Understanding theory
Set and change the tempo Ensure your jigs are jolly and your ballads are slow and beautiful by learning the essentials of musical tempo
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nother aspect of music that helps bring the notes to life is tempo. The word comes from the Latin word ‘tempus’ meaning ‘time’, and indicates to the musician how fast or slow the music should be played. It can also direct the mood or feel. You’ll see the tempo marked at the top of the first stave, and it’s effective throughout the piece unless the composer states otherwise.
There are two ways that tempo can be expressed. The first is in beats per minute (or BPM). This is a rather precise measurement, and you can use a metronome to help you keep in perfect time. As a time signature tells you the number of beats in each bar, the tempo tells you the speed at which to play these beats. At the top of the stave, you will see a particular type of note (eg a crotchet/quarter note) with the BPM value next to it. This means that the
crotchet/quarter note is specified as the beat, and the number (eg 120) is the number of beats that must be played per minute. The other way of directing tempo is by a series of Italian phrases which are much more interpretive. Just like the Italian phrases that deal with a music’s dynamics, you will come across many phrases that indicate the pace or mood for the music. Check out the table below-right for the most common terms.
Speed it up or slow it down Some key tempo phrases and symbols that you should know
01 Beats per minute
02 Written directions
To determine which type of note signifies one beat, you can generally look at the bottom number of the time signature. Here, in 6/8 time signature, one quaver/eighth note equals one beat, so there needs to be 140 of these a minute.
Here you can see the directions ‘rit.’ and ‘accel.’ which are abbreviations of the Italian words ritardando (getting slower) and accelerando (getting faster). These give an approximate flavour of the intended speed at which to play.
03 Back to the start
04 Tempo symbols
As well as instructions, there are also tempo phrases to direct you. In this example you can see the words ‘a tempo’. This means that from that point you should continue to play the music at the original speed.
There are some symbols that are tempo directions. This eye-like example is a fermata. It appears above a particular note and instructs the player to hold the note for as long as the interpretations of the musician or conductor allows.
52 Piano for Beginners
