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Audio and Speech
Processing with
MATLAB®
Audio and Speech
Processing with
MATLAB®

Paul R. Hill
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

© 2019 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

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Version Date: 20181026

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-6274-8 (Hardback)

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hill, Paul (Researcher in image communication), author.

Title: Audio and speech processing with MATLAB / Paul Hill.
Description: First edition. | Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press/Taylor & Francis
Group, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018027155| ISBN 9781498762748 (hardback : acid-free paper)
| ISBN 9780429444067 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Speech processing systems. | Sound--Recording and
reproducing--Digital techniques.
Classification: LCC TK7882.S65 .H55 2018 | DDC 006.4/5--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018027155

Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at

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 To my Parents and Friends
Many thanks to my Dad for proofreading through the final
manuscript!
Contents

Preface xiii

List of Acroynms xv

Introduction xix

1 Matlab R and Audio 1

1.1 Reading Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Audio Display and Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Audio-Related Matlab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Example Audio Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2 Core Concepts 13
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 Natural Vibrations and Sinusoids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 Complex Numbers for Signal Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4 Simple Operations with Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.5 Discrete Time Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.6 Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.7 The Z Transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.8 Digital Filters: The Z Transform Representation . . . . . . . . 41
2.9 Machine Learning∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.10 Supervised Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.11 Optimal Statistical Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.12 The Analysis of Speech Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.13 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.14 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

3 Frequency Analysis for Audio 55

3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.2 Fourier Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.3 The Fourier Transform∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.4 The Fourier Series∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.5 The Discrete-Time Fourier Transform∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

vii
viii Contents

3.6 The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

3.7 Forward and Backwards Transform for the Four Types of
Fourier Transforms∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.8 Example Discrete Fourier Transform∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.9 The Fast Fourier Transform: FFT∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.10 Windowing to Decrease Spectral Leakage and Improve
Frequency Resolution∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.11 The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT): Its Use in Matlab∗ . . . . . 72
3.12 Zero Padding the FFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.13 Short-Term Fourier Transform: STFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
3.14 Frequency Domain Audio Processing Using the STFT and the
Inverse STFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.15 Matlab Implementation of Perfect Reconstruction Discrete
STFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.16 Audio Spectrograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3.17 Spectrogram Using Matlab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
3.18 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
3.19 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

4 Acoustics 99
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.2 Wave Equation: Stretched String Attached at Both Ends∗ . . . 100
4.3 Wave Equation: Vibrating Stretched String Solution∗ . . . . . 102
4.4 Wave Equation: Reflection From a Fixed End∗ . . . . . . . . . 104
4.5 Wave Equation: String Vibration Fixed at Two Ends∗ . . . . . 104
4.6 Wave Equation: Vibrating Air Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.7 Wave Equation: Vibrating Column of Air (Open at One End)
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.8 Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
4.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

5 The Auditory System 117

5.1 The Peripheral Auditory System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
5.2 Auditory Filters: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
5.3 Critical Bands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
5.4 Critical Band Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
5.5 Relationship Between Filter Shape and the Masking Functions
Used for Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
5.6 Properties of the Auditory Neurons∗ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
5.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
5.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Contents ix

6 Fundamentals of Psychoacoustics 149

6.1 Subjective Characteristics of Audio Signals . . . . . . . . . . . 149
6.2 Loudness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
6.3 Equal Loudness Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
6.4 Audio Masking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
6.5 Perception of Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
6.6 Psychoacoustics Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
6.7 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

7 Audio Compression 165

7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
7.2 Filterbanks for Audio Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
7.3 Perfect Reconstruction Filter-Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
7.4 MPEG1 Audio Compression Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
7.5 MPEG1 Audio Codec Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
7.6 MPEG1 Audio Compression Psychoacoustic Models . . . . . 181
7.7 MPEG1 Audio Compression: Bit Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
7.8 Contemporary Wideband Audio Codecs . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
7.9 Lossless Audio Codecs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
7.10 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
7.11 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

8 Automatic Speech Recognition: ASR 195

8.1 Speech Recognition: History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
8.2 ASR-Problem Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
8.3 ASR Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
8.4 Phones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
8.5 Phonetic Alphabets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
8.6 Deterministic Sequence Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
8.7 Statistical Sequence Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
8.8 Language and Auditory Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
8.9 Speech Recognition Datasets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
8.10 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

9 Audio Features for Automatic Speech Recognition and Audio Anal-

ysis 205
9.1 Speech Features: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
9.2 Tools for Speech Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
9.3 Cepstrum Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
9.4 LPC Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
9.5 Feature Extraction for ASR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
9.6 Perceptually-Based Features: PLP and MFCC Features . . . . 227
x Contents

9.7 Practical Implementations of PLP and MFCC . . . . . . . . . . 232

9.8 Generic Audio Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
9.9 ASR Features: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
9.10 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

10 HMMs, GMMs and Deep Neural Networks for ASR 237

10.1 Hidden Markov Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
10.2 Mathematical Framework of HMMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
10.3 Non-Deterministic Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
10.4 Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
10.5 Hidden Markov Models: Mathematical Definition . . . . . . . 241
10.6 HMM Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
10.7 Hidden Markov Models: Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
10.8 Hidden Markov Models: Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
10.9 HMMs: Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
10.10 Example Matlab HMM Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
10.11 Hidden Markov Models for Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
10.12 HMM Emission Probability Estimation for ASR . . . . . . . . 254
10.13 Single-Word Speech Recognition System . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
10.14 HMMs for ASR: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
10.15 Emission Probability Estimation using Gaussian Mixture
Models (GMMs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
10.16 ASR using Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) . . . . . . . . . . 257
10.17 Moving Forward: HMM-Free ASR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
10.18 HMM, GMMs and DNNs: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
10.19 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

11 Speech Coding 267

11.1 Speech Coding: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
11.2 Waveform Codecs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
11.3 Speech Vocoders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
11.4 Hybrid Codecs: Analysis by Synthesis (AbS) . . . . . . . . . . 271
11.5 LPC Parameters for Speech Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
11.6 Speech Coding Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
11.7 Comparison of Speech Coding Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
11.8 Speech Coding: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
11.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

12 Musical Applications 285

12.1 Musical Synthesis: Brief History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
12.2 Additive Synthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
12.3 Temporal Envelopes: ADSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Contents xi

12.4 Subtractive Synthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

12.5 Second-Order Digital Filter Design: The Biquad Filter . . . . . 295
12.6 Ring Modulation: RM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
12.7 Amplitude Modulation: AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
12.8 Frequency Modulation: FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
12.9 Alternative Musical Synthesis Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
12.10 Time Warping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
12.11 Musical Synthesis: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
12.12 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

A The Initial History of Complex Numbers 317

A.1 Cardano’s Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

B Matlab Fundamentals (Applicable to Audio Processing) 319

B.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
B.2 Commands, Assignments, Operators, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Index 327
Preface

Audio and speech processing within the analogue and digital domains has a
long history going back over a century to the origin of mechanical recording
devices and the first days of telephony. Although contemporary speech and
audio applications can trace their methods to these historical developments,
DSP-based audio technologies have also necessarily established a unique set
of algorithmic and mathematical tools within the subject. This advancement
of audio-based DSP techniques and technologies has had the most profound
effect on modern society. They have enabled the realisation of things pre-
viously thought of as science fiction, such as entire record collections being
carried in the palm of your hand and voice recognition systems giving direc-
tions to the nearest café. The overall aim of this book is, therefore, to explore
the background to speech and audio processing together with a comprehen-
sive and up to date exploration of core aspects of the subject.
In order to understand all the divergent areas of speech and audio pro-
cessing technology, an understanding of applicable physics, physiology, psy-
choacoustics, digital signal processing and pattern recognition is required. A
comprehensive coverage of the applicable areas of these subjects is included
in the first chapters of this book. This foundation is then used as the context of
the later chapters that investigate diverse applications such as speech coding
and recognition together with wideband audio coding. Many real-world ex-
ample applications are also explored. Specifically, musical applications such
as time stretching and recognition are examined in detail.

