Tempo markings and their speeds
Pieces often start with an Italian word for their speed, such as Andante (at a walking pace) or Allegro (quick and lively).
Tempo words aren't exact: published bpm ranges differ between books and metronomes, so treat these as a starting point and follow your teacher and the music.
Free, no sign-up, works on phones. Nothing you play is recorded.
Tempo words
Italian words at the start of a piece tell you its speed. The bpm (beats per minute) ranges are only a guide: they aren't standardised and books and metronomes differ, so follow your teacher and the music.
| Word | Means | Rough bpm | Set metronome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grave | very slow and serious | 40 to 60 | |
| Largo | broad and slow | 40 to 60 | |
| Lento | slow | 45 to 60 | |
| Adagio | slow, at ease | 55 to 76 | |
| Andante | at a walking pace | 72 to 108 | |
| Moderato | at a moderate speed | 93 to 120 | |
| Allegretto | fairly quick | 104 to 132 | |
| Allegro | quick and lively | 120 to 168 | |
| Vivace | lively and fast | 160 to 183 | |
| Presto | very fast | 168 to 200 | |
| Prestissimo | as fast as possible | over 200 |
Tap a number to set the metronome to the middle of the range. Ranges from Virtual Sheet Music; other books differ, for example Grave is 20 to 40 and Andante 73 to 77 in a Lumen Learning course. See the comparison on the Expression and tempo page.
How to use it
- Find the word on your music.
- Tap the number to open the metronome at the middle of the range.
- Adjust to what sounds right for the piece.
Learn more: Expression and tempo explained
More free tools
- Free online metronomeA free online metronome: 30 to 240 bpm, tap tempo, accents, quavers, triplets and semiquavers, and a tempo ladder for speeding up a passage step by step.
- Practice timerA free practice timer that runs short focused blocks with breaks in between, with a tone at each change. Choose minutes, breaks and rounds.
- Scale playerHear major, natural, harmonic and melodic minor, pentatonic and chromatic scales from any note, with correctly spelled note names. Free, in your browser.
Every tool is also in the Quick tools button in the corner of each page.
Sources
Keep the practice you do
With a free Music-Ready account, practice is tracked next to your teacher's assignments and counts towards streaks, badges and the weekly report for parents. Free during the beta.