Tempo: music symbols explained

69 symbols and terms, each explained in a sentence or two — the same dictionary the free Artform score reader uses when you tap a marking on a real score.

Grave

Very slow and serious. The slowest of the usual tempo words.

Largo

Slow and broad. Wide, unhurried, with room around every note.

Larghetto

Slow and broad, but less so than Largo: the -etto ending makes the word smaller, and the tempo a little quicker.

Adagio

Slow and at ease. Literally 'at leisure'.

Andante

Walking pace. Not slow, not fast: the speed of someone strolling.

Andantino

A little Andante, and usually taken as slightly quicker than a walk. Composers have used it both ways, so let the music decide.

Moderato

At a moderate speed. Often attached to another word, as in Allegro moderato.

Allegro

Fast and bright. The word means cheerful, and the character matters as much as the speed.

Allegretto

A small Allegro: lively, but held back from the full pace, and lighter with it.

Vivace

Lively and quick, with more energy than Allegro.

Presto

Very fast.

Prestissimo

Faster than Presto, and about as fast as music is written.

ritritardando

Gradually slowing down.

rallrallentando

Gradually slowing and easing off, much like ritardando.

accelerando

Gradually getting faster.

a tempo

Back to the original speed, after having slowed or pushed on.

tempo primo

Return to the first tempo of the piece.

rubato

Stolen time. Stretch some notes and hurry others, so the phrase breathes while the pulse underneath stays honest.

meno mosso

Less movement: slower than what came before.

più mosso

More movement: faster than what came before.

fermata

Hold this note or rest longer than written, for as long as it needs.

lentLent

Slow.

Modéré

At a moderate speed.

vifVif

Lively, quick.

Animé

Animated, with spirit.

Retenu

Held back: slow down and stay there, rather than gradually easing.

Cédez

Yield: give way, let the tempo relax.

Langsam

Slow.

Schnell

Fast.

Mäßig

Moderate, measured.

Bewegt

With movement, agitated.

Lento

Slow. Plainer than adagio: a speed rather than a mood.

Adagietto

A little faster than adagio, and usually gentler with it.

vivoVivo

Lively. The same family as vivace, and used to sharpen another word: allegro vivo.

Comodo

At a comfortable speed. Whatever pace lets the passage sound unhurried.

Tempo giusto

In strict time, at a sensible speed. A warning against the freedom the music might invite.

L'istesso tempo

The same speed as before, even though the note values or the time signature have changed. The beat is the thing that stays.

Doppio movimento

Twice as fast. Not vaguely quicker: exactly double.

Alla breve

Cut time: count two minim beats in the bar instead of four crotchets. Printed as a C with a line through it.

Ritenuto

Held back at once, and stay there. Not ritardando: that eases down gradually, this arrives already slower.

Allargando

Broadening: slowing and growing at the same time. Almost always at an arrival, never at a retreat.

Calando

Dropping away: quieter and slower together, the sound going out of the room.

Morendo

Dying. Fading to nothing in both volume and motion, and meant to sound like an ending.

Smorzando

Smothering the sound: fading and slackening, a shade more suddenly than morendo.

Perdendosi

Losing itself. Fading until the line barely exists, often into a pause.

Slentando

Slackening the pace, in the same family as rallentando.

Lunga

Long. Written over a fermata or a rest to say that this one really is held.

g.p.G.P.

General pause: everybody stops, and the silence is written into the piece.

Stringendo

Tightening: pressing forward, usually louder with it. The musical equivalent of quickening your step.

Incalzando

Pressing on, chasing. Urgency rather than a change of tempo marking.

Affrettando

Hurrying. The pulse gets ahead of itself on purpose.

Come prima

As at first. The character as well as the speed of the opening.

Tempo comodo

Back to a comfortable speed after something has pulled it about.

Rapide

Fast.

viteVite

Quick, brisk.

Large

Broad. The French largo: wide and unhurried.

En animant

Becoming more animated: pressing forward.

En retenant

Holding back, growing slower.

Au mouvement

Back to the original speed. The French a tempo.

Serrez

Tighten: push the tempo forward.

Élargir

Broaden out: slow and widen at the same time.

Sans presser

Without hurrying. A warning, usually where the music invites a rush.

Sans lenteur

Without dragging. The other side of the same warning.

Lebhaft

Lively.

Rasch

Quick.

Breit

Broad. The German largo.

Nicht schleppen

Do not drag. Printed where a slow passage tends to sag.

Nicht eilen

Do not hurry.

Zurückhaltend

Holding back. The German ritenuto.

The rest of the dictionary