I have selected the topics carefully in order to reach the following audience:

Students studying speech and audio courses within engineering and com-
puter science departments.

General readers with a background in science and/or engineering who

want a comprehensive description of the subject together with details of
modern audio standards and applications.
Audio engineers and technically-based musicians who require an
overview of contemporary audio standards and applications.

The text contains numerous real-world examples backed up by many

Matlab R functions and code snippets in order to illustrate the key top-
ics within each chapter. The book and computer-based problems at the end

xiii
xiv Preface

of each chapter are also provided in order to give the reader an opportunity
to consolidate their understanding of the content. Finally, starred sections
identify text that is not key to understanding further sections, but can be read
or returned to for interest to get an expanded understanding of the subject.
Although this book contains enough material to fill a two-semester grad-
uate course, careful selection of material will enable it to be suitable for such
a course, filling just one semester.

Dr. Paul Hill

Bristol, U.K.
List of Acroynms

AAC Advanced Audio Codec. 2, 5, 191

AbS Analysis by Synthesis. viii, 267, 271

ADPCM Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation. 269
ADSR Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release. viii, 285, 291, 292
AIFC Audio Interchange File Format - Compressed. 2, 5

AIFF Audio Interchange File Format. 2, 5

AM Amplitude Modulation. 301
ASR Automatic Speech Recognition. vii, 195, 196, 198, 200, 202, 204

ATH Absolute Threshold of Hearing. 156

AU Sun Microsystems Audio File Format. 2, 5

BM Basiliar Membrane. 118

CD Compact Disc. 165, 166

CELP Code Excited Linear Prediction. 272
CELT Constrained Energy Lapped Transform. 281

CNNs Convolutional Neural Networks. 262

COLA Constant OverLap-Add. 88
CQF Conjugate Quadrature Filters. 170, 172
CTFT Continuous Time Fourier Transform. 59

DAW Digital Audio Workstation. 290

DNN Deep Neural Networks. 238, 263

DPCM Differential Pulse Code Modulation. 269

xv
xvi List of Acroynms

DSP Digital Signal Processing. xi

EM Expectation Maximisation. 257

ERBs Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidths. 135

FEC Forward Error Correction. 279

FFT Fast Fourier Transform. vi, 51, 55, 56, 66, 67
FLAC Free Lossless Audio Codec. 2, 5
FM Frequency Modulation. 302

GMM Gaussian Mixture Models. 238, 255

HAS Human Auditory System. 117

HMMs Hidden Markov Models. 50, 197
HTK Hidden Markov Model Toolkit. 227

IDE Integrated Development Environment. 319

IETF Internet Engineering Task Force. 280

LAR Log Area Ratios. 280

LFO Low Frequency Oscillator. 292
LPC Linear Predictive Coding. vii, 51, 205, 217, 219, 221, 223
LSTM Long Short-Term Memory. 261, 262, 328
LTP Long Time Prediction. 280

MDCT Modified Discrete Cosine Transform. 187, 281

MFCC Mel Frequency Cepstral Coding. 225, 227
MOS Mean Opinion Score. 275
MP3 MPEG1 Audio Layer III. 2, 5
MPE Multi Pulse Excited. 271
MPEG Motion Pictures Expert Group. 2, 5
List of Acroynms xvii

OGG OGG compression system or file. 2, 5

PCM Pulse Code Modulation. 269

PLP Perceptual Linear Prediction. 225
PQMF Pseudo-QMF FilterBank. 173
PR Perfect Reconstruction. 168
PSD Power Spectral Density. 80

QMF Quadrature Mirror Filters. 169

RM Ring Modulation. 304

RMS Root Mean Square. 36
RNNs Recurrant Neural Networks. 50, 238, 260
RoEx Rounded Exponential (filter). 135
RPE Regular Pulse Excited. 272

SHM Simple Harmonic Motion. 14, 16

SIL Sound Intensity Level. 151
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio. 36
SPL Sound Pressure Level. 151
STFT Short Term Fourier Transform. vi, 55, 83, 85
SVMs Support Vector Machines. 50

TIMIT Texas Instruments MIT Speech Dataset. 203

VCA Voltage Controlled Amplifier. 292

VCF Voltage Controlled Filter. 288, 292
VCO Voltage Controlled Oscilator. 288, 292
VST Virtual Studio Technology. 290

WOLA Weighted OverLap-Add. 86

Introduction

The perception of sound and its interpretation is a key human facility. It

gives situational and spatial awareness, cues for visual perception and, most
importantly, the ability to communicate. Communication can be in the form
of sounds, music or, most importantly to this book, speech.
Audio and speech processing is, therefore, a unique and vitally important
area of engineering. Within the context of applications such as Shazam, MP3
encoding and recognition systems such as Siri, speech and audio processing
currently forms a key contemporary engineering research area; now and
going forward into the future.

Overview
Figure 0.1 illustrates the overall structure of the subjects covered within this
book. The left of this figure shows the analysis of physical audio signals.
Applications corresponding to this type of audio processing include speech
recognition systems (e.g., Siri), music identification (e.g., Shazam) and au-
tomatic music transcription. The right of this figure illustrates the synthesis
of audio signals from digital representations. Applications corresponding to
this type of processing include musical and speech synthesis.
Combining both the left and right sides of this figure illustrates coding
applications that combine the analysis and synthesis of audio. These methods
include the wideband coding of audio (e.g., MP3/AAC compression) and
speech coding (e.g., CELP, Speex and Opus).
This book covers all three aspects of audio and speech processing illus-
trated in Figure 0.1. A small number of specific applications such as the phase
vocoder for audio time dilation are included to illustrate the learnt techniques
being applied in real world applications.

Learning Objectives
• Learn core engineering, mathematical and programming skills to process
audio and speech signals
• Survey topics in sound analysis and processing

xix
xx Introduction

FIGURE 0.1: Illustration of various parts of the book

• Develop an intuition for sound signals

• Learn some specific technologies
• Be able to quickly manipulate and process audio with Matlab

Book Features
As denoted by the title of this book, the programs contained are coded in
Matlab. Where possible, all the methods described within the book have
accompanying code which attempts to explain or illustrate the main points
of each technique. However, this is not possible for all of the material. Fur-
thermore, there are some aspects of the book such as deep learning speech
recognition that are effectively not possible to illustrate with Matlab as they
are so intricately linked with other languages and toolboxes (such as C/HTK
or Python/Tensorflow). Matlab code listings are shown enclosed in boxes.
Command line inputs using Matlab are also boxed. However, each line starts
with the command line identifier >>.
This book can be read from cover to cover to give a good overview of the
core mathematical, engineering and programming skills required for speech
and audio processing. However, some contained elements can be considered
Introduction xxi

to be more for the reader’s interest and reference and are not key to un-
derstanding the overall content. These reference or background sections can
be easily omitted on a first read and will not interfere with the ability of
the reader to understand the rest of the book. These “optional” sections are
labelled with a * symbol at the end of the sections’ title.

Book Philosophy
This book dives straight into a detailed coverage of manipulating audio with
Matlab from the first chapter. This exemplifies the philosophy of its creation
in as much as there is much more emphasis on practical insights into the
subject rather than prosaic explanations around its background. A high-level
treatise on audio as a human endeavour and attribute, etc. has been omitted
in favour of a practical emphasis from the first page. It is hoped that this
book will mostly inform but in some (possibly abstract) way entertain and
inspire the reader. It has certainly been entertaining and inspiring to be totally
immersed in the subject during its creation.

