A device that determines the tempo of a piece of music. Musical tempos: names, terms

Every professional musician knows that there are notes of different durations - half notes, eighth notes, etc. But if you ask someone how long each of them should sound, the answer will be ambiguous. After all, the sound of the same quarter note in different works will differ in duration. Therefore, although it is connected with time, it is unrealistic to determine the length of the entire work with them. It's like trying to measure time using steps.

Musical tempo

What to do and how to correctly determine the speed of music? How quickly does the internal biological pendulum located inside each of us need to work in beating down the downbeats? There is an answer to this question, because in this case we will talk about musical tempos.

Tempo means "time" in Italian. Literally, the term means the speed of the sound of a piece of music, which is measured in the number of beats per minute. But the main task of musical tempo is to convey to the listener the character and emotions of the composer’s creation.

What is the tempo?

For ordinary amateur music listeners, the main differences in music sound like fast or slow. Professional musicians use special terms invented in Italy. There are many such terms, but we will look at the most widely used ones. It is worth noting that when it comes to musical tempo, what is mainly taken into account is not a certain number of beats (although this is also important), but the character that carries the corresponding emotions.

Tempo name	Emotional tone, character	Number of metronome beats
Grave	very slowly, heavily, solemnly	40-48
Largo	very slow, wide	44-52
Adagio	calmly, slowly	48-56
Lento	quietly, slowly, drawn out, faster than largo	50-58
Andante	moderately, walking	58-72
Andantino	slightly faster than andante	72-88
moderato	very moderate	80-96
Allegretto	average between allegro and andante	92-108
Allegro	fun, fast	120-144
Animato	excitedly	152-176
Presto	fast	184-200
Prestissimo	most quickly	192-200

As we can see from the table, the slowest musical tempo is Grave, which means that the piece needs to be played not just slowly, but heavily and solemnly. It is worth noting here the relationship between tempo values and musical embellishments (melismas). In this case, Grave also denotes the “seriousness” of the performance, while Largo and Adagio, which are similar in the number of beats, require the performer to improvise in decoration.

Sometimes, in a given Grave tempo, there may be an indication next to individual single notes of the Adagio. Logically, changing the tempo in a solemn, serious movement (an overture, for example) is impossible. In this case, adagio indicates the possibility of ornamentation of this section of the work. This is where the sayings about masters of improvisation came from, who were called “good adagio performers.” This term meant that the musician knew how to use ornamentation while playing.

Metronome

This unusual name is given to an instrument that can beat certain pieces of time with blows, thanks to which the tempo in music is determined. Metronome is translated from Greek as “the force of law.” The classic device is a wooden pyramid with a pendulum moving in the center. It also has a scale with numbers. They mean the number of beats per minute. For example, Presto's fast music tempo is 184-200 clicks. Each of these beats has a strong beat. There are also electronic metronomes, as well as mobile applications for smartphones, by installing which you can set the desired tempo directly from your phone.

You should be careful when playing with a metronome. After all, music should be alive and its sound can hardly be called pure mechanics. Basically, the metronome is used to play technical works: etudes, scales, arpeggios.

How do different rates affect the human body?

At an Italian university, Dr. Luciano Bernardi conducted an interesting experiment. It was based on the task of tracing the influence of different musical tempos on the human body. 24 people were selected to participate, half of whom were professional musicians, and the other half were ordinary music lovers.

Before the experiment began, measurements were taken:

blood pressure;
respiratory rate;
heart rate;
high and low frequency heart rate variability.

After this, the subjects were allowed to listen to musical excerpts of different duration (2-4 minutes) and style with short pauses between them.

What was the result of the experiment?

The results of the experiment showed that all organic indicators increased during the playing of fast tempos of musical works. Moreover, among musicians the breathing rate was noted to be higher than among ordinary listeners. It is interesting that this phenomenon is due not to the individual preferences of each of the participants, but to the rhythmic pattern and tempo of the work itself.

According to the doctor and his assistants, alternating fast and slow musical tempos can immerse listeners in a state of deep relaxation, as well as improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Electronic music and its tempos

Classics are eternal... This is what the great composer Paganini said in his time. Of course, classical music has its fans. But it was replaced by new styles with a radically fresh sound. This includes electronic music.

To write electronic works, various equipment is used, not very similar to a harpsichord or violin. Basically, these are computers, synthesizers and other fashionable items. Let's consider the most popular musical styles.

Breaks

This is not just a style, but a whole subculture. It originated during the popularity of the Winstons group, which for the first time used a broken, so-called “drum loop” during the game - not just one drum sound, but entire small passages consisting of several bars. Later, such motives became the basis of breakbeat. They often sound in drum'n'bass style. In breaks they have already changed significantly, but the broken rhythm remains. True, it sounds at a more moderate musical tempo with a beat frequency of 120-130.

Electro

Electronic style has its origins in hip-hop culture. Formed under the strong influence of funk and Kraftwerk. The direction is distinguished by a pronounced “computer” sound. There are practically no natural sounds in such music. Even vocal parts or the voices of nature are modified beyond recognition with the help of various effects. The main themes of electro style composers are robots, technological innovations, nuclear explosions, etc. The tempo is used at 125 beats or higher.

Techno

It originated in the 80s of the 20th century in Detroit. After a short time, the style was picked up by DJs in Europe. If in America the trend was rather underground in nature, then in Great Britain it broke out like an avalanche. Mechanical rhythms, artificial sound, repeated repetition of musical phrases - all this characterizes the techno style. The tempo is 135-145 beats per minute.

