Differentiable short-time Fourier transform with respect to the hop length

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a differentiable version of the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) that allows for gradient-based optimization of the hop length or the frame temporal position by making these parameters continuous. Our approach provides improved control over the temporal positioning of frames, as the continuous nature of the hop length allows for a more finely-tuned optimization. Furthermore, our contribution enables the use of optimization methods such as gradient descent, which are more computationally efficient than conventional discrete optimization methods. Our differentiable STFT can also be easily integrated into existing algorithms and neural networks. We present a simulated illustration to demonstrate the efficacy of our approach and to garner interest from the research community.