Notation
General
• Not equal to: 6=
• Equivalent to: ≡
• Approximately equal to: ≈
• Proportional to: ∝

• Factorial of x: x!
√
• −1: i or j
• xT : Transform of x

Sets
• Natural Numbers: N = {1, 2, 3, . . .}
• Integers: Z = {. . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .}
xxii Introduction

• Real Numbers: R

• Positive Real Numbers: R+

• Complex Numbers: C
• In a set: ∈
• Range: (-1,1)

• Half open range: [-1,1)

Calculus
• First derivative: ∂y
∂x : y0
∂2y
• Second derivative: ∂x2 : y 00
• Gradient: ∇y

Probability
• Probability: P(w)
• Conditional probability: P(x|w)
• Normal distribution: N

MATLAB R
For product information, please contact:
The MathWorks, Inc.
3 Apple Hill Drive
Natick, MA 01760-2098 USA
Tel: 508-647-7000
Fax: 508-647-7001
E-mail: info@mathworks.com
Web: www.mathworks.com
Introduction xxiii

Frequency
Sampling Complex Masking
Numbers
Human
Temporal
Machine Auditory
Masking
Learning
System
Core Psycho-
Concepts acoustics
Windowing

Basic
Matlab

Frequency
Spectrograms Audio and Speech MATLAB
Analysis Processing
and Audio
for Audio with Matlab
Matlab
Audio
Commands
FFT

Speech
Features
Acoustics for ASR
Vocal Recognition
Tract
Model
Coding
Vibrating
HMMs
String
Model Wave Deep
Equation Learning
Wideband
Coding Speech
(MP3, Coding
etc.)

FIGURE 0.2: Map of the structure of the book.

1
Matlab R and Audio

CONTENTS
1.1 Reading Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Audio Display and Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Audio-Related Matlab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Example Audio Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

To me, it’s always a joy to create

music no matter what it takes to
actually get there. The real evils
are always whatever stops you
from doing that – like if your
CPU is spiking and you have to sit
there and bounce all your MIDI
to audio. Now that’s annoying!

Skrillex

Matlab (MATrix LABoratory) is used throughout this book for audio pro-
cessing and manipulation together with associated visualisations. This chap-
ter therefore gives an introduction to the basic capabilities of Matlab for
audio processing. Appendix B also gives a list of core Matlab functions and
commands that are applicable to audio processing for those starting to use
the language. This chapter (and Appendix B) can be skipped or skimmed if
the reader is familiar with the basic operations of the Matlab programming
language and its visualisation capabilities.
More general information is given on the Mathworks (creators of Matlab)
website www.mathworks.com and within the innumerable help files, demos
and manuals packaged with Matlab.

1
2 1 Matlab R and Audio

TABLE 1.1: Audio formats available to be read by Matlab command

audioread

Audio File Format Description File extension

WAVE Raw audio .wav
OGG OGG vorbis .ogg
FLAC Lossless audio compression .flac
AU Raw audio .au
AIFF Raw audio .aiff,.aif
AIFC Raw audio .aifc
MP3 MPEG1 Layer 3, lossy com- .mp3
pressed audio
MPEG4 AAC MPEG4, lossy compressed audio .m4a, .mp4

1.1 Reading Sounds

Audio is read into Matlab using the function audioread whose basic func-
tionality is as follows. 1

>> audioread(filename);

Where filename in this case is a Matlab variable containing a string (array

of chars) defining the entire name of the audio file to be read including any
file extension (e.g., mp3, wav, etc.). A typical example of a call to audioread
would be

>> [y Fs] = audioread('exampleAudio.wav');

where y is the array or matrix of sampled audio data and Fs is the sam-
pling frequency of the input audio. audioread is able to read the formats
shown in Table 1.1. In this example, filename is 'exampleAudio.wav', the
file to be read in (filename is required to be of a Matlab string type
and is therefore delimited by single quotes '). filename can be a Matlab
string that can also include a path (defined in the format of your oper-
ating system) to any location on your hard drive. For example, filename
could be 'c:\mydirectory\mysubdirectory\exampleAudio.wav' (on win-
dows) or '~/mydirectory/mysubdirectory/exampleAudio.wav' (on OS-
X/Unix/Linux). A statement in Matlab will automatically display its results.
It is therefore common to want to suppress this output and this is achieved
by using the semicolon at the end of each line where no output is required.
It is often useful to determine detailed information about an audio file
1audioread replaces the more common wavread function for reading audio in previous ver-
sions of Matlab. wavread has now been removed.
1.1 Reading Sounds 3

TABLE 1.2: Output structure of audioread

Structure element Description

'Filename' Filename
'CompressionMethod' Description of compression method
'NumChannels' Number of audio channels (either 1 or 2)
'SampleRate' Number of samples per second
'TotalSamples' Length of audio in samples
'Duration' Length of audio in seconds
'Title'
'Comment'
'Artist'
'BitsPerSample'
'BitsRate'

before (or indeed after) reading it using audioread. This is achieved using
the audioinfo Matlab function which has the following example usage:

>> information = audioinfo(filename);

where filename is defined as above (i.e., with audioread), and information

is a Matlab structure illustrated in Table 1.2. An example ouput is:

>> information = audioinfo('/Users/csprh/MUSIC/LocalMusic/02-
Down-to-Earth.mp3')

information =

Filename: '/Users/csprh/MUSIC/LocalMusic/02-Down-to-
Earth.mp3'
CompressionMethod: 'MP3'
NumChannels: 2
SampleRate: 44100
TotalSamples: 14404608
Duration: 326.6351
Title: 'Down to Earth'
Comment: []
Artist: 'Prairie Dog'
BitRate: 128

Once an audio sound has been loaded using audioread it can be played easily
using the Matlab functions sound or soundsc. 2

2sound or soundsc are analogous to image and imagesc from the image processing toolbox.
 4 1 Matlab R and Audio

1.2 Audio Display and Playback

A basic input (of a mono source) and display program using audioread is
shown below:

1 filename = 'paulhill.wav'; %Define the name of the audio file
2 [Y, Fs]=audioread(filename); %Input the (mono) signal
3 timeAxis=(1:length(Y))/Fs; % Convert sample number to time
vector
4 plot(timeAxis, Y); % Plot the waveform
5 xlabel('time (seconds)');
6 title('Waveform');
7 sound(Y, Fs); % Playback the sound

The output of this program is displayed in Figure 1.1.

Waveform

0.2

0.1

-0.1

-0.2

0.5 1 1.5 2
time (seconds)

FIGURE 1.1: Basic display of a waveform using Matlab function audioread.

A subset of the audio samples can be read in using audioread using the
following code:

1 filename = 'paulhill.wav'; %Define the name of the audio file
2 inputRange = 4000:4200;
3
4 [Y, Fs]=audioread(filename, [inputRange(1) inputRange(end)]); %
Input the (mono) signal
5 timeAxis=inputRange/Fs; % Convert sample number ot time vector
6 plot(timeAxis, Y); % Plot the waveform
7 xlabel('time (seconds)');
8 title('Waveform');
9 sound(Y, Fs);
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 An Act of 1911 relating to Visitors to Prisons.
No letters, notes, monies, or contraband goods of any kind shall be
brought into or taken out of any Prison, except after inspection and
with the permission of the Warden.

The Warden or Superintendent of the Prison is hereby authorized to

search or to have searched any person coming to the Prison as a
visitor, or in any other capacity, who is suspected of having any
weapon or other implement which may be used to injure any convict
or person, or in assisting any convict to escape from imprisonment,
or any spirituous liquor, drug, medicine, poison, opium, morphine, or
any other kind or character of narcotics, upon his person.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this Act shall be

deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or
imprisonment in the State Prison not exceeding five years, or by
both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the Court.

