Speed of playing notes in different octaves?

Question

Is it common for pieces to have lower notes played slower? Do instruments with lower registers typically play slower? I ask because notes in lower octaves are closer together in frequency. For example, A0 to A#0 is about 1.6 Hz different while A1 to A#1 is about 3.3 Hz different - this is just a fundamental consequence of the doubling of frequencies between successive octaves. At least with Fourier analysis, to distinguish two frequencies only different by 1.6 Hz you would need 1.25 seconds of the note being played. (that is 2*1/1.6 where the 2x is to handle the Nyquist frequency issue). For A1 (delta of 3.3 Hz) you would need about 612 ms, for A2 (delta of 6.5 Hz) about 305 ms, for A3 (delta of 13 Hz) about 153 ms, ... Is human perception able to distinguish notes better than this and thus not as limited by the speed of low notes as a Fourier Transform would be? Do lower notes usually get played slower to accommodate for this? With the logic above, A3 can only be played 6.5 bps or 392 bpm (eighth notes at 180 bpm).

Answer 1

I've never heard of any evidence that humans can't hear pitch changes as quickly in lower octaves. Low instruments are often written with slower notes than higher ones, but I'd say it has more to do with the physics of the instruments themselves (it takes more energy to change the vibration of larger body), possible interference from upper harmonics (more audible on lower notes), and the harmonic nature of most Western music (underlying harmonies changes more slowly than melody notes, e.g.).

Try playing "Flight of the Bumblebee" in the lowest octave of the piano. You can hear the pitches change just fine; it just doesn't sound that good.