Curious: What is the fastest, quickest note a musician can play?

The group Nickel Creek’s track “Ode To A Butterfly” has some
might fast picking …and made me wonder what is the fastest
or quickest note a musician can play or be discerned by the
human ear…

I know there is a 32th note…which is very quick…
Ya’lls input appreciated

Thanks

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There are also 64th notes, etc., but it is a question of tempo rather than the number of flags on the notes.

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I believe some printings of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto (Op. 37) have a two hundred fifty-sixth note - but as @Elk suggested, the tempo to the movement (the 2nd Largo) has a pretty slow tempo, so one could play faster than that. Also, those printings are ridiculous :wink:

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Adam Neely - What is the fastest music humanly possible?

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I just picked up my guitar and played it. Did you miss it?

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Fun video.

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I’ve watched almost all of his videos. Good humor, good musical advice, VLogs of gigs, advice on technique for submitted videos, interesting guests, weird music theory, … It’s also fun to watch how he “cleans up” from the early videos to the later ones.

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Hey guys thanks for chiming in…so my take away is that
the fastest quickest note is quicker than the blink of the eye :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Keep the replies coming …makes for interesting reading!!

Best wishes

Oooops how can I not say thank you Ted for posting this video…
a big help …

Thanks Ted

Best wishes

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Thanks much for posting Ted. Another fascinating subject I know nothing about.

A contender for a very fast note might be the taps of a birl on a bagpipe chanter, with the performer giving a double tap with the little finger on an open low G. No timing data but it is a very brief note.

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I think classical Indian tabla players would have to be in the running for being among the greatest masters of rapid technique. These examples of tabla beat taals by Maestro Yashwant Vaishnav are an impressive demonstration of speed, precision, and musicality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpm5FKdXQgk

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Geee…how can he do that…

Best wishes