Approved the eleventh day of May, A. D. 1911.

John K. Tener,
Governor.
 REPORT OF THE ACTING COMMITTEE
For the Year 1910 to the Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Prison

Society.

During the year 1910 the monthly meetings of the Acting Committee
have been regularly held with the usual exception of two meetings
of the summer months.

It has been a year of much interest and importance to students of

penology and especially to the active workers who have charge of
our prisons and reformatories.

PROBATION FOR ADULTS.

In the State of Pennsylvania the law providing for probation or
suspended sentences for adult offenders under the care of probation
officers, to whom reports must be made, has been in effect for
almost eighteen months. Very general approval is expressed
regarding the operation of this law. It is believed to be a very
efficient means of restoring those who have lapsed from the right
path to better methods of life and to a deeper realization of their
duties to society. They have not become inoculated with the prison
virus. The law applies to certain classes of crimes and to first
offenders. It is understood that much of the efficiency of such a law
depends on the character and vigor of the probation officer, who
should be most earnest in presenting before such offenders higher
ideals of civic virtue.
 THE INDETERMINATE SENTENCE. PAROLE.
Since the last annual report of this Committee, in the State of
Pennsylvania a system of parole for criminals sentenced to the
Eastern and to the Western Penitentiaries in accordance with
legislative enactment, went into effect. The act provides that the
court in pronouncing sentence shall state the minimum and
maximum limits thereof, with the understanding that the minimum
time of such imprisonment shall be the minimum now or hereafter
prescribed by statute for the punishment of such offense, and that
the maximum shall be the maximum now or hereafter prescribed as
the penalty. Hence it does not follow, as has been supposed by
many, that the minimum sentence is in every case one fourth of the
maximum sentence, though there is a provision that when there is
no minimum time prescribed by law, then the court shall impose a
minimum sentence, which is not to exceed one fourth of the
maximum time for the crime in question. Neither is a prisoner
entitled to release at the expiration of his minimum sentence, unless
it shall have appeared to the officers of the prison and to the
inspectors that the applicant for parole has given evidence of being
ready to become useful to the community. The new law has not
been in force for a period sufficiently long to enable us to decide
absolutely as to its merits, yet, if we are to have confidence in
reports from other States which have tested such a law, we hope
that a fair trying out of its provisions will demonstrate its benefit
both to the convict and to society. The man or woman on parole by
the necessity of the conditions involved therewith must give
satisfaction until the maximum time for which he was sentenced has
expired, by which time we believe many of them will have formed a
habit of living decently and orderly. Ex-Governor Hanly, of Indiana,
acknowledges that when he took office he felt great antagonism
toward a law providing for parole before the expiration of the
conventional sentence, but after closely observing the practical
working of such system of parole during his term of four years, he
became an enthusiastic advocate of the principle of the
indeterminate sentence. State after State, nation after nation, have
been for some years applying this principle in some form or other,
and now many intelligent jurists and administrators of prison
discipline have recognized that this element of the new penology has
come to stay. This method of reforming criminals, moreover, was
approved, after spirited discussion, by the late International Prison
Congress, held at Washington, D. C., October 2-8, 1910. This
Congress was not composed of mere theorists. Men of national and
international renown as wardens and superintendents of great
prisons and reformatories took part in the discussions and
acquiesced in the conclusions. Warden Benham, of the New York
State Penitentiary at Auburn, regards the indeterminate sentence as
a leading influence in the process of reforming the lives of those who
have fallen. By some jurists in this and other States, fears have been
expressed with regard to the practical service and to the execution
of such a system of curtailed punishment. It is quite possible that
experience may show that in this State some modification of the
existing law may at some time be adopted, but great care should be
exercised lest the reforming possibilities of the act should be
weakened. It is to be hoped that a full opportunity may be given to
observe the effects of this law, the essential principles of which are
the same as have been found successful in other States.

The reports from those who have been paroled within the last year
in this State are so far very encouraging.

Parole Officer John Egan of the Western Penitentiary reports on the

first day of the current year that there were twenty-three under his
charge on parole, and that the reports from them were with one
exception satisfactory. There were ten then confined in the Western
Penitentiary who were proper subjects for parole provided sponsors
and employment could be obtained for them.

Full statistics from the Eastern Penitentiary have not been obtained.
About thirty had been paroled by the end of last year from whom
satisfactory reports had been received. About the same number
were awaiting decisions from the Board of Pardons.

WORK OF GENERAL AGENT.

We desire to commend to the special attention of the Society and to
the public, the efficient work of our General Agent, Fred. J. Pooley.

He has been constantly engaged in giving counsel to the prisoners,

and particular attention to them at the time of their release. A large
number of cases have been investigated, and where there have
appeared to be mitigating circumstances, or where some relative or
judicious friend has agreed to stand as sponsor, a remission or
suspension of the sentence has been obtained from the court. We
have heard of no instance in which such favor has been abused. In
one month of the last year over one hundred arrested and accused
persons were discharged without receiving the stigma of a convicted
felon. In the latter part of the autumn the privilege of an interview at
the Central Station with the prisoners who have been committed to
the County Prison after a hearing before the magistrates, was
accorded to our General Agent by the Director of Public Safety. In
order that he may thus occupy this very promising field for service,
the Secretary has assumed a portion of the duties at the Eastern
Penitentiary which had formerly been under the care of the agent. A
full report of the work of the agent will be presented at the Annual
Meeting, and will be printed in the Journal.

COMMITTEE ON EASTERN PENITENTIARY.

Reports of the various members of this Committee show that besides
a considerable number of visits that have not been reported, 6,130
visits to prisoners have been made during the past year. Some of our
members have participated in the gospel services at the Penitentiary.
We are firmly of the opinion that this work of visitation, which has
been carried on by this Society for nearly a century and a quarter
has been very helpful, although from the nature of the
circumstances accurate statistics cannot be presented. The officials
of the Penitentiary manifestly sympathize with the objects of these
visits. Cleanliness and good order characterize the various
departments of this large prison, to which ends a general
overhauling of the plumbing with other improvements have been
made conducive. A new three-story block, containing one hundred
and twenty cells is in process of construction, and it is quite
gratifying to report that nearly all the work of construction is being
done by the prisoners. This affords employment for from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty prisoners. While some
other prisoners have employment in weaving, knitting stockings,
chair seating and in helping in the kitchen and laundry, still many of
them spend a large portion of their time in enforced idleness. This is
a condition which is conducive to most serious evils, since it is liable
to affect their entire career after they have left the prison walls. Is
the State justified in forcing these unfortunate human beings to
remain idle year after year? Should we not rather use every means
in our power to prepare them for useful citizenship?

Reports of the agent show that 333 prisoners have been supplied at
the time of their discharge with suits either entirely or in part. We
are increasing our efforts to find positions for such as need
employment.

The warden, Robert J. McKenty, is untiring in efforts to promote the

welfare of those under his charge. To him and to the other officials
the members of the Committee are under obligation for the facilities
afforded in making their visits.

PRISONS AT MOYAMENSING AND HOLMESBURG.

Our General Agent is unremitting in his endeavors to assist those
confined in the prisons of the City of Philadelphia. The ladies of the
Committee to visit the women prisoners at Moyamensing have been
faithful in looking after their interests. Situations have been found
for many, and not a few have been restored to their families. In all,
6,707 visits have been made to the inmates of the County Prisons.

