Tempo
Encyclopedia
In musical terminology
, tempo (Italian
for time, plural: tempi) is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.
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The tempo of a piece will typically be written at the start of a piece of music, and in modern Western music is usually indicated in beats per minute (BPM). This means that a particular note value (for example, a quarter note or crotchet) is specified as the beat, and the marking indicates that a certain number of these beats must be played per minute. The greater the tempo, the larger the number of beats that must be played in a minute is, and, therefore, the faster a piece must be played. Mathematical tempo markings of this kind became increasingly popular during the first half of the 19th century, after the metronome had been invented by Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, although early metronomes were somewhat inconsistent. Beethoven was the first composer to use the metronome, and in 1817 he published metronomic indications for his (then) eight symphonies. Some of these markings are today contentious, such as those on his "Hammerklavier" Sonata
and Ninth Symphony
, seeming to many to be almost impossibly fast, as is also the case for many of the works of Schumann
.
With the advent of modern electronics, BPM became an extremely precise measure. Music sequencer
s use the BPM system to denote tempo.
As an alternative to metronome markings, some 20th century composers (such as Béla Bartók
and John Cage
) would give the total execution time of a piece, from which the proper tempo can be roughly derived.
Tempo is as crucial in contemporary music as it is in classical. In electronic dance music
, accurate knowledge of a tune's BPM is important to DJs
for the purposes of beatmatching
.
.jpg)
Whether a music piece has a mathematical time indication or not, in classical music
it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words. Most of these words are Italian
, because many of the most important composer
s of the 17th century were Italian, and this period was when tempo indications were first used extensively.
Before the metronome, words were the only way to describe the tempo of a composition. Yet after the metronome's invention, these words continued to be used, often additionally indicating the mood of the piece, thus blurring the traditional distinction between tempo and mood indicators. For example, presto and allegro both indicate a speedy execution (presto being faster), but allegro also connotes joy (from its original meaning in Italian). Presto, on the other hand, indicates speed as such.
Additional Italian words also indicate tempo and mood. For example, the "agitato" in the Allegro agitato of the last movement of George Gershwin
's piano concerto in F
has both a tempo indication (undoubtedly faster than a usual Allegro) and a mood indication ("agitated").
period), conventions governing musical composition were so strong that no tempo had to be indicated. For example, the first movement of Bach
's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 has no tempo or mood indication whatsoever. To provide movement names, publishers of recordings resort to ad hoc measures, for instance marking the Brandenburg movement "Allegro", "(Allegro)", "(Without indication)", and so on.
In Renaissance music
most music was understood to flow at a tempo defined by the tactus, roughly the rate of the human heartbeat. Which note value corresponded to the tactus was indicated by the mensural time signature
.
Often a particular musical form
or genre
implies its own tempo, so no further explanation is placed in the score. Thus musicians expect a minuet
to be performed at a fairly stately tempo, slower than a Viennese waltz
; a Perpetuum Mobile
to be quite fast, and so on. Genres can be used to imply tempos; thus Ludwig van Beethoven
wrote "In tempo d'un Menuetto" over the first movement of his Piano Sonata Op. 54, although that movement is not a minuet. Popular music
charts use terms such as "bossa nova", "ballad", and "Latin rock" in much the same way.
It is important to remember when interpreting these words that not only have tempos changed over historical time, and even in different places, but sometimes even the ordering of terms has changed. Thus a modern largo is slower than an adagio, but in the Baroque period it was faster.
The BPM tempo of a piece of music is conventionally shown in its score as a metronome
mark, as illustrated to the right. This indicates that there should be 120 crotchet
beats (quarter note
s) per minute. In simple time signatures it is conventional to show the tempo in terms of the note duration on the bottom. So a 4/4 would show a crotchet
(or quarter note), as above, while a 2/2 would show a minim
(or half note
).
In compound time signatures the beat consists of three note durations (so there are 3 quavers (eighth notes) per beat in a 6/8 time signature), so a dotted form of the next note duration up is used. The most common compound signatures: 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8, therefore use a dotted crotchet (dotted quarter note) to indicate their BPM.
Exotic time and particularly slow time signatures may indicate their BPM tempo using other note durations.
Beats per minute became common terminology in disco
because of its usefulness to DJs
, and remain important in the same genre and other dance music.
In this context the beats measured are either crotchets (quarter notes) in the time signature (sometimes called down-beats, although the term is ambiguous), or drum beats (typically bass-drum or another functionally similar synthesized sound), whichever is more frequent. Higher BPM values are therefore achievable by increasing the number of drum beats, without increasing the tempo of the music.
