Back to start Email me

Speed indications

Neil Hawes Home Page

• An indication of the speed of a whole piece or a section of music is sometimes given at the start of the piece or section:
  • Either using a metronome marking;
  • Or using an Italian term which describes the speed.

• If no speed indication is given, the performer is expected to gauge the speed simply from the contents of the music.
  • For choral music, the conductor sets the speed, but it is still very useful for a singer to know approximately what speed the music should go

• A metronome mark gives the precise speed of the beat, the number of beats per minute :
  • In this example, the composer intends that the music should go at the speed of 76 (crotchet) beats per minute (so a bit faster than one per second):
    
  • Sometimes "M.M." is written before the indication, but it does not stand for "Metronome Marking" as you might expect, but "Maelzel's Metronome", after Johann Maelzel (1772-1838) who invented the clockwork metronome in the early 1800's.

  • A metronome (clockwork, or nowadays electronic) is a small device for giving speeds for music, and usually has the number of beats per minute marked on it as well as approximate Italian terms.

• An Italian term gives an approximate speed of the beat, leaving the exact speed to the performer:
  • The most common words used, and their meanings with approximate equivalent MM markings, are in the following table:
    

    Italian word	English meaning	Speed of beats (per minute)
    Grave	Very slow and solemn	40-44
    Largo	Very broad and stately	46-48
    Larghetto or Lento	Slightly faster than Largo	50-52
    Adagio	Leisurely	54-56
    Andante	Easily	58-63
    Andantino	Slightly faster than Andante	64-72
    Moderato	Moderate pace	74-92
    Allegretto	Less quickly than Allegro	96-108
    Allegro	Quick, lively	112-116
    Vivace or Vivo	Briskly	120-132
    Presto	Fast	138-168
    Prestissimo	As fast as possible	176-208

  • So in the example below, the speed of the beats should be approximately 74-92 per minute:
    

  • Other Italian terms are sometimes used to indicate the speed of a piece, and other languages are also used, the next most common after Italian being German.

• There are other Italian terms that are used to indicate a change to the speed of the music. The most common are:

  Italian word	English meaning
  Stretto	Get faster
  Sringendo	Get faster
  Accelerando (or accel.)	Get gradually quicker
  A tempo	In time; return to normal time
  Allargando	Broadening; decreasing in speed
  Meno Mosso	Less movement; slower
  Ritardando (Ritard.)	Getting slower
  Rallentando (Rall.)	Getting slower
  Ritenuto (Rit.)	Getting slower
  Calando	Dying away; getting slower and quieter
  Perdendosi	Getting slower and quieter
  Morendo	Getting slower and quieter

  • In choral music, the conductor governs any changes in speed, but the singer should be aware of what the words in the music mean, and they can then anticipate what the conductor might do.