Appendix D

Tempo Marking Reference Chart.

Tempo Markings Composers have a variety of ways to indicate what tempo they have in mind for a piece, how fast or slowly it should be played. One way is to give the piece a title that has associations with specific moods, movements, or dances. One would tend to perform a piece called ÒFuneral March of the Zombies,Ó for example, in a tempo quite different from that of a piece called, say, ÒCrazed Tarantella of the Whirling Furies.Ó Or, to pick slightly less extreme examples, if a piece from the 1700s is called ÒSarabande,Ó it will not be played at the same tempo as a ÒGigue,Ó because the sarabande of that period is a slow dance and the gigue a quick one.   Another way is to use words called Òtempo markings,Ó or Òtempo marks.Ó Tempo markings are written above the music at the beginning of the piece, and later wherever the composer wants the tempo to change. They're usually in Italian, and the three primary ones are allegro, andante, and adagio. The original meaning of the word allegro is Òcheerful,Ó but it has come to mean Òquick,Ó or Òfast,Ó when used as a tempo marking. Andante is from the verb andare, Òto walk,Ó or Òto go,Ó and indicates a moderate tempo, what might be called a walking pace. Adagio, from the Italian for Òat ease,Ó means Òslow.Ó   There are a number of other standard tempo markings, and many modifiers to go along with them, although the modifiers often have more to do with the kind of expression or feeling the composer is looking for than with precise gradations of speed. The following lists offer a sampling of the most common tempo markings and modifiers.   Basic Tempo Markings 

I. adagio	slow
allegro	fast
andante	moderate
grave	slow, heavy
largo	very slow, broad
lento	slow
presto	very fast

II. adagietto	Òlittle adagio,Ó a little faster than adagio
allegretto	Òlittle allegro,Ó somewhat slower than allegro
andantino	Òlittle andante,Ó an ambiguous term, meaning either slightly slower than andante or slightly faster, depending on your point of view
largamente	very slowly
larghetto	Òlittle largo,Ó slightly faster than very slow
meno mosso	Òless moved,Ó slower
pi mosso	Òmore moved,Ó faster
prestissimo	Òvery presto,Ó extremely fast
Modifiers
agitato	excited
amabile	friendly
animato	animated, excited (also used by itself as a tempo marking, or to mean ÒfasterÓ)
appassionato	passionate
assai	quite, rather
cantabile	singing, lyrical
comodo	comfortable
con anima	with spirit
con brio	with verve
con fuoco	with fire, very energetically
con molto espressione	with much expression
con moto	with motion; moving along
con spirito	with spirit
giusto	right, reasonable
grazioso	graceful
ma non tanto	but not so much
ma non troppo	but not too much
maestoso	stately, majestic (also used by itself as a tempo marking)
meno	less
mesto	sad
moderato	moderate
molto	very
pi	more
poco	a little
quasi	almost
risoluto	steady, resolute
sostenuto	sustained, held back (also used by itself as a tempo marking, or to mean ÒslowerÓ)
tranquillo	tranquil, peaceful (also used by itself to mean ÒslowerÓ)
vivace	lively (also used by itself as a tempo marking)
vivo	lively, quick
Indications of change of tempo
accelerando	getting faster
animando	getting faster, more animated
stringendo	getting faster (ÒsqueezingÓ)
allargando	getting slower, broader
calando	coming down, dropping away (actually applies to volume, but often means a simultaneous slowing down)
rallentando	getting slower
ritardando	getting slower (often abbreviated rit. or ritard.)
ritenuto	held back, slower
slentando	getting slower

Composers very often use the unadorned basic tempo markings Ñ adagio, allegro, allegretto, and so forth. But when they choose to modify them, the modifier becomes part of the marking, as in the following examples: allegro con brio, allegro molto, allegro vivace, allegro ma non troppo, allegro grazioso, allegretto quasi andante, andante cantabile, andante tranquillo, poco adagio, adagio con molto espressione.  Italian isn't always the language of tempo markings: a number of non-Italian composers have made a point of using their native language as well, or instead. Here are a few tempo markings in French and German: 

anim	fast
lent	slow
modr	moderate, medium tempo
vif	lively

But indeed, since the 1600s, when tempo markings came into regular use, composers of all nationalities and linguistic backgrounds have mainly employed the Italian terms. This has to do first with the fact that most of the forms and practices of Western music Ñ including the practice of using tempo markings Ñ got their start in Italy and then spread throughout the other countries of Europe. The supremacy of Italian opera, for example, was unchallenged (except perhaps in France) from its beginnings in 1600 until the latter part of the 1700s, and Italian instrumental forms like the sonata and the concerto were known everywhere. Unchallenged, too, during this time was the supremacy of Italian musicians, who occupied many of the most important positions as composers and performers at royal courts and opera houses all over the continent. It was through the prestige and success of Italian music and musicians that the musical terms themselves took on prestige and currency. Musicians of all countries became familiar with them and adopted them. The continued use of Italian terms Ñ for all facets of music, not just tempo markings Ñ then became a matter of practicality, because with the common language came fewer possibilities for misunderstanding among musicians of different backgrounds. After a time, it also became a matter of tradition, and this is very important in itself, since musicians have always tended to have great respect and affection for tradition. To abandon the language used by Monteverdi, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven would be no small thing. Finally, the durability of the Italian terms undoubtedly owes a significant debt to the sheer beauty of the Italian language, a beauty that musicians have not been alone in appreciating.   Perhaps the most important thing to remember about tempo markings is that they are not exact, and are not meant to be. They must be interpreted by performers in light of the specific piece, individual taste and feeling, knowledge of style and tradition, the acoustics of the performing space, and the inspiration of the moment. Composers know this, and they count on it. They know that their notes on paper must be brought to life, and that the inevitable individual differences in interpretation are what make performances interesting and often illuminating. Three different pianists, for example, playing the same piece marked Andante cantabile Ñ or the same pianist playing it on three different occasions Ñ might choose three quite different tempos, but each performance might be completely convincing in its own way.   With the invention of the metronome around 1815, composers had at their disposal a means to be more precise in their tempo indications. In theory, a composer no longer had to rely on such inexact instructions as Allegro ma non troppo, but could specify exact tempos based on the number of metronome beats per minute. METRONOME MARKS are usually found at the top left corner of the music. The composer specifies a certain note value as the beat, say a quarter note, written like this, , and then writes a number to indicate the number of beats he wants per minute: = 60, for example, means the beat is the quarter note and there are sixty beats per minute.   In practice, however, most composers continued (and continue) to use the Italian tempo markings even when they added metronome marks. A number, after all, cannot indicate spirit or expression, and even the most precise tempo indication is just a starting point, a helpful hint: it doesn't change the nature of the performer's interpretative responsibilities. Beethoven, for example, was the first major composer to use metronome marks, and he was quite careful in choosing them; yet there are many stories of Beethoven performing his own pieces at different times with very different tempos. As he himself wrote, ÒFeeling also has its tempo.Ó 