Comfortable Sound Design Based on Auditory Masking with Chord Progression and Melody Generation Corresponding to the Peak Frequencies of Dental Treatment Noises

Noise reduction methods have been proposed for various loud noises. However, in a quiet indoor environment, even small noises often cause discomfort. One of the small noises that causes discomfort is noise with resonant frequencies. Since resonant frequencies are often high frequencies, it is difficult to apply conventional active noise control methods to them. To solve this problem, we focused on auditory masking, a phenomenon in which synthesized sounds increase the audible threshold. We have performed several studies on reducing discomfort based on auditory masking. However, it was difficult for comfortable sound design to be achieved using the previously proposed methods, even though they were able to reduce feelings of discomfort. Here, we focus on a pleasant sound: music. Comfortable sound design is made possible by introducing music theory into the design of masker signals. In this paper, we therefore propose comfortable sound design based on auditory masking with chord progression and melody generation to match the peak frequencies of dental treatment noises.