Tempo - music theory. We are on social media networks The tempo of a piece of music

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 piece of music 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 the instrument 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 (interval between the lowest and highest high sounds) singing voice, 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 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) choir or vocal ensemble, following the overture and opening 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 cast 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) general name for strings keyboard instruments in the XVII-XVIII 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 - a united, coordinated simultaneous sound of different tones, one of essential elements harmony.

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

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

LIBRETTO - literary text, which is taken as the basis for creating 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) complex expressive means, embodying 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 - method of producing sound on bowed instruments(plucked), gives 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 - repetition of the motive of a musical work, as well as musical notation repetitions.

RHYTHM - alternation of sounds of different duration and strength.

SYMPHONISM - revealing an artistic concept with the help of a consistent, purposeful self 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, short plays).

SCHERZO - 1) in the XV1-XVII centuries. designation of vocal and 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. independent instrumental piece, a close capriccio.

MUSICAL HEARING - a person’s ability to perceive individual qualities musical sounds, feel the 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 - specific form and a 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 extracting sound on bowed instruments, giving the sound different character and coloring.

EXPOSITION - 1) initial section 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

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 vary 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 simple 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 we're talking about O musical tempo, what is mainly taken into account is not a certain number of blows (although this is also important), but the character that carries the corresponding emotions.

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, who were called “good adagio performers,” came from. This term meant that the musician knew how to use ornamentation while playing.

Metronome

This unusual name wears an instrument that can beat certain pieces of time with blows, thanks to which they determine the tempo in music. Metronome is translated from Greek as “the force of law.” The classic device is wooden pyramid, in the center of which the pendulum moves. 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. For each of these blows there is strong share tact. There are also electronic metronomes, and mobile applications on smartphones, by installing which you can set the desired pace 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 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 experimental subjects were given different durations (2-4 minutes) and styles to listen to. musical excerpts 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

Classic is eternal... So he said at one time great composer Paganini. Of course classical music has its fans. But it was replaced by new styles with a radically fresh sound. This includes electronic music.

For writing electronic works They use a variety of equipment that bears little resemblance 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 topic composers of the electro style are robots, technological innovations, nuclear explosions etc. The tempo is used at 125 beats and above.

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 in different times liked to experiment with musical directions and their pace. 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.

Music terminology covers various musical fields: including dynamics, tempo, musical notation, nature of performance, as well as ways of interpreting the work. The dominant language of musical terminology is Italian language. 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 for more precise definition 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 their latest works Beethoven introduces German speech in order to more accurately define the spirit and emotion of the music.

In the 20th century in most countries 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 last centuries It was the Italian language that 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 wide
• 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) - melodiously
• 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 tenderly
• dolente (dolente) - sad, pitiful
• doloroso (doloroso) - sad, sad
• elegante (elegante) - elegant, beautiful
• elegaco (elejyako) - plaintive, 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 (pastoral) - 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 of 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; V ancient music this technique is especially typical for 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 to 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 a serial number of this essay in a list (most often chronological) of works by 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 Baroque era 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 from 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 available in looks easy exceeding duration
• unisono (unison) - in unison
• voce (voche) - voice
• voci (vochi) - voices

to be continued...

Pace

The speed of movement of a piece of music is called pace. As the piece progresses, depending on the theme, the tempo may change.

All this sets the expressiveness of the work. You can play not just quickly or slowly, but also speeding up, delaying, etc. There are many options. We will look at them in this article.

Tempo designation

Tempo is mainly denoted in Italian words. There are also designations in Russian. You can also set the tempo using the metronome. The tempo is recorded above stave at the very beginning of the piece, as well as in those places where the tempo changes.

Let's look at everything in order.

Three main tempo groups

All tempos are divided into three groups: slow, moderate and fast tempos.

Shades

To clarify the shades of tempo, the following notations are used:

Dynamic shades

In order to indicate acceleration or deceleration, the following symbols are used:

Tempo in music seems to be the most vague and ambiguous category responsible for timing parameters.

What is tempo?

