Editing Tempo (section)

===Basic tempo markings===
{{Redirect|Allegretto|the racehorse|Allegretto (horse)}}
{{redirect|Allegro Con Brio|the Soviet film|Allegro Con Brio (film){{!}}''Allegro Con Brio'' (film)}}
Here follows a list of common tempo markings. The beats per minute (bpm) values are very rough approximations for {{music|time|4|4}} time, and vary widely according to composers and works. A metronome marking cannot be deduced from one of the descriptive Italian or non-Italian terms alone. Where both metronome marking and a word indication occur together, the verbal cue is often also intended to express a style or feeling, which a metronome marking alone cannot do.

It is therefore important to remember that the exact sense of many of these terms has changed over time. One striking example is the use of the term ''Allegretto''. Between its early use in the 18th century and its later use from the 19th century onwards, it has experienced a slight increment in the tempo that it is intended to denote. Originally it implied a tempo very slightly faster than ''Andante'', whereas now it is often used to indicate one that is just a little slower than ''Allegro''. A similar fate has befallen the terms ''Adagietto'' and ''Andantino''.<ref>[[Charles Rosen]] suggests that many works marked "Allegretto" are nowadays played too quickly as a result of this confusion.{{cite book|last= Rosen|first= Charles|authorlink=Charles Rosen|date=2002|pages = 48–95|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ApUUpgMzEPsC&pg=PA48 |title=Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion|location= New Haven|publisher= Yale University Press|isbn= 0-300-09070-6}}</ref> Likewise, the terms ''Largo'' and ''Adagio'' have experienced a considerable shift with regards to the tempi, in beats per minute, that they are required to express: A modern ''Largo'' is slower than ''Adagio'', but in the Baroque period it was faster.<ref>[http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory5.htm "tempo"], music theory online, Dolmetsch.com</ref>

====Approximately from the slowest to the fastest====
* ''Larghissimo'' – extremely slow, slowest type of tempo (24&nbsp;bpm and under)
* ''Adagissimo'' and ''[[Grave (tempo)|Grave]]'' – very slow and solemn (24–40&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Largo'' – slow and broad (40–66&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Larghetto'' – rather slow and broad (44–66&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Adagio'' – slow with great expression<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pgQ6AAAAIAAJ|title=Elson's Pocket Music Dictionary: The Important Terms Used in Music with Pronunciation and Concise Definition, Together with the Elements of Notation and a Biographical List of Over Five Hundred Noted Names in Music|last=Elson|first=Louis Charles|date=1909|publisher=Oliver Ditson|language=en}}</ref> (44–66&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Adagietto'' – slower than ''andante'' or slightly faster than ''adagio'' (46–80&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Lento'' – slow (52–108&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Andante'' – at a walking pace, moderately slow (56–108&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Andantino'' – slightly faster than ''andante'', but slower than ''moderato'' (80–108&nbsp;bpm) (although, in some cases, it can be taken to mean slightly slower than ''andante'') 
* ''Marcia moderato'' – moderately, in the manner of a march<!-- <ref>{{cite journal|publisher=[[American Symphony Orchestra League]]|title= |volume=18–19|journal=Journal of the Conductors' Guild|year=1998|location=Vienna, Virginia|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGcIAQAAMAAJ&q=Marcia |issn=0734-1032}}{{title missing|date=February 2024}}</ref> --><ref>{{cite book|author1=William E. Caplin|author1-link=William Caplin|author2=James Hepokoski|author2-link=James Hepokoski|author3=James Webster|author3-link=James Webster (musicologist)|title=Musical Form, Forms & Formenlehre: Three Methodological Reflections|year=2010|publisher=Leuven University Press|isbn=978-905-867-822-5|page=80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YhAgAJDAK9sC&q=marcia+moderato&pg=PT80}}</ref> (66–80&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Andante moderato'' – between ''andante'' and ''moderato'' (at a moderate walking speed) (80–108&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Moderato'' – at a moderate speed (108–120&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Allegretto'' – by the mid-19th century, moderately fast (112–120&nbsp;bpm); see paragraph above for earlier usage
* ''Allegro moderato'' – close to, but not quite ''allegro'' (116–120&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Allegro'' – fast and bright (120–156&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Molto Allegro '' or ''Allegro vivace'' – at least slightly faster and livelier than allegro, but always at its range (and no faster than vivace) (124–156 bpm)
* ''Vivace'' – lively and fast (156–176&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Vivacissimo and Allegrissimo'' – very fast, lively and bright (172–176&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Presto'' – very fast (168–200&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Prestissimo'' – extremely fast (200&nbsp;bpm and over)