Once again about the main thing

Many musicians at different times loved to experiment with musical styles and their tempos. For orientation in time space while playing a musical instrument, a metronome is used. What is true, this is very relative, because music, although closely related to mathematics, is still distinguished by the presence of a soul. And the soul, in turn, depends on the musician’s presentation. So, experiment, feel and enjoy art.

This article will be of interest to those who want to learn more about musical tempo. After reading it, you will be able to familiarize yourself with the properties of different tempos, and also learn about how the tempo of music can affect people.

1. What is the tempo of music and where did this concept come from?

The word "Temp" comes from the Italian word Tempo, which in turn comes from the Latin word "Temps" - time.

Tempo in music is the speed of the musical process; speed of movement (change) of metric units. Tempo determines the absolute speed at which a piece of music is performed.

Basic tempos in classical music (in ascending order):
Grave, largo, adagio, lento (slow tempos); andante, moderato (moderate tempos); animato, allegro, vivo, presto (fast tempo). Some genres (waltz, march) are characterized by a certain tempo. A metronome is used to accurately measure tempo.

2. Tempos and tempo notations in classical music

The main musical tempos (in ascending order) are:

largo (very slow and wide);
adagio (slow, calm);
andante (at a calm pace);
moderato (moderately, restrained);
allegretto (quite lively);
allegro (quickly);
vivache (quickly, lively);
presto (very quickly).

Italian	German	French	English	Russian	Metronom by Malter
grave	schwer, ernst und langsam	gravement	heavy, seriously	grAve - very slowly, significantly, solemnly, heavily	40-48
largo	breit	large	broadly	lArgo - wide, very slow	44-52
largamente	weit, in weiten Abständen	largement	broadly	largamEnte - drawn out	46-54
adagio	gemächlich	à l'aise	(“at ease”) easily, unhurried	adagio - slowly, calmly	48-56
lento	langsam	tape	slowly	lento - slowly, weakly, quietly, rather than largo	50-58
lentamente	langsam	tape	slowly	lentaEnte - slowly, weakly, quietly, rather than lento	52-60
larghetto	mäßig langsam	un peu lent	somewhat faster than largo	largeEtto - quite wide	54-63
andante assai	sehr gehend	un peu lent	somewhat slowerthan andante	andAnte asAi - with a very calm step	56-66
adagietto	mäßig gemächlich	un peu à l"aise	somewhat faster than adagio	adagiEtto - quite slow, but more agile than adagio	58-72
andante	gehend, fließend	allant	("walking") flowing	andAnte - moderate pace, in the nature of the step (lit. “walking”)	58-72
andante maestoso	gehend, fließend erhaben	allant	in a majesticand stately manner	andAnte maestOzo - with a solemn step	60-69
andante mosso	gehend, fließend bewegt	allant	with motion or animation	andAnte mosso - with a brisk step	63-76
comodo, comodamente	bequem, gemählich, gemütlich	commode	convenient (pace)	komodo komodamEnte - comfortable, relaxed, leisurely	63-80
andante non troppo	bequem, gemählich, gemütlich	pa trop d"allant	andante, but not too much	andAnte non troppo - at a slow pace	66-80
andante con moto	bequem, gemählich, gemütlich	allant movement	andante, but with motion	andAnte con moto - comfortable, relaxed, leisurely	69-84
andantino	etwas gehend, etwas fließend	un peu allant	somewhat close to andante (somewhat faster or slower)	andantIno - faster than andante, but slower than allegretto	72-88
moderato assai	sehr mäßig	un peu modéré	somewhat slower than moderato	moderAto asAi - very moderate	76-92
moderato	mäßig	moderé	moderately, neither slow nor fast	moderato - moderate, restrained, average tempo between andante and allegro	80-96
con moto	bewegnung	movement	with motion	con moto - with movement	84-100
allegretto moderato	mäßig bewegt, mäßig lustig	un peu anime	somewhat slower than allegretto	allegretto moderato - moderately animated	88-104
allegretto	mäßig bewegt, mäßig lustig	un peu anime	somewhat slower than allegro	allegretto - slower than allegro, but faster than andante	92-108
allegretto mosso	mäßig bewegt, mäßig lustig	un peu anime	somewhat faster than allegretto	allegretto mosso - faster than allegretto	96-112
animato	bewegt, lustig	anime	animated, lively	animato - animatedly	100-116
animato assai	bewegt, lustig	anime	very much animated, quite lively	animato assai - very animated	104-120
allegro moderato	bewegt, lustig	anime	quite lively, cheerful and quickly	allEgro moderato - moderately fast	108-126
tempo di Marcia	marschieren	marcher au pas	marching	tempo di marcha - at the tempo of a march	112-126
allegro non troppo	bewegt, lustig	pa trop d"animé	lively, cheerful and quickly, but not too much	allEgro non troppo - fast, but not too fast	116-132
allegro tranquillo	bewegt, lustig	anime tranquille	lively, cheerful and quickly, but calm	allEgro trunkIllo - fast but calm	116-132
allegro	bewegt, lustig	anime	lively, cheerful and quickly	allEgro - fast pace (literally: “fun”)	120-144
allegro molto	sehr bewegt, sehr lustig	très anime	lively, cheerful and quickly	allEgro Molto - very fast	138-160
allegro assai	sehr bewegt, sehr lustig	très anime	lively, cheerful and quickly	allEgro assai - very quickly	144-168
allegro agitato, allegro animato	sehr bewegt, sehr lustig	très anime	lively, cheerful and quickly	allEgro agitato - very quickly, excitedly	152-176
allegro vivace	sehr bewegt, sehr lustig	très anime	lively, cheerful and quickly	allEgro vivAche - much faster	160-184
vivo, vivace	lebhaft	vif	lively and fast	vIvo vivAche - fast, lively, faster than allegro, slower than presto	168-192
presto	Schnell	vite	fast	presto - quickly	184-200
prestissimo	ganz schnell	très vite	very fast	prestIssimo - extremely fast	192-200

Partially based on the book: Malter L., Tables on instrumentation. - M., 1964.

