Multi-pitch estimation exploiting block sparsity

We Study the problem of estimating the fundamental frequencies of a signal containing multiple harmonically related sinusoidal components using a novel block sparse signal representation. An efficient algorithm for solving the resulting optimization problem is devised exploiting a novel variable step-size alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). The resulting algorithm has guaranteed convergence and shows notable robustness to the f(0) vs f(0)/2 ambiguity problem. The superiority of the proposed method, as compared to earlier presented estimation techniques, is demonstrated using both simulated and measured audio signals, clearly indicating the preferable performance of the proposed technique. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.