We take pleasure in reporting that striped clothing as a distinctive

prison garb was relinquished, except as a punishment for
misbehavior, at the Holmesburg Prison on the first day of July, 1910.
Gradually both in this country and England this ancient custom is
being dropped. This is a further indication of the growing belief that
the convict, after all, is a human being, and does not need the
degradation of stripes in order to be distinguished from the rest of
humanity.

COUNTY JAILS.
The Western Penitentiary and the Allegheny County Prison have
been regularly visited by one of our committees, and there has also
been regular visitation of some of the county jails. The evidence
afforded that this service has been acceptable and useful has been
encouraging to us, and arrangements are being made for its
extension to other parts of the state.

There is need of continual agitation to educate the public with

regard to the necessity of some change in the administration of
many of the smaller county jails of the State. They furnish little or no
employment, herd a miscellaneous lot of lawbreakers in entire
idleness, often keep the young and the old, the suspected, who may
be innocent, and the hardened criminals in the same apartments,
and thus become hotbeds for the dissemination of vice and
lawlessness. We have already in these reports spoken of the
usefulness of establishing district workhouses where employment
can be furnished and where habits of industry may be engendered.
The labor of the prisoners should so far contribute to the
maintenance of the jails as to relieve the counties from the chief part
of this burden. Sooner or later, we believe, all our States will adopt
some such plan, and why should not the legislators of this great
commonwealth give some earnest attention to the improvement of
the county jails? Already we have in this State an institution which in
many respects could be taken as a model for an industrial penal
establishment. We refer to the Allegheny County Workhouse at
Hoboken, Pennsylvania. Without infringing on the present laws of
the State respecting prison labor, they give employment to all the
prisoners. Located on a large farm, they supply their tables with
vegetables from their own gardens and often have a surplus for the
market. When new buildings are constructed, most of the work is
done by the convicts. They have those who have been sentenced to
terms of from twenty days to some years, and without difficulty they
find work for all of them.

The legislature of Massachusetts has been considering a measure

contemplating the establishment of such a system of district
workhouses. It is quite possible that the State of Indiana may enact
a measure of this kind within the next two years. Let Pennsylvania
move forward in this work.

VISITS OF THE PRESIDENT.

The President of the Society has made visits to the Eastern
Penitentiary, and to some of the County Jails of Pennsylvania. He has
also visited the Maryland Penitentiary and the city jail of Baltimore;
and has made two visits to the United States jail at Washington, D.
C.

In the Washington jail and at the Maryland Penitentiary, he

addressed the assembled convicts at their respective Sabbath
afternoon chapel services.

THE PRISON CONGRESSES.

An event of great interest to all students of penology and of far-
reaching influence in prison administration all over the world, was
the quinquennial meeting of the International Prison Congress,
which this year held its sessions in Washington, D. C. This occasion
brought together jurists, superintendents of prisons and
reformatories, eminent lawyers and philanthropic workers from
thirty-four different countries of the world. Ninety delegates were
enrolled from foreign countries. Not only were the conclusions of this
Congress of importance, but the social intermingling of so many
earnest men and women in a common cause had an equal value.
The American Prison Congress also held its sessions in Washington,
D. C., for two days prior to the opening of the International meeting.
It was a notable gathering, and while its proceedings were weighty
and not to be overlooked, yet it was somewhat overshadowed by the
great interest felt in the International assemblage, as the latter was
attended by so many who had already beyond the seas distinguished
themselves as students of penological problems, and as practical
administrators of prisons.

The Acting Committee deemed the conclusions of the International

Prison Congress and the proceedings of the American Prison
Congress of such immediate interest and importance as to justify the
issue of a supplement to our Journal, which should contain these
conclusions and proceedings. In this supplement were included an
article by President Baily on the Eastern Penitentiary and the account
of the Pennsylvania Prison Society which was prepared by the
Secretary for publication in one of the bulletins issued by the
International Congress during its sessions. Three thousand copies
were printed and distributed.
 OBITUARIES.
The deaths of John H. Dillingham and David Sulzberger, both
occurring near the same time in early spring, removed two valuable
members from your Committee. Appropriate notices of the life and
faithful labors of each of these have been prepared and read in our
meetings, and it is proposed to publish them in the forthcoming
number of our Journal.

Our prayers and sympathy go out to all who have the oversight of
those offenders, whom society, for its own protection and for the
reformation of the sinner, declares must be debarred from freedom.
Upon these officials devolves the duty not only of restraining the
criminals within physical bounds, but—what is their chief mission—of
implanting in their charges incentives for a change in their attitude in
society. They should endeavor to inspire them with some sense of
self-confidence and self-respect, so that they may be prepared to
face the world with new aims and a spirit of hopefulness. The
Pennsylvania Prison Society has from its inception desired to work in
harmony with the administrators, and we trust has been
comparatively free from the errors of a misdirected zeal. In another
year this Society shall have rounded out a century and a quarter of
existence. While we may contemplate with a good degree of
satisfaction the achievements of past years, we are aware that in
some lines progress has been slow, but we trust under Divine
guidance to go on with the work with greater zeal and consecration.

On behalf of the Acting Committee,

Albert H. Votaw, Secretary.

January 27, 1911.

 TREASURER’S REPORT
John Way, Treasurer,

IN ACCOUNT WITH
The Pennsylvania Prison Society

General Fund
Receipts for the Year 1910
To Balance on hand, December 31, 1909 $697 50
“ Members’ Dues 278 75
“ Collections by Secretary 3,253 00
“ Income from Invested Funds 1,911 52
“ Income from I. V. Williamson “Charities” 561 00
“ Interest on Deposits 20 31
“ Life Membership 50 00
“ Proceeds Sale of Bond 1,032 50
“ Legacy, Estate of Marianna Gillingham 805 54
Total Receipts $8,610
12

Payments, 1910
For Clothing Discharged Prisoners, Eastern Penitentiary $2,324
45
“ Appropriations for Prisoners Discharged from
Philadelphia County Prison 835 00
“ Salaries 2,650 00
 “ Expenses on Account of “Journal,” 1910 437 20
“ Expenses Delegates to Prison Congress 56 72
“ Sundry Printing and Postage 249 29
“ Office Expenses, Incidentals 148 52
“ Rent, Janitor Service 184 00
“ Capital Moneys Paid to Fiscal Agent for Investment 855 54
“ Balance, December 31, 1910 869 40
Total $8,610
12

Barton Fund
Balance on hand December 31, 1909 $193 48
Income from Investments (net) 94 66
Loan to Discharged Prisoner, Returned 10 25
Total $298 39

Payments
Tools to Discharged Prisoners $36 74
Amount Transferred to Principal Account 375 10
$411 84
Less Overdraft December 31, 1910 113 45
Balance $298 39

Home of Industry Fund

Balance, December 31, 1909 $107 80
Income from Investments (net) 24 50
Income from Caroline S. Williams Legacy 150 85
Income from H. S. Benson Legacy 196 00
Total $479 15

Summary of Balances
General Fund $869 40
Home of Industry Fund 479 15
$1,348
55
Less Overdraft (Barton Fund) 113 45
Total Cash on hand December 31, 1910 $1,235
10

We, the undersigned, members of the Auditing Committee, have

examined the accounts of John Way, Treasurer, have compared the
payments with the vouchers, and believe the same to be correct,
there being a balance to the credit of our deposit account under
date of December 31, 1910, of $1,235.10.

We have also examined the securities in the possession of our

agents, The Provident Life and Trust Company of Philadelphia, and
have found them to agree with an accompanying schedule.

