Questions tagged [tempo]
The rate of the beats in a passage of music, sometimes expressed in metronome beats per minute (BPM) and sometimes by the Italian system of names
287
questions
3
votes
2
answers
312
views
Are the terms time and rhythm interchangeable?
I’ve been reading a few books that are titled as if rhythm is a term that is interchangeable with time. I.e, I would have personally titled them something like the study of time in music or elements ...
- 723
0
votes
2
answers
89
views
Do you have to completely master each Pumping Nylon exercises thoroughly?
Presently I am working on Pumping Nylon exercises, but I cannot play as fast as the exercise asks me to.
Do I have to completely master each piece or can I just move on after playing through it ...
- 187
1
vote
3
answers
105
views
Does "poco a poco accel. fino al misura 25" sound like proper Italian tempo mark?
Is ""poco a poco accel. fino al misura 25" correct tempo mark in Italian for "step by step accelerate until measure 25"?
- 219
2
votes
1
answer
69
views
allegro animato and deciso in Mazeppa
In Liszt's 5e étude, Mazeppa, a part has allegro animato and then the next one allegro deciso.
What are the possibilities and the most likely meaning of those terms ?
I understand that animato can ...
- 574
2
votes
1
answer
402
views
How fast would Chopin have played his own Fantasie Impromptu, Op. 66?
I came across a performance of Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu by Valentina Lisitsa and was surprised how fast she performed it, around 95 bpm (half-note beat)! Urtext tempo indication is Allegro agitato....
- 522
0
votes
1
answer
45
views
Beginner wants app recommendation for making electronic music [closed]
I make mathematical pictures and want to back them with some music of my own composition. I play no instruments besides doodling with pianos. Actually, if I could get an app that would record my ...
- 9
7
votes
4
answers
477
views
How to decide between half-, quarter-, and eighth-notes when transcribing a song
I am trying to transcribe a little song and I am facing a problem: I am realising that there are several ways to write it, 2 ways to be more specific; Here are 2 images (I just wrote the first few ...
- 81
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is this tremolo too fast for strings?
Is this tremolo with the specified tempo too fast for a viola, cello and contrabass?
- 937
1
vote
1
answer
69
views
Trouble getting Finale and Cakewalk to agree on midi file tempo
I have a score I have created in Finale. I'm working on creating an audio sample of it. Some parts of it (the strings) sound good using the sound libraries within Finale but other parts (the chorus) ...
- 4,649
8
votes
3
answers
817
views
How do I decide if my piece should be expressed as 3/4, 6/4 or 3/2?
I'm still an amateur composer, but I've been wanting to explore time signatures outside of 4/4. The trouble is, I'm having issues figuring the actual time signature of what I've written. I was ...
- 83
1
vote
2
answers
135
views
advice on Linus and Lucy, (Bridge PART)
I am currently working on the Vince Guaraldi song, Linus and Lucy; Am having trouble figuring out the bridge of the song, not really sure where to start on it. Any advice
- 13
0
votes
2
answers
87
views
How can I lift my fingers off each piano key faster and still keep the same tempo when playing songs?
I recently noticed that when I press the piano keys, I do not lift my fingers fast enough off the keys. This causes a "dragging sound". However, I seem to keep the music tempo going. This ...
- 33
4
votes
1
answer
55
views
Alternate tempo indications in Janáček's Mládí
What is the reason for the alternate tempo markings in Janáček's Mládí here and elsewhere? Is one of them aimed at players who are no longer in the first flush of 'Youth' maybe?
- 203
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Strange Tempo Marking [duplicate]
I was overviewing some classical sheet music and saw this strange tempo marking.
What does "Tempo 10" mean exactly?
- 111
2
votes
0
answers
225
views
Hairpins in Late Classical and Romantic Music
I have spent a year and a half researching the notational enigma of hairpins in late classical and romantic music, and now I am at a bend in the road.
The esteemed Czerny claims that opening and ...
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How do you change the playback tempo of the score in MuseScore 4?
I'm really struggling to find the way the playback tempo should be changed in MuseScore 4. I tried googling it but still no luck.
- 14.8k
6
votes
3
answers
694
views
Notating Sheet Music with Strict Tempo for Accompaniment but Rubato for Vocalist
I have some sheet music for vocal + piano accompaniment where I want to notate that the vocalist should feel out the rhythms and phrases and sing expressively while the pianist maintains a steady ...