House music
is faster around 120-128 bpm (from regular house music to UK Garage
), and Jungle music
generally ranges between 150-180 bpm. Psytrance is almost exclusively produced at 145 BPM, whereas Speedcore
and Gabber music both frequently exceed 180 bpm.
and cybergrind often strive to reach excessively high BPM rates. The use of extreme tempo was very common in the fast bebop
jazz
from the 1940s and 1950s. A common jazz tune such as "Cherokee
" was often performed at quarter note equal to or sometimes exceeding 368 BPM. Some of Charlie Parker
's famous tunes ("Bebop", "Sha Nuff") have been performed at 380 BPM plus. John Coltrane
's "Giant Steps
" was performed at 374 BPM.
, a tool amongst DJs, concerns the speeding up or down of a record in order to match the BPM of a previous track so both can be seamlessly mixed.
DJs often beatmatch the underlying tempos of recordings, rather than their strict BPM, particularly when dealing with high BPM tracks. A 240 BPM track, for example, will normally match the beat of a 120 BPM track without slowing down or speeding up, because both are likely to have an underlying tempo of 120 crotchets (quarter notes) per minute. Thus, some soul music
(around 75-90 beats per minute) can be mixed well with a drum and bass
beat (from 150-185 beats per minute).
Normally, the pitch and BPM of a track are linked: spin a disc 10% faster and both pitch and tempo will be 10% higher. Software processing to change the pitch without changing the tempo, or vice-versa, is called time-stretching
or pitch-shifting
. While it works fairly well for small adjustments (± 20%), the result can be noisy and unmusical for larger changes.
: the number of measures in one minute. It is commonly used in ballroom dance
music.
Additional Terms:
Note: In addition to the common allegretto, composers freely apply Italian diminutive
and superlative
suffix
es to various tempo indications: andantino, larghetto, adagietto, and larghissimo.
(or character) also have a tempo connotation:
While the base tempo indication (such as allegro) appears in large type above the staff, these adjustments typically appear below the staff or (in the case of keyboard instruments) in the middle of the grand staff.
They generally designate a gradual change in tempo; for immediate tempo shifts, composers normally just provide the designation for the new tempo. (Note, however, that when Più Mosso or Meno Mosso appears in large type above the staff, it functions as a new tempo, and thus implies an immediate change.) Several terms, e.g., assai, molto, poco, subito, control how large and how gradual a change should be (see Common qualifiers).
After a tempo change, a composer may return to a previous tempo in two different ways:
These terms also indicate an immediate, not a gradual, tempo change. Although they are Italian, composers typically use them even if they have written their initial tempo marking in some other language.
and Jean-Philippe Rameau
as well as Claude Debussy
, Olivier Messiaen
, Maurice Ravel
and Alexander Scriabin
. Common tempo markings in French are:
Erik Satie
was known to write extense tempo (and character) markings by defining them in a poetical and literal way, as in his Gnossiennes.
One of the first German composers to use tempo markings in his native language was Ludwig van Beethoven
. The one using the most elaborate combined tempo and mood markings was probably Gustav Mahler
. For example, the second movement
of his Symphony No. 9
is marked Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers, etwas täppisch und sehr derb, indicating a slowish folk-dance–like movement, with some awkwardness and much vulgarity in the execution. Mahler would also sometimes combine German tempo markings with traditional Italian markings, as in the first movement of his sixth symphony
, marked Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig (Energetically quick, but not too much. Violent, but vigorous).
and Percy Grainger
, among many others. In jazz
and popular music
charts, terms like "fast", "laid back", "steady rock", "medium", "medium-up", "ballad", and similar style indications may appear.
of compositions after their tempo (and/or mood) marking. For instance the second movement of Samuel Barber's first String Quartet
is an "Adagio".
Some such movements may start to lead a life of their own, and become known with the tempo/mood marker name, for instance the string orchestra version of the second movement of Barber's first string quartet became known as Adagio for Strings
. A similar example is Mahler's most famous work - the Adagietto from his Symphony No. 5
. Another is Mozart
's Alla Turca (here indicating the Janissary music type of mood of the final movement of Mozart's 11th Piano Sonata, K. 331)
Sometimes the link between a musical composition with a "tempo" name and a separate movement of a composition is less clear. For instance Albinoni's Adagio, a 20th century creative "reconstruction" based on an incomplete manuscript.
Some composers chose to include tempo indicators in the name of a separate composition, for instance Bartók
in Allegro barbaro
("barbaric Allegro"), a single movement composition.
Musicians generally consider unintentional tempo drift undesirable, and these terms thus carry a negative connotation.
