 contour modifications”.
Save the F0 contour: this function saves the F0 curve which has been modified
Energy: Functions in this sub-menu are intended to calculate energy.
Options: This function allows you to specify parameters for calculating energy : window length, the frequency band given by ist low and high boundary, minimal and maximal energy levels to be taken into account. The energy is calculated from coefficients of the Fourier transform.
Note that these options are used for energy calculation during data journaling for “Display cepstral peaks”, “Display LPC roots” and “Formants F1 F2 F3”.
Energy for the whole file: this function calculates the energy for the whole speech signal. The file gives the date (in ms) and the energy value.
Display energy: calculates and displays energy for the current window.
Marks: Functions of this sub-menu show how the speech signal has been decomposed into windows.
Pitch marker: performs the decomposition of the signal into pitch periods and displays marks which correspond to local signal extrema (minima or maxima according to the quality of the decomposition). Pitch marking is performed only in the current window.
Displays marks: displays marks available after zooming or moving.