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{{redirect|Beats per minute}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2012}}
In [[musical terminology]], '''tempo''' ([[Italian language|Italian]],for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or {{lang|it|tempi''}} from the Italian plural), also known as '''beats per minute'',''''' is the speed or pace of a given [[musical composition|composition]]. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often using conventional Italian terms) and is usually measured in [[beat (music)|beats]] per [[minute]] (BPM). In modern classical compositions, a "[[metronome]] mark" in beats per minute may supplement or replace the normal tempo marking, while in modern genres like [[electronic dance music]], tempo will typically simply be stated in BPM.▼
 
▲In [[musical terminology]], '''tempo''' ([[Italian language|Italian]], 'time'; ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) also known as '''beats per minute'',''''' is the speed or pace of a given [[musical composition|composition]]. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often using conventional Italian terms) and is usually measured in [[beat (music)|beats]] per [[minute]] (BPM). In modern classical compositions, a "[[metronome]] mark" in beats per minute may supplement or replace the normal tempo marking, while in modern genres like [[electronic dance music]], tempo will typically simply be stated in BPM.
 
Tempo may be separated from [[articulation (music)|articulation]] and [[meter (music)|meter]], or these aspects may be indicated along with tempo, all contributing to the overall [[texture (music)|texture]]. While the ability to hold a steady tempo is a vital skill for a musical performer, tempo is changeable. Depending on the genre of a piece of music and the performers' interpretation, a piece may be played with slight [[tempo rubato]] or drastic variances. In ensembles, the tempo is often indicated by a [[conducting|conductor]] or by one of the instrumentalists, for instance the [[drummer]].
 
==Measurement ==
[[File:Electronic-metronome(scale).jpg|upright|thumb|A Wittner electronic metronome]]
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Although tempo is described or indicated in many different ways, including with a range of words (e.g., "Slowly", "Adagio", and so on), it is typically measured in beats per minute (bpm or BPM). For example, a tempo of 60 beats per minute signifies one beat per second, while a tempo of 120 beats per minute is twice as rapid, signifying two beats every second. The [[note value]] of a beat will typically be that indicated by the denominator of the [[time signature]]. For instance, in {{music|time|4|4}} time, the beat will be a [[crotchet]], or ''[[quarter note'']].▼
|format=[[Ogg]]}}
 
▲Although tempo is described or indicated in many different ways, including with a range of words (e.g., "Slowly", "Adagio", and so on), it is typically measured in beats per minute (bpm or BPM). For example, a tempo of 60 beats per minute signifies one beat per second, while a tempo of 120 beats per minute is twice as rapid, signifying two beats every second. The [[note value]] of a beat will typically be that indicated by the denominator of the [[time signature]]. For instance, in {{music|time|4|4}} time, the beat will be a [[crotchet]], or ''quarter note''.
 
This measurement and indication of tempo became increasingly popular during the first half of the 19th century, after [[Johann Nepomuk Maelzel]] invented the [[metronome]]. [[Beethoven]] was one of the first composers to use the metronome; in the 1810s he published metronomic indications for the eight symphonies he had composed up to that time.<ref><!-- Is this really relevant to THIS article? -->Some of these markings are today contentious, such as those on his [[Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)|"Hammerklavier" Sonata]] and [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]], seeming to many to be almost impossibly fast, as is also the case for many of the works of [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]]. See "metronome" entry in {{harvnb|Apel|1969|p=523}}.</ref>
 
With the advent of modern electronics, beats per minute became an extremely precise measure. [[Music sequencer]]s use the bpm system to denote tempo.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hans |first1=Zimmer |title=Music 101: What Is Tempo? How Is Tempo Used in Music?|date=6 August 2021|url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/music-101-what-is-tempo-how-is-tempo-used-in-music#what-are-the-basic-tempo-markings |website=Masterclass masterclass.com|access-date=2215 JanuaryAugust 20202024}}</ref> In popular music genres such as [[electronic dance music]], accurate knowledge of a tune's bpm is important to [[disc jockey|DJs]] for the purposes of [[beatmatching]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Velankar|first=Makarland|date=2014|title=A Pilot Study of Automatic Tempo Measurement in Rhythmic Music|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264212770}}</ref>▼
Instead of beats per minute, some 20th-century classical composers (e.g., [[Béla Bartók]], [[Alberto Ginastera]], and [[John Cage]]) specify the total playing time for a piece, from which the performer can derive tempo.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
 
▲With the advent of modern electronics, beats per minute became an extremely precise measure. [[Music sequencer]]s use the bpm system to denote tempo.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hans |first1=Zimmer |title=Music 101: What Is Tempo? How Is Tempo Used in Music? |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/music-101-what-is-tempo-how-is-tempo-used-in-music#what-are-the-basic-tempo-markings |website=Masterclass |access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> In popular music genres such as [[electronic dance music]], accurate knowledge of a tune's bpm is important to [[disc jockey|DJs]] for the purposes of [[beatmatching]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Velankar|first=Makarland|date=2014|title=A Pilot Study of Automatic Tempo Measurement in Rhythmic Music|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264212770}}</ref>
 
The speed of a piece of music can also be gauged according to measures per minute (mpm) or bars per minute (bpm), the number of [[bar (music)|measure]]s of the piece performed in one minute. This measure is commonly used in [[ballroom dance]] music.<ref>{{Citation
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==Musical vocabulary==
{{See also|Glossary of musicalmusic terminology}}
In [[classical music]], it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words, most commonly in [[Italian language|Italian]], in addition to or instead of a metronome mark in beats per minute. Italian is typically used because it was the language of most composers during the time these descriptions became commonplace in the Western musical lexicon.<ref>[[Don Michael Randel|Randel, D.]], ed., ''The New Harvard Dictionary of Music'', Harvard University Press, 1986, "Tempo"</ref> Some well-known Italian tempo indications include "Allegro" (English "Cheerful"), "Andante" ("Walking-pace") and "Presto" ("Quickly"). This practice developed during the 17th and 18th centuries, the [[baroque music|baroque]] and [[classical music period|classical]] periods. In the earlier [[Renaissance music]], performers understood most music to flow at a tempo defined by the [[Pulse (music)|tactus]] (roughly the rate of the human heartbeat).<ref name=Haar>{{cite book|last=Haar|first=James|title=The Science and Art of Renaissance Music|date=14 July 2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-40-086471-3|page=408|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lMABAAAQBAJ}}</ref> The [[mensural]] [[time signature]] indicated which note value corresponded to the tactus.
 
