Tempo
Eight tempo words on the same melody, each of them playable: the same eight notes, eight times over — only faster and faster.
A tempo word cannot be explained, only heard. So this page carries the same melody eight times: eight eighth notes, up and down. The only thing that changes is how fast they come. Press the buttons in order and you hear the distance between largo and presto in about twenty seconds.
The words are Italian and stay Italian in every edition in the world, like forte and piano. They describe a bearing first and a speed second: largo means broad, andante means walking, vivace means lively. That is exactly why a number stands beside the notation — it is an example, not a definition.
Largo
Broad. The slowest of the usual words — so slow that space remains between the notes and each one stands on its own. Largo is not an instruction to drag but to open out: the arc across the phrase still has to hold.
Beats per minute: 50
Adagio
Slow, calm, at ease. The tempo of slow movements in sonata and symphony. Unlike largo, a continuous motion stays perceptible here; the melody walks, it does not stand.
Beats per minute: 70
Andante
Walking. The word comes from the Italian for going, and that is exactly what it means: the speed of an unhurried step. It is the most misread tempo of all — many take it for slow, when it sits in the middle.
Beats per minute: 92
Moderato
Moderate. Neither fast nor slow, and so the least conspicuous word of the set. More often than alone it appears as a qualifier: allegro moderato means fast, but not too fast.
Beats per minute: 114
Allegro
Fast and cheerful. The word literally means merry, and the character belongs to it: allegro is not merely quick but bright. It is by far the most common tempo word and stands over most opening movements.
Beats per minute: 144
Vivace
Lively. About as fast as allegro but with a different bearing — crisper, lighter, with more weight on the motion than on the melody. Where both words stand together they reinforce each other: allegro vivace.
Beats per minute: 158
Presto
Very fast. Here the melody stops being a series of single notes and becomes a line. Presto stands over closing movements and over everything that presses forward.
Beats per minute: 184
Prestissimo
As fast as possible. The outermost word of the set, and more a challenge than an indication: what is possible depends on the instrument and on the hand. Take it literally and the notes are lost.
Beats per minute: 208
Why the number is only an example
The metronome mark: quarter note equals number
Editions give a range for each word, and the ranges overlap. Allegro and vivace cover almost the same stretch; what separates them is not the speed but the kind of motion. That is why no score says "allegro" and then a binding number — whoever wants a number writes it with a metronome mark, just as it stands on every picture here.
The range for each word lives in the glossary, and this page takes one value out of it. That the value really falls inside is something the self-test checks: the number comes from one place, the range from another, and if the two drift apart it complains.
One more thing that often goes wrong: the metronome mark says which note value gets a beat. If a quarter note stands there, the metronome counts quarters; if a dotted quarter stands there, it counts those — in six-eight time that is the normal case, and the same number then means something else entirely.
When the tempo changes
The eight words set a tempo. Three more change it along the way: Accelerando picks up, Ritardando eases off, and A tempo restores what came before. They are not on this page because they cannot be shown in a single picture — they need a stretch of music.
Music symbols · Dynamics · Articulation · Music notation glossary
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