3. The effects of music on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems depend on its tempo

Dr. Luciano Bernardi and his colleagues (University of Pavia, Italy) studied the response of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems (CVS, RS) to changes in music in 12 practicing musicians and 12 age-matched individuals from other professions (control group). After 20 minutes of quiet rest, CVS and RS parameters were assessed. Then they listened to 6 musical fragments of different styles, 2 and 4 minutes each, in random order. Each fragment contained a randomly placed pause of 2 minutes.

They found that respiratory rate (RR), blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and the ratio of low to high frequency heart rate variability (HF/HF, a measure of sympathetic activation) increased with faster music tempos and simple rhythms. , compared to the original values. At the same time, the blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery and baroreflex parameters decreased. Compared to non-musicians, musicians breathed more frequently at faster music tempos and had a lower baseline RR. The style of music and personal preferences of the participants did not have the same effect as the tempo or rhythm of the music. The decrease in blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate and LF/HF after a 2-minute pause in a musical fragment was more pronounced than after 5 minutes of initial relaxation.

According to the authors, specially selected music, which alternates fast, slow tempo and pauses, can cause relaxation, reduce sympathetic activity and, thus, act as a component of complex therapy for cardiovascular diseases. In an editorial in the same issue of Heart, Dr Peter Larsen and Dr D Galletly (Wellington School of Medicine, New Zealand) suggest that trained musicians are more sensitive to changes in music tempo and therefore have a stronger correlation between musical tempo. and NPV.

4. Electronic music tempos

Nowadays, classical music has faded into the background a little. Therefore, we present to your attention the tempos of electronic music by direction.

Trance is a style of electronic dance music that developed in the 90s. Distinctive features of the style are: tempo from 130 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). Trance usually uses a straight beat.

Trance substyles:
Full on- 140-150 beats per minute (bpm)
Psy- 146-155 (bpm)
Dark- 160 or more beats per minute.

Drum and bass- a genre of electronic music. Originally an offshoot of the British breakbeat and rave scene, drum and bass arose when musicians began mixing the bass of reggae with the uptempo breakbeat of hip-hop. In general, there is no significant difference between the terms “drum and bass” and “jungle”. Some call old records of the first half of the 90s jungle, and drum and bass consider significantly evolved jungle with new post-techstep elements. For many people, the pace of this trend is initially difficult to grasp. Because the broken rhythms can make it very difficult to determine the tempo of this style. The spread of pace in this direction is probably one of the largest. Drum and bass sounds start from 140 beats per minute (usually old school) and can reach as much as 200. The tempo in this style can be easily determined by the snare drum.

House is a genre of electronic music originated by dance DJs in the early 1980s in Chicago. House is heavily influenced by some elements of the 1970s soul genre and the Disco style of dance music. House is created by mixing the relief drum bass of the Disco genre and a new type of “heavy” (bass, beats, various sound effects, etc.). Disputes about the origin of the name of this style are still ongoing. But at the moment, the central version is that the name comes from the Chicago club Warehouse, where DJ Frankie Knuckles mixed classic disco with European synth-pop, adding his own rhythms to it using a Roland 909 drum machine. The tempo of this music is quite static. It usually hovers around 130 beats.

Techno is a genre of electronic music that originated in the mid-1980s in and around Detroit and was subsequently picked up by European producers. It is characterized by artificiality of sound, an emphasis on mechanical rhythms, and repeated repetition of the structural elements of a musical work. Techno is characterized by a tempo of 135 beats to 145 beats per minute. “Techno is music that sounds like technology,” says Juan Atkins, one of the genre's founders. In fact, in the US techno music was only an underground phenomenon, but in the UK it burst into the mainstream music scene of the country in the late 1980s. This style of music was also very popular in other countries.

About 20 years ago, a style appeared in electronic music culture that became an offshoot of techno music. The name of this style is Hardcore.

Hardcore. Anyone who was into electronic music in the 90s should remember the well-known Thunderdome rave, which gathered a huge number of people in Holland who came to hardcore raves. But this style of music was extremely popular not only in this country, but also in Germany and other European countries.

Breakcore- This is a fairly recently emerged genre. Probably the youngest among all genres that use broken rhythm. Tempos in this style are striking both in terms of bpm and in their tempo in general. The smallest tempo in breakcore is as much as 220 beats per minute, which is much more than any other style of electronic music and can reach absolutely cosmic values. There are some known compositions in this style, which have a value of 666 bpm.

Electro- short for Electro funk (also known as robot hip hop), this is a style of electronic music that takes its roots from hip-hop. Kraftwerk and funk had a very big influence on the style. Music in this style sounds very electronic (“computer-like”), the creators of such music try not to use the sounds of living nature, even the vocals are usually distorted to give a “darker” and “mechanical” tone. Therefore, the performers’ works are imbued with the ideas of robots, nuclear physics, computers, future technologies, and science fiction largely contributes to the development of this style. Electro has a tempo that is approximately the same as house music. From 125 beats and a little more - this is electro.

The last style of electronic music that I would like to pay attention to is Breaks.