{{anchor|Common qualifiers}}

====Additional terms====
* ''A piacere'' or ''[[Ad libitum]]'' in Latin – the performer may use their own discretion with regard to tempo and rhythm; literally "at pleasure"{{sfn|Apel|1969|p=42}}
* ''Accelerando'' – gradually play faster
* ''Assai'' – (very) much
* ''A tempo'' – resume previous tempo
* ''Con grazia'' – with grace, or gracefully<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/con%20grazia |title=Con grazia |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref>
* ''Con moto'' – Italian for "with movement"; can be combined with a tempo indication, e.g., ''Andante con moto''
* ''Furioso'' or ''Furibondo'' – 'furiously'{{r|scholes|p=349}}
* ''Lamentoso'' – sadly, plaintively<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamentoso |title=Lamentoso |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref>
* ''L'istesso'', ''L'istesso tempo'', or ''Lo stesso tempo'' – at the same speed; ''L'istesso'' is used when the actual speed of the music has not changed, despite apparent signals to the contrary, such as changes in time signature or note length (half notes in {{music|time|4|4}} could change to whole notes in {{music|time|2|2}}, and they would all have the same duration)<ref>"Istesso tempo" entry in {{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001}}</ref><ref>For a modern example of ''L'istesso'', see measures 4 and 130 of "[[Star Wars (Main Title)]]", {{harvnb|Williams|1997|pp=3, 30}}.</ref>
* ''Ma non tanto'' – but not so much; used in the same way and has the same effect as ''Ma non troppo'' (see immediately below) but to a lesser degree
* ''Ma non troppo'' – but not too much; used to modify a basic tempo to indicate that the basic tempo should be reined in to a degree; for example, ''Adagio ma non troppo'' to mean "Slow, but not too much", ''Allegro ma non troppo'' to mean "Fast, but not too much"
* ''Maestoso'' – majestically, stately<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maestoso |title=Maestoso |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref>
* ''Molto'' – very
* ''Meno'' – less
* ''Più'' – more
* ''Poco'' – little
* ''Rall.'' or "Rallentando" – opposite of ''Accelerando''
* ''Subito'' – suddenly
* ''Tempo comodo'' – at a comfortable speed
* ''Tempo di...'' – the speed of a ... (such as ''Tempo di valse'' (speed of a waltz, {{music|dottedquarter}}&nbsp;≈&nbsp;60&nbsp;bpm or {{music|quarter}}&nbsp;≈&nbsp;126&nbsp;bpm), ''Tempo di marcia'' (speed of a [[March (music)|march]], {{music|quarter}}&nbsp;≈&nbsp;120&nbsp;bpm))
* ''[[Tempo giusto]]'' – at a consistent speed, at the 'right' speed, in strict tempo
* ''Tempo primo'' – resume the original (first) tempo
* ''Tempo semplice'' – simple, regular speed, plainly

====French tempo markings====
Several composers have written markings in French, among them baroque composers [[François Couperin]] and [[Jean-Philippe Rameau]] as well as [[Claude Debussy]], [[Olivier Messiaen]], [[Maurice Ravel]] and [[Alexander Scriabin]]. Common tempo markings in French are:

* ''Au mouvement'' – play the (first or main) tempo.
* ''Grave'' – slowly and solemnly
* ''Lent'' – slowly
* ''Moins'' – less, as in ''Moins vite'' (less fast)
* ''Modéré'' – at a moderate tempo
* ''Vif'' – lively
* ''Très'' – very, as in ''Très vif'' (very lively)
* ''Vite'' – fast
* ''Rapide'' – rapidly

[[Erik Satie]] was known to write extensive tempo (and character) markings by defining them in a poetical and literal way, as in his Gnossiennes.<ref>[http://imslp.org/wiki/Special:ImagefromIndex/03007 Gnossiennes music sheet], IMSLP Music Library</ref>

====German tempo markings====
Many composers have used German tempo markings. Typical German tempo markings are:

* ''Kräftig'' – vigorous or powerful
* ''Langsam'' – slowly
* ''Lebhaft'' – lively (mood)
* ''Mäßig'' – moderately
* ''Rasch'' – quickly
* ''Schnell'' – fast
* ''Bewegt'' – animated, with motion{{sfn|Apel|1969|p=92}}
One of the first German composers to use tempo markings in his native language was [[Ludwig van Beethoven]], but only sparsely. [[Robert Schumann]] followed afterwards with increasingly specific markings, and later composers like [[Hindemith]] and [[Mahler]] would further elaborate on combined tempo and mood instructions in German. For example, the second [[Movement (music)|movement]] of Mahler's [[Symphony No. 9 (Mahler)|Symphony No. 9]] is marked {{lang|de|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 [[Symphony No. 6 (Mahler)|sixth symphony]], marked {{lang|it|Allegro energico, ma non troppo.}} {{lang|de|Heftig, aber markig}} (Energetically quick, but not too much. Violent, but vigorous.){{sfn|Apel|1969|p={{page needed|date=February 2024}}}}

====English tempo markings====
English indications, for example 'quickly', have also been used, by [[Benjamin Britten]] and [[Percy Grainger]], among many others. In [[jazz]] and [[popular music]] [[lead sheet]]s and [[fake book]] charts, terms like 'fast', 'laid back', 'steady rock', 'medium', 'medium-up', 'ballad', 'brisk', 'brightly', 'up', 'slowly', and similar style indications may appear. In some [[lead sheet]]s and fake books, both tempo and genre are indicated, e.g., 'slow blues', 'fast swing', or 'medium Latin'. The genre indications help [[rhythm section]] instrumentalists use the correct style. For example, if a song says 'medium shuffle', the drummer plays a [[Shuffle note|shuffle]] drum pattern; if it says 'fast boogie-woogie', the piano player plays a [[boogie-woogie]] bassline.

'Show tempo', a term used since the early days of [[vaudeville]], describes the traditionally brisk tempo (usually 160–170 bpm) of opening songs in [[revue|stage revues]] and musicals.

Humourist [[Tom Lehrer]] uses facetious English tempo markings in his anthology ''Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer''. For example, "National Brotherhood Week" is to be played 'fraternally'; "We Will All Go Together" is marked '[[Eschatology|eschatologically]]'; and '[[Masochism]] [[Tango]]' has the tempo 'painstakingly'. His English contemporaries [[Flanders and Swann]] have similarly marked scores, with the music for their song "The Whale (Moby Dick)" shown as 'oceanlike and vast'.