Tempo guide · No account needed
Tempo markings and BPM: how fast is allegro?
A tempo marking names a band of speeds, not one number. Largo sits near 40 to 60 beats per minute and prestissimo above 200, and the bands in between overlap because the words are older than the metronome.
What does a tempo marking mean?
A tempo marking is the Italian word above the first bar that tells you how fast the music should move. Each word covers a range of beats per minute rather than one exact speed, and it describes a character as much as a number.
Allegro asks for a bright, quick pulse; adagio asks for a slow one with room to shape the line. Two recordings of the same allegro can sit twenty beats apart and both be defensible.
Which BPM range belongs to each tempo marking?
These are the customary ranges, from broad to as fast as the passage stays clear. They overlap on purpose: the bands are teaching conventions, and editions disagree at every boundary.
| Marking | Beats per minute | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Largo | 40–60 | Broad and slow, with weight on every beat. |
| Larghetto | 60–66 | A little less broad than largo. |
| Adagio | 66–76 | Slow and sustained, with room to shape a line. |
| Andante | 76–108 | Walking pace, moving without hurry. |
| Moderato | 108–120 | A moderate pulse between walking and quick. |
| Allegro | 120–156 | Fast and bright, the default quick tempo. |
| Vivace | 156–176 | Lively, a step above a plain allegro. |
| Presto | 168–200 | Very fast, at the edge of clarity. |
| Prestissimo | 200 and up | As fast as the passage can stay clean. |
Some editions place adagio below 66 and presto above 176, so treat any single number as a starting point and choose the tempo that keeps the passage clear.
How do you read a metronome marking?
A metronome marking pairs a note value with a number. The note says which value gets the beat, and the number says how many of those beats fill a minute.
♩ = 96 means ninety-six quarter-note beats a minute.
If a dotted quarter carries the mark, you count dotted quarters instead. The letters M.M. in front of a number are short for Maelzel's metronome, the mechanical device the notation was written for, and they change nothing about how the number is read.
Which markings change the tempo while you play?
Tempo words also appear mid-piece. Those are instructions to move rather than settings to dial in.
- accelerando
- Get faster, gradually.
- ritardando
- Slow down, gradually.
- rallentando
- Slow down with a broadening feel.
- a tempo
- Return to the tempo you left.
- più mosso
- More motion: a new, faster tempo.
- meno mosso
- Less motion: a new, slower tempo.
- rubato
- Stretch time in one place and give it back in another.
Why do BPM ranges differ between sources?
Because the words came first. The Italian terms describe character and were in use long before the metronome existed, so every numeric range is a later attempt to measure a habit.
A Baroque allegro is usually slower than a Romantic one, and a quick movement built on a dance takes its speed from that dance. Where the composer left a metronome mark, that mark outranks any chart, including this one.
How do you set a tempo marking on a metronome?
Turn the word into a number, start at the low end of its band, and move up only once the passage is clean.
- Read the marking at the start of the piece and find its band in the table above.
- Set the metronome to the slowest number in that band and play eight bars.
- Raise the tempo a few beats at a time until you reach the band without errors.
- Note the number you finished on, so the next session starts where this one ended.
If the band still feels out of reach, the metronome practice routine covers subdivision and how far to raise the number each time.
Open the metronomeQuestions about tempo markings
How many BPM is allegro?
Allegro is customarily 120 to 156 beats per minute. Editions differ, and an allegro in an early piece is often slower than the same word in a later one.
Is andante faster than adagio?
Yes. Adagio sits around 66 to 76 beats per minute and andante around 76 to 108, so andante moves at a walking pace while adagio stays below it.
What does a quarter note equals 120 mean?
It means one hundred and twenty quarter-note beats a minute. The note printed before the number names the beat, so a dotted-quarter mark counts dotted quarters instead.
Do you have to play at the marked tempo?
Not while you are learning. The marking states the intended character, but the tempo that teaches the passage is the one you can play accurately, and the marked tempo comes after that.
Sources and review
The tempo terms and the metronome-mark notation follow the references below. The beats-per-minute bands are customary teaching ranges rather than a standard: no source fixes them, they vary by edition, era and instrument, and this page gives ranges for that reason.
Published and reviewed by ToolForge.
Content reviewed on .
- LilyPond music glossary: tempo indication
Reference for the Italian tempo terms and what a tempo indication states.
- Open Music Theory: Other Aspects of Notation
Reference for metronome marks written as a note value and a number.
Keep going with ClefPulse
Set the tempo you just read, then use it in a session that raises the number for a reason.