Therefore neither rush nor drag (nor their equivalents in other languages) are often used as tempo indications in scores. Mahler
is a notable exception. For example, he used schleppend (dragging) as part of a tempo indication in the first movement of his Symphony No. 1
.
Music Dictionaries:
Musical terminology
This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian , in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from...
, tempo (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for time, plural: tempi) is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.
Measuring tempo
Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 is a piano sonata widely considered to be one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among one of the great piano sonatas...
and Ninth Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
, seeming to many to be almost impossibly fast, as is also the case for many of the works of Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
.
With the advent of modern electronics, BPM became an extremely precise measure. Music sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
s use the BPM system to denote tempo.
As an alternative to metronome markings, some 20th century composers (such as Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
and John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
) would give the total execution time of a piece, from which the proper tempo can be roughly derived.
Tempo is as crucial in contemporary music as it is in classical. In electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
, accurate knowledge of a tune's BPM is important to DJs
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
for the purposes of beatmatching
Beatmatching
Beatmatching is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching a track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track e.g. the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously...
.
Musical vocabulary for tempo
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words. Most of these words are Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, because many of the most important composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s of the 17th century were Italian, and this period was when tempo indications were first used extensively.
Before the metronome, words were the only way to describe the tempo of a composition. Yet after the metronome's invention, these words continued to be used, often additionally indicating the mood of the piece, thus blurring the traditional distinction between tempo and mood indicators. For example, presto and allegro both indicate a speedy execution (presto being faster), but allegro also connotes joy (from its original meaning in Italian). Presto, on the other hand, indicates speed as such.
Additional Italian words also indicate tempo and mood. For example, the "agitato" in the Allegro agitato of the last movement of George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's piano concerto in F
Concerto in F (Gershwin)
Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue...
has both a tempo indication (undoubtedly faster than a usual Allegro) and a mood indication ("agitated").
Understood tempo
In some cases (quite often up to the end of the BaroqueBaroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
period), conventions governing musical composition were so strong that no tempo had to be indicated. For example, the first movement of Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 has no tempo or mood indication whatsoever. To provide movement names, publishers of recordings resort to ad hoc measures, for instance marking the Brandenburg movement "Allegro", "(Allegro)", "(Without indication)", and so on.
In Renaissance music
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
most music was understood to flow at a tempo defined by the tactus, roughly the rate of the human heartbeat. Which note value corresponded to the tactus was indicated by the mensural time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
.
Often a particular musical form
Musical form
The term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
or genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
implies its own tempo, so no further explanation is placed in the score. Thus musicians expect a minuet
Minuet
A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
to be performed at a fairly stately tempo, slower than a Viennese waltz
Viennese Waltz
Viennese Waltz is the genre of a ballroom dance. At least three different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, danced to the music of Viennese Waltz.What is now called...
; a Perpetuum Mobile
Perpetuum mobile
Perpetuum mobile , moto perpetuo , mouvement perpétuel , movimiento perpetuo , literally meaning "perpetual motion", means two distinct things:#pieces of music, or parts of pieces, characterised by a continuous steady stream of notes, usually at a...
to be quite fast, and so on. Genres can be used to imply tempos; thus Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
wrote "In tempo d'un Menuetto" over the first movement of his Piano Sonata Op. 54, although that movement is not a minuet. Popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
charts use terms such as "bossa nova", "ballad", and "Latin rock" in much the same way.
It is important to remember when interpreting these words that not only have tempos changed over historical time, and even in different places, but sometimes even the ordering of terms has changed. Thus a modern largo is slower than an adagio, but in the Baroque period it was faster.
Beats per minute
Beats per minute (BPM) is a unit typically used as a measure of tempo in music.The BPM tempo of a piece of music is conventionally shown in its score as a metronome
Metronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
mark, as illustrated to the right. This indicates that there should be 120 crotchet
Quarter note
A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...
beats (quarter note
Quarter note
A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...
s) per minute. In simple time signatures it is conventional to show the tempo in terms of the note duration on the bottom. So a 4/4 would show a crotchet
Quarter note
A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...
(or quarter note), as above, while a 2/2 would show a minim
Half note
In music, a half note or minim is a note played for half the duration of a whole note and twice the duration of a quarter note...
(or half note
Half note
In music, a half note or minim is a note played for half the duration of a whole note and twice the duration of a quarter note...
).
In compound time signatures the beat consists of three note durations (so there are 3 quavers (eighth notes) per beat in a 6/8 time signature), so a dotted form of the next note duration up is used. The most common compound signatures: 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8, therefore use a dotted crotchet (dotted quarter note) to indicate their BPM.