- 101
1
vote
4
answers
157
views
What Makes Pieces with similar BPM Sound So Different?
Ok, so I'm very novice as far as music theory is concerned, and I was wondering if someone could explain to me why pieces with lower tempos can sound faster or higher energy.
I need to know why on an ...
- 11
8
votes
1
answer
573
views
What does the marking "Tempo" mean in the middle of a piece of music?
In Hubert Parry's (1848-1918) choral work "There is an Old Belief", there is a marking in a few places that just reads "Tempo". The first time it happens after a ritard, following ...
- 107
0
votes
0
answers
139
views
Extracting music features from MIDI, storing them in arrays, making new MIDI file from extracted features, how do I get output as similar to original?
I have extracted notes, chords, rests and time signatures from parsed MIDI file. Storing them and again playing them back, I still cannot get the original speed and mix of sounds. What am I doing ...
- 51
2
votes
1
answer
161
views
Duration of a MIDI file by parsing it and making a stream of parsed notes and chords do not playback the same length music. What is the problem here?
I parsed a MIDI file in music21 by using converter.parse function in music21.
And for extracting notes and chords with duration, I have used the code as follows:
score = converter.parse('...
- 51
0
votes
3
answers
178
views
Rubato where there is no indication of rubato
Unless I'm crazy (not impossible, tbh) every performance of Messiaen: Prelude No. 7, Plainte calme that I have heard does not seem to follow the sheet music.
There's a passage where the time signature ...
- 35
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why did Shostakovich use such long note values for such fast notes?
I've loved Shostakovich's 8th quartet for ages but only just now looked at the score. I imagined the second movement would be a sea of black notes given its breakneck pace and was shocked to see that ...
- 4,649
1
vote
0
answers
49
views
cut time vs common time [duplicate]
i understand that 2/2 or cut time has 2 beats as opposed to 4/4 or common time, but how does this actually sound different?
if you took a piece and played if it was notated as being 4/4 and then ...
- 111
1
vote
2
answers
242
views
Confusion about BPM and time signature [duplicate]
First of all, is the beat in BPM based on the quarter note or the fundamental beat of each time signature?
For example, if it's 3/2 time and it's 80 BPM, does the half note go in 80 times in a minute?
...
- 109
1
vote
2
answers
199
views
What does MM quarter note mean? [duplicate]
One of the requirements for an audition process I am going through is to play my chromatic scale. The required speed for it says MM quarter note = 100. I can't figure out the speed necessary for it. ...
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Tempo alteration "retard" instead of "ritard"
So, this is a piece I'm working on with a large chorus of youngsters ages 10-12. I've never seen a tempo alteration spelled this way. Is it something distinct from "ritard?" Is it simply ...
- 4,649
1
vote
0
answers
844
views
How to synchronize Boss Looper pedal (RC-5) tempo with external drum machine (Korg Volca)?
As a test case, I am trying to synchronize the tempo of the RC-5 Looper pedal to a Korg Volca drum machine. I tried two different ways with a TRS cable:
Korg Volca SYNC out --> RC-5 MIDI in No ...
- 143
1
vote
0
answers
72
views
How to improve what I am doing, thanks! [closed]
Am I out of tune? A little fast or a little slow? It’s original female song. I need more objective opinions from different people, not from someone know me well.
Thank you!!!
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
87
views
Tempo for Rezitativ
What is the tempo for Rezitativ?
I found that: Rezitativ by Johann Sebastian Bach is played at 70 Beats Per Minute (Adagio), or 14 Measures/Bars Per Minute. Time Signature 5/4.
After the Presto (...
- 901
1
vote
4
answers
588
views
On the difference between 4/4 and 4/2 time signatures [duplicate]
I am new to music theory and I was going through this video on YouTube to understand time signatures. The author mentions that the top number indicates number of beats. I understand what this means. ...
- 113
4
votes
1
answer
198
views
Metronome/tempo markings
What does the following equation mean, as shown in the second to last line? What significance does this have in music? I have also seen this for different values as well.
- 43
7
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Notation question: Adding half a beat to a bar?
I've run into a quirk in a piece I'm writing, something I've never had to deal with—any ideas?:
The piece is in 4/4. One bar has an extra half-beat (with 18 sixteenth notes rather than 16).
4.5/4 = 9/...