Breaks- A very interesting style, in my opinion, but I’ll be brief. The entire break culture, including this trend, arose as a result of a historical event. If I'm not mistaken, in 1969 the Winstons came up with the song "Amen brother", in which the broken drum loop, now known to everyone as part of breakbeat music, first appeared. Now it is called amen break. It is very often used in drum'n'bass. In breaks she no longer looks like herself, and it’s not her anymore, but the basis of this style is precisely the broken rhythms that originate so long ago. Their tempos became slower and more pumping. The pace has become lower than that of its predecessor directions. Break music is played at a tempo of approximately 120-130 bpm. If it were bigger, she would lose all her drive.

I think I’ll end here, since other styles of electronic music are, in my opinion, more experimental or less relevant.

Music terminology covers various musical areas: including dynamics, tempo, musical notation, the nature of performance, as well as ways of interpreting the work. The dominant language of musical terminology is Italian. An interesting fact worth noting is that even Mozart wrote some of his operas in Italian.

Until the 18th century, there was no modern abundance in determining the tempo of performance. In the past, the tempo was determined by the meter rhythm, since the duration of the sound (whole, half, quarter, etc.) was considered an absolute value.

The inaccuracy and subjectivity of ideas about duration sometimes put musicians in a difficult position. It is likely that the first musical terms and concepts appeared to more accurately define dynamics and tempo. In the 19th century, the specialization of musicians increased dramatically, and composers gradually ceased to be performers, as they had been in the past. The latter gave rise to an increase in the number of terms used in musical notation.

At the beginning of the same century, Mälzel constructed a metronome, which made it possible to accurately determine the tempo when performing musical works. L. Beethoven, for example, used the metronome more readily than verbal terminology. In his last compositions, Beethoven introduced German speech in order to more accurately define the spirit and emotions of the music.

In the 20th century, in most countries, the native language began to prevail over Italian when recording music on notes. International musical terminology was greatly influenced by C. Debussy, whose sophisticated terms captivated many composers. A. Scriabin, for example, inspired by C. Debussy, began to use the French language, inventing new, no less original terms. And yet, despite the most progressive trends of recent centuries, it is the Italian language that has retained its international significance in musical literacy.

I have written down the most frequently used Italian terms necessary for a musician’s work, because... sometimes tuba players don’t even know what a particular term means or implies in the pieces they are learning.

TERMS FOR TEMPO AND ITS CHANGES

Slow pace:

lento (lento) - slowly, weakly, quietly
lento assai (lento assai) - very slowly
lento di molto (lento di molto) - very slowly
largo (largo) - wide, slowly
largo assai (largo assai) - very widely
largo di molto (largo di molto) - very widely
largo un poco (largo un poco) - a little wider
adagio (adagio) - slowly
grave - significantly, solemnly, majestically, heavily

Moderate pace:

andante (andante) - step, graceful movement
andante cantabile (andante cantabile) - slowly and melodiously
andante maestoso (andante maestoso) - slowly and majestically
andante pastorale (andante pastorale) - slowly pastoral
andante vivace (andante vivace) - lively and ardent
andantino (andantino) - rather than andante
moderato (moderato) - moderately, restrained
allegretto (allegretto) - lively

Fast pace:

allegro (allegro) - soon
vivo, vivace (vivo, vivache) - quickly, lively

Very fast pace:

Presto, prestissimo (presto, prestissimo) - quickly, extremely quickly

Other terms characterizing musical emotionality:

abbandono (abbandono) - dejected, depressed
abbandonamente (abbandonamente) - dejected, depressed
accarezzevole - affectionately
affettuoso (affettuoso) - heartily
agitato (agitato) - excitedly, excitedly
amabile - nice
alla (alla) - in kind, in spirit
alla marcia (alla marchya) - in the spirit of a march
alla polacca (alla polyakka) - in the spirit of Polish
amoroso (amaroso) - lovingly
animato (animato) - enthusiastically, animatedly
appassionato (appassionato) - passionately
ardente (ardente) - with fervor
brillante (brilliant) - brilliantly
buffo (buffo) - comically
burlesco (burlesco) - comically
cantabile (cantabile) - melodious
capriccioso (capriccioso) - capriciously
con amore (con amore) - with love
con anima (con anima) - with enthusiasm, with animation
con bravura (con bravura) - brilliantly
con brio (con brio) - with fervor
con calore (con calore) - with heat
con dolcezza (con dolchezza) - gently, softly
con dolore (con dolore) - with sadness
con espressione (con espressione) - with expression
con forza (con forza) - with force
con fuoco (con fuoko) - with fire
con grazia (con grace) - with grace
con malinconia (con malinconia) - melancholy
con moto (con motto) - movably
con passione (con passione) - with passion
con spirito (con spirito) - with enthusiasm
con tenerezza (con tenerezza) - with tenderness
con vigore (con vigore) - courageously
deciso (dechizo) - decisively
dolce (dolce) - tenderly
dolcissimo (dolcissimo) - very gently
dolente (dolente) - sad, pitiful
doloroso (doloroso) - sad, sad
elegante (elegante) - elegant, beautiful
elegaco (elejyako) - plaintively, sad
energico (energy) - energetically
eroico (eroiko) - heroically
espressivo (espressivo) - expressively
flebile (phlebile) - plaintively
feroce (feroche) - wildly
festivo (festivo) - festive
fiero (fiero) - wildly
fresco (fresco) - fresh
funebre (funebre) - funeral
furioso (furioso) - furiously
giocoso (dzhyokozo) - playfully, playfully
gioioso (gioyoso) joyfully, cheerfully
grandioso (grandioso) - magnificent, magnificent
grazioso (gracioso) - gracefully
guerriero (guerriero) - militantly
imperioso (imperioso) - imperative
impetuoso (impetuoso) - rapidly, violently
innocente (innocente) - innocently, simply
lagrimoso (lagrimoso) - deplorable
languido (languido) - with exhaustion, powerless
lamentabile (lamentabile) - plaintively
leggiero (degyero) - easy
leggierissimo (leggerissimo) very easy
lugubre (lyugubre) - gloomy
lusingando (lyuzingando) - flattering
maestoso (maestoso) - solemnly, majestically
malinconico (malinconico) - melancholy
marcato (marcato) - emphasizing
marciale (marciale) - marching
marziale (martiale) militantly
mesto (mesto) - sad
misterioso (mysterioso) - mysteriously
parlando (parlyando) - recitative
pastorale (pastorale) - pastorally
patetico (patetico) - passionately
pesante (pesante) - heavy, ponderous
piangendo (piandzhendo) - deplorable
pomposo (pomposo) - magnificent, with shine
quieto (Kieto) - calmly
recitando (recitando) - telling
religioso (religioso) - reverently
rigoroso (rigoroso) - strictly, precisely
risoluto (risoluto) - decisively
rustico (rustic) - rustic style
scherzando (scherzando) - playfully
scherzoso (scherzoso) - playfully
semplice (sample) - simple
sensibile (sensibile) - sensitive
serioso (seriously) - seriously
soave (soave) - friendly
soavemente (soavemente) - friendly
sonore (sonore) - sonorous
spianato (drunk) - with simplicity
spirituoso (spirituoso) - spiritually
strepitoso (strepitoso) - noisy, stormy
teneramente (teneramente) - tenderly
tranquillo (tranquille) - calmly
vigoroso (vigorozo) - strong, cheerful

