The mel-frequency cepstrum is obtained by taking the [[mel-frequency spectrum]] and transforming it using the [[cepstral analysis]], which separates the spectral envelope from the spectral details. In the case of the mel-frequency spectrum, the [[discrete cosine transform (DCT)]] is used instead of the [[discrete Fourier transform (DFT)]]. Each sample of a mel-frequency cepstrum is called a [[mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC)]].