Exotic time and particularly slow time signatures may indicate their BPM tempo using other note durations.
Beats per minute became common terminology in disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
because of its usefulness to DJs
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, and remain important in the same genre and other dance music.
In this context the beats measured are either crotchets (quarter notes) in the time signature (sometimes called down-beats, although the term is ambiguous), or drum beats (typically bass-drum or another functionally similar synthesized sound), whichever is more frequent. Higher BPM values are therefore achievable by increasing the number of drum beats, without increasing the tempo of the music.
House music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
is faster around 120-128 bpm (from regular house music to UK Garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
), and Jungle music
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
generally ranges between 150-180 bpm. Psytrance is almost exclusively produced at 145 BPM, whereas Speedcore
Speedcore
Speedcore is a form of hardcore techno that is characterized by a high rate of beats per minute and aggressive themes. The name originates from the high BPM rate, which rarely drops below 300 BPM. Earlier Speedcore tracks averaged at about 250 BPM, whereas more recent tracks sometimes exceed 1000 BPM...
and Gabber music both frequently exceed 180 bpm.
Extreme BPM
More extreme BPMs are achievable at the same underlying tempo with very fast drum patterns, often expressed as drum rolls. Such compositions often exhibit a much slower underlying tempo, but may increase the BPM by adding additional percussive beats. Extreme music subgenres such as speedcoreSpeedcore
Speedcore is a form of hardcore techno that is characterized by a high rate of beats per minute and aggressive themes. The name originates from the high BPM rate, which rarely drops below 300 BPM. Earlier Speedcore tracks averaged at about 250 BPM, whereas more recent tracks sometimes exceed 1000 BPM...
and cybergrind often strive to reach excessively high BPM rates. The use of extreme tempo was very common in the fast bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
from the 1940s and 1950s. A common jazz tune such as "Cherokee
Cherokee (song)
"Cherokee" is a 1987 hit single released by the Swedish heavy metal band Europe. It was the fourth single released internationally from the album The Final Countdown, and was number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA....
" was often performed at quarter note equal to or sometimes exceeding 368 BPM. Some of Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
's famous tunes ("Bebop", "Sha Nuff") have been performed at 380 BPM plus. John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
's "Giant Steps
Giant Steps (composition)
"Giant Steps" is a jazz composition by John Coltrane, first appearing as the first track on the album of the same name . The composition contains a rapid and improvised progression of chord changes through three keys shifted by major thirds, creating an augmented triad.-Title:The song title comes...
" was performed at 374 BPM.
Beatmatching
BeatmatchingBeatmatching
Beatmatching is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching a track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track e.g. the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously...
, a tool amongst DJs, concerns the speeding up or down of a record in order to match the BPM of a previous track so both can be seamlessly mixed.
DJs often beatmatch the underlying tempos of recordings, rather than their strict BPM, particularly when dealing with high BPM tracks. A 240 BPM track, for example, will normally match the beat of a 120 BPM track without slowing down or speeding up, because both are likely to have an underlying tempo of 120 crotchets (quarter notes) per minute. Thus, some soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
(around 75-90 beats per minute) can be mixed well with a drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
beat (from 150-185 beats per minute).
Normally, the pitch and BPM of a track are linked: spin a disc 10% faster and both pitch and tempo will be 10% higher. Software processing to change the pitch without changing the tempo, or vice-versa, is called time-stretching
Audio timescale-pitch modification
Time stretching is the process of changing the speed or duration of an audio signal without affecting its pitch.Pitch scaling or pitch shifting is the opposite: the process of changing the pitch without affecting the speed...
or pitch-shifting
Audio timescale-pitch modification
Time stretching is the process of changing the speed or duration of an audio signal without affecting its pitch.Pitch scaling or pitch shifting is the opposite: the process of changing the pitch without affecting the speed...
. While it works fairly well for small adjustments (± 20%), the result can be noisy and unmusical for larger changes.
Measures per minute
Measures per Minute (MPM) or bars per minute is another way to measure the speed of musicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
: the number of measures in one minute. It is commonly used in ballroom dance
Ballroom dance
Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....
music.
