Tempo, or speed of music.

Tempo in music means the speed at which it is played, although the Italian word tempo literally means time. Before 1700, in renaissance and early baroque periods, speed was indicated, very roughly, by the time signature, and by the actual note symbols used. So a hymn in 3 beats per bar would be written with a time signature of 3/2.  In this each beat is represented by a minim, or half note, indicating that it is to be sustained and slow. A minuet, also 3 beats to the bar, might be written in 3/4, so each beat is represented by a crotchet or quarter note., and the speed is moderate.  A fast jig, or gigue, might be written as 3/8, indicating that each beat is a short and quick quaver, or eighth note.

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 = 180 - 210
Allegro happy fairly fast = 150 - 180
Allegretto a little happy moderate to slightly fast = 130 - 160
Moderato moderate medium speed = 120 - 150
Andante going, walking medium to slightly slow = 120 - 150
Adagio at ease fairly slow = 95 - 125
Lento slow slow = 70 - 95
Largo wide, broad very slow = 40 - 70

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