In the Baroque period, pieces would typically be given an indication, which might be a tempo marking (e.g. ''Allegro''), or the name of a dance (e.g. ''Allemande'' or ''Sarabande''), the latter being an indication both of tempo and of metre. Any musician of the time was expected to know how to interpret these markings based on custom and experience. In some cases, however, these markings were simply omitted. For example, the first movement of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s [[Brandenburg concertos#Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048|Brandenburg Concerto No. 3]] has no tempo or mood indication whatsoever. Despite the increasing number of explicit tempo markings, musicians still observe conventions, expecting a [[minuet]] to be at a fairly stately tempo, slower than a [[Viennese waltz]]; a [[perpetuum mobile]] quite fast, and so on. Genres imply tempos, and thus, [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] wrote "In tempo d'un Menuetto" over the first movement of his Piano Sonata Op. 54, though that movement is not a minuet.
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Often, composers (or [[Music publisher (popular music)|music publishers]]) name [[movement (music)|movements]] of compositions after their tempo (or mood) marking. For instance, the second movement of [[Samuel Barber]]'s first [[String Quartet (Barber)|String Quartet]] is an ''Adagio''.<ref name=Heyman>{{cite book|last=Heyman|first=Barbara B.|title=Samuel Barber: the composer and his music|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-509058-6|page=158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u6QGtHHtr6MC&q=second+movement+Samuel+Barber%27s+first+String+Quartet+is+an+Adagio.&pg=PA158|date=1994-05-12}}</ref>
 
{{anchor|Italian tempo markings}}<!-- used from many redirects -->▼
Often a particular [[musical form]] or [[Music genre|genre]] implies its own tempo, so composers need place no further explanation in the score.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} [[Popular music]] charts use terms such as ''bossa nova'', ''ballad'', and ''Latin rock'' in much the same way.{{Original research inline|date=January 2015}} [[Lead sheet]]s and [[fake book]] music for jazz or popular music may use several terms, and may include a tempo term and a genre term, such as "slow blues", "medium shuffle" or "fast rock".
 
▲{{anchor|Italian tempo markings}}
 
===Basic tempo markings===
{{Redirect|Allegretto|the racehorse|Allegretto (horse)}}
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* ''Larghissimo'' – extremely slow, slowest type of tempo (24&nbsp;bpm and under)
* ''Adagissimo'' and ''Grave'' – very slow, very slow and solemn (24–40&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Largo'' – slow and broad (40–66&nbsp;bpm)
* ''Larghetto'' – rather slow and broad (44–66&nbsp;bpm)
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* ''Meno'' – less
* ''Più'' – more
* ''Poco'' – a little
* ''Rall.'' or "Rallentando" – opposite of ''Accelerando''
* ''Subito'' – suddenly
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====French tempo markings====
Several composers have written markings in French, among them baroque composers [[François Couperin]] and [[Jean-Philippe Rameau]] as well as [[Claude Debussy]], [[Olivier Messiaen]], [[Maurice Ravel]] and [[Alexander Scriabin]]. Common tempo markings in [[French (language)|French]] are:
 
* ''Au mouvement'' – play the (first or main) tempo.
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====German tempo markings====
Many composers have used [[German (language)|German]] tempo markings. Typical German tempo markings are:
 
* ''Kräftig'' – vigorous or powerful
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While many composers have retained traditional tempo markings, sometimes requiring greater precision than in any preceding period, others have begun to question basic assumptions of the classical tradition like the idea of a consistent, unified, repeatable tempo. [[Graphic notation (music)|Graphic scores]] show tempo and rhythm in a variety of ways. [[Polytempo|Polytemporal compositions]] deliberately utilise performers playing at marginally different speeds. [[John Cage]]'s compositions approach tempo in diverse ways. For instance ''[[4′33″]]'' has a defined duration, but no actual notes, while [[As Slow as Possible]] has defined proportions but no defined duration, with one performance intended to last 639 years.
 
== Extreme tempo ==
More extreme tempos are achievable at the same underlying tempo with very fast drum patterns, often expressed as [[drum rolls]]. Such compositions often exhibit a much slower underlying tempo, but may increase the tempo by adding additional percussive beats. [[Extreme metal|Extreme music]] subgenres such as [[speedcore]] and [[grindcore]] often strive to reach unusually fast tempo. The use of extreme tempo was very common in the fast [[bebop]] [[jazz]] from the 1940s and 1950s. A common jazz tune such as "[[Cherokee (Ray Noble song)|Cherokee]]" was often performed at quarter note equal to or sometimes exceeding 368&nbsp;bpm. Some of [[Charlie Parker]]'s famous tunes ("Bebop", "Shaw Nuff") have been performed at 380&nbsp;bpm or more.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}
 
There is also a subgenre of speedcore known as [[Speedcore#Subgenres|extratone]], which is music with a tempo over 1,000 BPM.
 
== Beatmatching ==
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