Tempo Markings and BPM: How Fast Is Allegro, Andante or Adagio?

What tempo markings are

A tempo marking is the word at the top of a piece, or at a change of section, that tells you how fast to play. Most of them are Italian. Writing tempo in words became established in the 17th and 18th centuries, and metronome numbers came into wide use only in the first half of the 19th century, which is why the Italian terms stuck.

A tempo marking is not just a speed. It also describes character. Andante literally means “walking,” and Vivace means “lively.” Two pieces marked Allegro can sit at quite different tempos because one is cheerful and light and the other is driving and intense. The word tells you both roughly how fast and how it should feel.

Sometimes the score also gives a number, such as “♩ = 80” or “M.M. ♩ = 80.” That means 80 quarter notes per minute. M.M. stands for Mälzel’s Metronome, after Johann Mälzel, who patented and popularized the wind-up metronome. When there’s a number, follow the number and use the Italian word as a guide to mood.

Tempo chart: approximate BPM ranges

There’s no law that says Allegro equals a specific BPM. The ranges are conventions. Our metronome uses the 13 basic markings listed in the English Wikipedia article “Tempo.” The full chart lives on the metronome page; here’s how to read it.

Slow tempos. Largo (40–66), Lento (40–60) and Adagio (44–66) all sit around one beat per second. Their ranges nearly coincide, so the difference is in character: Largo is broad and spacious, Adagio is slow and expressive.

Middle tempos. Andante covers a very wide range, 56–108 BPM. It’s a walking pace, and people walk at very different speeds. Moderato (108–120) is simply “moderate.”

Fast tempos. Allegro (120–156) is the fast marking you’ll see most often. Above it come Vivace (156–176), Presto (168–200) and Prestissimo (200 and up).

Rather than memorizing every range, keep two anchors in your head: 60 BPM is one beat per second, and 120 BPM is two beats per second. Slow markings live around 60; Allegro starts around 120. Those two reference points make it much easier to get a feel for a piece at first sight.

Why tempo charts disagree

Look up Allegro in three different books or apps and you may get three different ranges. That’s expected:

• The words came first. Tempo words were established in the 17th and 18th centuries, before metronome numbers spread in the early 19th century. The number ranges are later attempts to summarize common practice, and different authors drew the lines in different places.
• Context changes the answer. How busy the notes are, the style of the period, the size of the hall and the instrument all affect what “fast” or “slow” should mean in a given piece.
• The ranges overlap. Largo and Adagio share almost the same numbers, and Andante spans more than 50 BPM. A single BPM can honestly fit several markings.

Because of that overlap, our metronome shows up to two markings above the BPM, narrowest range first. A narrower range points to that tempo more specifically. At 60 BPM, for example, you’ll see Lento · Adagio.

Tempo change terms

Scores also tell you when to change speed:

• accelerando (accel.): gradually speed up
• ritardando (rit.) and rallentando (rall.): gradually slow down
• ritenuto (riten.): slow down immediately rather than gradually
• a tempo: go back to the original tempo
• rubato: stretch and push the beat expressively

These passages don’t line up with a steady click. Practice the tempo before and after the change separately with the metronome, then work on connecting them smoothly without it.

Picking a metronome setting from a marking

If a piece gives you only a word and no number, try this:

1. Start in the middle of the range. For Allegro, that’s around 130–140 BPM.
2. Play the busiest passage, such as a run of sixteenth notes, at that tempo. If it sounds frantic, come down within the range.
3. If you have a recording, use Tap on the metronome to measure the performer’s actual tempo. You’ll quickly notice that different performers choose different numbers for the same marking.
4. For practice, start slower than your target and work up a few BPM at a time.

A tempo marking is a starting point, not an answer key. Finding the tempo within that range where the music sounds most natural is part of the performer’s job.