Tempo Terms and Metronome Markings Flashcards
smorzando, smorz
dying away in tone and speed (Italian)
Prestissimo
as fast as possible (Italian) 200bpm+
Lento
very slow (Italian) 45-60bpm
Vivace
lively (Italian) 168-176bpm
adagietto
rather slow (Italian) 72-76bpm
modéré
at a moderate speed (French)
vif
lively (French)
lebhaft
lively (German)
grave
very slow, solemn (Italian) 20-45bpm
Andante
at a walking pace (Italian) 76-85bpm
Adagio
Slow - between andante and largo 66-76bpm
Allegretto
Quite Quick, but not as quick as Allegro (Italian) 112-120bpm
Allegro
lively (Italian) 120-168bpm
vivace, vivo
lively, quick (Italian)
scherzando, scherzoso
playful, joking (Italian)
doppio movimento
twice as fast (Italian)
A tempo
in time (Italian)
ad libitum, ad lib.
at choice, meaning that a passage may be played freely (Italian)
langsam
slow (German)
presto
fast (faster than Allegro) (Italian) 168-200bpm
sf, sfz (=sforzando or sforzato)
forced, accented (Italian)
largo
slow, stately (Italian) 40-60bpm
rubato, tempo rubato
with some freedom of time (Italian)
veloce
swift (Italian)
Moderato
at a moderate speed (Italian) 108-120bpm
schnell
fast (German)
mässig
at a moderate speed (German)
lent
slow (French)
vite
quick (French)
andantino
slightly faster than Andante (but may also mean slightly slower) (Italian) 78-83bpm
larghetto
rather slow (but not as slow as largo) (Italian) 60-66bpm
