The present invention relates to systems and methods for processing acoustic signals, such as music and speech. The method involves nonlinear frequency analysis of an incoming acoustic signal. In one aspect, a network of nonlinear oscillators, each with a distinct frequency, is applied to process the signal. The frequency, amplitude, and phase of each signal component are identified. In addition, nonlinearities in the network recover components that are not present or not fully resolvable in the input signal. In another aspect, a modification of the nonlinear oscillator network is used to track changing frequency components of an input signal.