Italian tempo markings
The definitions of the Italian tempo markings mentioned in this section can be found in the Harvard Dictionary of Music and/or the online Italian-English dictionary, both of which are listed in Sources.Basic tempo markings
All of these markings are based on a few root words. By adding an -issimo ending the word is amplified/made louder, by adding an -ino ending the word is diminished/made softer, and by adding an -etto ending the word is endeared. The metronome marks are broad approximations. Note: Metronome markings are a guide only and depending on the time signature and the piece itself, these figures may not be appropriate in every circumstance.- Larghissimo — very, very slow (20 bpm and below)
- Grave — slow and solemn (20–40 bpm)
- Lento — slowly (40–60 bpm)
- Largo — broadly (40–60 bpm)
- Larghetto — rather broadly (60–66 bpm)
- Adagio — slow and stately (literally, "at ease") (66–76 bpm)
- Adagietto — rather slow (70–80 bpm)
- Andante Moderato — a bit slower than andante
- Andante — at a walking pace (76–108 bpm)
- Andantino – slightly faster than andante
- Moderato — moderately (108–120 bpm)
- Allegretto — moderately fast (but less so than allegro)
- Allegro moderato — moderately quick (112–124 bpm)
- Allegro — fast, quickly and bright (120–168 bpm)
- Vivace — lively and fast (≈140 bpm) (quicker than allegro)
- Vivacissimo — very fast and lively
- Allegrissimo — very fast
- Presto — very fast (168–200 bpm)
- Prestissimo — extremely fast (more than 200bpm)
Additional Terms:
- A piacere — the performer may use his own discretion with regard to tempo and rhythm; literally "at pleasure"
- L'istesso tempo or Lo stesso tempo — at the same speed
- Tempo comodo — at a comfortable (normal) speed
- Tempo di... — the speed of a ... (such as Tempo di valse (speed of a waltz), Tempo di marcia (speed of a march))
- Tempo giusto — at a consistent speed, at the 'right' speed, in strict tempo
- Tempo semplice — simple, regular speed, plainly
Common qualifiers
- alla — in the manner or style of, as in:
- alla breve — in short style, i.e., duple time, with the half noteHalf noteIn music, a half note or minim is a note played for half the duration of a whole note and twice the duration of a quarter note...
(minim) rather than the quarter noteQuarter noteA quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...
(crotchet) as the beat; cut time; 2/2 instead of 4/4; often marked as a semicircle with a vertical line through it (see Time signatureTime signatureThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
) - alla marcia — in the manner of a marchMarch (music)A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
(e.g., Beethoven, op. 101Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann. This piano sonata runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four movements:...
) - all' ongarese — in Hungarian styleMusic of HungaryHungary has made many contributions to the fields of folk, popular and classical music. Hungarian folk music is a prominent part of the national identity and continues to play a major part in Hungarian music...
- alla (danza) tedesca — in the style of the LändlerLändlerThe ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century.It is a dance for couples which strongly features hopping and stamping...
(ca. 1800), and similar dances in rather quick triple meter (see Beethoven, op. 79Piano Sonata No. 25 (Beethoven)The Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major, Op. 79, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1809. It consists of three movements:#Presto alla tedesca#Andante#Vivace...
, op. 130String Quartet No. 13 (Beethoven)The String Quartet No. 13 in B major, op. 130, by Ludwig van Beethoven was completed in November 1825. The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually the fourteenth quartet in order of composition. It was premiered in March 1826 by the Schuppanzigh...
) - alla turca — in the Turkish styleTurkish music (style)"Turkish music", in the sense described here, is not music of Turkey, but rather a musical style called Alla turca that was occasionally used by European composers of the 17th and 18th centuries...
, that is, in imitation of Turkish military music (Janizary music), which became popular in Europe in the late 18th century (e.g., Mozart, K. 331Piano Sonata No. 11 (Mozart)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K 331 is a sonata in three movements:#Andante grazioso — a theme with six variations#Menuetto — a minuet and trio#Alla Turca: Allegretto in A minor and major....
, K. 384Die Entführung aus dem SerailDie Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
) - alla zingarese — in the style of Gypsy musicGypsy styleThe term gypsy style refers to the typical way East European music is played in coffeehouses and restaurants, at parties, and sometimes on-stage, in European cities. Music played in this style is known by the general public as "gypsy music"....