Some terms often found in music literature:

a capella (a cappella) - in choir, without instrumental accompaniment
a due (or a 2) (a duet) - two people perform the same part
ad libitum (ad libitum) - optional: an indication that allows the performer to freely vary the tempo or phrasing, as well as skip or play part of a passage (or other fragment of musical text); abbreviated ad. lib.
arco (arco) - literally “bow”: an indication coll arco for performers on string instruments - play with a bow, not pizzicato
attacca (attack) - transition to the next part without interruption
a tempo (a tempo) - returning to the original tempo after changing it.
basso continuo (basso continuo) (also general bass, digital bass) - “continuous, general bass”: a tradition of Baroque music, according to which the lower voice in the ensemble was performed by a melodic instrument of the appropriate range (viola da gamba, cello, bassoon) , while another instrument (keyboard or lute) duplicated this line along with chords, which were indicated in the notes by conventional digital notation, implying an element of improvisation
basso ostinato (basso ostinato) - literally “constant bass”: a short musical phrase in the bass, repeated throughout the entire composition or any section of it, with free variation of the upper voices; in early music this technique is especially typical for the chaconne and passacaglia.
ben (ben) - good
blue note (English) - in jazz, the performance of the third or seventh degree in a major scale with a slight decrease (the term is associated with the blues genre)
coda (code) conclusion
col (col) - with
come (come) - like
con (kon) - with
da capo (yes capo) - “from the beginning”; an instruction requiring a fragment or an entire part of a work to be repeated from the beginning; abbreviated as D.C.
dal segno (dal senyo) - “starting from the sign”; an instruction instructing to repeat a fragment from a sign; abbreviated as D.S.
diminuendo (diminuendo) - dynamic indication similar to decrescendo
divisi (divisions) - division (homogeneous instruments or voices perform different parts)
e, ed (uh, ed) - and
fine (fine) - end (traditional designation in the score)
forte (forte) - designation of expressiveness: loud; abbreviated
ma (ma) - but
mezza voce (mezza voce) - in a low voice
mezzo forte (mezzo forte) - not very loud
molto (molto) - very; tempo designation: molto adagio - tempo designation: very slow
non (non) - not
non troppo (non troppo) - not too much; allegro ma non troppo - tempo designation: not too fast
obligato (obbligato) - 1) in music of the 17th and 18th centuries. the term refers to those instrument parts in a piece that cannot be omitted and must be performed; 2) fully written accompaniment in a musical work for voice or solo instrument and clavier
opus (opus) (Latin opus, “work”; abbreviated as op.): the designation has been used by composers since the Baroque era and usually refers to the serial number of a given work in the list (most often chronological) of the works of a given author
ostinato (ostinato) - multiple repetition of a melodic or rhythmic figure, harmonic turn, individual sound (especially often in bass voices)
poi (poi) - then
perpetuum mobile (Latin for “perpetual motion”): a piece built on continuous fast rhythmic movement from beginning to end
pianissimo (pianissimo) - very quiet; abbreviated: pp
piano (piano) - quietly; abbreviated: p
piu (piu) - more; piu allegro - tempo designation: faster
pizzicato (pizzicato) - plucking: a way of playing stringed instruments by plucking the strings with your fingers
portamento (portamento) - a sliding transition from one sound to another, used in singing and playing strings
portato (portato) - a method of sound production, between legato and staccato
quasi (kuazi) - as if
rallentando (rallentando) - designation of tempo: gradually slowing down
recitative (abbreviated recit.) (recitative) - recitative
ripieno (ripieno) - in instrumental music of the Baroque era, the designation of the playing of the entire orchestra; same as tutti
ritardando (ritardando) - tempo designation: gradually slowing down
ritenuto (ritenuto) - designation of tempo: gradually reducing the tempo, but over a shorter period than ritardando
rubato (rubato) - a flexible interpretation of the tempo-rhythmic side of the work, deviations from a uniform tempo in order to achieve greater expressiveness
scherzando (scherzando) - playfully
segue (segue) - same as the previous one
senza (senza) - without
simile (simile) - same as the previous one
solo (salt) - one
soli (salt) - plural of solo, i.e. more than one soloist
sostenuto (sostenuto) - designation of expressiveness: restrained; sometimes the designation can also refer to tempo
sotto voce (sotto voche) - designation of expressiveness: “in a low voice”, muffled
staccato (staccato) - abruptly: a manner of sound production in which each sound is, as it were, separated by a pause from the other; the opposite way of sound production is legato (legato), coherently. Staccato is indicated by a dot above the note
stile rappresentativo (style rappresentativo) - opera style of the early 17th century, the main principle of which is that the musical principle should be subordinated to the expression of dramatic ideas or reflect the content of the text
sforzando (sforzando) - sudden emphasis on a sound or chord; abbreviated sf
segue (segue) - continue as before: an instruction that, firstly, replaces the attacca instruction (i.e., orders the next part to be performed without interruption), and, secondly, orders the performance to continue in the same manner as before (in this case the designation sempre is more often used)
semibreve (semibreve) - whole note
tace (tache) - be silent
tacet (taches) - silent
tutti (tutti) - everything (for example the whole orchestra)
tenuto (tenuto) - sustained: the designation prescribes maintaining the full duration of the note; sometimes this means a slight excess of duration
unisono (unison) - in unison
voce (voche) - voice
voci (vochi) - voices

