Fast, Slow, and Everything In Between: Tempo Markings

Tap your finger on your desk slowly — one tap every two seconds. Now tap as fast as you can. That difference in speed is exactly what musicians think about when they play a piece of music. Musicians have a special word for the speed of music: tempo. Here is a question to get you thinking:

Tempo means the speed of music — how fast or slow the beats go. Just like a road sign tells a driver how fast to go, a tempo marking tells a musician how fast to play. Most tempo markings are written in Italian. This is because, hundreds of years ago, Italy was the centre of music in Europe, and musicians everywhere began using Italian words. Today, those same words are still used on sheet music all around the world. Here are the most important tempo markings, from slowest to fastest: • Largo — very slow and broad. Imagine a giant taking enormous, heavy steps. • Adagio — slow and graceful. Think of a leaf drifting gently down from a tree. • Andante — walking pace. Not too fast, not too slow — just like an easy stroll. • Moderato — moderate speed, a little brisker than walking. • Allegro — fast and lively. Think of someone jogging happily through a park. • Presto — very fast. Imagine a hummingbird's wings beating at top speed. To remember the order, think of it as a journey: you start lying still (Largo), then sit up slowly (Adagio), then walk (Andante), speed up a little (Moderato), break into a jog (Allegro), and finally sprint (Presto). Composers write the tempo marking at the top left of a piece of music, just before the first note. This way, every musician who picks up the score knows exactly how fast to play — even if they have never heard the piece before.