- alla breve — in short style, i.e., duple time, with the half note
- assai — very much, as in allegro assai, quite fast
- ben — well, as in ben marcato (well marked or accented)
- con bravura— with skill
- con brio — with vigor and spirit
- con fuoco — with fire
- con moto — with motion
- deciso — decidedly, decisively
- fugato — in fugalFugueIn music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
style, usually part of a non-fugal composition; such passages often occur in the development sectionsSonata formSonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
of symphonies, sonataSonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
s, and quartetQuartetIn music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
s - in modo — in the manner of, in the style of: in modo napolitano (in NeapolitanCanzone NapoletanaCanzone Napoletana, sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song, is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily for the male voice singing solo, although well-represented by female soloists as well, and expressed in familiar genres such as the lover's...
style), in modo di marcia funebre (in the manner of a funeral march) - meno — less, as in meno mosso (less quickly)
- appena — almost none, as in appena forte (almost not at all loud)
- misterioso — mysterious
- molto — much, very, as in molto allegro (very quick) or molto adagio (very slow)
- non troppo — not too much, e.g. allegro non troppo (or allegro ma non troppo) means "fast, but not too much"
- non tanto — not so much
- più — more, as in più allegro (more quickly); used as a relative indication when the tempo changes
- piuttosto — rather, as in piuttosto allegro (rather quick)
- poco — slightly, little, as in Poco adagio
- poco a poco — little by little
- polacca — generic name for Polish dances, usually the polonaisePolonaiseThe polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin....
, as in tempo di polacca; note, however, that the "Polacca" in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1Brandenburg concertosThe Brandenburg concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 . They are widely regarded as among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era...
shows little resemblance to the polonaise - primo — principal or early, as in tempo primo, the same tempo as at the beginning
- quasi — almost, nearly, as if (such as Più allegro quasi presto, "faster, as if presto")
- senza — without, as in senza interruzione (without interruption or pause), senza tempo or senza misura (without strict measure)
- sostenuto – sustained, prolonged
- subito — suddenly
Note: In addition to the common allegretto, composers freely apply Italian diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
and superlative
Superlative
In grammar, the superlative is the form of an adjective that indicates that the person or thing modified has the quality of the adjective to a degree greater than that of anything it is being compared to in a given context. English superlatives are typically formed with the suffix -est In...
suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
es to various tempo indications: andantino, larghetto, adagietto, and larghissimo.
Mood markings with a tempo connotation
Some markings that primarily mark a moodMood (psychology)
A mood is a relatively long lasting emotional state. Moods differ from emotions in that they are less specific, less intense, and less likely to be triggered by a particular stimulus or event....
(or character) also have a tempo connotation:
- Affettuoso — with feeling/emotion
- Agitato — agitated, with implied quickness
- Appassionato — to play passionately
- Animato — animatedly, lively
- Brillante — sparkling, glittering, as in Allegro brillante, Rondo brillante, or Variations brillantes; became fashionable in titles for virtuoso pieces
- Bravura - broadly
- CantabileCantabileCantabile is a musical term meaning literally "singable" or "songlike" . It has several meanings in different contexts. In instrumental music, it indicates a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human voice. For 18th century composers, the term is often used synonymously with...
— in singing style (lyrical and flowing) - DolceDolceDolce means "sweet" in Italian and may refer to:- Places:*Dolcè, an Italian municipality located in the Province of Verona*Dolce , a village in the Czech Republic- People :*Christine Dolce...
— sweetly - Energico — energetic, strong, forceful
- Eroico — heroically
- Espressivo — expressively
- Furioso — to play in an angry or furious manner
- Giocoso — merrily, funny
- Gioioso — joyfully
- Grandioso — magnificently, grandly
- Grazioso — gracefully
- Lacrimoso — tearfully, sadly
- Lamentoso — lamenting, mournfully
- Leggero — to play lightly, or with light touch
- MaestosoMaestosoMaestoso is an Italian musical term and is used to direct performers to play a certain passage of music in a stately, dignified and majestic fashion or, it is used to describe music as such. The term is commonly used in relatively slow pieces; however, there are numerous examples - such as the...
— majestic or stately (which generally indicates a solemn, slow march-like movement) - Malinconico — melancholic
- Marcato — marching tempo, marked with emphasis
- Marziale — in a marchMarch (music)A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
style, usually in simple, strongly marked rhythm and regular phrases - Mesto — sad, mournful
- Morendo — dying
- Nobilmente — nobly (in a noble way)
- Patetico — with great emotion
- PesantePesantePesante is a musical term, meaning "heavy and ponderous." It is often used in Latin languages, such as Spanish or Portuguese, with the word pesado meaning heavy in both of these languages. The French equivalent is lourd....
— heavily - Sautillé/ Saltando — jumpy, fast, and short
- Scherzando — playfully
- SostenutoSostenutoIn music, sostenuto is a term from Italian which means "sustained." It occasionally implies a slowing of tempo, though more often it refers to a very legato style in which the notes are performed in a sustained manner beyond their normal values....