to be continued...

With this lesson we will begin a series of lessons devoted to various nuances in music.

What makes music truly unique and unforgettable? How to get away from the facelessness of a piece of music and make it bright and interesting to listen to? What means of musical expression do composers and performers use to achieve this effect? We will try to answer all these questions.

I hope that everyone knows, or guesses, that composing music is not only about writing a harmonious series... Music is also about communication, communication between the composer and the performer, the performer with the listeners. Music is a unique, extraordinary speech of the composer and performer, with the help of which they reveal to the listeners all the innermost things that lie hidden in their souls. It is with the help of musical speech that they establish contact with the public, win their attention, and evoke an emotional response on their part.

As in speech, in music the two main means of conveying emotion are tempo (speed) and dynamics (loudness). These are the two main tools that are used to turn precisely measured notes on a letter into a brilliant piece of music that will leave no one indifferent.

In this lesson we will talk about pace .

Pace is Latin for “time,” and when you hear someone talk about the tempo of a piece of music, what they mean is the speed at which it should be played.

The meaning of tempo will become clearer if we remember the fact that music was originally used as a musical accompaniment to dance. And it was the movement of the dancers' feet that set the tempo of the music, and the musicians followed the dancers.

Since the invention of musical notation, composers have been trying to find some way to accurately reproduce the tempo at which recorded works should be performed. This should have made it much easier to read the notes of an unfamiliar piece of music. Over time, they noticed that each piece had an internal pulsation. And this pulsation is different for each work. Just like each person’s heart beats differently, at different speeds.

So, if we need to determine the pulse, we count the number of heart beats per minute. So it is in music - to record the speed of pulsation, they began to record the number per minute.

To help you understand what meter is and how to determine it, I suggest you take a watch and tap your foot every second. Do you hear? You tap one share, or one bit per second. Now, while looking at your watch, tap your foot twice per second. It turned out to be a different pulsation. The frequency with which you stomp your foot is called pace ( or meter). For example, when you stomp your foot once per second, the tempo is 60 beats per minute, because we know there are 60 seconds in a minute. We stomp twice a second, and the tempo is already 120 beats per minute.

In musical notation it looks something like this:

This designation tells us that a quarter note is taken as a unit of pulsation, and this pulsation occurs at a frequency of 60 beats per minute.

Here, too, a quarter duration is taken as a unit of pulsation, but the pulsation speed is twice as fast - 120 beats per minute.

There are other examples when the unit of pulsation is taken not as a quarter, but as an eighth or half duration, or some other... Here are a few examples:

In this version, the song “The Little Christmas Tree is Cold in Winter” will sound twice as fast as the first version, since the duration taken as a unit of meter is two times shorter - instead of a quarter note, an eighth note.

Such tempo notations can most often be found in modern sheet music. Composers of past eras used mainly verbal descriptions of tempo. Even today, the same terms are used to describe tempo and speed of performance as they were then. These are Italian words because when they came into use, the bulk of music in Europe was composed by Italian composers.

Below are the most common tempo symbols in music. In parentheses, for convenience and a more complete idea of the tempo, the approximate number of beats per minute for a given tempo is given, because many people do not have the slightest idea how fast or how slow a particular tempo should sound.

