A harmonic/percussive sound separation based music pre-processing scheme for cochlear implant users

Music perception and appreciation remain generally poor in cochlear implant (CI) users. Simple musical structures, a clear rhythm/beat and lyrics that are easy to follow are among the top factors to enhance music appreciation. A music pre-processing scheme for CI users is described in which vocals and percussion are elucidated using harmonic/percussive sound separation. The scheme is capable of modifying relative instrument level settings for improving music appreciation in CI users. The scheme is assessed with normal hearing subjects (N=5) using a pairwise comparison analysis and CI simulated music excerpts. All test subjects except one significantly preferred the music excerpts from the music pre-processing scheme.