— sustained, sometimes with a slackening of tempo - Spiccato — slow sautillé, with a bouncy manner
- Tenerezza — tenderness
- Tranquillamente — adverb of tranquillo, "calmly"
- Trionfante — triumphantly
- VivaceVivaceVivace is Italian for "lively" and "vivid". It is pronounced in the International Phonetic Alphabet.Vivace is used as an Italian musical term indicating a movement that is in a lively mood ....
— lively and fast, over 140 bpm (which generally indicates a fast movement)
Terms for change in tempo
Composers may use expressive marks to adjust the tempo:- Accelerando — speeding up (abbreviation: accel.)
- Allargando — growing broader; decreasing tempo, usually near the end of a piece
- Calando — going slower (and usually also softer)
- Doppio movimento — double speed
- Meno mosso — less movement or slower
- Mosso — movement, more lively, or quicker, much like più mosso, but not as extreme
- Più mosso — more movement or faster
- Precipitando — hurrying, going faster/forward
- Rallentando — gradual slowing down (abbreviation: rall.)
- Ritardando — less gradual slowing down (more sudden decrease in tempo than rallentando)(abbreviation: rit. or more specifically, ritard.)
- Ritenuto — slightly slower; temporarily holding back. (Note that the abbreviation for ritenuto can also be rit. Thus a more specific abbreviation is riten. Also sometimes ritenuto does not reflect a tempo change but a character change instead.)
- Rubato — free adjustment of tempo for expressive purposes
- StrettoStrettoThe term stretto comes from the Italian past participle of stringere, and means "narrow", "tight", or "close".In music the Italian term stretto has two distinct meanings:...
— in faster tempo, often near the conclusion of a section. (Note that in fugalFugueIn music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
compositions, the term stretto refers to the imitation of the subject in close succession, before the subject is completed, and as such, suitable for the close of the fugue. Used in this context, the term is not necessarily related to tempo.) - Stringendo — pressing on faster (literally "tightening")
While the base tempo indication (such as allegro) appears in large type above the staff, these adjustments typically appear below the staff or (in the case of keyboard instruments) in the middle of the grand staff.
They generally designate a gradual change in tempo; for immediate tempo shifts, composers normally just provide the designation for the new tempo. (Note, however, that when Più Mosso or Meno Mosso appears in large type above the staff, it functions as a new tempo, and thus implies an immediate change.) Several terms, e.g., assai, molto, poco, subito, control how large and how gradual a change should be (see Common qualifiers).
After a tempo change, a composer may return to a previous tempo in two different ways:
- a tempo - returns to the base tempo after an adjustment (e.g. "ritardando ... a tempo" undoes the effect of the ritardando).
- Primo tempo or Tempo I - denotes an immediate return to the piece's original base tempo after a section in a different tempo (e.g. "Allegro ... Lento ... Moderato .... Tempo I" indicates a return to the Allegro). This indication often functions as a structural marker in pieces in binary formBinary formBinary form is a musical form in two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance....
.
These terms also indicate an immediate, not a gradual, tempo change. Although they are Italian, composers typically use them even if they have written their initial tempo marking in some other language.
Tempo markings in other languages
Although Italian has been the prevalent language for tempo markings throughout most of classical music history, many composers have written tempo indications in their own language. The definitions of the tempo markings mentioned in this section can be found in the Harvard Dictionary of Music and/or the online foreign language dictionaries which are listed in Sources.French tempo markings
Several composers have written markings in French, among them baroque composers François CouperinFrançois Couperin
François Couperin was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as Couperin le Grand to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented Couperin family.-Life:Couperin was born in Paris...
and Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
as well as Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
, Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
. Common tempo markings in French are:
- Au mouvement — play the (first or main) tempo.
- Grave — slowly and solemnly
- Lent — slowly
- Modéré — at a moderate tempo
- Moins — less, as in Moins vite (less fast)
- Rapide — fast
- Très — very, as in Très vif (very lively)
- Vif — lively
- Vite — fast
Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
was known to write extense tempo (and character) markings by defining them in a poetical and literal way, as in his Gnossiennes.
German tempo markings
Many composers have used German tempo markings. Typical German tempo markings are:- Langsam — slowly
- Lebhaft — lively (mood)
- Mäßig — moderately
- Rasch — quickly
- Schnell — fast
- Bewegt — animated, with motion
One of the first German composers to use tempo markings in his native language was Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
. The one using the most elaborate combined tempo and mood markings was probably Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
. For example, the second movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
of his Symphony No. 9
Symphony No. 9 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 9 by Gustav Mahler was written between 1909 and 1910, and was the last symphony that he completed.Though the work is often described as being in the key of D major, the tonal scheme of the symphony as whole is progressive...
is marked Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers, etwas täppisch und sehr derb, indicating a slowish folk-dance–like movement, with some awkwardness and much vulgarity in the execution. Mahler would also sometimes combine German tempo markings with traditional Italian markings, as in the first movement of his sixth symphony
Symphony No. 6 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 6 in A minor by Gustav Mahler, sometimes referred to as the Tragische , was composed between 1903 and 1904 . The work's first performance was in Essen, on May 27, 1906, conducted by the composer.The tragic, even nihilistic ending of No...