John Smallzell,
John A. Duncan,
Auditors.
 GENERAL AGENT’S REPORT.
Another year has passed and it becomes my duty to present to you
a report of the work of the General Agent. During the past year I
have visited over 6,000 men and women in the prisons in
Philadelphia, and talked to them of the past and the future. I feel
that much good has been accomplished and that while it is
impossible to measure the amount of good accomplished by any
fixed rule, yet there is evidence in all directions that the seed sown
in the Master’s name is bearing fruit abundantly. All over this broad
land of ours, in every prison may be found the lost son or daughter;
it gives the world but little concern so long as it is some one else’s
son or daughter who occupies a prison cell. Go through the prisons
of our State and nine times out of every ten the prisoners will tell
you they never would have thought of getting into prison; in a
moment of temptation they fell and the world turns from them when
the walls of the prison separates them from the outer world. My
experience has taught me that if we were more sympathetic, more
interested in fallen humanity, there would be less of crime. One
Sabbath afternoon I visited a prison in western Pennsylvania. I
arrived at the prison just about the time for service. As I was a
member of the Pennsylvania Prison Society I was requested to say a
few words to the men and women. My remarks were brief, and I
closed with, “Your mother or wife, or sister is praying for you to-day,
and when you leave your prison cell, go home to your mother, your
wife, or to your sister; go back to your church, and God will bless
and help you to be a better man or woman.” One prisoner went to
his cell weeping. I followed him to his cell and said to him, “Brother,
why do you weep?” and he answered, “When you said ‘mother’ it
touched a tender spot, and when I leave here I will go right home to
her and will be a better man.”

Scattered over the ocean there are many pieces of wreckage floating
in different directions, first carried by one current and then by
another; they are simply drifting. They have no purpose; they are
afraid to trust themselves. I believe it to be our duty to bring to
these men and women in prison the strongest force we know, the
power of love. Faith is a great power; so is hope; but charity, or
love, is the greatest. Geologists tell us that the silent influences of
the atmosphere are far more powerful than the noisy forces of
nature. Quiet sunshine is mightier than the thunder, and gentle rain
influences the earth more than an earthquake. Guided by this
gentleness and faith, I have tried to be the instrument in God’s
hands of leading some poor souls to the path which leads to
happiness and peace. It will probably be of interest to know
something of the work of the General Agent at the Eastern State
Penitentiary.

From January 1 to December 1, 1910: 493 prisoners were

discharged: to these were given 298 suits of clothing, 382 hats, 301
shirts, 425 suspenders and neckties and 321 suits of underclothes.

In addition tools, etc., have been provided for several of these

prisoners.

On December 1, 1910, Secretary Albert H. Votaw took charge of the

work of the Pennsylvania Prison Society at the Eastern State
Penitentiary in consequence of your General Agent having other
duties at the Central Police Station, City Hall. I desire to thank the
Inspectors, Warden, Chaplain and all the officials connected with the
Eastern Penitentiary for assistance rendered me in the performance
of my official duties.

Since October 1, 1898, I have made regular visits to Moyamensing

Prison and the Philadelphia County Prison at Holmesburg. During
1910 more than 600 discharged prisoners were assisted with railroad
tickets, board, lodging, room rent, tools, etc., and more than 700
letters written to relatives and friends at a distance, thus getting
them quickly in touch with folks at home, and in many cases
resulting in acquittal at court when a prisoner’s good record was
shown. The Inspectors, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent,
Prison Agent and Matron, and all connected with the prison have
rendered me every possible assistance, which I more than
appreciate. The commitments to Moyamensing Prison during 1910
were as follows:

White Males White Females Black MalesBlack Females Total

13,518 1,138 2,547 706 17,909
Total Committed 1909, 17,685

From October 1, 1909, to September 30, 1910, 914 prisoners were

sent to the County Prison at Holmesburg and 867 prisoners were
discharged.

A glance at the above figures will show what a wonderful field of

work there is for the Prison Agent and General Agent of the
Pennsylvania Prison Society.

For the past two years I have felt very strongly the importance of
visiting the prisoners at the Central Station, City Hall. The reason for
this desire was brought about through a young man who was held in
Moyamensing Prison on suspicion of larceny for a further hearing. I
had a talk with him and he told me he left Louisville, Ky., seventeen
years since, and had not written home in that time, and now he felt
ashamed to write. After a long talk with him, he consented to let me
write. When the letter came from the mother telling of her joy at the
news of her long-lost son, whom she had long thought dead, I at
once went to the prison and found the man had that morning been
discharged—the letter came too late. Had I met the man when he
was first arrested, that letter would have arrived before the second
hearing, and upon his discharge he would have gone home.

It is with much pleasure I am able to state that on November 16,

1910, Director Clay granted me permission to visit the cell room at
City Hall and directed the Superintendent of Police to issue me a
permit, which reads as follows:

Department of Public Safety,

Bureau of Police.
Philadelphia, November 16, 1910.

Permission is hereby granted Frederick J. Pooley, General Agent

Pennsylvania Prison Society, the courtesy and privilege of visiting
prisoners in Central Station committed to County Prison.

(Signed) John B. Taylor,

Superintendent of Police.

Since receiving permission I have made daily visits to the Central

Station and have written 126 letters to different parts of the country.
One letter brought a young man’s father from Johnstown, Pa., and
another from Richmond, Va., and when the cases came to court they
were discharged. At the request of the Detective Department three
women who were found on the street without a home were placed
in care of Mrs. H. Fassitt, and Mrs. Fassitt had them sent to the Door
of Blessing, and afterwards had one woman sent to her home in
West Virginia and another to her home in Maryland, and the other to
a hospital for treatment. In some cases the magistrates have
requested me to look into the case, and upon my report they were
discharged and sent home. I look for wonderful results from this
field of work. Only the other day a man came to me and said, “We
had not heard from sister for five months and had it not been for
your talk with her at the City Hall we do not know when she would
have decided to come home.” I think the words of our President,
Joshua L. Baily, to the Magistrate when he visited the City Hall
recently explains the new work of the Pennsylvania Prison Society
when he said. “Our new work here is to try to keep men and women
from going to prison.” The Magistrates and officials of the City Hall
are doing all they can to help to make the work of your General
Agent a success.

If any little love of ours

Can make one life the sweeter;
If any little care of ours
Can make one step the fleeter;
If any little help may ease
The burden of another;
God give us love and care and strength
To help along each other.

In the spirit of these words I enter upon my new work. The Motto
Calendars, so kindly given us each year for distribution at the
Eastern State Penitentiary, Holmesburg and Moyamensing, with
message of inspiration, are much appreciated.

The thanks of the members of the Pennsylvania Prison Society are

due to the following for sending magazines and religious papers for
the prisoners: Rev. R. H. Barnes, Louis C. Galenbeck, the late Miss
Mary S. Whelen, Attorney-at-Law William A. Davis, Mrs. Charles
Chauncey, Miss A. M. Johnson, Robert P. Nicholson, Estelle A. King,
C. Langenstein, Anna M. Tarr, Miss M. Louisa Baker, C. deB. L. Bright,
Mrs. R. T. Taylor and Friends’ Institute. Thanks are also due John J.
Lytle for several hundred copies of Sabbath Reading which have
been sent weekly to Eastern Penitentiary, Moyamensing and County
Prison, Holmesburg. In addition I have recently received, through
the kindness of Dr. Beverley Robinson, of New York City, $25.00 from
Mrs. Charles Chauncey, and from Mrs. A. Sydney Biddle the same
amount to help along the work, and from Mr. Emlen Hutchinson,
Chairman of the Board of Inspectors Philadelphia County Prison,
$60.00 with which to send home runaway boys. These amounts
have been handed to our Treasurer for use when necessary.

I feel the work that the Pennsylvania Prison Society is doing is

becoming more appreciated as the years roll on. With much faith in
the future of our Society,

Yours very sincerely,

Frederick J. Pooley,
General Agent.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Bureau of Police
DETECTIVE SERVICE

Philadelphia, October 26, 1911.