- 211
7
votes
3
answers
547
views
Software to sync with tempo in violin
I am a beginner in violin (about 2 month) and i have trouble with syncing my tempo with metronome.
Beside the fact that thinking about everything makes me lose tempo, I use my phone as metronome and ...
- 171
8
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Gnossiennes and Free Time
I'm looking at Erik Satie's Gnossiennes, specifically Nos. 1-3, but for simplicity let's just consider Gnossienne No. 1.
Most editions (see IMSLP) are engraved without a time signature nor with any ...
- 12.4k
8
votes
4
answers
4k
views
What is "Allegro non molto"?
Some parts of The Four Seasons are marked as having a tempo of "Allegro non molto" (Fast not very?), however, I do not see this tempo as being one of the standard ones. There is normally ...
- 847
0
votes
2
answers
444
views
Playing 16th Note at High Tempo
In Classical/fingerstyle guitar is playing 16th note at tempo > 100 BPM is normal ? I am I am practising at 60 BPM which i feel is fast, since the gap between each metronome click is very small.
...
- 393
8
votes
1
answer
332
views
What is the meaning of this tempo marking?
I came across this in a piece for piano four hands (title and composer are unknown; as pointed out in the comments, it might also be a part of a longer piece). Here's the beginning of the upper part (...
- 285
0
votes
3
answers
218
views
Metronome Sound
This could be a weird question but I want to clarify something.
When I'm learning rhythms and have a slow tempo my metronome will sound like this:
BPM = 60 (--- represent silence)
click------click-----...
- 393
2
votes
3
answers
108
views
tempo of fantasia in D-minor from Mozart
Fantasia in D-Minor from Mozart K397 is written in 2/2 (alla breve). The first part of it should be played Andante (let's say 80 half notes in one minute). In reality, it is played much much slower ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
112
views
Time signature and Tempo
When I am jamming along a song, I do get carried away especially after the chorus when strumming is emphasised. I tend to speed up. You see in intro strumming is kinda not so much emphasised, it's ...
3
votes
3
answers
289
views
Why is the second movement to Beethoven's 9th notated in fast 3/4, rather than in 3/8?
Looking at the score for Beethoven's 9th symphony, it surprises me how the second movement is written in a breakneck 3/4 at 116 dotted half notes per minute.
Why did Beethoven opt for this 3/4, rather ...
- 131
0
votes
2
answers
827
views
How do i calculate the duration of a segment of music with a changing tempo?
I'm writing some music software that allows you to dynamically set the tempo. I'm having trouble calculating the duration of a section if the tempo is gradually increasing or decreasing. For example, ...
5
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How to practise exact timing on the piano?
I have learned a piece (an arrangement I have made myself). When I record it, I notice that the timing is not exact (overall it is exact, I'm recording to a metronome). But when I open the recorded ...
- 405
7
votes
2
answers
528
views
Do I have to notate "eighth equal quarter" when the time signature changes?
I cannot recall which tempo marking I saw but it is something like "♩=♪" or "♩=♩."on the top of the staff when time signature changes. Does that mean the overall speed doesn't ...
- 159
2
votes
1
answer
220
views
What's the correct way of referring to movements with multiple tempo indications?
I'm checking out the tracklistings of a Scarlatti box set and seeing some differences between what's on the back covers and what's on the publisher's website. I'm interested to know which punctuations ...
- 23
1
vote
1
answer
868
views
How do I convert my quarter note tempo into an eighth note tempo?
I made a song with a tempo of Quarter Note = 50, but I want to change the tempo to eighth notes. What would my new tempo be?
- 19
1
vote
1
answer
203
views
Ritardando in the score [closed]
How do I write Ritardando (rit.) in a score, so that it will also affect the midi playback?
I can write rit. as a text marking, but it won't be heard it in the midi playback.
- 11
1
vote
3
answers
461
views
How to calculate music sheet symbols duration, in Midi file
I want to make music in computer programming language.
but I don't know how to calculate music sheet symbols duration by attention to tempo and time signature.
I was confused about that because ...
- 121
1
vote
1
answer
71
views
How would one research standards for English tempo descriptions in BPM ca. 1900?
I am transcribing a songbook of Celtic folk tunes compiled in 1928 and generating MIDI from the transcription so that I can learn them by ear. The book is filled with tempos like:
Flowing and not too ...
- 148