Grave – (grave) – the slowest tempo (40 beats/min)
Largo – (largo) – very slow (44 beats/min)
Lento – (lento) – slow (52 beats/min)
Adagio – (adagio) – slow, calm (58 beats/min)
Andante – (andante) – slowly (66 beats/min)
Andantino – (andantino) – leisurely (78 beats/min)
Moderato – (moderato) – moderate (88 beats/min)
Allegretto – (allegretto) – quite fast (104 beats/min)
Allegro – (allegro) – fast (132 beats/min)
Vivo – (vivo) – lively (160 beats/min)
Presto – (presto) – very fast (184 beats/min)
Prestissimo – (prestissimo) – extremely fast (208 beats/min)

However, tempo does not necessarily indicate how fast or slow a piece should be performed. The tempo also sets the overall mood of the piece: for example, music played very, very slowly, at a grave tempo, evokes the deepest melancholy, but the same music, if performed very, very quickly, at a prestissimo tempo, will seem incredibly joyful and bright. Sometimes, to clarify character, composers use the following additions to tempo notations:

leggiero - easy
cantabile – melodiously
dolce – tenderly
mezzo voce – in half a voice
sonore – sonorous (not to be confused with screaming)
lugubre - gloomy
pesante – heavy, weighty
funebre – mournful, funeral
festivo – festive (festival)
quasi rithmico – emphatically (exaggerated) rhythmically
misterioso – mysteriously

Such remarks are written not only at the beginning of the work, but can also appear inside it.

To confuse you a little more, let's say that in combination with tempo designations, auxiliary adverbs are sometimes used to clarify shades:

molto - very,
assai - very,
con moto - with mobility, commodo - convenient,
non troppo - not too much,
non tanto - not so much
sempre - all the time,
meno mosso - less mobile,
piu mosso - more mobile.

For example, if the tempo of a piece of music is poco allegro, then this means that the piece should be played “quite quickly”, and poco largo (poco largo) will mean “quite slowly”.

Sometimes individual musical phrases in a piece are played at a different tempo; this is done to give greater expressiveness to the musical work. Below are a few tempo change symbols you may encounter in musical notation:

To slow down:

ritenuto - holding back,
ritardando - late,
allargando - expanding,
rallentando - slowing down

To speed up:

accelerando - speeding up,
animando - inspiring,
stringendo - accelerating,
stretto - compressed, squeezing

To return the movement to the original pace, the following notations are used:

a tempo - at the pace,
tempo primo - initial tempo,
tempo I - initial tempo,
l'istesso tempo - the same tempo.

ADAGIO - 1) slow tempo; 2) the title of a work or part of a cyclic composition in adagio tempo; 3) slow solo or duet dance in classical ballet.

ACCOMPANIMENT - musical accompaniment of a soloist, ensemble, orchestra or choir.

CHORD - a combination of several (at least 3) sounds of different heights, perceived as a sound unity; The sounds in a chord are arranged in thirds.

ACCENT - a stronger, more percussive production of any one sound compared to others.

ALLEGRO - 1) tempo corresponding to a very fast step; 2) the name of the piece or part of the sonata cycle in allegro tempo.

ALLEGRETTO - 1) tempo, slower than allegro, but faster than moderato; 2) the name of the piece or part of the work in allegretto tempo.

ALTERATION - raising and lowering a step of a modal scale without changing its name. Alteration signs - sharp, flat, double-sharp, double-flat; the sign of its cancellation is bekar.

ANDANTE - 1) moderate pace, corresponding to a calm step; 2) the name of the work and parts of the sonata cycle in andante tempo.

ANDANTINO - 1) tempo, more lively than andante; 2) the name of the work or part of the sonata cycle in andantino tempo.

ENSEMBLE - a group of performers performing as a single artistic group.

ARRANGEMENT - processing of a musical work for performance on another instrument or with a different composition of instruments and voices.

ARPEGGIO - playing sounds in succession, usually starting with the lowest tone.

BEL CANTO is a vocal style that emerged in Italy in the 17th century, distinguished by the beauty and lightness of its sound, the perfection of the cantilena, and the virtuosity of coloratura.

VARIATIONS - a musical work in which the theme is presented several times with changes in texture, tonality, melody, etc.

VIRTUOSO - a performer who has perfect command of the voice or the art of playing a musical instrument.

VOCALISE - a piece of music for singing without words on a vowel sound; usually an exercise to develop vocal technique. Vocalises for concert performance are known.

VOCAL MUSIC - works for one, several or many voices (with or without instrumental accompaniment), with few exceptions associated with a poetic text.

SOUND PITCH is the quality of sound determined by a person subjectively and associated mainly with its frequency.

GAMMA - the sequence of all sounds of a scale, located from the main tone in ascending or descending order, has the volume of an octave, and can be continued into adjacent octaves.

HARMONY - expressive means of music based on the combination of tones into harmonies, on the connection of harmonies in their sequential movement. It is built according to the laws of mode in polyphonic music. Elements of harmony - cadence and modulation. The doctrine of harmony is one of the main sections of music theory.

RANGE - sound volume (the interval between the lowest and highest sounds) of a singing voice, a musical instrument.

DYNAMICS - differences in the degree of sound strength, volume and their changes.

CONDUCTING - management of a musical performing group during learning and public performance of a musical composition. It is carried out by the conductor (kapellmeister, choirmaster) with the help of special gestures and facial expressions.

DISSONANCE - unfused, intense simultaneous sound of different tones.

DURATION - the time occupied by a sound or pause.

DOMINANT is one of the tonal functions in major and minor, which has an intense tendency towards the tonic.

BIND INSTRUMENTS - a group of instruments whose sound source is vibrations of the air column in the bore (tube).

GENRE is a historically established division, a type of work in the unity of its form and content. They differ in the method of performance (vocal, vocal-instrumental, solo), purpose (applied, etc.), content (lyrical, epic, dramatic), place and conditions of performance (theater, concert, chamber, film music, etc.).

SOLO - the introductory part of a choral song or epic.

SOUND - characterized by a certain pitch and volume.

IMPROVISATION - composing music during its performance, without preparation.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC - intended for performance on instruments: solo, ensemble, orchestral.