Joshua L. Baily, Esq., President of the Pennsylvania Prison Society,

500 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

Dear Sir:—Your General Agent, Mr. Frederick J. Pooley, commenced

work (as you know) at the Central Police Station last November, and
we have found his work very helpful to this department and hope
the good work your Society is doing through Mr. Pooley may be
continued for many years to come.

Wm. H. Griffing, Clerk.

Yours very truly,

Alfred I. Souder,
Captain of Detectives.

I most cheerfully endorse the above letter and can vouch for the
good work Mr. Pooley does in connection with this Court.
 David S. Scott,
Magistrate Police Court, City Hall.
PENAL LEGISLATION IN PENNSYLVANIA.
After the hopeful beginning in improved penal legislation made by
the Legislature of Pennsylvania two years ago in the enactment of a
probation, indeterminate sentence and parole law, the work done
and left undone by the recent session is, to say the least, most
discouraging. Not only did a number of admirable bills receive no
consideration whatever, but the law referred to above, which the
Committee on Criminal Law Reform in its report at the last Prison
Congress (Washington, 1910) pronounced “admirable,” was so
amended as virtually to eliminate from it the vital principle
underlying the indeterminate sentence and parole.

The act of 1909 was based on a very careful study of the writings of
the most advanced penologists, and of the statutes of those
progressive states that have introduced the indeterminate sentence
and parole with the largest measure of success. Its viewpoint was
that of those who seek the reformation of the wrongdoer, and not of
those who still have in their minds the old idea of retributive justice
only; it made a break with the old codes, aimed to deal with the
man and not with his crime, and had regard to his future rather than
to his past; and possibly this radical departure from the traditional
mode of thought and procedure, and the introduction of something
evidently so new to many legal minds in Pennsylvania, though no
longer so in some other States, was responsible for the hostility
which the law encountered here and there.

Section 6 of said law reads as follows:

“Whenever any person, convicted in any court of this

Commonwealth of any crime, shall be sentenced to
 imprisonment in either the Eastern or Western Penitentiary, the
court, instead of pronouncing upon such convict a definite or
fixed term of imprisonment, shall pronounce upon such convict
a sentence of imprisonment for an indefinite term; stating in
such sentence the minimum and maximum limits thereof; fixing
as the minimum time of such imprisonment, the term now or
hereafter prescribed as the minimum imprisonment for the
punishment of such offense; but if there be no minimum time
so prescribed, the court shall determine the same, but it shall
not exceed one fourth of the maximum time, and the maximum
limit shall be the maximum time now or hereafter prescribed as
a penalty for such offense: Provided, however, That when a
person shall have twice before been convicted, sentenced and
imprisoned in a penitentiary for a term of not less than one
year, for any crime committed in this State, or elsewhere within
the limits of the United States, the court shall sentence said
person to a maximum of thirty years: And provided further, That
no person sentenced for an indeterminate term shall be entitled
to any benefits under the act, entitled ‘An act providing for the
commutation of sentences for good behavior of convicts in
prisons, penitentiaries, workhouses, and county jails in this
State, and regulations governing the same,’ approved the
eleventh day of May, Anno Domini one thousand nine hundred
and one.”

This section has been amended to read:

“Whenever any person, convicted in any court of this

Commonwealth of any crime, shall be sentenced to
imprisonment in any penitentiary of the State, the court, instead
of pronouncing upon such convict a definite or fixed term of
imprisonment, shall pronounce upon such convict a sentence of
imprisonment for an indefinite term; stating in such sentence
the minimum and maximum limits thereof; and the maximum
limit shall never exceed the maximum time now or hereafter
prescribed as a penalty for such offense: Provided, That no
 person sentenced for an indeterminate term shall be entitled to
any benefits under the act, entitled ‘An act providing for the
commutation of sentences for good behavior of convicts in
prisons, penitentiaries, workhouses and county jails in this
State, and regulations governing the same,’ approved the
eleventh day of May, Anno Domini one thousand nine hundred
and one.”

It will be seen that this amendment puts it into the power of the
court to fix any minimum below the maximum, instead of a
minimum not exceeding one fourth of the maximum; that it permits
the court to name a lower maximum than the one now prescribed by
law for any given offense; and that it strikes out the thirty-year
clause altogether.

The practical effect of the former change is to destroy in great

measure the value and efficacy of the indeterminate sentence as a
remedial and reformatory measure. In other words, the amendment
restores the vicious inequality of sentences, which is always so apt
to breed a feeling of injustice and resentment in the one convicted,
and which therefore greatly unfits him as a subject for reformatory
treatment. It proceeds upon the long-accepted but false assumption
that the court can in every case determine the exact degree of
culpability and then adjust the punishment accurately to the crime.
This is not only absurd, but it is impossible. A Solomon with all his
wisdom could not have done this! As the law now stands, we shall
again find, as is indeed already the case, that the same court or
adjoining courts may, even under practically identical conditions,
impose greatly varying sentences, instead of putting all upon whom
sentence is passed on an equality and giving all, under identical
conditions, an equal chance, as the law originally contemplated.
Thus since the amended law went into effect sentences like these
have been pronounced: Minimum 5 years, maximum 7; minimum 8
years, maximum 10; minimum 6 months, maximum 1 year;
minimum 6 years, maximum 7; minimum 7 years, maximum 15. In
two cases of burglary the one man received a minimum of 5 years,
and a maximum of 10, but the other a minimum of only 2 years and
a maximum of 5; while in another case an old crook, who had been
convicted for the sixth time, and whose new crimes should have
brought him a maximum sentence of 16 years, received a minimum
of 3 months and a maximum of 1 year. Since the law first went into
effect several courts have also imposed flat sentences, without a
minimum. This is clearly in conflict with the law, which is mandatory.
It does seem as if courts that try and sentence lawbreakers should
be the first to have a reverent regard for law!

Again, under the amended law the court virtually determines when a
prisoner shall be eligible to parole. This is, however, utterly
subversive of the theory upon which the indeterminate sentence is
based, namely, that parole is to be granted when a prisoner is
believed to be fit to be restored to society as a law-abiding citizen.
The time when this may be done no court under the sun can fix, but
only those who have the prisoner in charge and under observation,
and even they may make mistakes. In the argument on the
amended bill before the Senate Committee, it was said by those who
opposed the original law, that it conferred judicial functions on the
Penitentiary Boards, and that there was not a State in the Union
whose statutes prescribed both the maximum and the minimum. But
it was shown that under the laws relating to the Huntingdon
Reformatory the courts in imposing sentence do not fix the duration
thereof, but that the Board of Managers is authorized to terminate
the sentence at its discretion, provided the detention shall not
exceed the maximum of the term assigned by law for the offense of
which the prisoner was convicted; also, that in many States, such as
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
Minnesota and others, the minimum as well as the maximum
sentence to the state prison is fixed by law. It seems strange,
indeed, that those who opposed the law of 1909 should have
forgotten the law as regards Huntingdon; and that they should have
been totally ignorant of the laws of other States on a subject that is
to-day receiving the serious attention of many of the most
thoughtful minds the world over!
On the benefits of a just and equal indeterminate sentence, Dr.
Frederick Howard Wines, one of the best informed and most
eminent penologists in the United States, expresses himself as
follows:

“There is not, and in the nature of things there cannot be, any
aid to a truly reformatory discipline like that afforded by the
indeterminate sentence. Every prison official can testify to the
dissatisfaction and unrest caused by the palpable inequality of
sentences; an inequality which neither the legislature nor the
courts can avoid or correct. The only equal sentence is the
indeterminate sentence, with an identical maximum for all who
violate a given section of the code, coupled with identical
conditions by which to reduce it to the minimum prescribed by
law. Its imposition removes all ground for complaint on this
score. It also puts an end to the fallacious hope of an
unconditional pardon. The prisoner is given to understand that
the date of his release on parole depends entirely upon himself.
The authorities desire his release and will help him to earn it;
they are not his enemies, but his friends. This disarms him of
his hostility to them. He is in a favorable state of mind to
receive treatment, and is disposed to yield obedience to them, if
they keep their promise to him. This leads to coöperation in the
effort made for his restoration, without which a cure cannot be
effected. The hope of an early release sustains him under the
depressing influence of prison life and stimulates him to exert
himself to avoid losing whatever he has gained by diligence and
good conduct. He is aided to form habits of industry and
obedience, which tend to become fixed. He is trained and
transformed.

