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If I am attempting to make a monaural beat from two frequencies by playing two frequencies with equal amplitudes simultaneously, what is the maximum difference I can have between those two frequencies and still have the beat frequency be noticeable?
Is there a limit? I'd imagine there would be. For example if I'm 220 Hz as well as (220+x)Hz to make an audible beat frequency, which, if I'm not mistaken would be equal to x Hz, what is the highest x can be?
I think this has something to do with HARMONY, i haven't completed harmony yet so I'm not 100% sure... When you have two frequencies of different values playing simultaneously, the brain and ear automatically begin to compare the two intervals. Unless it's by like a decimal it will be noticeably different than the first.
The maximum frequency of monaural beats is the same frequency as the lower bound of human hearing. The generally accepted lower-bound of human hearing is 20Hz, but it varies from human to human. This happens to be the lowest perceivable frequency not just because of the hardware of your ears, but also because of the demarcation your brain makes between a frequency and a collection of distinct sonic events.
Beats are the same. So long as x is lower than 20Hz, we perceive each beat as a distinct event. Once x exceeds about 20Hz (varies among people), we begin to interpret the collection of waves as a tone. Past this point, the beat patterns become part of the timbre.