INSTRUMENTATION - presentation of music in the form of a score for a chamber ensemble or orchestra.

INTERVAL - the ratio of two sounds in height. It can be melodic (sounds are taken one after another) and harmonic (sounds are taken simultaneously).

INTRODUCTION - 1) a brief introduction to the first part or finale of a cyclic instrumental musical work; 2) a type of short overture to an opera or ballet, an introduction to a separate act of the opera; 3) a choir or vocal ensemble that follows the overture and opens the action of the opera.

CADENCE - 1) a harmonic or melodic turn that completes a musical structure and gives it greater or less completeness; 2) a virtuoso solo episode in an instrumental concert.

CHAMBER MUSIC - instrumental or vocal music for a small group of performers.

TUNING FORK is a special device that produces a sound of a certain frequency. This sound serves as a standard for tuning musical instruments and singing.

CLAVIR - 1) the general name for stringed keyboard instruments in the 17th-18th centuries; 2) abbreviation of the word klaviraustsug - arrangement of the score of an opera, oratorio, etc. for singing with a piano, as well as for one piano.

COLORATURA - fast, technically difficult, virtuoso passages in singing.

COMPOSITION - 1) construction of a work; 2) title of the work; 3) composing music; 4) academic subject in music educational institutions.

CONSONANCE is a united, coordinated simultaneous sound of different tones, one of the most important elements of harmony.

CLIMAX - the moment of highest tension in a musical structure, a section of a musical work, or a whole work.

LEITMOTHIO - a musical phrase repeated in a work as a characteristic or symbol of a character, object, phenomenon, idea, emotion.

LIBRETTO is a literary text that is taken as the basis for the creation of a musical work.

Organized in modes, intonation and rhythm, forming a certain structure.

METER - the order of alternation of strong and weak beats, a system for organizing rhythm.

METRONOME is a tool that helps determine the correct tempo of performance.

MODERATO - moderate tempo, between andantino and allegretto.

MODULATION - transition to a new key.

MUSICAL FORM - 1) a complex of expressive means that embody a certain ideological and artistic content in a musical work.

NOTE WRITING - a system of graphic signs for recording music, as well as its recording itself. In modern musical notation, the following are used: a 5-line staff, notes (signs indicating sounds), a clef (determines the pitch of notes), etc.

OVERTONES - overtones (partial tones), sound higher or weaker than the main tone, merged with it. The presence and strength of each of them determines the timbre of the sound.

ORCHESTRATION - arrangement of a piece of music for orchestra.

ORNAMENTS - ways to decorate vocal and instrumental melodies. Small melodic embellishments are called melismas.

OSTINATO - repeated repetition of a melodic rhythmic figure.

PASSAGE - a sequence of sounds in fast motion, often difficult to perform.

PAUSE - a break in the sound of one, several or all voices in a musical work; a sign in musical notation indicating this break.

PIZZICATO - a technique for producing sound on bowed instruments (plucking), produces a jerky sound, quieter than when playing with a bow.

PLEECTR (mediator) - a device for producing sound on stringed, mainly plucked, musical instruments.

PRELUDE - a short piece, as well as the introductory part of a musical work.

PROGRAM MUSIC - musical works that the composer provided with a verbal program that concretizes perception.

REPRISE is a repetition of the motive of a musical work, as well as a musical mark of repetition.

RHYTHM - alternation of sounds of different duration and strength.

SYMPHONISM - the revelation of an artistic concept through consistent and purposeful musical development, including the confrontation and transformation of themes and thematic elements.

SYMPHONY MUSIC - musical works intended for performance by a symphony orchestra (large, monumental works, small pieces).

SCHERZO - 1) in the XV1-XVII centuries. designation of vocal-instrumental works based on humorous texts, as well as instrumental plays; 2) part of a suite; 3) part of a sonata-symphonic cycle; 4) from the 19th century. an independent instrumental work, close to a capriccio.

MUSICAL HEARING - a person’s ability to perceive individual qualities of musical sounds, to sense functional connections between them.

SOLFEGIO - vocal exercises for developing hearing and music reading skills.

STRING INSTRUMENTS - according to the method of sound production, they are divided into bowed, plucked, percussion, percussion-keyboard, plucked-keyboard.

TACT is a specific form and unit of musical meter.

THEME - a structure that forms the basis of a musical work or its sections.

TEMP - speed of repetition of metric counting units. A metronome is used for accurate measurements.

TEMPERATION - equalization of interval relationships between stages of the sound system.

TONIC - the main degree of the mode.

TRANSCRIPTION - arrangement or free, often virtuoso, processing of a musical work.

TRILL - an iridescent sound born from the rapid repetition of two adjacent tones.

OVERTURE is an orchestral piece performed before a theatrical performance.

PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS - instruments with a leather membrane or made of a material that is capable of sounding itself.

UNISON is the simultaneous sound of several musical sounds of the same pitch.

TEXTURE - the specific sound appearance of a work.

Falsetto is one of the registers of the male singing voice.

FERMATA - stopping the tempo, usually at the end of a piece of music or between its sections; expressed in increasing the duration of a sound or pause.

FINAL - the final part of a cyclic musical work.

CHORAL - religious chant in Latin or native languages.

CHROMATISM is a half-tone interval system of two types (ancient Greek and new European).

STROKES - methods of producing sound on bowed instruments, giving the sound a different character and color.

EXPOSITION - 1) the initial section of sonata form, which sets out the main themes of the work; 2) the first part of the fugue.

VARIETY - a type of musical performing art