“Under the indeterminate sentence the prison itself undergoes a

gradual process of transformation. The moment that
reformation rather than punishment becomes the watchword of
the administration, a new spirit takes possession of it. The
governor chooses better and abler men to govern it—men
 imbued with reformatory ideas and qualified to exert a
reformatory influence; men of higher education, purer moral
character, broader culture, loftier aims in life, greater devotion
to their work. These wardens of the new school grow stronger
with the passing years; their habit of opposition to everything
that is low or crooked or mean or vile lifts them to higher and
still higher levels. Failure to show reformatory results means
failure in their chosen profession. They have a new
responsibility, and they rise to meet it. They are open to every
suggestion that can be of service to them in the
accomplishment of their difficult task, a task from which an
angel might shrink, and in which an angel might rejoice.”

The thirty-year clause of the act of 1909 was designed to protect

society against the professional criminal. It is another absurdity of
our criminal procedure that we release such periodically to renew
their depredations on society. A dangerously insane person we put
away until he is cured; and if he is never cured he is never released.
We guard society against the contagion of certain virulent diseases.
But when the habitual criminal has every now and then squared
himself with the State by serving a term in the penitentiary, we
again give him his freedom, though he may have hatched out
another plot even before he leaves his place of confinement. Some
other States have grown wiser. New York and Indiana sentence the
habitual criminal for life on a third or fourth conviction; Connecticut
to thirty years on a third conviction; but in Pennsylvania a thirty-year
sentence, with a minimum not exceeding seven years and a half,
seems to have been considered too drastic. Better let society suffer
than the criminal!

In amending the law of 1909, which, under its intelligent

administration for two years was yielding most happy results,
Pennsylvania has clearly been compelled to take a backward step.
There was no public demand for a change; those charged with the
administration of the law did not desire a change, but opposed it;
and there is ample ground for the belief that the change was
inspired by reasons of a purely private and personal character.

Nor is the last Legislature to be commended for what it failed to do.

In his report of November 10, 1909, Mr. Bromley Wharton, General

Agent and Secretary of the Board of Public Charities, called attention
to the needs of the county jails in these words: “This is a matter
which has received serious attention at the hands of your Board. The
prevailing system of government of the county jails is, in many
respects, unsatisfactory. In most of the counties the jails are in
charge of the sheriff, who, as a rule, knows little or nothing of
hygiene or sanitation. Few jails have yards for exercise, or
workshops, which results in the prisoners loafing in the corridors,
smoking and playing cards. The filthy and unsanitary condition of
some of the jails causes the long-term prisoners to welcome their
transfer to the penitentiary.”

At the subsequent session of the Legislature a bill, approved by the

Board, was introduced designed to remedy the unsatisfactory and
often disgraceful conditions existing in the prisons of various
counties, and placing the control and management of all the county
prisons and jails and the inmates thereof in Boards of Prison
Inspectors to be named by the courts, one inspector to be a
physician, and another, if desired, a woman. This carefully drawn bill,
which, if it had become a law, would have inaugurated a most
salutary reform where it is most needed in our penal system, passed
the House, but was killed in the Senate. It was re-introduced in the
last Legislature, but never even came out of committee.

A joint resolution, likewise approved by the Board of Charities,

providing for the appointment of a commission to consider and
report upon the advisability of establishing a state system of
workhouses for misdemeanants, so that county jails and prisons
could be used solely for the imprisonment of persons awaiting trial
or otherwise detained, and for convicts sentenced to brief terms,
met a similar fate. So also an act authorizing the pensioning of
deserving superannuated employés of penal, reformatory and
charitable institutions of the State.

Another bill, strongly approved by the Board, but which after its
introduction never again saw the light of day, provided for the
establishing of a State Reformatory for Women between the ages of
fourteen and twenty-one. That such an institution is most urgently
needed is only too well known to charity workers throughout the
State. It is almost incredible that such a wealthy and otherwise
progressive State like Pennsylvania should be considered too poor to
make at least a beginning of an institution of this kind. Were the
people of this Commonwealth familiar with the work done and the
results achieved by such an institution as the Massachusetts
Reformatory Prison for Women, they would compel their legislators
to take action. Great movements in behalf of the social welfare can
after all be carried through only when there is an intelligent,
widespread and persistent public sentiment behind them.

The one progressive penal act for which the last Legislature deserves
credit is the bill “providing for the selection and purchase, or the
appropriation from State forest reserves, of a tract of land and the
erection thereon of buildings for the Western Penitentiary; making
an appropriation therefor; authorizing the removal thereto of the
inmates of the said penitentiary, and directing the sale of the site
now occupied by the said penitentiary, and the buildings and
materials thereon.” This is in line with the recommendation of the
Board of Charities, which, in its preliminary report for the years
1911-12, called renewed attention to the very unsatisfactory
conditions surrounding the Western Penitentiary, and strongly urged
its removal to some large tract of land in a rural section, so that
labor, not in conflict with existing laws, might be provided for the
inmates. In pursuing this course Pennsylvania will only be doing
what some other States have already done or are about doing; and
it is to be hoped that in due time similar provision will be made for
the eastern part of the State. Might it not be well to keep in mind,
however, the need of a central state prison for the confinement of
habitual criminals, so that the two penitentiaries now in existence
could be used only for first-termers? This would make the
reformatory process contemplated by the indeterminate sentence
infinitely easier.

Another bill of extremely doubtful utility passed by the last

Legislature, authorizes the judges of the courts of quarter sessions
and the courts of oyer and terminer, after due inquiry, to release on
parole any convict confined in the county jail or workhouse of their
respective districts, and place him or her in charge of and under the
supervision of a designated probation officer. County jails as now
conducted are not reformatory institutions.

It will be seen from this survey that Pennsylvania is not making rapid
progress in improved penal legislation; nor is it likely that we can
hope for better things until some future Legislature will see fit to
empower the Board of Charities or a specially appointed commission
of expert penologists to devise a carefully articulated and
homogeneous system of penal and reformatory institutions for the
State. Such a system should provide for a radical change in the
construction, management and internal administration of the county
prisons; it should include a state system of workhouses, a woman’s
reformatory, a central penitentiary for recidivists, and a favorably
located institution for criminals suffering from tuberculosis or
dementia, where they could receive skillful treatment; it should
make a strict separation between habitual criminals and first
offenders, between young delinquents and those of mature years;
and it should everywhere introduce approved reformatory methods,
and make it possible to give those in confinement ample indoor and
outdoor employment. It might, of course, be objected that a system
so carefully planned and wrought out would be too expensive; but
let it never be forgotten that in the end it is far better for the State,
and indeed cheaper, to make men than to arrest, try and support
criminals, and suffer the results of their depredations.
Philadelphia.

J. F. Ohl,
Chairman of the Committee on Legislation,
Pennsylvania Prison Society.
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