Common Tempo Markings In Music

What is a tempo marking?

A tempo marking lets you know the speed (called tempo) at which the composer wants a piece of music performed. Tempo markings are usually written as a word that corresponds with a number, which you will see below, or in beats per minute (bpm). For example, Allegro means fast and is a tempo between 120 bpm and 168 bpm. The composer could write Allegro or 120bpm. Notice that I wrote "between 120 and 168 beats per minute," as it is very common for tempo markings to encompass a range. The musician or conductor is free to choose where in this range the piece is performed.

If the tempo is written just as beats per minute, the composer will show you which note value is receiving the beat. For example, in common time, the quarter note received the beat. Composers would notate the tempo as Quarter note = 120bpm.

You'll see tempo markings most often written in Italian. Here is a list of common tempo markings and their metronome mark range. You'll notice that many of the words end with -issimo or -etto. -issimo means "extremely" and -etto meaning a "lesser version" of. A great example of this is with Largo (slow); Larghissimo is extremely slow and Larghetto is less slow (or faster) than Largo.

Italian Tempo Marking

Slow Tempo Markings

Moderate Tempo Markings

Fast Tempo Markings

Sometimes you will see the tempo written in the native language of the composer (typically French, German, or English).

French Tempo Markings

• Au mouvement - play the original or main tempo
• Grave - slowly and solemnly
• Largement - slowly
• Lento - slowly
• Modere - moderate tempo
• Rapide - fast
• Vif - lively
• Vite - fast These two words are modifiers for tempos. You'll see them before the tempos defined above. Moins - less Tres - very Take the tempo marking of vif, which means lively. Tres vif would mean very lively. Moins vif would mean less lively.

German Tempo Markings

• Kraftig - vigorous or powerful
• Langsam - slowly
• etwas breit
• Lebhaft - lively (mood)
• MaBig - moderately
• Rasch - quickly
• Schnell - fast
• Bewegt - animated, with motion

Terms for Changes in Tempo

Tempos will usually vary during a piece of music. This can happen gradually or all of a sudden. Here are some musical terms you might see that indicate a change in tempo:

• Accelerando - gradual speeding up (abbreviation: accel.)
• Allargando - growing broader or decreasing in tempo
• Calando - going slower (and usually also softer)
• Doppio movimento / doppio piu mosso - double-speed
• Doppio piu lento - half-speed
• Lentando - gradually slowing, and softer
• Meno mosso - less movement; slower
• Meno moto - less motion
• Piu mosso - more movement; faster
• Mosso - movement, more lively; quicker, much like piu mosso, but not as extreme
• Precipitando - hurrying; going faster/forward
• Rallentando (often written as rall.) - a gradual slowing down
• Ritardando (often written as rit.) - gradual slowing down
• Ritenuto - slightly slower, but achieved more immediately
• Rubato - free adjustment of (slowing) the tempo for an expressive purpose
• Stringendo - pressing on faster, literally "tightening"
• Tardando - slowing down gradually (same as ritardando)
• Tempo Giusto - very strict tempo
• Tempo Primo - resume the original tempo

Practicing Tempo

A common mistake students make when practicing music is to set their metronome to the tempo marking and try to play it. If the passage is simple, this might work (but then why are you practicing it?), but a smarter approach is to set your metronome at least 20 bpm slower.

Try playing the passage at this slower tempo and see if you can play it perfectly. If you can, then increase the tempo by 2 to 4 BPM and then play through it again. Repeat this process unit you can play the passage perfectly 12 BPM faster than the tempo marking in the music. This will ensure you have the dexterity to play confidently play through it during a performance.