After about 1700, Italian composers began to use certain terms to indicate speed, and other European composers soon followed their example. This is why the most commonly used indications of tempo are Italian words or expressions. A chart of some of the most frequently used tempo indications is shown below.
In 1816 Maelzel invented the metronome, which is a clockwork device that has
a swinging arm which ticks as it reaches each side. By moving a sliding weight
up or down, the user can adjust the ticking speed, measured in ticks per
minute. Modern composers can now indicate tempo very precisely, using the
notation .
=
60, or 60 MM. This means, set the metronome to tick 60 times per
minute, and play one crotchet or quarter note on every tick. By the way, 60
crotchets per minute means that each crotchet lasts exactly one second.
The colour-coded tempos (or tempi if you are a linguist!) in the chart below can
be demonstrated by clicking the corresponding coloured buttons on the left, to
play a scale at the indicated metronome speed. All these tempi assume each beat
is a crotchet or quarter note, as in a time signature of 3/4 or 4/4. If the beat
is a quaver or eighth note, as in compound time like 3/8 or 6/8, then the
effective speed in beats per second will be doubled. Likewise, if the beat is a
minim or half note, as in a time signature of 3/2 for example, then the
effective speed will be halved. You can see the effect of this by clicking
either the quaver (eighth note) option button at the bottom right of this
screen, or the minim (half note) option button.
Musical (Italian) term | Literal English Translation | Musical Interpretation | Suggested range of metronome speeds. |
---|---|---|---|
Presto | quick | very fast | ![]() |
Allegro | happy | fairly fast | ![]() |
Allegretto | a little happy | moderate to slightly fast | ![]() |
Moderato | moderate | medium speed | ![]() |
Andante | going, walking | medium to slightly slow | ![]() |
Adagio | at ease | fairly slow | ![]() |
Lento | slow | slow | ![]() |
Largo | wide, broad | very slow | ![]() |