How is the speed of the beat indicated, and how do tempo terms and markings work?
Topic 1.9 Tempo: interpret tempo markings, metronome (beats per minute) indications, and terms that change the tempo.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 1.9, covering tempo as the speed of the beat, common Italian tempo terms from largo to presto, metronome markings in beats per minute, and gradual changes such as ritardando and accelerando, with a worked bpm conversion.
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What this topic is asking
The College Board (Topic 1.9) wants you to interpret tempo: to read common Italian tempo terms, to understand metronome (beats per minute) markings, and to recognize terms that change the tempo gradually, such as ritardando and accelerando.
Tempo terms
These terms convey character as well as speed; Andante literally suggests "walking," and Allegro suggests cheerfulness as well as quickness.
Metronome markings
The beat value in the marking should match the beat of the meter: in 6/8 the marking usually shows a dotted quarter, because that is the beat.
Terms that change the tempo
Composers also write instructions to speed up, slow down, or restore the tempo:
- Ritardando (rit.) and rallentando (rall.): gradually slow down.
- Accelerando (accel.): gradually speed up.
- A tempo: return to the original tempo after a change.
- Rubato: play with flexible, expressive timing, borrowing time from some notes and giving it back.
- Fermata: hold a note or rest longer than its written value.
Why tempo is both precise and expressive
The deepest idea is that tempo lives on two levels at once: a measurable speed and a musical character. A metronome marking fixes the speed exactly, which is why it gives a number and a beat unit, but the Italian term tells the performer how the music should feel, and the two work together. This matters because the same notated rhythm sounds completely different at Largo and at Presto even though its internal proportions are identical, which connects back to the idea that rhythmic values are relative, not absolute. Tempo is what converts those proportions into real time. The change-of-tempo terms add a further layer: music is rarely metronomically rigid, and ritardando, accelerando and rubato let the pulse breathe. Understanding tempo as the bridge between written proportion and lived musical time explains why the AP exam pairs precise metronome markings with expressive terms, and why both belong to the "expressive elements" of Unit 1.
Reading tempo in practice
When you meet a tempo marking, first read any Italian term for the general speed and character, then read any metronome marking for the exact bpm and confirm which note value is the beat. Watch for change-of-tempo words within the piece (rit., accel., a tempo) and for a fermata over a note. To convert a metronome marking to the length of one beat, divide 60 by the bpm; to find how long a measure lasts, multiply the beat length by the number of beats per measure.
Try this
Q1. Order these from slowest to fastest: Allegro, Adagio, Presto, Moderato. [2 points]
- Cue. Adagio (slow), Moderato (moderate), Allegro (fast), Presto (very fast).
Q2. At a metronome marking of quarter note = 60, how long does one beat last? [1 point]
- Cue. second per beat.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2022 (style)1 marksSection I (multiple choice, written). Which tempo term indicates the slowest speed? (A) Allegro (B) Andante (C) Largo (D) PrestoShow worked answer →
The correct answer is (C) Largo.
Largo means broad and very slow. From slow to fast, common terms run roughly: Largo, Adagio, Andante (a walking pace), Moderato, Allegro (fast), Presto (very fast). So Largo is the slowest of the four offered.
(B) Andante is moderate (walking), (A) Allegro is fast, and (D) Presto is very fast. The trap is confusing Andante with a slow tempo; it is a moderate walking speed, not the slowest.
AP 2023 (style)2 marksSection II (free response, written). A piece is marked with a metronome indication showing the quarter note equals 60. State what this means and explain what a ritardando would do to the tempo.Show worked answer →
A 2-point tempo-interpretation question.
(1 point) Quarter note equals 60 means there are 60 quarter-note beats per minute, so each beat lasts exactly one second.
(1 point) A ritardando (rit.) means to gradually slow down, so the tempo decreases over the marked passage, lengthening each beat.
Markers reward interpreting the metronome marking as 60 beats per minute (one beat per second) and identifying ritardando as a gradual slowing.
Related dot points
- Topic 1.10 Dynamics and Articulation: interpret dynamic levels, gradual dynamic changes, and articulation markings as expressive elements.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 1.10, covering dynamic levels from pianissimo to fortissimo, gradual changes (crescendo and decrescendo), and articulation markings such as staccato, legato, accent and tenuto, as expressive elements, with worked interpretation.
- Topic 1.7 Meter and Time Signature: interpret time signatures, identify the meter type, and relate the numbers to the beat and its division.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 1.7, covering how time signatures encode beats and beat values, reading simple and compound signatures, the meaning of the top and bottom numbers, common-time and cut-time symbols, with a worked interpretation.
- Topic 1.2 Rhythmic Values: identify and notate the relative durations of notes and rests, including dotted values, ties and beaming.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 1.2, covering note and rest durations from whole to sixteenth, the halving relationship, dotted notes, ties, beams and how durations add up within a beat, with worked counting.
- Topic 1.8 Rhythmic Patterns: identify and notate rhythmic devices such as the anacrusis, syncopation, hemiola, and borrowed divisions (triplets and duplets).
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 1.8, covering the anacrusis (pickup), syncopation, hemiola, borrowed divisions such as triplets and duplets, and how these devices play against the prevailing meter, with worked counting.
- Topic 1.6 Simple and Compound Beat Division: distinguish simple from compound beat division and relate the beat unit to its subdivisions.
A focused answer to AP Music Theory Topic 1.6, covering how the beat divides into two (simple) or three (compound), the beat unit in each, duple, triple and quadruple groupings, and how to recognize each by ear and on paper, with a worked example.
Sources & how we know this
- AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description — College Board (2024)