Learning to Read Music: Part 5

Learning about Tempo and Dynamics

Metronome Marking

Tempo and dynamics are two important parts of music. Tempo refers to the speed of the steady beats. You can think of tempo as how fast you would clap or tap your foot to the music or how quickly the conductor would wave his or her baton at an orchestra concert!

Tempo is often indicated by a specific metronome marking and/or by musical terms written in the music, usually in Italian.

Metronome

A metronome is a device that can be set to click at a specific rate—measured in beats per minute (BPM) just like your heart rate. In this example, (quarter note=60) the steady beats would be one beat per second, since there are 60 seconds in a minute. 

The mechanical (wind up) metronome was the first metronome. Now many of us use digital metronomes or even an app on our cellphone! The metronome was introduced in 1816. In 1817, Beethoven was the first major composer to indicate a specific tempo or metronome marking in his music.  

Composers often indicate music tempo with terms written in the music such as Allegro (moderately fast), Largo (broad; slow and dignified), Adagio (slow, but not as slow as largo) Moderato (at a moderate speed), Andante (at a walking pace; moderately slow), Presto (very fast). There are many other terms in Italian and also in other languages. There are also terms that indicate the music should gradually slow down (Rallantando, often abbreviated to Rall.) or speed up (Accelerando).

Dynamic Markings

Dynamics refer to the volume of the music—how loud or soft it is—and how the volume changes throughout the music.  Italian terms are generally used here as well and are usually abbreviated.  Some examples of abbreviated dynamic markings are f for forte (loud), ff for fortissimo (very loud), p which means piano (soft), pp for pianissimo (very soft), cresc., <, or crescendo (becoming louder), and decresc., >, or decrescendo (becoming softer).  Another common dynamic marking is m or mezzo meaning medium. It is used combined with other markings such as mf for medium forte.  The early piano was actually called a "pianoforte" because it could play both soft and loud, unlike the earlier harpsichord, which could not be played at different volumes.

Click here to play a tempo or dynamics (symbols) game from San Francisco Symphony Kids (Flash required).

Little kids might like this fun YouTube video from Music Express Magazine about tempos or these fun videos from Plank Road Publishing's Music K-8 on dynamics and tempo! 

Want to try a metronome? Here's a free online metronome from IMusic-School.  

For our advanced music students, how many of these tempo markings from Classical Music City do you know? 

To learn more, watch these YouTube videos from Odd Quartet about music tempos or from RIAM Learning and Teaching Network about dynamics. 

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