, marked Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig (Energetically quick, but not too much. Violent, but vigorous).
Tempo markings in English
English indications, for example quickly, have also been used, by Benjamin BrittenBenjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
and Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
, among many others. In jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
charts, terms like "fast", "laid back", "steady rock", "medium", "medium-up", "ballad", and similar style indications may appear.
Tempo markings as movement names and compositions with a tempo indicator name
Often, composers (or music publishers) will name movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
of compositions after their tempo (and/or mood) marking. For instance the second movement of Samuel Barber's first String Quartet
Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
is an "Adagio".
Some such movements may start to lead a life of their own, and become known with the tempo/mood marker name, for instance the string orchestra version of the second movement of Barber's first string quartet became known as Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
. A similar example is Mahler's most famous work - the Adagietto from his Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 5 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor by Gustav Mahler was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at Mahler's cottage at Maiernigg. Among its most distinctive features are the funereal trumpet solo that opens the work and the frequently performed Adagietto.The musical canvas and...
. Another is Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Alla Turca (here indicating the Janissary music type of mood of the final movement of Mozart's 11th Piano Sonata, K. 331)
Sometimes the link between a musical composition with a "tempo" name and a separate movement of a composition is less clear. For instance Albinoni's Adagio, a 20th century creative "reconstruction" based on an incomplete manuscript.
Some composers chose to include tempo indicators in the name of a separate composition, for instance Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
in Allegro barbaro
Allegro barbaro
Allegro barbaro, BB 63 , composed in 1911, is one of Béla Bartók's most famous and frequently performed solo piano pieces. The composition is typical of Bartók's style, utilizing folk elements...
("barbaric Allegro"), a single movement composition.
Rushing and dragging
When performers unintentionally speed up, they are said to rush. The similar term for unintentionally slowing down is drag.Musicians generally consider unintentional tempo drift undesirable, and these terms thus carry a negative connotation.
Therefore neither rush nor drag (nor their equivalents in other languages) are often used as tempo indications in scores. Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
is a notable exception. For example, he used schleppend (dragging) as part of a tempo indication in the first movement of his Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was mainly composed between late 1887 and March 1888, though it incorporates music Mahler had composed for previous works. It was composed while Mahler was second conductor at the Leipzig Opera, Germany...
.
See also
- Alla breveAlla breveIn music, alla breve Italian: at the breve] refers to a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol , which is the equivalent of 2/2. Alla breve is a "simple-duple meter with a half-note pulse"...
- As Slow As PossibleAs Slow As PossibleOrgan²/ASLSP is a musical piece composed by John Cage and is the subject of one of the longest-lasting musical performances yet undertaken. It was originally written in 1987 for organ and is adapted from the earlier work ASLSP 1985; a typical performance of the piano piece lasts for about 20 to 70...
- Half time (music)Half time (music)In popular music, half time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially doubling the tempo resolution or metric division. Thus 4/4 approximates 8/8. It is not to be confused with cut time or odd time. Though notes usually get the same value relative to the tempo, the...
- Multitemporal musicMultitemporal musicMultitemporal music is composed using sound streams that have different internal tempi or pulse speed, for example one part at 115 bpm and at 105 bpm at the same time...
- Stop-timeStop-timeIn tap dancing, jazz, and blues, stop-time is an accompaniment pattern interrupting, or stopping, the normal time and featuring regular accented attacks on the first beat of each or every other measure alternating with silence or solos. Stop-time appears infrequently in ragtime music...
Sources
Books on tempo in music:Music Dictionaries:
- Apel, Willi, ed., Harvard Dictionary of Music, Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. The Belknap Press of Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1969. ISBN 9780674375017 - Sadie, Stanley; John Tyrrell, eds. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. NewYork: Grove's Dictionaries. ISBN 1561592390.
External links
- Research group specializing in rhythm, timing, and tempo, University of Amsterdam
- Tempo indications in Mozart's music
- Tempo Terminology, Virginia Tech department of music
- Tempo variation among and within 300+ recorded performances of Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony
- Dolmetsch article on tempo
- All8.com's - Beats Per Minute counter Tap computer key to the beat