  By applying an unrestricted Hartree-Fock and a Random Phase approximations to
a multiband Peierls-Hubbard Hamiltonian, we study the phonon mode structure in
models of transition metal oxides in the presence of intrinsic nanoscale
inhomogeneities induced by hole doping. We identify low frequency $local$
vibrational modes pinned to the sharp interfaces between regions of distinct
electronic structure (doped and undoped) and separated in frequency from the
band of extended phonons. A characteristic of these ``edge'' modes is that
their energy is essentially insensitive to the doping level. We discuss the
experimental manifestations of these modes in inelastic neutron scattering, and
also in spin and charge excitation spectra.
