Tempo and Pacing
| English | Italian | French | German | Spanish | Usage note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slow | lento | lent | langsam | lento | General slow tempo direction |
| Very slow | molto lento | très lent | sehr langsam | muy lento | Degree of slowness depends on style |
| Broadly | largo | large | breit | amplio | Broad in tempo and character. In Spanish, largo means long. |
| Slow and expressive | adagio | adagio | Adagio | adagio | Widely shared historical tempo word |
| At a walking pace | andante | andante | gehend | andante | Not a fixed metronome value |
| Moderately | moderato | modéré | mäßig | moderado | Moderate tempo or intensity |
| Quickly | allegro | vite | schnell | rápido | Often conveys lively character as well as speed |
| Lively | vivace | vif | lebhaft | vivaz | Animated, energetic character |
| Very quickly | presto | très vite | sehr schnell | muy rápido | Fast tempo direction |
| With movement | con moto | avec mouvement | mit Bewegung | con movimiento | Encourages forward motion |
| More movement | più mosso | plus animé | bewegter | más movido | Increase the sense of motion |
| Less movement | meno mosso | moins animé | ruhiger | menos movido | Reduce the sense of motion |
| Gradually faster | accelerando | en pressant | allmählich schneller | acelerando | Tempo increases progressively |
| Gradually slower | rallentando | en ralentissant | allmählich langsamer | retardando | Tempo decreases progressively |
| Hold back | ritenuto | retenu | zurückhaltend | retenido | More immediate restraint than a gradual rallentando |
| Return to tempo | a tempo | au mouvement | im Zeitmaß | a tempo | Resume prior established tempo |
| First tempo | tempo primo | premier mouvement | Tempo I | tempo primo | Return to original tempo |
| Freely | liberamente | librement | frei | libremente | Interpretive flexibility within context |
| With flexible time | rubato | rubato | Rubato | rubato | Expressive redistribution of time |
| Strictly in time | tempo rigoroso | strictement en mesure | streng im Takt | estrictamente a tiempo | Discourages expressive tempo fluctuation |
Other chapters: Dynamics and Expression · Articulation and Technique · Navigation and Ensemble · Musical Concepts and Score Vocabulary
Some entries are plain translations used in rehearsal rather than printed markings. Meaning can shift with era and instrument. These are the standard words printed in scores. Usage varies by edition, publisher and period.
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