Pace is speed musical process; speed of movement (change) of metric units. Tempo determines the absolute speed at which a piece of music is performed. Notice the word absolute. In reality, the pace turns out to be relative.
Unlike meter and , where there are clear instructions on when and at what volume to play a particular note, at tempo this mathematical approach fails.
It would seem that with the invention of the metronome, any ambiguity should disappear. However, the picture has not changed for hundreds of years since Beethoven. At first, composers tried to meticulously write down the tempo using a metronome, but later abandoned this idea. What other issues are related to pacing? Wagner once said, for example, that the correctness of interpretation depends entirely on the well-chosen tempo. Is this statement true? Based on my subjective experience, I can say that it is 90% correct. The remaining 10 are a correct understanding of the style of music and everything else.

Let me emphasize that this is just a point of view. However, it seems that I am not alone in this, since some of the world's best musicians (such as Leindsdorf, A. Zimakov, Wagner:) are of the same opinion.
I’ll try to answer the question: why have many composers abandoned the metronome designation in their works?

There are many reasons, but the main one, apparently, is the progress of musicians.

Such a thing as unprofessionalism is quite common among performers of any profession.

Let's take, for example, a modern one (a situation from my biography).

For example, he wrote a score and entered it into some sequencer. Set the pace and everything is ready. The work sounds just like in the composer's head. But after this, the score ended up in the orchestra and half of the musicians could not play their parts. This is where you have to sacrifice either tempo or notes.

Many of Beethoven's works were very difficult for his contemporaries and, apparently, he decided to give some freedom in choosing tempo.

Modern musicians have no trouble playing Beethoven, but as soon as the conversation turns to Shostakovich or, God forbid, Messiaen, everything collapses and it turns out to be an epic fail :)

What does the actual tempo have to do with it?

The main problem is that musicians like to slow down fast passages for no reason, or take a slow tempo, explaining this with some kind of expressiveness, but this does not change the essence - they simply cannot play it. The composer, the listener and the music suffer from this.

Very often, musicians misinterpret tempos, resulting in uptempo pieces becoming ballads and vice versa.

This can very often be observed among classical guitarists (it’s rather a rule to distort tempos) - if Allegro is written, Moderato is played, if Moderato is written, they begin to play Lento. There are thousands of such examples - just look at a few famous works and you can see the tempo gradation within 40 or even more metronome units. I repeat that this is typical for classical guitarists. I haven't noticed this among pianists. In general, it is difficult to imagine a pianist who, using his own vision as an excuse, would begin to play Chopin's fantasy C# maj at tempo 140.

This is the first side of the tempo problem; let’s call it the mechanical-executive side.

Now let's look at the nature of tempo.

Tempo as a structure that regulates the rhythmic and metrical movement of music has only recently been established. There are two types of tempo:

1. mathematical (metronome tempo)
2. sensory (affective)

Mathematical is characteristic of electronic music, metal, etc. music that is played strictly to the click. In such music no deviations from the tempo are allowed) with rare exceptions you can find accelerando and ritenuto)

Sensual is defined by style, agogics and. One measure can be at a tempo of 90, the second at a tempo of 120, and the third at a tempo of 60. This approach to rhythm is characteristic of Scriabin and Rachmaninov.

There is also a middle ground between these two concepts. Phenomena such as the shuffle are built on a skillful combination of different approaches to tempo. Metronome symbols cannot reflect real tempo; this is the reason why many composers have abandoned them, and for the same reason most musicians have abandoned playing to the click.

On the other hand, verbal notations make it possible to convey the nature of the movement and the direction in which the musician(s) should think.

Here is what Kharlapin writes about this:

The verbal designation of tempo indicates not so much speed as the “amount of movement” - the product of speed and mass (the importance of the 2nd factor increases in romantic music, when not only quarters and halves, but also other note values ​​act as tempo units) . The nature of the tempo depends not only on the main pulse, but also on the internal beat pulsation (creating a kind of “tempo overtones”), and the size of the beat. Metrorhythmic speed turns out to be only one of many factors that create tempo, the significance of which decreases the more emotional the music.