Tempo markings: how fast to play

It is the one precise tempo instruction: ♩ = 60 is one quarter-note beat per second. The note shown is the beat unit, so music in 6/8 often gives a dotted quarter note instead. M.M. — Maelzel's Metronome — sometimes stands in front of the number.

Composers' own metronome marks are sometimes surprisingly fast or slow, and performers weigh them alongside the tempo word and the character of the music.

The word means 'broad' or 'wide', and it asks for breadth and weight as much as slowness. It is among the slowest common tempo words; larghetto is a little less slow.

From ad agio, 'at ease'. Many slow movements are simply titled Adagio. It is usually placed a little faster than largo, but writers do not agree on the exact order of the slow words — compare pieces, not charts.

From andare, 'to go' or 'to walk': flowing and unhurried. Its diminutive andantino has been read both as a little faster and as a little slower than andante — a good example of how loosely these words are used.

Neither fast nor slow. It often qualifies another word: allegro moderato is a restrained allegro.

It literally means 'cheerful', and the character is part of the instruction. It is the most common marking for fast movements; allegretto is lighter and a little slower, molto allegro or allegro assai quicker.

Faster than allegro; prestissimo is as fast as possible. Vivace, 'lively', is generally placed between allegro and presto.

Rallentando (rall.) means practically the same. The slowing continues until a new tempo or a tempo appears, or the piece ends.

Ritenuto (riten.) is often distinguished as an immediate holding back rather than a gradual one — but the abbreviation rit. can stand for either, and editions are not consistent.

The opposite of ritardando, and just as gradual — often over several bars — until a new tempo is marked.

It cancels a rit., an accel. or a passage at a different speed. Tempo primo (Tempo I) is more specific: go back to the tempo at the very beginning of the piece.