Tempo markings and BPM: what Andante, Allegro and Presto mean

Tempo is the speed of the beat, and it is usually given in beats per minute (BPM). Classical scores describe it with Italian words instead, such as Andante (at a walking pace, roughly 76 to 108 BPM in many references) or Allegro (fast, roughly 120 to 156 BPM). Those words were never fixed numbers, so published ranges differ. This guide lists the common markings, explains the disagreement and shows how to use the metronome to practise at any of them.

What BPM means

BPM counts beats, not notes. At 60 BPM there is one beat per second; at 120 BPM there are two. In 4/4 time the beat is normally the quarter note, so a score marked with a quarter note equal to 100 means 100 quarter notes per minute. In compound time such as 6/8 the felt beat is usually the dotted quarter, two per bar, although slow 6/8 is often counted in six. To turn tempo into time, divide 60,000 by the BPM: at 120 BPM each beat lasts 500 milliseconds, an eighth note 250 ms and a dotted eighth 375 ms. Producers use those figures to time delay and reverb effects, and the BPM delay calculator lists them for every note value.

The Italian tempo markings

From slowest to fastest, with the approximate ranges given in commonly cited lists:

• Grave: very slow and solemn, below about 40 BPM.
• Largo: broad, about 40 to 66 BPM. Lento (slow) and Adagio (slow, expressive) sit in a similar band.
• Andante: at a walking pace, often given as 76 to 108 BPM, though some lists start it as low as 56.
• Moderato: moderate, about 108 to 120 BPM.
• Allegretto: moderately fast, a little under Allegro.
• Allegro: fast and bright, about 120 to 156 BPM.
• Vivace: lively, about 156 to 176 BPM.
• Presto: very fast, about 168 to 200 BPM.
• Prestissimo: as fast as possible, above about 200 BPM.

Modifiers adjust these: molto means very, meno less, poco a little, and ma non troppo but not too much. The metronome on this site shows a marking next to the number as a rough guide, using bands of this kind.

Why the ranges vary

Italian tempo words describe character as much as speed. Andante means walking, and people walk at different speeds; Allegro originally meant cheerful. Composers used the words long before Johann Maelzel patented his mechanical metronome in 1815, and their meaning shifted: Allegretto, for example, once meant only slightly faster than Andante and later came to mean just under Allegro. A slow movement in a quick piece and a slow piece in its own right can carry the same word at different speeds. Treat any table, including the list above, as a starting point, and follow a number when the score gives one.

Finding the tempo of a song

The quickest method is to tap along. The BPM counter averages your taps and ignores stray ones; the metronome also has a tap button. Tap the pulse you would nod your head to, for at least eight beats. Expect an ambiguity: many songs can be heard at one tempo or at double or half of it, so a track might read 85 or 170 depending on whether you tap every beat or every other one. Genres help you choose: house music commonly sits around 120 to 130 BPM, while drum and bass is usually felt around 170 or more. Basic drum beats: how to program rock, house and hip-hop grooves shows how those grooves are built.

Practising with a metronome

The classic method works: slow a difficult passage down until you can play it perfectly every time, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time. Practising mistakes at full speed only rehearses the mistakes. Set the beats per bar so the accent falls on the first beat, and once you are steady, try hearing the clicks as beats 2 and 4, the backbeat, which makes your own time more independent. The metronome here runs from 30 to 240 BPM in 4/4, 3/4, 2/4 or 6/8, and I schedule each click on the browser's audio clock rather than a timer, so the beat stays steady even when the page is busy. Keep a note of the tempo you reach each day; seeing it climb is surprisingly motivating.